Category: Travel Page 1 of 3

Lorena took this picture a little before 10 am this morning in Granbury at my favorite coffee bar. I had to wait a few minutes for the store to open while Lorena went antique shopping. When they finally unlocked the door, it was hard to decide whether to stay there, enjoy the sun, and read my book or go in and order my usual cup of coffee. In the end, I went inside, but am amazed that that is even a decision to consider on January 6. Sun at this time of year where I grew up and lived most of my life in the Pacific Northwest as a rarity indeed. Of course, Texas can get just as cold or colder than the Willamette Valley, but it is nice to have the sun come out in the mix unlike winter in Oregon where there are mostly just clouds and damp. There are trade-offs in all this and I honestly love both places.

Lorena flew home from Boston this morning. I have no idea how I survive when she is gone. She flew JetBlue on a frequent flyer miles ticket which is a leftover from when I was flying between Portland or Seattle and Boston every 4-5 weeks until the pandemic hit and I got told to just work from home. WiFi is free on JetBlue so we could message each other. When they got to the airport the pilot came on and said they were going to do a loop around the airport and try again because the landing window was too tight. Loren was irritated by that, but I told her it is better to have to sit a little longer and land safely than take the risk. It is actually something for which to be thankful. We are already planning her next flight down to Monterrey, God willing. This trip should be just a short one as the whole purpose is to sign some papers on the real estate and pick up Grandma Conchita to come spend Thanksgiving with us.

A friend of mine from work took this picture while she was in New York City for a conference. I loved the clouds and the moon behind the Empire State Building. Kelly goes to NYC a lot these days. This is Christian’s second weekend in a row there. One of these days, Lorena and I are going to have to have to make our way there. I have never been a fan of NYC, but that might have a lot to do with me not knowing what is there. The kids certainly seem to enjoy themselves. Maybe Lorena should plan a week there sometime before too long, but it is hard to make that choice when we enjoy seeing Christian in Boston and Kelly in Washington, D.C. so much–not to mention San Pedro Garza García. In addition to that, it might be a little out of our price range. It is a storied city and I am sure it would be well worth it. Maybe we can do that after we visit, Mexico City, an even more storied city.

The girls recent trip to England reminded me of a trip we took almost exactly 12 years ago to see a full size replica of Stonehenge put up as a memorial to the soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington who died in World War I. There is a description of it all here. It is called the Maryhill Stonehenge and has a nice little museum close by. The view there is spectacular and the drive there is not so bad either–about a couple of hours east of Portland on a path that takes one past Multnomah Falls, the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, the wind surfers at Hood River, and many other attractions. This picture was taken right beside the monument and the wind was blowing hard as it often does in that part of the world.

Lorena and Kelly are safely back home now. I picked them up at the airport yesterday. They had a fabulous time and are already planning their return to Europe, or maybe down under. Either way, they are now world travelers, or so they say. One thing is still true, it is always good to be back on terra firma in the United States with their constitutional rights intact, now longer depending on the “free” NHS of the UK for what passes as  health care (oxymoron that it is in that part of the world). They met wonderful people, ate wonderful food, and have wonderful, wonderful memories of a wonderful place. Rightly so. A truly phenomenal first trip over the pond.

The trip of a lifetime. I am so glad Lorena and Kelly decided to do this. We cannot wait to get them back home so we can hear about it in person.

Lorena and Kelly are now ensconced in their Bed and Breakfast after a long day with new friends. Just by time and chance, there was a special meeting of our church rather than the normal Sunday meeting today, so they were able to meet a lot of new people they might not have otherwise met. They got up early, had a cup of coffee and a croissant with ham and cheese at a local shop, then made it to the meeting at a school on the tube and a bus. They even made plans for Kelly to get together with a group of the young professionals in London tomorrow evening.