Seeing Gary

My mother had three children; Gary, Amy, and Marsha. We were spread apart in years and lifestyles, and since our mother's death in 2001, we have not seen each other. We were her whole purpose and joy in life, and she desperately wanted us to remain close - as close as she was with her sisters. She would be so disappointed to know that we have not followed that example.

On our vacation, Andy and I spent a wonderful evening with Gary, his singing partner, Leah, and his sweet daughter, Amanda. I had not seen Mandy in 20 years, as her mother and Gary divorced very quickly following Amanda's birth, and - well, we just didn't keep in touch. It was like we'd been together every day- laughing, recalling wonderful memories, and sharing pictures. The album you see Gary holding is one he recorded when he was 25, and he said, "I'd given up hope of ever seeing this again!!" It was a joy to see him so happy, and so content. Leah had helped me set everything up, as my stubborn brother is too busy playing golf to do email or Facebook!! :) , so thanks, Leah!

It was a perfect way to end our vacation, and I sure hope it's not another ten years before we see each other again!!

The Good and the Bad of It

Since we've been home, I've been reliving all the wonderful things about vacationing. Thought I'd share a few:

The Good: seeing new sights with Andy
cold, cold rooms to sleep in
eating out; especially a good breakfast!
clean sheets every night; forget the environment - I'm on vacation!!
finding a church in each town that we go through; makes me feel part of something really big
taking cool pictures
getting away from little hassles

The Bad: hotel room showers; I miss my nice, roomy shower!
not having access to a computer - wait; that should be a GOOD thing!!
living out of a suitcase

I know there are more - what about you?!?!

Andy's Magic Kingdom

Most folks think of Disney World as the "Magic Kingdom." While I'm sure it is a fun place full of adventure, to my husband, there is one place that is way more magical: Kennedy Space Center.

Our drive along the monotonous I-10 corridor was long and, yes, somewhat dull. While we both love road trips, I-10 does not offer a lot to see. True, we did go through a few swampy areas of Louisianna, and saw oil in Mobile Bay, but the majority of the drive was "just getting there."

It would take paragraph after paragraph to describe our adventure at Kennedy, so I will give it my quick review. We were privy to a "behind the scenes" tour of the space center, complete with launch pads and Vehicle Assembly Pads (I think that's right!:) ). We most enjoyed the Apollo building, which had everything you could possible learn about the development of the Apollo program until it's final mission. Andy was a patient, and interesting teacher to his novice student, and while I knew a lot - relative term -, there were some intricate details to be shared. We ate lunch with a shuttle astronaut and grinned really big for our photo with him.

For Andy, it's the dream; for me, it was the people. From KSC employees to tourists from all over the earth, it was a wonderful experience. Not only at the Space Center, but on our boat ride and in restaurants and hotels, we encounted people from Italy, Germany, England, Scotland, all over Asia, and so on. From babies, to teens, to old folks - everyone was enjoying themselves. My husband, most of all.

While I did not see manatees or alligators, I saw several dolphins, and birds of all types. I listened to Neil Diamond played on a steel drum. I ate tuna not from a can, and saw the moon rise over the Atlantic Ocean on the beach with my man. The very few hassels and disappointments will soon be forgotten, but the memories will live on in our lives forever.

I really wanted this trip for Andy; but it was great for me, too.

And, we're off!!

Tomorrow morning, Andy and I will load our stuff and head off on this year's adventure.

A few months ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to take Andy to watch a shuttle launch before the program ended. He has loved the space program all his life, and I had this romantic vision of standing beside him, holding his hand as we watched the shuttle rise from the pad and disappear from our view.

Well, we will see the launch pad, and I'm sure I'll hold his hand at some point during the trip, but we will not be seeing a shuttle launch; they scrubbed the mission a few weeks ago. After giving him the option of waiting and going in the Fall, he opted to go ahead and go now. It will be a busy two days at Cape Canaveral; eating lunch with an astronaut, riding a shuttle simulator, and visiting the Star Trek exhibit. Yes, NASA acknowledges Star Trek!

As for me, I'm looking forward to seeing a part of the world I've never seen; haven't been past Biloxi, Miss.! and visiting my brother and niece whom I've not seen in too many years. Oh, and sleeping on clean sheets in a cold, cold hotel room every night! :)

So, so long for a few days; I'll tell all about it at a later date. Lord willing, it will be an adventure!!

What, now?

I had it all planned out. The perfect vacation for my husband, and NASA messed it up!! I was going to take Andrew to Florida this July for the launching of the next-to-the-last shuttle mission - I could see myself standing beside him as the count-down occurred and feel his hand squeeze mine and the shuttle roared into the clear, Florida sky. Barring a hurricane barreling down on us, it was utopic in my mind's eye.

Then, I checked the calendar one more time before I made reservations. They've moved the flights to Sept. and Nov.

Curses!!

Poverty at it's most evident

After leaving Ouray, with it's wonderfully expensive Swiss architecture, we headed South. All through Colorado, we enjoyed the beautiful villages and towns along the way. Even when we went through areas not so economically blessed, they were still - well, attractive in their own way. I guess mountains, streams, and green grass do a lot to "fix up" a joint.

Then, we entered New Mexico and it's Indian Reservations.

Growing up in South Texas, I've seen poverty; I've taught children of poverty, and my own family has known poverty in my parents' past. But not like this.

I tried to explain it to Dana today on the phone; the hovels plunked down with no seemingly rhyme nor reason, surrounded by dirt, dirt, and more dirt. No trees, bushes, plants of any nature other that a weed here and there. The people live in clumps of humanity or solely in the middle of nowhere, where it looks like there is no water for hundreds of miles. Sometimes the doors were open, as if trying to let any semblance of air inside, and sometimes a poor, starving animal would be wondering around as if searching for a drop of water or morsel of food.

On the highways, we would see in the distance a huge casino, calling travelers to come in and try their luck; Andy wouldn't indulge me, but I would have gone in in a heart beat. Those buildings, along with the state-of-the-art schools within the boundaries of the reservations, made me almost sick to look at. A couple of the schools has astroturf football fields, and other niceities. It made me feel like a person coming upon a horrific auto accident; I didn't want to look at these places, but I had to. It was beyond my understanding that people in America could live like these people did. It almost made me ashamed to go past them in my nice, air-conditioned car wearing decent clothing. It mad me sad.

I know that having "things" does not determine happiness or success. I know that people are people no matter their status in society. I know that people can pull themselves out of a situation if the desire is within them. I just had a very hard time fathoming their lives in those conditions. It broke my heart.

Home again

All week, I've been trying to remember the interesting points of our trip to include in this post; not just "stuff" to share, but what made this trip any more special that any other. Here goes:

I never knew the earth was so many colors! New Mexico especially - I saw soil and rocks in every shade known to man almost - not green except for algae - but black, brown (duh!), orange, coral, white, gray, purple. I truly understand why New Mexico is the "Land of Enchantment" with all these colors and textures. The Valley of Fires was very impressive with it's black rock covering mile after mile of ground.

Sometimes, just sittin and watching the folks around you is the best entertainment. In Ouray on Tuesday, a rain "shower" hit as we were going from shop to shop. Luckily, we found an alcove between some buildings that had a place to sit. For 20 minutes, we watched first the rain, then hail fall out of the mountains. The temperature dropped by 20 degrees at least, and the people were a blast to watch. One guy was actually out in it catching it in a cup - must be a fellow Texan!

Ouray, Colorado had 2 places that were "chains" - a Best Western, hidden way off the beaten path, and a Conoco station on the edge of town. Every other shop, market, hotel, or restaurant was local. Not one drive-thru beverage barn to be found; not even a DQ! No pharmacy, no Wal-Mart, no Blockbuster. You are FORCED to take in this quaint, historic little town and make do. Poor us!!

I don't think I would have survived in those mountains during the mining days. Life was just plain hard, and you died young. Going anywhere and getting anything done was a big process, and there wasn't any timed to be bored or in mischief.

The second part of our trip was totally unplanned. We had a little car trouble, and so we needed to get to a dealership. This cut our time in Ouray one day short, and we headed to Durango. Luckily, the car was fine, and so we headed back to Albequerque. Soon, Andy decided we needed to go to 4 Corners; the place where 4 states meet. It is a LONG, slow drive, through some dirty, poor little towns to the Navaho Indian Reservation where 4 Corners is found. When you turn in to this desolate place, you have no idea what is ahead. It was full of folks from all over, laughing and playing; taking pictures of everyone, seeing just how many ways the human body can get itself into all four states at once. A great place to observe people and to call your daughters to share your discovery!!

We went then into Gallup. Ate at Cracker Barrel and slept in white, white sheets at the Hampton Inn.

Next day; the VLA. Very Large Array - the satellites used to look for ET. Again - a long, long drive through more Indian Reservations (another post on another day!) to a spot filled with people. (I kept thinking of Field of Dreams - "If you build it....") It was awesome to see what God has created and allowed His creation to study.

Smoky the Bear Monument. They actually had to smuggle his dead bear body in at night and bury him at 3 am because of all the threats to steal his body! Early Michael Jackson hysteria!!

Back to Roswell; back to home. Tired. Dirty laundry in many bags, some souvenirs and lots of pictures to develop. Lots and lots of miles - 2,400 I believe - in a car with the man I love. Lots of talking, lots of silence as we took it all in. The brain can only hold so much before the facts begin to run together.

It was a good trip.

So far, so good!

Our trip to Colorado has been great, so far. I am posting from a little internet cafe where we had a delicious breakfast. I find this very interesting since this little town has no DQ, drive-through beverage barn or any "Stop and Go' kind of places!

We have met folks from all over, even some Amish - it's a very touristy kind of town, with lots of history and flavor. Yesterday, we took a jeep trip to the top of Imogene Pass (13,113 ft.) and had lots of fun. The roads were treacherous at some points, but our guide was great.

More details later - Andy is ready to move on.