AL'S JOURNAL
DEAR FAMILY, THIS IS A PORTION OF MY JOURNAL SINCE LEAVING FLORIDA. IT IS LENGTHY, SO FEEL FREE TO READ OR NOT
At the end of March we headed west back across Florida to Ramblers Rest and I did some more crown molding for Donna and Charlie. We had a good time with them for a few days then started out on the next phase of our adventure which is to eventually get to Colorado Springs to work at Navigators. We planned several stops on the way since we had all of April to get to CO.
First I had to collect on my Christmas present promised which was tickets to Cirque du Soleil in Orlando. So we drove to an RV park nearby and headed for Downtown Disney. We had just been there in January with Emma so we knew our way around. It was fun being back in such a colorful, happy place. We enjoyed walking around exploring and then headed for the theater. This was no ordinary circus. It was fast paced, colorful, creative and very unusual. It was a most entertaining evening. We both walked out with a feeling of amazement and joy. Cirque du Soleil was a great Christmas present and worth waiting for.
We stopped at Tallahassee RV Park again and Anitarae had a nice visit with Jan. She heard all about Jan’s recent trip to Russia. We were hoping to enjoy a few days on the beach at Destin, (Henderson State Park,) but everything was booked. It was Easter time. So we headed on to our next stop at Crossroads Disaster Response in Gautier, MS. It felt like coming home. I was surprised and disappointed at the slow progress of all the work there. The house in Biloxi that I worked on so much was still not ready for occupancy. I was flabbergasted. Jim and Dee had moved into their house though, but it still needed some work. A couple from Oregon was there and together we made some nice improvements for Jim and Dee. We hung several blinds and curtains and shelves on a rainy day and worked on the siding on the back the rest of the time. Dale and I removed the rest of the asbestos siding and resided it with hardy panels. I built some steps for the little deck and painted the siding. Now the house looks pretty nice. When I think back to what it was like before CDR took it over, I’m amazed. It was a real dump. One team spent a whole week hauling stuff out and removing sheetrock. I remember all the broken windows.
Anitarae and I agree that the Easter service at Crossroads was the best we’ve ever seen. The drama, the props and the music all worked together to present a very inspirational and emotional portrayal of the death and resurrection of Christ. They had a large cross, which they “nailed” Jesus to and then raised. When Mary began to wail it was so real that we were moved to tears. They removed Jesus from the cross and actually put him in a tomb and rolled the stone in place. Then with smoke and bright lights the stone was rolled away and only the garments were there. As the music reached a peak, Christ appeared up high in the baptistery. It was very effective.
We were at CDR for ten days then we headed for Livingston, Texas to visit our mailbox. This is where our mail service is and that is our legal address. It’s really the Escapees RV Park called Rainbow’s End. We were there for a week of business and relaxation. We had to register the truck and get driver’s licenses as well as insurance. We had a tour of the very impressive mail service rooms and we also toured the CARE facility. We may need that some day if one of us becomes incapacitated. We liked the community idea of Rainbow’s End and might even consider buying property there, but we weren’t thrilled with Livingston. We are glad to have been there and to have experienced it.
It’s now April 24th and we are overnighting in an RV park east of Amarillo, TX. It’s not a very nice looking park, but it’s good enough just for an overnight, which is what the directory said they specialize in. In other words, one night here would be enough. It’s in the wide open spaces of the plains of Texas. The wind is whipping at about 30 –40 miles an hour. The RV is rocking as the wind whistles in the windows. At first we found it scary and considered moving, but two others pulled in and one said it wasn’t any better nearer the city. We’ve gotten used to it and are relaxing. The last couple of days since leaving Livingston on the 22nd has been quite an adventure. We stopped in Dallas Sunday afternoon at an RV park which also was not so fancy. However, it was very near downtown Dallas and we wanted to explore the city and see the JFK Memorial. So after we were reassured about the safety of the area by other park folk, we headed to Dallas. The JFK Memorial and Museum were only a mile away and it was easy to get to. In fact, downtown Dallas is pretty unintimidating and very pretty. The architecture is interesting and some of it is unique. Later we saw it at night and the different colored lights on the buildings have a beautiful effect. We were not very impressed with the JFK Memorial, however. We both thought it was underwhelming and that JFK deserved better. There’s a small plaza where four concrete walls seem to be suspended because only a few of the columns reach the ground. There are two openings for entrance on opposite sides. In the center there is a dark marble rectangular stone. The concept is an open tomb. We walked a few blocks to Elm St. where the assassination took place. There we saw two large white Xs in the road, which marked the spots where JFK was, hit in the throat then the head. He was shot from a corner window of the sixth floor of a textbook repository which has been made into a museum. We toured the museum and were taken back to that day through a very comprehensive and interesting presentation of videos, photos, script and artifacts. We both experienced some of the emotion that we felt on that day when it was announced in our classes at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Sunday evening we drove 20miles north to Carrolton, a suburb of Dallas, and met Andrew and Margaret Tyner and their 18 months old daughter, Riley(sp) at the LaHacienda Ranch restaurant. We had a great Mexican dinner and got to know Margaret and Riley as we caught up with Andrew’s life. They have lived in Carrolton for two years. They both have good jobs which is why they moved here. Margaret works for a pharmaceutical wholesaler and Andrew is a computer tech for a hospital. They own their home here and are a happy family, but Andrew says Texas is boring. It doesn’t have any of the pretty features like Washington. They both admit to missing Washington and family and would love to return, but there’s this job thing. We said goodbye and headed home to our RV in Dallas. Home is where the wheels are. Entering Dallas we were treated to a beautiful array of lighted skyscrapers in Technicolor. (Serendipitous adventure!)
Monday morning we took time to travel across the city to Dallas Seminary. We have heard so many references to it and this is where Chuck Swindoll was the College President. He is now the Chancellor. It’s a very pretty campus with Spanish style architecture. We walked around the campus, bought a T-shirt and talked to some nice people. We had a particularly interesting conversation with one student who seemed in no hurry. He was as much interested in talking as we were. He shared with us about the seminary and we told him all about Sowers. He wanted to hear about it for the sake of his parents who were getting out of full time ministry and looking for something.
By noon we were headed for Oklahoma City or more precisely, Bethany where Southern Nazarene University is located. This is where Anitarae attended for that fateful semester only is was called Bethany Naz. U then. She was hoping for some déjà vu, but it is so changed I think she had trouble relating. They let us overnight in the parking lot which was a nice convenience for us. She did get to talk to some people and tried to connect with her past. When she was a student, she earned spending money by doing housework for the DeLong family. One of the office secretaries told her there were still DeLongs at SNU, so we went to the house she remembered and sure enough, David who was nine in 1964 was there and invited us in. He now has kids in SNU. I think that was a nice time of reflection for Anitarae.
We drove into Oklahoma City that evening and hoped to see the Murrah Building Memorial, but we were too late. We were able to see the grounds which were very impressive and also very sad. We met an off duty security guy who was very kind and wanted to share the stories and the meaning of all the facets of the memorial. He was actually there on a date with his wife. I thought about that and realized that many people have an ongoing grief. The fence was cover with tokens left by those who had come to grieve and we saw a man who appeared to be just sitting, meditating and perhaps praying. The rows of empty chairs symbolizing those who died make an impressive tribute. The whole memorial is a great tribute. We hoped to return the next day to see the museum, but the threat of tornados prompted us to move on and away form the impending storm.
So, we headed west and were thankful to be south of the storm headed for Oklahoma and Kansas and north of the storm sweeping across southern Texas. We stopped in Amarillo, TX in a little, run down RV Park where the wind was gusting to 40mph and holding pretty steady at 25-30mph. We were a little concerned and plenty uncomfortable, but thankful that it was only wind. The next morning we toured The Palo Duro Canyon State Park just south of Amarillo. It’s the second largest canyon in the US. It was beautiful and awesome. We were able to drive into and through some of it, but it’s 120 miles long and 600 to 800 feet deep. There are hiking trails as well as biking and horseback riding trails. We met some real cowboys or perhaps more correctly horsemen. They were there to ride and looked impressive in their authentic chaps, stetsons and spurs. They seemed happy that Anitarae showed interest and wanted their picture. We hiked one of the trails and even Jacque seemed to enjoy it. I was surprised at his endurance. It was quite an experience to be in such an awesome wonder of God’s creation.
Well, the next day was Thursday and we had to reach Colorado Springs by Friday so we headed out again. We drove west over the high plains and even though there was a lot of sameness to the terrain, it was very different and interesting. We drove by huge fields of crops and huge ranges with hundreds of beef cattle and even drove past a stockyard where there must have been thousands of heads of cattle waiting to be loaded on a train. Then we passed the cattle cars several miles outside of town, which must have been waiting to be pulled into the stockyard for loading. We drove by many oil derricks, but the price of fuel here is high. Go figure. We crossed over into New Mexico and soon began to see mountains in the distance. When we reached Raton, NM, we began to climb. We had already climbed 3K feet since leaving Amarillo, but that was very gradual and this was a mountain pass. It was beautiful, but scary. Going up didn’t bother us too much, our great truck can handle the climb. Going down was another story. Even the Alison transmission didn’t hold back all the weight and we started to pick up speed. It was a 6% grade and I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I do now. It means shift down. After I calmed down, I could look around and take in the beauty of the snow covered mountains. I was real glad it wasn’t snow-covered roads as it had been only a few days earlier when Colorado was hit with a blizzard. We drove as far as a Wal Mart in Trinidad, CO and parked for the night. Anitarae got a hair cut, we ate at a nearby hotel where we also used their wi fi and then got a good night’s sleep.
This morning we drove the last 136 miles to Colorado Springs and found our site here at Glen Eyrie Retreat and Conference Center. It is absolutely beautiful. Looking in every direction is an awesome view. This Center is first class and a beautiful place for us to live for the next two months. I can hardly wait to see what my Heavenly Father has in store for us.
At the end of March we headed west back across Florida to Ramblers Rest and I did some more crown molding for Donna and Charlie. We had a good time with them for a few days then started out on the next phase of our adventure which is to eventually get to Colorado Springs to work at Navigators. We planned several stops on the way since we had all of April to get to CO.
First I had to collect on my Christmas present promised which was tickets to Cirque du Soleil in Orlando. So we drove to an RV park nearby and headed for Downtown Disney. We had just been there in January with Emma so we knew our way around. It was fun being back in such a colorful, happy place. We enjoyed walking around exploring and then headed for the theater. This was no ordinary circus. It was fast paced, colorful, creative and very unusual. It was a most entertaining evening. We both walked out with a feeling of amazement and joy. Cirque du Soleil was a great Christmas present and worth waiting for.
We stopped at Tallahassee RV Park again and Anitarae had a nice visit with Jan. She heard all about Jan’s recent trip to Russia. We were hoping to enjoy a few days on the beach at Destin, (Henderson State Park,) but everything was booked. It was Easter time. So we headed on to our next stop at Crossroads Disaster Response in Gautier, MS. It felt like coming home. I was surprised and disappointed at the slow progress of all the work there. The house in Biloxi that I worked on so much was still not ready for occupancy. I was flabbergasted. Jim and Dee had moved into their house though, but it still needed some work. A couple from Oregon was there and together we made some nice improvements for Jim and Dee. We hung several blinds and curtains and shelves on a rainy day and worked on the siding on the back the rest of the time. Dale and I removed the rest of the asbestos siding and resided it with hardy panels. I built some steps for the little deck and painted the siding. Now the house looks pretty nice. When I think back to what it was like before CDR took it over, I’m amazed. It was a real dump. One team spent a whole week hauling stuff out and removing sheetrock. I remember all the broken windows.
Anitarae and I agree that the Easter service at Crossroads was the best we’ve ever seen. The drama, the props and the music all worked together to present a very inspirational and emotional portrayal of the death and resurrection of Christ. They had a large cross, which they “nailed” Jesus to and then raised. When Mary began to wail it was so real that we were moved to tears. They removed Jesus from the cross and actually put him in a tomb and rolled the stone in place. Then with smoke and bright lights the stone was rolled away and only the garments were there. As the music reached a peak, Christ appeared up high in the baptistery. It was very effective.
We were at CDR for ten days then we headed for Livingston, Texas to visit our mailbox. This is where our mail service is and that is our legal address. It’s really the Escapees RV Park called Rainbow’s End. We were there for a week of business and relaxation. We had to register the truck and get driver’s licenses as well as insurance. We had a tour of the very impressive mail service rooms and we also toured the CARE facility. We may need that some day if one of us becomes incapacitated. We liked the community idea of Rainbow’s End and might even consider buying property there, but we weren’t thrilled with Livingston. We are glad to have been there and to have experienced it.
It’s now April 24th and we are overnighting in an RV park east of Amarillo, TX. It’s not a very nice looking park, but it’s good enough just for an overnight, which is what the directory said they specialize in. In other words, one night here would be enough. It’s in the wide open spaces of the plains of Texas. The wind is whipping at about 30 –40 miles an hour. The RV is rocking as the wind whistles in the windows. At first we found it scary and considered moving, but two others pulled in and one said it wasn’t any better nearer the city. We’ve gotten used to it and are relaxing. The last couple of days since leaving Livingston on the 22nd has been quite an adventure. We stopped in Dallas Sunday afternoon at an RV park which also was not so fancy. However, it was very near downtown Dallas and we wanted to explore the city and see the JFK Memorial. So after we were reassured about the safety of the area by other park folk, we headed to Dallas. The JFK Memorial and Museum were only a mile away and it was easy to get to. In fact, downtown Dallas is pretty unintimidating and very pretty. The architecture is interesting and some of it is unique. Later we saw it at night and the different colored lights on the buildings have a beautiful effect. We were not very impressed with the JFK Memorial, however. We both thought it was underwhelming and that JFK deserved better. There’s a small plaza where four concrete walls seem to be suspended because only a few of the columns reach the ground. There are two openings for entrance on opposite sides. In the center there is a dark marble rectangular stone. The concept is an open tomb. We walked a few blocks to Elm St. where the assassination took place. There we saw two large white Xs in the road, which marked the spots where JFK was, hit in the throat then the head. He was shot from a corner window of the sixth floor of a textbook repository which has been made into a museum. We toured the museum and were taken back to that day through a very comprehensive and interesting presentation of videos, photos, script and artifacts. We both experienced some of the emotion that we felt on that day when it was announced in our classes at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Sunday evening we drove 20miles north to Carrolton, a suburb of Dallas, and met Andrew and Margaret Tyner and their 18 months old daughter, Riley(sp) at the LaHacienda Ranch restaurant. We had a great Mexican dinner and got to know Margaret and Riley as we caught up with Andrew’s life. They have lived in Carrolton for two years. They both have good jobs which is why they moved here. Margaret works for a pharmaceutical wholesaler and Andrew is a computer tech for a hospital. They own their home here and are a happy family, but Andrew says Texas is boring. It doesn’t have any of the pretty features like Washington. They both admit to missing Washington and family and would love to return, but there’s this job thing. We said goodbye and headed home to our RV in Dallas. Home is where the wheels are. Entering Dallas we were treated to a beautiful array of lighted skyscrapers in Technicolor. (Serendipitous adventure!)
Monday morning we took time to travel across the city to Dallas Seminary. We have heard so many references to it and this is where Chuck Swindoll was the College President. He is now the Chancellor. It’s a very pretty campus with Spanish style architecture. We walked around the campus, bought a T-shirt and talked to some nice people. We had a particularly interesting conversation with one student who seemed in no hurry. He was as much interested in talking as we were. He shared with us about the seminary and we told him all about Sowers. He wanted to hear about it for the sake of his parents who were getting out of full time ministry and looking for something.
By noon we were headed for Oklahoma City or more precisely, Bethany where Southern Nazarene University is located. This is where Anitarae attended for that fateful semester only is was called Bethany Naz. U then. She was hoping for some déjà vu, but it is so changed I think she had trouble relating. They let us overnight in the parking lot which was a nice convenience for us. She did get to talk to some people and tried to connect with her past. When she was a student, she earned spending money by doing housework for the DeLong family. One of the office secretaries told her there were still DeLongs at SNU, so we went to the house she remembered and sure enough, David who was nine in 1964 was there and invited us in. He now has kids in SNU. I think that was a nice time of reflection for Anitarae.
We drove into Oklahoma City that evening and hoped to see the Murrah Building Memorial, but we were too late. We were able to see the grounds which were very impressive and also very sad. We met an off duty security guy who was very kind and wanted to share the stories and the meaning of all the facets of the memorial. He was actually there on a date with his wife. I thought about that and realized that many people have an ongoing grief. The fence was cover with tokens left by those who had come to grieve and we saw a man who appeared to be just sitting, meditating and perhaps praying. The rows of empty chairs symbolizing those who died make an impressive tribute. The whole memorial is a great tribute. We hoped to return the next day to see the museum, but the threat of tornados prompted us to move on and away form the impending storm.
So, we headed west and were thankful to be south of the storm headed for Oklahoma and Kansas and north of the storm sweeping across southern Texas. We stopped in Amarillo, TX in a little, run down RV Park where the wind was gusting to 40mph and holding pretty steady at 25-30mph. We were a little concerned and plenty uncomfortable, but thankful that it was only wind. The next morning we toured The Palo Duro Canyon State Park just south of Amarillo. It’s the second largest canyon in the US. It was beautiful and awesome. We were able to drive into and through some of it, but it’s 120 miles long and 600 to 800 feet deep. There are hiking trails as well as biking and horseback riding trails. We met some real cowboys or perhaps more correctly horsemen. They were there to ride and looked impressive in their authentic chaps, stetsons and spurs. They seemed happy that Anitarae showed interest and wanted their picture. We hiked one of the trails and even Jacque seemed to enjoy it. I was surprised at his endurance. It was quite an experience to be in such an awesome wonder of God’s creation.
Well, the next day was Thursday and we had to reach Colorado Springs by Friday so we headed out again. We drove west over the high plains and even though there was a lot of sameness to the terrain, it was very different and interesting. We drove by huge fields of crops and huge ranges with hundreds of beef cattle and even drove past a stockyard where there must have been thousands of heads of cattle waiting to be loaded on a train. Then we passed the cattle cars several miles outside of town, which must have been waiting to be pulled into the stockyard for loading. We drove by many oil derricks, but the price of fuel here is high. Go figure. We crossed over into New Mexico and soon began to see mountains in the distance. When we reached Raton, NM, we began to climb. We had already climbed 3K feet since leaving Amarillo, but that was very gradual and this was a mountain pass. It was beautiful, but scary. Going up didn’t bother us too much, our great truck can handle the climb. Going down was another story. Even the Alison transmission didn’t hold back all the weight and we started to pick up speed. It was a 6% grade and I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I do now. It means shift down. After I calmed down, I could look around and take in the beauty of the snow covered mountains. I was real glad it wasn’t snow-covered roads as it had been only a few days earlier when Colorado was hit with a blizzard. We drove as far as a Wal Mart in Trinidad, CO and parked for the night. Anitarae got a hair cut, we ate at a nearby hotel where we also used their wi fi and then got a good night’s sleep.
This morning we drove the last 136 miles to Colorado Springs and found our site here at Glen Eyrie Retreat and Conference Center. It is absolutely beautiful. Looking in every direction is an awesome view. This Center is first class and a beautiful place for us to live for the next two months. I can hardly wait to see what my Heavenly Father has in store for us.
Comments
i'm curious, why do you think the progress in ms is so slow? i hear talks about it on npr sometimes, but what is your first hand perspective?
I think progress in rebuilding the Gulf is impeded by the lack of workers no. 1. Also, it's apparently difficult for relief directors to be organized w/teams of varied skill levels. Lack of money for materials hinders organized work. Most work done now is through contributions brought by teams who come to do the work. Not to be forgotten is the slow pace of the South.