Journeying Home part 2

I wanted to enter New Orleans by going across the Ponchatrain Bridge.  When you drive onto the bridge you see immediately that the Lake is huge!!  You cannot see land in any direction for quite a while.

We estimated that the bridge was about 20 miles long.  There are several turn-arounds along the way in case, oh I don't know, you change your mind??  Or emergency vehicles need to come out and then go back?  Craig was somewhat nervous about being on the bridge.  I wasn't - until he mentioned it.

The water was smooth and clear.  Do you see the blue skies?  By the time we got to New Orleans, it was raining.  Hard.

Then, suddenly it wasn't.

We passed a lot of trees where beads had been thrown just weeks before during Mardi Gras.

The buildings in the French Quarter really are beautiful.

This is the front of the police station.

We walked down Royal Street.  It's much cleaner and nicer than Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street is pretty sleezy.  Generally not a good place.  We didn't walk far on this street, but instead, found a nice restaurant on the second floor and stopped for dinner.  We were directed up this questionable staircase.

We had a good view of the street and the tourists.  You can see two policemen patrolling on horseback.

You can also see that there were a lot of families there.  The police were just blocking off the street to car traffic, which they do every night about 7.

At one restaurant, you could pick out live crawdads, if that is what you had a hankering for.  YUM!

After dinner, we watched two street performers.  They were excellent.  And funny.  Check out these three clips.

Then just as we were leaving we spotted this hidden gem - a quiet, secluded restaurant.

From New Orleans, we travelled to Baton Rouge for the night.  The next morning we stopped at the temple.

Not to far out of Baton Rouge, you cross the Mississippi River.  Not sure what is responsible for the funky coloring, but I'm sure it's my fault somehow.  It really was a beautiful blue sky.

After you cross the river, you are still in Louisiana - for a LONG time.  But I couldn't resist taking this screen shot of the freeway intersection we went through - because REALLY???   I'm from California and even I though this was ridiculous.  It SAYS Houston, Texas, but that was our destination, not our location.

My son, Chad, and his family live in Houston.  That was our next stop.  We LOVED visiting with them.  Here are two pictures taken as we were waiting for our table at the restaurant.

This is Chad and Caitlin.

And here are their children, Della and Archer.

By this point, Craig was really sick.  He'd been coughing for a few days, but now his throat was so sore he couldn't talk or swallow.  We went to the temple, but Craig just stayed in the outer waiting room.  The temple was beautiful inside, accented with rich dark wood. Again, we have yellow sky.  Sigh.  Maybe it's an exposure kind of thing.

After visiting Urgent Care and getting drugs, we continued on.  Our final stop in Texas was to Dallas.  Craig's daughter, Stacie, lives there.  I took this picture outside her apartment to send back to Indiana - they had snow.  hee hee

Josiah stayed home from school on Monday, Brighton was sick.  We headed for the Family Fun Center for some R & R.

It was the first time I'd even driven the go-carts.  I must admit that it wasn't as fun as it may have looked.  Ten laps was a LONG time.  I would have settled for five, maybe three. 

In this picture you can clearly see that Craig is ahead of his grandson, Josiah.  

Here is Stacie bringing up the rear.

About 1/2 way through, Craig is now in 2nd place.

Craig's favorite activity was the drag racing.  I captured the three races on video, but it was on Craig's phone, and so I won't post them here.  Sorry.

Next blog will include, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona.  Craig is starting to ask, "Are we there yet?" every time we get in the car.  I don't blame him.

Traveling Home

We left Indiana on Monday, March 16 - barely.  I was determined to go, even if we only made it to Lafayette, about an hour south.  We did, however, make it all the way to Kentucky.  Okay, it's not THAT far, but it SOUNDS far.

On the way, south, we visited the temple in Indianapolis that is under construction.  The open house is set for July 17 - August 8.  It will be open to the public.  We are sorry that we missed it, but we hope our non-member friends in Rensselaer will want to go.  PS, the Elders would LOVE to take you and could probably get permission if you ask.

We then headed for the Louisville, Kentucky temple.

We got there just as the sun was setting.  It was Monday night, and temples are not open on Monday.  So we were not able to go in.

But the windows were beautiful.

We stayed in Louisville that night and drove to Nashville on Tuesday. On the way, we found the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The crazy part on the far left is where the sinkhole was.

Everything was cool here.  Even the restrooms.

Some cars were just displayed.

Others were featured in little "scenes."  It was all done really well.

 After the museum, we again, we headed for Nashville.  The temple was our first stop.

If you compare the Nashville Temple to the Louisville Temple, the only difference is the glow from the windows.

We did NOT drive into the city.  I know Jake and Amanda Fernandez will be disappointed at that, but oh well.

We received some sad news on Tuesday.  Mike and Kelly Shelton, a couple we had worked with and done service for were killed in a head on collision.  We were shocked.  We had just seen them on Sunday.  Their lives were improving and they had plans for change.  It was a shock to everyone.  I was instantly reminded of the scripture that says:

           "And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even               unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate               the day of your repentance."  Alma 13:27

They were loved and will be missed.

Wednesday morning, we drove to Memphis.  Our first stop was Graceland.  

There were many things about the tour that surprised me.  First, even though it is sometimes referred to as a mansion, it's NOT that big.  It WAS beautiful, even though a little out dated.  Here is the living room.

Here are two pictures of the "Jungle Room."  Kinda cool.

See the three TV's?  When he heard that the president watched all news stations simultaneously, he decided he, too, needed to have three TV's.  Why not?

So what I learned

1.  He loved to read.  Everywhere he traveled he took books.

2.  The only award he ever accepted in person was a humanitarian award.  It was the thing he was most proud of.  He gave away millions to charities and needy friends and family.  He did this all quietly, and wanted no "press" for it.

3.  He was asked if he felt he was responsible for the reduced morality of teenagers.  He replied that he always tried to set a good example.  He didn't smoke, he didn't like alcohol, and he ALWAYS carried a Bible.  

4.  He never won a grammy for his "rock and roll."  He DID won two (three?) grammies for gospel music.

5.  He was only paid $100,000 for his first movie - 10 weeks of work.  Not bad, but not GREAT.

His house was situated on 13 acres of land and it was all landscaped.  He had horses, golf carts, and a swimming pool.

In addition to the house, we toured the car museum, and the private air planes.

The Memphis Temple is JUST like the Nashville and Louisville Temples.  Very beautiful, even in the rain.

We spent the night in Nashville.   I'm getting far behind on logging this trip home, but feel like this blog post is long enough.  I'll try to get caught up in a day or two.  We are enjoying time with our families along the way.  We are currently in Texas and heading out in a few days.  Still need to report on New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Saying Goodbye

Our mission year among the wonderful people of Rensselaer, Indiana is over.  Our original date was March 3.  We gave ourselves an extra two weeks because we hoped the weather would warm a little and we couldn't imagine leaving.  This has been our home for a year.

On Friday, we visited with President and Sister Woodbury.  He gave us departing blessings.  He and his wife are doing such an amazing work.  We decided we did not want his job and were happy with our duties.  He, on the other hand, was envious of OUR assignment.and wants to go on another mission so he can do what we were doing.  We went to the temple for the last time, and had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Wildfire.

Because no other missionary couple was coming to take our place, we had to empty the apartment.  the elders moved all our furniture into their garage (Yeah, THEY have a garage!)

With no table, chairs, or cabinets, everything ended up on the bed, in the kitchen or on the floor.  Then there was the process of packing.  We ended up mailing about 15 packages on the last day in an effort to get everything home.  We are NOT going to talk about how much the postage was.  We probably could have bought everything new for what we spent.

Sam was quite confused by all of it.  I came in and found him here.  He wanted to make sure he wasn't forgotten.

We cleaned and packed all day Saturday.  We had a WONDERFUL dinner with the Wagner family at a restaurant similar to Benihana's.  Delicious.

Sunday, we spoke in church.  From the very beginning, Craig was hoping that all the chairs would be filled on the day we left.  They were not QUITE filled, but nearly.  We invited everyone.  It was also the last Sunday for Barbara and Raul Fernandez.  They had been in the branch for over 30 years.  Raul was in the Branch Presidency.  They, too, will be greatly missed.  President Portwood chose "God Be With You" for the closing song.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to see the music through my tears.

After church we had a pot luck lunch.  I should have taken pictures at each table, but did not.  Guess I was too busy eating.  

We DID get out pictures with our wonderful elders.

This is Elder Fuchigami from Las Vegas, and Elder Spencer from Blackfoot, Idaho.  We do not feel bad about leaving the branch in their capable hands.

This is Dawn Swope.  She and her husband, Charlie, were two of the founding members of the branch.  In fact, meetings were held in their home before a building was rented.

This is the Fisher family.  Brother Fisher was not even coming when we first arrived.  Now he and his whole family are attending.  His son has a baptism date.  We LOVE them and have had the opportunity to do a lot of service for them.  The gospel is changing their lives.

The weather was so warm the last week.  Stacey and I went walking.  I started out all bundled up, but by the end of the walk, I was down to my tee shirt.  I think it was about 50 degrees.  Almost summer.

There are still piles of ice in the streets.  The locals say they usually get snow in March, so no one is celebrating quite yet.  There are wonderful piles of ice all over town.  

One morning a few weeks ago we woke to freezing rain.  Our car was coated in a sheet of ice.  Even when we rolled down the window, the ice remained.  Cool, huh?

The hardest of all was saying goodbye to our neighbor, Stacey.  Sam got so he would tolerate Peanuts pretty well.

We just cannot say enough wonderful things about Stacey.  She fed us at the end of our long trip from Salt Lake, AND she fed us on our last night in Rensselaer.  She was there for us everyday.  I borrowed bowls, pans, spices, and whatever I needed.  We drove her to Lafayette for doctor's appointments, and she drove me to the church or store when Craig had the car.  She was my walking buddy, my confidant, and my friend.  I will miss her tremendously.  She even came to church to hear us speak - and lightening did NOT strike!!!

Monday, March 16, we had to go to the post office and mail packages, then come home and pack more stuff, and make another post office trip.  We had keys to Brother Fisher's house that we had to return, we said our final goodbyes to the Portwoods, we had lunch with the Elders, we visited with Robert Wagner on the way out of town, and didn't get on the freeway until 2:30 PM. 

Very mixed emotions:  sad to be leaving such caring, loving, wonderful people, glad to be going home to family and friends.  We hope we have touched lives, but we know that the Lord has blessed ours.