Grounded by Fog!

It was late September, and time for "The Under the Wire" fly-in in Louise, Texas at the Flying V Ranch. Dale wanted to get off the ground early in hopes of getting a good parking spot for the plane. With our picnic lunch, chairs, and lots of ice tea we took off before 8 am headed to the fly-in.

Although it was clear in Victoria we found ground fog around Edna, Texas and set the plane down at the Edna airport to wait for the fog to burn off. Fog gone, we landed at the fly-in and secured the plane and set out our stuff for the day. It was good to see old friends, lots of planes and probably about 20 Stearman airplanes at the fly-in....quite a sight! We had our picnic lunch in the shade under the wing....it was pretty darn hot! We decided to head home later in the afternoon and it was a short, but very bumpy ride because of the thermals. Safely we landed and pushed the plane into the hangar!

Hunting for Reds!

We were out on the water early this morning as the first rays of the sun danced across the water, creating beautiful patterns on the surface. No wind, no waves, and the water was smooth as glass. We got a couple of reds, and things were looking pretty good. Drift fishing requires wind and unfortunately it was dead calm. We decided to go across the bay into the lakes to look for more red fish....it was a great day out on the water!

We were fishing the shoreline when Dale hooked a "Big Kahuna" and the fight was on....finally getting the big boy in the boat, only to find it was to BIG!

We moved into a couple of the other lakes, but had no luck....and boy was it HOT!
After a picnic lunch out on the water, we crossed the bay to try one last spot, no luck!
Even though we didn't limit out we had a good time and headed home to wash the boat and clean our catch.

Bumpy Flight!

After months of not flying because of intense heat, we took off this morning for lunch in Port Aransas. We flew down along the beach, enjoying the miles and miles of pristine beach. Landing at Mustang Beach Airport we grabbed the trolley into town for lunch at Moby Dick's Restaurant. Dale had the fried shrimp and I enjoyed the grilled Mahi Mahi along with some side dishes.
Our friend Jerry picked us up on the trolley for a ride down to the beach, I needed a sand and salt water fix.....that is what Dale calls it!! The water was warm and the beach was crowded, but I enjoyed walking and taking photos for about an hour. The flight home was bumpy and we climbed to get out of the thermals. Landing in Victoria around 4 pm, we put the plane in the hangar and headed home to the AC.

Escape to the Rockies

Tired of the intense Texas heat, we headed to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains for a B&B vacation in a cooler climate. Loaded up, new GPS in place, Acadia gassed up.....we left early in the morning for a long day of driving. Our first night we stayed in Dumas, Texas before crossing the next day into Northen New Mexico and then on to Southern Colorado. Our first B & B was the rustic Indiana Jones B&B in Antonito, Colorado where we had a 6 hour train ride on the Culbres & Toltec Railroad planned. It was a long day on the train, with some beautiful scenery. Canon City and the Royal Gorge were next on our itinerary, staying at the Jewels of the Canon B&B in Canon City. Our room in the restored home was spacious and lovely, breakfast was delish! The Royal Gorge was breathtaking and we enjoyed a trip to the bottom on the incline railway and a trip across the gorge on the aerial tram. A stop at he prison museum was informative and I even discovered I had a tie to the prison. Packed up again we drove up to Cripple Creek, and then on to Leadville and our B&B at Twin Lakes. Ores and Mines B&B was very unique and the couple running the place were a wealth of information on the local history of Leadville. They even upgraded our room to the largest room at the B&B. Dinner at Quincy's was great, they only serve one entree....Filet Mignon, but they prepare it great. We couldn't miss the highest airport in the USA, so we visited Leadville airport and talked to a pilot that had flown in for some fishing in his homebuilt. The runways surrounded by mountains were a daunting sight. The next night we inhaled at yummy pizza from High Mountain Pies.
Independence Pass or Bust was on the agenda the next day....a breathtaking drive over the pass to Aspen....a really yuppie place and home to the" Rich and Famous". We stopped and enjoyed a picnic for lunch at a roadside park.
Crested Butte was our next stop and the Purple Mountain Lodge B&B was cute, but our room was very, very small. A drive up to Lake Irwin and Keblar Pass proved to be an endurance test....boy was that a long day. The wildflowers in bloom around the lake were beautiful and I got some great photos.

Our final stop was in Pagosa Springs and our stay at Elkwood Manor B&B the Pièce de résistance of our trip, a beautiful home with the most amazing views of the San Juan Mountains. Our room was spacious, the hot tub inviting, and the breakfast was gourmet. Darlene even had monogrammed wash cloths with our names, a very classy touch. A day of soaking at the Pagosa Springs and Spa was cut short when a thunderstorm rolled in, but we did get to relax for part of the day in the adult only area.
Our escape in the Rockie mountains came to an end and it was time to head home...the cool temperatures, breathtaking vistas, pristine lakes, romantic picnics, and B&B's made it all a very memorable trip.

Grandma's on Facebook!

Mom jumped into the high tech world of computers on Monday as we hooked up her brand new, shiny laptop and had internet service installed at her home. She was determined to see what was going on in cyberspace and keep up with her 2 kids, 9 grand kids, and 10 great grand kids. It was a whole new world, as she pressed the "On" button for the first time. I had already set up Facebook as her homepage, so we concentrated on maneuvering around the site. She hadn't typed in about 60 years, so the going was slow as she turned to the hunt and peck method of typing.....but she managed to send out a few short post. The second lesson concentrated on Hotmail, which I had bookmarked to make it easy for her to find. We sent out "Friend Request" on Facebook and I added the family to her contacts on Hotmail.....some replied in shock that Grandma was online! Our final lesson this week tackled opening attachments and videos....which opened a whole new world to Mom.

Shop Til You Drop!

Have you ever heard the saying "Shop til you Drop"? Yesterday we did! My daughter, Lanell called and wanted me to go to Houston with her on a shopping trip. She needed to find a couple of dresses for her upcoming "Dances With The Stars Victoria" debut.
We didn't get away until almost Noon, so we canceled our lunch stop and proceeded on our mission. First two stops were at Baubles and Beads, a high end resale shop, but no luck really. Next stop Memorial Mall.....Macy's and Dillard's, plus a couple smaller stores. I gathered dresses and keep bringing them to her in the dressing room....what a zoo! We found some candidates and narrowed down the selections, some very funny, some to darn expensive and some were plain ugly!!!
After making her final selections and narrowing the field down, we headed to Charming Charlie's for some bling. Half starved by 7 pm we stopped at
PF Chang's for dinner, only to be informed it was 1 1/2 hour wait...No Way! Down Hwy 59 we went and found a Salt Grass with a table available....steaks and drinks were ordered for the ravenous shoppers. Home then, pulling into my driveway about 10:30 pm....what a day!
Lanell should look like a million dollars when she hits the stage with her partner to do the Salsa and Bolero in a couple of weeks.....I hope!

Ladies Gone Wild in Roatan

After checking in at Bush International Airport for my flight, I met up with the Lady Go Divers gang for our flight to Roatan, Honduras. A short flight, and we were soon checking into our rooms at Anthony's Key Resort.....Barbara and I had cabin #12 over the water on the Key. Unpacking, then our first meal together at the resort before turning in for the night. I was up early the next morning and took the water taxi over to the mainland for breakfast with the group....then it was time to check in at the dive shop, do a check out dive and get ready for our first boat dive. Our boat, Haydee and crew, JoJo, Boat Captain and Hector, Dive Master were waiting for us at the dock. The check out dive consisted of demonstrating a few skills, then it was off to see the marine life and reefs of Roatan. Patty had booked 3 dives a day......so we had a dive at 8:30 am, then back to the dock; a dive at 10:30 am, then back to the dock and lunch; then a dive at 2:30 pm, then back to the dock with time to relax at the pool before dinner. Since the sand fleas were so bad we spent a lot of time showering off and applying layers of bug spray in hopes of avoiding the nasty creatures.....no such luck!

The resort had lots of entertainment planned for the week and we always took advantage of Happy Hour......2 for 1 Monkey La Las! One day we did two boat dives, then we had a picnic lunch at Maya Key with time to swim in the pool and relax.......with one more dive on the way back to the resort. On Island Fiesta Night we were entertained with music, a fire dancer, great food, and a local dance troupe. A yummy picnic for lunch was awaiting us on the Key after one of our morning dives....then it was time to hold down a hammock rocking in the breeze on the porch.
Beth and Bonnie traded cabins and I joined them for a sleepover.....the cabin was not air conditioned....HOT! We did have lots of laughs at our little slumber party!!!!
As per the tradition established last year we enjoyed a late night skinny dip in the Caribbean.....OMG was that funny.....especially the synchronized swimming. It was all pretty innocent....a dark night, a secluded beach, and a bunch of mature women!!!
The diving was good....we saw lots of turtles, a spotted eagle ray, crabs, lobsters, and some big Groupers. Hector even managed to find us a beautiful sea horse and a "Happy Face" sponge. I did manage to get in 16 dives, despite one day I didn't feel the best....to many Monkey La Las, I think! My favorite photo of the week was one of a Peacock Flouder. I inched up to him laying on the bottom and settled my camera on the bottom close to him for a close up shot. Peacock flounders are master of diguise. The peacock flounder changes its color and the pattern on its skin to exactly match the sea floor...as you can see in the photo! I love those two eyes checking me out!

We had another first on this trip......we all did the night dive on Thursday, only thing was no one got in the water. JoJo took us out on the water to a dive site, we tied up and enjoyed the sunset and later sat under the stars while listening to music....it was great! A real estrogen therapy session.....poor JoJo and Hector!!!
The resort had a dolphin show several times a week and we sat on our porch to watch the dolphins perform. I also booked a dolphin dive...but the male dolphins were in "love" and would not join us.....so a Dolphin Dive with No Dolphins!
The week was over to quickly with our group departing in two different flights. Patty, Barbara, and Ann were on my flight and we said our final goodbyes in Houston. A great week, with a great group of ladies....looking forward to next year with Lady Go Divers!!!!