Pappacito's

Stacey, this photo is for you. We went to dinner at this great place in Houston called Pappacito's, and whoa. It was DELICIOUS! Place was packed, and I can't understand why, can you?

Left Off

Well, let's just see where I left off, shall we? We were going to go to the museum on Tues, but when we realized that it was costly per person, we decided, "who needs to see a bunch of old stuff, anyway?" and just headed for the zoo. Saw all sorts of wonderful animals. I love zoo's. Not quite the same as seeing them in the wild in Africa, but I still really, REALLY enjoyed it! Came home for dinner, then crashed.

Wednesday, we did a tour of the Houston Boat Channel. Now, few facts. First of all, Houston is the 4th largest city in the U.S. Wow. Also, it's 50 miles inland, but one of the largest ports in the U.S. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was still cool to go down and see the different HUGE ships, and the various companies in business there. That night, we went by Pappacito's, and had some of the most delicious Tex-Mex I'd ever had. Shrimp fajitas, and WOW. Slurp. Yumm!!!

Thursday was Zone Conference, so we went to help feed hungry missionaries. That afternoon, we rode North about an hour, and viewed the amazing Blue Bonnets and Paintbrush flowers. Came home, and Mom and I went to feed ducks, while Dad picked up dinner . . . Good 'ole Texas Barbecue. Do you get the idea I ate well??

Friday was go home day. Got up, packed, and Mom and Dad had a surprise for me. They had arranged for us to go tour/play with the Houston FD at the airport, and see their toys. Big toys. Awesomely big (and expensive!) toys. Quite a treat to tour and see someone else's facility. He even took us out and showed us how the remote hose and everything worked. Ok, so not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it! We visited some more, and then I flew. Houston to Atlanta, Atlanta to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Roanoke. And, you know what? What a shocker . . . I'm missing a bag. But, it's all good. They turn up, right? RIGHT?

Today, I got up, unpacked, relaxed, walked Britney, then went to the Race Track. I didn't do very much, but I really enjoyed just sitting back, playing with the kids, and just being back to my own life. Tomorrow promises to be nice and relaxing, and then it'll be back to work. As much as I enjoyed visiting, I'm ready to be back to normal!

Sidney had my car while I was gone, and the kid worked miracles! New brakes, dents hammered out, new power steering, all sorts of little "fixes" that needed to happen. Sidney, you are amazing . . . simply amazing!!!

Texas, baby

Finally! Internet access! But, wouldn't you know it . . . Church software BLOCKS MySpace! How rude! Just kidding . . . makes good sense. I had a great time with Grandma, and got LOTS of reading done. I couldn't tell you the last time I sat and read a J D Robb book in 24 hours! Very relaxing. I did get a kick out of the fact that Grandma brings the contraband to the dining room. She brings the real butter, and everyone shares it.

I left SLC on Sunday, and landed in Houston to find that it is hot. HOT. They tell me it's winter time here, but it feels like Virginia in July. Mom and Dad's apartment is pretty nice. There's a pond, and lots of ducks, a pool, exercise room, and decent sized. Monday, yesterday, we went adventuring. We went to the San Jacinto monument, which is where Sam Houston defeated General Santa Ana in 18 minutes. This battle started everything that lead to Texas' Independence. The monument itself is the largest masonry building in the world. Like the DC monument, but 12 feet higher, 'cause, well, everything is bigger in Texas! Oh, and Stacey, those barn stars you like so much? Those are TEXAS stars, and one is atop the monument! We saw the USS Texas, and from there, headed to Galveston. Once in Galveston, we toured an Oil Rig museum, saw LOTS of pelicans, and then went to the ferry. Rode the ferry to an island and back, and saw MORE pelicans. Watching them fish is amazing! Then, there were these black bird/duck looking things. Someone said Cormorants or something like that. But, they dive down under the water, stay for 15-20 seconds, fishing! Fun to watch. Then, we went to the beach, and waded in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was SO warm, but people said it was cold, because it's winter! Yeah, 'cause 75 degrees is my idea of cold. Saw several jellyfish, blue, with a pink top on them. They were on the beach and while I took pictures, I stayed away! Had Sonic on the way home, then crashed about when we got to the apartment.

Dad has a meeting this morning, but then we are off to the zoo, and then the Museum where they have a display about Pompeii. Tonight we're going to watch Ratatouille, and tomorrow we're doing a cruise down the ship channel. Houston is 50 miles inland, but one of the largest ports in the US. Very interesting stuff going on here. You'd think with all the refineries and everything, gas would be cheap, but it's really the same price as in Virginia!

Going to go surf the net now . . . more later!

JetBlue

Good morning! I made it without any incident to SLC yesterday. Let me tell ya . . . I love me some JetBlue! Comfy seats, pleasant people, decent entertainment. That's rare! No problems, totally on time. How rarely does that happen?

Alice picked me up from the airport, and then we picked up Grandma and went out for dinner. I crashed about as soon as I got back to the apartment! Four am had come awfully early. Got up this morning, we went to breakfast, and now I'm going to help her with some "projects" that she has been saving up for me. The mountains here are gorgeous, in a totally different way from Virginia. Hard, rocky, rather than the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge. I flew in over the Great Salt Lake. I'm always amazed at the beauty in this part of the country. Oh, and as a side note, the computers here won't let me in to my email, and I can't access MySpace, so . . . . little bit of withdrawal here going on! But, I do have text messaging, so if you REALLY need to get a hold of me . . . you know where to find me!!! Hope everyone is having a great day!!

Off I go!

Just realized it's been a few days since I posted. Happy April Fool's day! One of my favorite April Fools was when I was a kid. Mom had gone on to work, and Dad had fixed breakfast for Brad and I. Colored pancakes (purple, maybe?), and everything was upside down. Plates, silverware, glasses, everything. You know the little dip in the bottom of a glass? Dad had put milk in that! Well, as we were leaving, Dad told us to hurry home so we could see the new kittens. Yeah, like we were going to fall for THAT! Well, sure enough, there were new kittens! I love harmless pranks like that.

Got off work a bit early today and ran a few errands. I had lunch with Karey today . . . steak . . . mmmm. Not that I could afford it, but steak. Slurp. Happiness, right there! I better go do some more cleaning for Drew's arrival . . . I'm sure I'm the only one that doesn't mind Britney fur . . . . Gorgeous day today. Walked Britney down to the river where the ducks were again. Well, this time she didn't hesitate, swimming she went!! Ugh, didn't really want a wet dog, but she was having so much fun . . . c'est la vie, right? I love springtime, the flowers are starting to pop out everywhere, weather's warm, ahhhh, life is SO good!!!