On Sunday, February 1st, I looked out my atrium window and saw a buck nibbling the grass. Not unusual around here. I caught a movement and saw two other bucks to the right of the atrium and then a fourth one came ambling up from the left side of yard. They noticed me taking pictures and started walking down the hill in a line. I tried to get a picture of them “on the move”, but there were no good angles and they’d gotten too far away for my little camera. We usually see families traveling across the property and road, mom, dad, and at least 2 youngsters, and frequently there are two or more families in a group. Is that a herd? But it is unusual to see so many bucks obviously traveling together without the rest of the family.

PS We don’t allow hunting on our property, sorry guys!

Two, as in second round, not twins… no secrets being told here. Wallace is doing a great job of keeping us up to date about Jen’s progress and Gil’s growth via his photography.  Jen is doing a great job posing with patience. We now have pictures of week 30, only 10 more to go. In sequence below is week 20, week 26 and week 30.

Jen is flying to LA this weekend for a baby shower hosted by her relatives in California. Fortunately, she is able to book a non-stop flight from Austin to LA. Wallace will also be in CA next week, in San Jose, presenting a paper at a professional conference. Oh those frequent flyer miles!

Our drive to Austin was uneventful, although a little chilly. We arrived in Austin around 8:30 pm and went straight to Wallace and Jen’s. Wallace was home waiting for us, while Jen was enjoying her monthly book club, but she got home shortly after we arrived. After a good night’s sleep, we met up with Matt and Molly for an early lunch at Trudy’s, one of Matt’s favorite restaurants. We went to see their new house and meet their cat, Desmond. Jay took pictures of us while we were admiring their back yard. We met Wallace in downtown Austin to view some museums. One was closed to set up the new exhibit, but we got to see their original copy of the Guttenberg bible, which is on display in the lobby. So we then walked over to the Bob Bullock Texas State Museum. Matt and Jay went to watch an IMAX movie, while the girls and Wallace toured the 3 floors of exhibits. Wallace and Jen then headed home for a short rest before they had their first Bradley childbirth class. Jay and I took Matt and Molly to Suzi’s for Chinese food for dinner, hit the Frye’s electronics superstore, then headed back to W&J’s for the night.

Tuesday, Wallace & Matt had to work all day, so Jay escorted “the girls” around town. We had lunch at a Mediterranean Grill, then visited antique and consignment shops looking for intriguing items. Jen had signed up for a sewing class, and the first meeting was that night. So, I just had to go play mother-in-law, and check out the store, their machines, and give the overall MIL seal of approval. It was so much fun saying, “I’m visiting, but both my daughters-in-law live here in Austin.” Jay sat in the car and listened to the radio while we explored the sewing center. The boys had planned a dinner at Salt Lick Barbque, an all you can eat barbecue restaurant south of Austin, and since Jen had her class and Molly is vegan, the girls had our own dinner at Mother’s Cafe, (that name just keeps popping up!), which has vegetarian and vegan selections. After dropping Jay off at Matt’s to be picked up by Matt on his way home from work and chauffeured to the BBQ, the girls headed to our dinner. Molly and I dropped Jen off at the sewing class, then did some window shopping and actual shopping on our way back to Molly’s to hang out till Jen’s class was over. We went to a really neat hardware store and a really cool toy store. I found a toy I wan to buy for Gil, when he gets a little older. We picked Jen up after her class and all headed down to W&J’s to meet the guys, and it was a successful day for all.

Wednesday morning, we packed up the car and headed north to Forth Worth to celebrate Ted’s 21st birthday. We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse for his birthday dinner, with 2 of his buddies from Arlington, Julia and Tia. After his steak dinner and first official “legal” beer, we headed back to Julia’s for ice cream cake, birthday songs and presents, etc. The kids left to go to a club for more coming of age legal drinking, and Jay and I headed to our hotel for sleep. The joys of not having to prove you’re old enough to drink and then drinking to excess to prove it a second time.

Thursday, was not too eventful, we took care of some business in FW during the day, and had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Uncle Julio’s, at night. Ted was out with friends, so Tia and Julia joined us. Then it was time to repack the suitcases and get ready to head home. It had been a long 3 weeks, with lots of pleasant memories, a lot of driving (thank goodness gas prices had dropped) and time to come home to the mountains.

Since we got in late on Friday, we had agreed to pick the dogs up Saturday morning. They were happy to see us, although I think they missed the company of Sue’s dogs and her extra special treat of at least 3 ball playing sessions a day. Thank you Sue, you’re the best dog sitter in Colorado!

Are you getting bored yet? I find we take pictures of things we think are going to be interesting or descriptive, etc, and then when I look at them later, something is missing. They don’t capture the essence of what we saw, which is why no one is paying us for our pictures. Anyway…. after brunch at Mother’s Restaurant, we headed for the cattle lines to get on the ship. The staterooms weren’t quite ready, so we lingered in the common areas for a while, before the muster (aka mustard) drill, where we all get into our life jackets and report to our life boat station. This is done while the ship is still tied up at the dock, so there’s little chance of anyone going overboard or getting into trouble.

The Norwegian Spirit was originally built in the Far East for Star cruise lines, so all of the signs were in English/Japanese/Korean. I’m guessing on the Korean, it could have been Chinese, but the letters were more angular, looked Korean to me. The general decor was very oriental as well. It was a nice ship and we had a balcony on the starboard side, so we could sit outside and read, or watch the sunset on the way South and the sunrise on the way home. Our room steward was very nice and called us by name the very first time he saw us, which I thought was very impressive. How many names he must learn each week!

Our first full day was at sea on the way to Costa Maya, Mexico. Costa Maya had been hit by a hurricane, Dean, I think, about 18 months ago. It was a small provincial fishing town before, and is a still recovering provincial town now. The entire downtown is two streets wide and maybe a half mile long, right on the beach. There apparently is a Mayan ruin within tour distance, a good snorkeling reef and water activities, but not much else. But they do have a nice pier for cruise ships to tie onto, and they are trying to make an economic recovery, so good for them. We took a taxi to town, walked the length of the main street, and returned to the ship for lunch and a nap.

Our second day was in Guatemala. It was refreshing to see mountains as we arrived in Santo Tomas de Castilla, the major port of Guatemala. Tourism via cruise ships is just getting developed there and there are only a few cruise lines which stop there. The people were very friendly and there was a significant Mayan influence. We took a tour through the country to an old Fort, Castillo San Felipe de Lara, and the tour guide was very good about telling the history and the development of Guatemala. When it was time for the cruise ship to leave, the tour guides, taxi drivers, local dance groups and a band gathered to say goodbye to the ship.  With music and dancing and flashing lights, we were entertained and thanked for coming to visit. It was very nice. We liked Guatemala and her people. The guide told us that one of their major cities is Antigua, and it is occasionally confused with the island of Antigua. So if you are ever making travel plans to Antigua, make sure it is the right one!

Our third day was spent in Belize. This was the third time that we have been to Belize, which is an English speaking country. We took a tour to a Mayan archeological site, Altun Ha . It was very nice, much is still not explored, due to lack of funds. Jay took a little hike back into the rain forest that surrounds the site and he climbed to the top of the tallest structure. I stayed on the ground. We were able to check our email at an internet cafe for the first time, found out that there were no disasters or problems looming, and returned to the ship with a light heart. I had decided that Norwegian thought their internet services were heavenly and charged accordingly. I declined to purchase internet time from them.

Our final destination was Cozumel, Mexico, the island destination which is on every cruise itinerary in the western Caribbean. I had no interest in visiting Cozumel again, so I stayed on board ship. Jay took a stroll along the pier, through the downtown area, and was back in time for lunch. We had a relaxing afternoon aboard while a good portion of the passengers were out exploring.

Surprise, it was cold in New Orleans when arrived. Debarkation went pretty easily, but I should have left a jacket out to wear off the ship. We stopped at Mother’s Restaurant again, and ordered poor boys to go, for lunch later on our drive to Austin. I did NOT get a roast beef sandwich this time. I knew it would be just TOO soggy to eat, and not as tasty cold. Jay got their classic ham sandwich, and I had a turkey, dressed. I should have asked for extra mayo, there was so much turkey, real turkey breast like from Thanksgiving, not a processed meat, that it was a little dry, but still very good. On to Austin, TX !

We had an uneventful drive to NO and arrived about sundown. Our hotel was in New Orleans East, a good value, primarily because this area is still significantly damaged from Katrina. After unloading our luggage, we assumed we could drive around the main intersections on Interstate 10 and locate a restaurant for a simple dinner. Not so! We ended up in the French Quarter and I took Jay to the same restaurant that my sisters and I enjoyed our first night in NO in October. We didn’t intend to go into the quarter, but once we were out of the locale of our hotel and still looking for food, we felt it was fate directing us there. I had my first roast beef poorboy of the trip that night. We played tourist and walked around Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, and the Moonwalk on the river. We didn’t realize when we made our reservations that the Sugar Bowl would be going on at the same time. NO was a sea of red, Utah and Alabama have the same colors, you had to see a mascot or school initials to tell the visitors apart.Friday we drove around in day light and took in the sights, trying to identify changes from when we lived there 30+ years ago. Jay still remembered the streets in the various police districts that he worked in. But thank goodness for GPS, which told us where we were. A lot of the French Quarter and Garden District and Uptown have returned and looked very similar, but even there random houses or businesses would be boarded up. However, New Orleans East, where we had lived, and the Fifth District / Lower Ninth Ward, and the 10th District, the Lake front area were still heavily damaged and in some cases abandoned. Our first home on Sandalwood St. has not been repaired and is boarded up. In that area, probably every 4th house was still unrepaired. We drove and walked along Magazine Street, an area known for antique stores, restaurants, and shops in the Garden District. I had my second roast beef poorboy sandwich of the trip there. Can you see a trend? We went to a local seafood restaurant for dinner, Deanie’s Bucktown, in Metairie. We weren’t sure what to expect, but it was standing room only for a wait of 25 minutes to be seated. But the portions were huge, the food was outstanding, the majority of customers appeared to be locals and known to the staff, and the cost was reasonable. We each had a to go box. It was outstanding.

Saturday, we drove around more, this time in the Lakefront area and spent some time in the French Quarter. It was a very foggy day in the morning and heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. We had lunch at Mother’s Restaurant, on Poydras St, a favorite from our days in NO. I had my third roast beef poorboy of the trip.  Can you guess what I missed from NO? A dressed poorboy, sloppy – that means with lettuce, tomatoe, mayo, and gravy! Yummy! We stayed in this night, there were torrential rains and we watched the Sugar Bowl, repacked our clothes for the cruise, and had our leftover’s from Deanie’s for dinner.

We decided to take one more trip to Mother’s Restaurant, before we got on the cruise ship, and had a kind of brunch meal there on Sunday. On to the cruise!

Jen and “Gil” are doing very well. Wallace is hanging in there too. Wallace sent us some new pictures of Jen and a sonogram of Gil’s face to share with everyone. Wallace thought Gil reminded him of Homer Simpson, hence the creative artwork on Gil’s sonogram. I also thought I’d share a progression of Jen pictures so you can see the changes.

We left Westcliffe on Friday, Dec 26th, after dropping the dogs off at their sitter’s. Sue is either very nice or a glutton for punishment, or both, for taking them for approximately 3 weeks. The temperature was 17 degrees F, and it was lightly snowing. We decided to take as many new routes as we could. We went the “back” way to I-25, on CO 165, past Bishop’s Castle, and Colorado City. We met the county snow plow on the road, and it was obvious that he’d plowed the “other” side of the road, not our side. Due to snow fall, blowing snow, and lots of curves, our speed was safely decreased and it took us longer to travel the 68 miles. However, due to the falling snow, blowing snow and curves, we had a great time. As we hit Rye, CO, and left the mountains behind, the sun was out the sky was blue and it seemed like a whole new world. The wind was still blowing significantly, and lasted the whole drive on Friday. We stopped for lunch at Arby’s in Raton, NM, which we enjoyed very much. This was our first stop at an Arby’s in 5+ years, their menu has improved. We decided to travel through Oklahoma, rather than across Texas.  We crossed into the OK panhandle shortly after leaving Clayton NM. The scenery in OK wasn’t much better than the TX panhandle, but it was new. We spent the night in Oklahoma City at a brand new La Quinta Inn. It had only been open 2 weeks, and no one had stayed in the room assigned to us. The desk clerk had to come format the TV, so we could get all of the cable channels, and the coffee pot had never been used. It was 68 degrees when we checked in that evening. A front came through, and it was 39 degrees with a stiff wind when we left in the morning. We continued through OK, taking the Indian Nation Turnpike, $4.75 worth of turnpike taking us to Texas. At about 3 pm, within fifteen minutes, we received wellfare checks from 1) my sister, Colleen, 2) my sister, Mary Kay, and 3) my daughter in law, Jen. They apparently were all watching the weather channel independently of each other, and without coordination, were motivated to call and see if we were driving through a strong eastbound storm cell. Fortunately, we must have been behind the front, because our weather was just gray and the road was wet from rain, but none fell on us in OK or TX. Our family dinner and gift exchange was at 6:30 pm and we arrived in El Dorado around 5, giving us time to check into the hotel, unpack and freshen up before the party. We were missing our NY family of 5, Matt & Molly (unloading furniture), Julia, Tia and Hurley (arriving on Sunday) and cousin Jenn and Tommy (traveling to Egypt.) So that left 31 for dinner, talk and family fun, all immediate family.

 Like “rounding up the usual suspects”, we had the “usual rounds of entertainment and meals”. Of course, the obligatory visit to Walmart or Wally World as it is also known, movies, golf, skeet shooting, walking around downtown, exploring the Art Center,  visiting Aunt Margaret at work (twice), playing board games. Family meals: potlucks at Uncle Joe and Aunt Jane’s, the center of activity, or restaurants: chinese, mexican, cajun/italian, waffles and of course, the other obligatory visit when in El Dorado, Sonic!

Jen got to rummage through boxes of baby clothes, some perhaps as old as her husband, maybe, and take her selections home. Knowing that they are having a boy, helped the process.

The crowd was cut in half by the time New Year’s Eve rolled around. Julia took Ted with her back to Fort Worth, and the other family members had to return home for work, sigh. But we had a nice time with the El Dorado & Virginia families and watched the ball drop in NY and celebrated with a glass of champagne that Uncle Richard shared from his Christmas gift. The next morning we were off to New Orleans for Part 2, after another breakfast at Johnny B’s Diner.