SCUBA DIVING & SNORKELING

Well, the idea was that I would receive an intro lesson in scuba diving and the instructor would go down with me and watch over, guide me. All I had to do was to be able to clear my mask and pressurize my ears. Got all suited up; tank on; drove in and tried to go down - 3 times!! No can do!! Rather than hold up John and another diver, I gave up after 3 tries and went back topside and snorkeled. It was no sacrifice as the water was beautiful, but I would have loved to been below on the Davy Jones locker level. John really enjoyed his dive - after a 15 year hiatus. I will try again since John enjoys it so much and it is something I'd like to share with him. Below are 3 views of John... 2 scuba diving 60 feet down and one snorkeling along the top! Yeah, he got sunburnt on his back!! Big time!!!

ALOHA!!

Well, we're in Hawaii!! No, we did not bring the RV. (2 things it does not have - a garbage disposal and pontoons!!) Did not bring the dogs either! Dogs and RV are back in Livingston, TX. We flew out of Houston on Thursday. Very long flight, about 8 hours! Never been to Houston before and our short overnight stay did nothing to encourage a longer visit. It is steamy!!

We're staying on the island of Hawaii in Kailua-Kona at a timeshare. It is very nice and very comfortable. We met friends Leo and Claudia from the desert for dinner last night. So far we've been snorkeling and scuba diving. Well, I didn't quite make the scuba. Tried, but couldn't clear my mask and couldn't pressurize my ears. So, I went back up and snorkeled. I will try again sometime as John is certified and loves it and wants to do more! Tomorrow we snorkel with the manta rays.... that should be terrific!! John took a lot of pictures when he was scuba diving, but he's having a problem with the flash. Plus, the fishies swim really fast!! We're getting into a Hawaiian mood - I'm wearing crocs and John promised to try on a pair of shorts!!

LIVINGSTON, TX

Well, we arrived at Escapees safe and sound and are all set up! We'll be here until 10/30! Whoopee!! I've got out all the "stuff" - photos, plants, giraffes.

Now, just a few catch-up photos.... Kayaking in Florida.... We just got the photos. It was such a serene place!! Okay, with a few alligators barking.

And, an Italian sub that had been visiting Mayport Naval Station as it was towed out of harbor. Yeah, I know. All those jokes about the Italian Navy!! And, yes, it is very small even for a sub! I can't imagine being under the sea in a sub, never mind one this small.

WENDING OUR WAY TO LIVINGSTON

Well, we're in Texarkana, Texas, waiting out a rainstorm. We spent one night at Tom Sawyer RV Park overlooking the Mississippi in West Memphis, Arkansas. Nice RV park, but West Memphis... well, not on our return visit list. Then we planned to spend two nights here at Shady Pines in Texarkana. It stormed all night and John decided that, since we didn't need to be anywhere and we're in a really nice RV park, it would be wise to spend another day. We shopped yesterday at a local place that carries Amish breads, pickles, etc. Homemade cinnamon raisin bread -- so good!!

Tomorrow onto Livingston and a one month stay!! Wow, a whole month in one place!! Won't have any excuses for not doing so all those pesky little household chores. Maybe even some ironing! Nah....

WANDERING ABOUT

We left Jacksonville and headed north back toward Columbus for a short 1 day visit with our grandsons. Got to see Branden's 1st football game. Now, he's 9 and a little guy and plays on and against teams with 9-11 year olds with his team comprised of medium sized boys, 15 of them. (Remember there are 11 players per team always on the field.) They played against a team of all big kids (noticeably so) and the team had 32 players plus a squad of cheerleaders!! Maybe it is just the grandma in me, but something is wrong with that. Needless to say, Branden's team was creamed. They were exhausted and, even when they got to hit an opposing player, there was no way they could bring him down. Funny stuff going on with some of the refs, too! We were not happy! Hopefully some parents complained and were listened to, but I doubt it.

Next day we headed out again for Fort Campbell to see little Miss Eva!! We spent the weekend there and then went to Cynthiana, Kentucky, for 2 days to do some Boyd family genealogy research at the local library. That part of Kentucky is just gorgeous with one field after another of beautiful horses! Lots of black barns, too- with hex signs. Saw 2 barns that had the upstairs finished for living quarters complete with chandeliers hanging in huge windows in the peaks! Back to Fort Campbell to spend my birthday with Hans, Andrea and Eva. We went to dinner and Miss Eva was just the perfect little girl. Of course!!

JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA

We left Columbus driving south to Florida and stayed at a really nice RV park at Mayport Naval Station. We overlooked the St. John's River and had to go just around the corner to the Atlantic Ocean. Just beautiful!! For most days we had good weather and a continual ocean breeze. Walks on the beach, playing in the surf...just perfect!! This is the longest we've stayed in one spot for a long while (almost 2 weeks). The purpose of our visit here is a Class of '66 West Point mini-reunion.



While the majority of the attendees played golf, John and I went kayaking on a marsh on the road to St. Augustine. It was very tranquil. The only sounds were the barking/growling of the mother alligators checking on their babies. The babies had all hatched about 2 weeks ago. They have no fear and do not submerge or race away from the kayaks. (But, they are very hard to see in the water. They are small and look like little bits of wood. No good photos to show you.) Lots of pretty blue herons, cormorants, egrets. Kayaking is fun and we will do it again. I'd like to try it in the ocean!! That would be exciting!!

Our next outing was a Segway tour of St. Augustine. FUN!! But, riding a Segway is not easy. A Segway is a 2 wheeled scooter with a platform that you stand on. To go forward, you lean forward; lean right, go right; lean left, go left. Sounds easy... not!! It is a delicate balance and not easy to stay upright right away. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA having been settled by Ponce de Leon. Must admit we didn't really see a lot as we were too busy trying to stay on our Segways, but we put St. Augustine on our list of return visits along with riding Segways and kayaking. And John is stuck with me forever & ever. We kissed until a tree that is entwined with a palm tree. Supposedly if you kiss under it, you are bound to one another into eternity. No way out for him now!!

Also, while in Jacksonville, we got to visit with my niece Natalie and her family. I had never seen Cole who just turned 3 and have seen Megan & Madeleine only a few times before. Cute kids! My niece is into jogging and recently did 10+ miles. Don't know where that gene comes from! This was not our first West Point mini-reunion. We attended one in September 2006 in San Diego. This one went much better. John did not pass up and wind up in the hospital for 3 days!! Much more fun!!

COLUMBUS & ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA

We stayed at Lake Pines RV park again. Nice place, if only the train tracks were a little farther away!! But, it is not an active track; no trains hourly like at some places. It was good to see Lance and Branden. They had a busy summer with their Mom and her family in Bogota, Columbia. The boys got to see a lot and were treated warmly by their Colombian family. They must have eaten non-stop as they both grew a lot. While we were there, Clara baked me an early birthday cake shaped like a purse and, since it was Labor Day, decorated it in red, white & blue. That's not lipstick on John's lip. It's red icing!!

Partly as an excuse to get the boys to ourselves, we took them to Andersonville National Cemetery and Memorial. If you recall your history, Andersonville was the site of an infamous POW camp during the Civil War operated by the Confederate Army. It was really horrific, but we Northerners should not be smug. Ours weren't much better! (I was surprised to learn that there had been a POW camp for Confederates in Elmira, NY - that is just down the road from where I grew up!) Andersonville was in existence for only 14 months, but, within that time, 13,000 Union prisoners died. One of the prisoners wrote "it takes 7 of its ocupiants to make a Shadow". Some 12,000 of those who died here are buried at the adjoining National Cemetery. The site also serves as a Memorial to American POW's from all wars. The museum was very interesting showing the various places of imprisonment through our many wars. We then went to the adjoining National Cemetery looking for ancestral history. (I did find some Grogans & Connollys, but not sure if they are related.) Plus seeing all those white headstones kind of puts it all in perspective. Finally, kids, dogs and adults had enough of the heat, humidity and GNATS!!