R. I. P. Friends!

Another first for me today, we flew up to the Texas Hill Country early this morning to spread the ashes of a couple, that were old friends of Dale when he lived and worked in Houston. He had promised them he would mix their cremains and spread them from his plane........they chose the Hill Country for their final resting place......so with Amazing Grace playing in our headsets, we spread Eddy and Jordan over fields where beautiful bluebonnets will bloom in the Spring and over Enchanted Rock.
R.I.P. Eddy and Jordan!


The promise fulfilled we landed at Fredericksburg for lunch at the Airport Diner and to warm up....it was very chilly flying with the door open! Mission accomplished we flew home!

Ringing in the New Year in Curacao

Up early on New Year's Eve morning, we arrived at the airport in Aruba, turned in our rental car....only to find our DAE flight had been canceled. Seems the airline was in financial trouble and had restructured its flight schedule. I frantically raced around the airport, trying to make other arrangements and calling the resort in Curacao to advise them that we would be delayed. Not a great way to start the morning!
We landed in Curacao about an hour late, but the driver was waiting for us outside the airport. Alex, the driver made a stop at the big grocery store so we could get groceries before the drive out to All West Apartments in Westpunt. Checked into our apartment, we unpacked, and walked down to the beach.....sitting under a Manchineel Tree for shade...only to find out later the tree and its fruit are poisonous! Seems we had some of the sap of the tree on our hands and spread it onto our eyes, lips,and faces.....which began to burn! In fact, it burned for several days!
Live and learn....don't sit under that tree! We didn't see the signs until later!


New Years Day we had a late breakfast, a light lunch before heading to the dive shop to do a checkout dive. That night we enjoyed dinner at Sol Food and saw our friend, Sunshine. Dale and I shared a salad and pizza....Sunshine surprised me with a delicious brownie with ice cream and had the whole restaurant sing "Happy Birthday".
Diving filled the next few days...two boats dives every morning, but we didn't get back to the dock until almost 1:30 pm each day. Dale and I enjoyed a snorkel boat trip together with a stop at the "Blue Room" and a snorkel over a shipwreck.
The folks at the dive shop began working with the airlines trying to get us a flight back to Aruba to catch our flight home.....with not much luck! Finally we found a flight a day early and booked it.....Monique our friend in Aruba found us a room for the night, so our plans were set.
Our last full day we decided to drive into Punda and do some sightseeing and have lunch. I had read about a museum, and after a long, hot hike we found it. Taking a taxi back to the harbor we discovered our car had been booted for a parking violation. As we tried to figure out what to do....a young, very attractive woman and young man stopped and said to get in their car and they would take us to the office to pay the fine. It was kinda wild, but off we went....boy was this young lady a "Guardian Angel". Fine paid we crossed the swinging bridge to eat lunch in a cafe and watch the traffic along the waterway.
Our diver picked us up the next morning for our flight back to Aruba, were we grabbed a taxi for the trip to our room at the Camacurri Apartments for the night. We decided to go out and find some place for supper...........and after a very long walk we found ourselves in downtown Oranjestad at Iguana Joe's for dinner.
Not wanting to take any chances we arrived at the airport early....the process in Aruba is very long and tiring! Finally we boarded our flight and landed in Houston...driving home in a dense fog.
The trip was a real adventure, but we survived, had some laughs and made some great memories to cherish!

Xmas in Aruba 2011

In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, we drove to Houston to catch our Continental flight to Aruba. Santa surprised Dale, as we boarded the plane, with First Class seats for the flight down and we really enjoyed the First Class treatment...they sure did spoil us! Sure gonna make sitting in the back stink! We arrived, picked up our rental car from Amigo and it was off to Sunset Beach Studios for our stay. Since the stores had closed early, they had stocked our apartment with the groceries I had requested in my email. We unpacked, had dinner on the patio as the sun set and turned in early.
I tried to get up early every morning and go for a walk on the beach....Dale even joined me one morning. Every evening we had a date to sit on the beach with a glass of wine and watch the beautiful sunsets....each better than the last.

We took the car and explored the island, noting the changes since our last visit two years ago. A couple of snorkel trips and relaxing under the shade of a Divi Divi tree filled our days. Soaking in the hot tub was on the schedule each afternoon.....providing a great way to relax. Dale caught up on his reading and working his puzzles, while I worked on my photos.
The week seemed to go by very quickly and soon we were packing for our flight to Curacao. This is where the adventure really begins.....a major glitch in our travel plans!

Happy Holidays 2011

An Italian dinner at Johnny Carrino's started the evening, then it was off to Mom's for the gifts. I surprised them all with a Chinese gift exchange to start things off.

Several gifts were stolen...Dale took Johnny's remote control car, Lanell took Johnny's Starbucks gift certificate, Chelsea wasted no time in stealing Grandma's cute knit hat, and Hollie took Grandma's movie gift certificate. Grandma got the last gift which was an insulated glass and a Sonic gift certificate. Next it was time to open gifts one by one, so all could see the action.
Brinkley, Brian and Hollie's puppy was all dressed up in her Christmas outfit complete with bling...she got held and loved a bunch. What a cutie!!
We all grabbed our cameras and the kids and Brinkley had to endure photo time.....they survivied!
Ross helped Dale get his remote control car up and running and even set up a small driving course. Next Lexi put together her cotton candy machine with the help of Ross and Nick....she whipped up some yummy peppermint cotton candy. Everyone got a taste! All were on a sugar high by the time they left!!!
The party ended, a good time was had by all!!!

Crusing on Mariner of the Seas

Bags packed, we drove to Galveston to board our ship, Mariner of the Seas for a week long cruise. Imagine our surprise as we were unloading our bags to see our friends, Bill and Joanie boarding the same ship...small world! We settled in our cabin 6655, unpacked, and enjoyed dinner in the dining room. Our first day at sea was spent in the gym and the solarium, since it was kinda windy and cool on deck. Tuesday, Cozumel was our first port, but high winds and rough seas cancelled my diving with Cristina...dang! Dinner that night at Portofino's with Bill and Joanie was delicious, especially after the yummy desserts.

Wednesday, Grand Cayman was our second port, but again high winds and rough seas spoiled all our plans...dang! Wednesday night we attended the ice show, pretty good. Thursday, Falmouth, Jamaica was our final port and we awoke to rain, but it did clear up and we went ashore to look around. We did a brief tour and saw an old church, but the area is poverty stricken and our tour had a police escort, very sad. Friday and Saturday we had sunshine, clear skies and smooth cruising....so we hit the gym and then the hot tubs to relax. Saturday night Dale and I enjoyed dining at Portofino's again. We enjoyed the cruise even though the weather didn't cooperate, we met new friends and had many interesting conversations on board. We especially enjoyed having cocktails at the "Diamond Cocktail Party" every night before dinner. Getting off the ship was a breeze and we arrived home shortly after lunch.

St Charles Bay Fishing Trip

Up before sun rise, and off to Rockport to meet up with our guide, Brett for our air boat red fishing trip. The sun peaked from behind the horizon, and a beautiful day on the water was off to a great start. We left the dock about 7:30 am and headed out across St. Charles Bay......shore birds were busy feeding along the coastline and a flock of ducks circled over head.

Lines baited with fresh cut mullet, we waited for the reds to bite....soon the action began and reds began to fill the ice chest. We moved on to another site and quickly had our limit.

Heading back to the dock, we ran next to the shoreline
and across areas of grass...and made one 360 degree
spin around just for fun. Back at the dock at
11:00 am, boat loaded, fish cleaned and on ice...
we decided to have lunch at Pop's Bar and Grill.

Berndt Kinfolks!

Packed our bags, loaded the car and headed out to Magnolia, Texas to the Berndt Family Reunion at Rhonda and Harlo's home. Our first stop was in Carmine for lunch at J.W.'s Steakhouse for some delicious, tender steaks. After a brief stop in Navasota, we arrived at Magnolia and unpacked the car. Later Evon and Linda arrived and we all enjoyed a stew dinner together, then us girls grabbed a bottle of wine and headed out to the hot tub to soak the day away. Up early the next morning, we waited for the Berndt family kinfolks to arrive. Soon the driveway was full of cars, the sound of chatter and laughter filled the air as everyone was busy catching up. Dinner was catered and all the family enjoyed sharing a meal together, with bunches of yummy desserts.

The afternoon was consumed with picture taking, touring Rhonda and Harlo's new home, and watching the little guys run around. All to soon the reunion came to an end and it was time to clean up, put things away and call it a day. Linda and Evon decided to go back home, but we stayed over and got a chance to relax and unwind. Sunday morning, I got up early and prepared Monkey Bread for the group, while Rhonda fixed eggs and bacon for all. Packed up we said our goodbyes and made the drive back home!