A Day With the Grandkids

We spent yesterday with all three of our grandkids. It was the first time that we have been in charge of the little two. Caden is three and Caleb is 17 months. They are both a handful and I was really nervous about it. Fortunately for us, Kayla is 10 and she is a big help with the boys. We spent most of the time in the pool. The all loved the swimming, Caden was just a little nervous about getting in too deep. Caleb is still at the age that he is fearless and ready for anything. It was a fun but exhausting day.

"A person's a person, no matter how small." ~Dr. Seuss (Horton Hears a Who!)

Memorial Day - Offats Bayou

We spent the Memorial Day weekend anchored out on Storyville at Offats Bayou in Galveston. Troy recently finished installing our new windlass. That is a device that pulls the anchor up and down and helps set the anchor. We previously had a manual one that I call Troy! Windlass Troy complained a lot about how heavy the anchor is and how muddy it is when he had to handle it himself. Our new windlass did not complain one bit (and neither did Troy). Between the new windlass and our great new anchor, I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot more time on the hook.

We decided to head out on Friday night and anchor out wherever we found a good spot. The evenings have been very calm with very little wind so we figured we would motor out and anchor somewhere around Bacliff. Well - no sooner did we get out of our slip and into the bay before the wind picked up and we could see lightening in the distance. The bay was white capping and the wind picked up to 25-30 knots for a little while. We were lucky that we never got any of the rain, just wind. We motored into it for about an hour and then headed over to Bacliff and set anchor for the night. Our friends Cory and Tammy on s/v Menestheus were with us. You can see that they were catching air:

Troy was up and working that new windlass at sunrise. We headed out to the Houston Ship Channel and towards Galveston. We had quite an incoming current that we were fighting against and not much wind to work with. We motor sailed all the way to Galveston. It was a very nice trip though, shrimp boats working and lots of dolphins playing in the wake of the tankers in the ship channel.

Shrimp Boat working the Houston Ship Channel

Dolphins playing in the bow wake of big tankers in the ship channel

To get to Offats Bayou you have to pass under the Galveston Causeway Bridge. The bridge is lowered for oncoming trains and, when no trains are on the track, the bridge is raised for boat traffic. Just our luck, we had to wait on a train. We just drifted around for about 30 minutes until it was our turn to get through. It sure is funny to listen to the bridge operator. Depending on which one is on shift, you can get a really cranky guy that doesn't want to get out of his recliner (and will be happy to tell you so), or a younger sounding guy that is really nice and willing to help out in any way. I will point out that it is not the bridge operators job to help recreational boats get back and forth under the bridge. His job is to make sure the bridge is down for trains. It was quite amusing to listen to the old curmudgeon griping to the tow boat operators about all the recreational boats. Guess he doesn't like anyone out having fun while he is at work. Can't say that I blame him too much for that!

We were just waiting on a train

The weekend was way fun and relaxing. We anchored out near 61st Street in Galveston with Cory and Tammy on s/v Menestheus and Trey, Kat and Anne on s/v Dawntreader. Saturday in Offats Bayou was really busy with lots of boats anchored out and lots of jet skis and skiers and wake boarders. We spent the weekend swimming, relaxing, partying with friends and just having a good time in general. The weather was perfect and so was the company.

Storyville at anchor in Offats Bayou


Dawntreader at anchor in Offats Bayou

Menestheus at anchor in Offats Bayou

Cory going for a swim

Anne came to visit Storyville

The only problem was that the weekend wasn't long enough. We all weighed anchor and headed back up the ship channel on Monday - back to reality.

Dawntreader headed back to the ship channel -time to go home :-(

Monday was Memorial Day, a day to honor our veterans, particularly the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be free to enjoy the freedoms that we have today. I am definitely proud to be an American!

And I'm proud to be an American,where at least I know I'm free.And I won't forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.~Lee Greenwood

Lookin' for Lunch!

Texas Panhandle

I have a family connection to the Panhandle of Texas. My mother was born in Amarillo and my dad's family has lived there for generations. In fact, while I was visiting my family recently in Pampa, my uncle gave me some family information that I thought was interesting. My great, great grandfather, Newton Franklin Locke was born in Alabama but he lived in the panhandle of Texas he was a Texas Ranger for a while and even took part in the Oklahoma Land Rush.

We took a trip to the Palo Duro Canyon as well. I haven't been there since I was a child and it brought back memories of visits there with my grandparents. The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is a beautiful place to visit.

Check out the photos from our visit to the panhandle and to Palo Duro Canyon:

http://imageevent.com/deanaj/texaspanhandle?n=0

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~John Lennon

In Memory of my Grandparents

Vivian Weckesser Locke

May 6, 1916 - April 22, 2010

John Thomas Locke

July 1917 - January 14, 1985

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. ~Author Unknown

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:1-4

Relay for Life

Jessica - First Bank and Trust Relay for Life Team Leaders

We participated in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Montgomery County on April 16-17. Troy's daughter Jessica was a team leader and we are very proud of her for being so committed to raising money to find a cure for cancer. Troy and I donated a chance to "Sail with a Survivor" and Jessica sold almost $1,000.00 in raffle tickets with the winner going with us for a sail on Storyville.

Relay for Life is a 24 hour long event beginning at 7:00 in the afternoon on Friday, April 16th. Each team is a relay that walks around the track at a high school football stadium. The object is to have team members walking for the whole 24 hours. We managed to have members walking most of the time but by about 3:00 in the morning we were just worn out. I can't remember the last time I stayed awake for 24 hours. It sure served as a reminder that we aren't as young as we used to be!!!!

It really is a fun event and we had a great time. The Relay does a lot to honor cancer survivors and that makes it great for Troy and anyone else that is a survivor, giving them a chance to be appreciated and also taking time to honor those that have been taken from us by cancer.

Our team raised $1,800.00 for Relay for Life. We are so thankful for all our friends and family that participated in the event and those who bought raffle tickets and made donations. We just couldn't be prouder of Jessica and the rest of our family for taking time out of their busy lives to help eradicate cancer from our lives.

Troy and Jessica

Cancer is a word, not a sentence. ~John Diamond

There's an App for That!

I've been having fun lately with my iPod Touch. There are many many photo apps that can do some pretty amazing things with photographs. Here are a few examples:

Storyville sailing in Galveston Bay

Same picture turned into a drawing by Zoom Camera app

Orignal image of Snowy Egret (just cropped a little in photoshop)

Same image drawn using SketchMee app

Original image of White Pelicans in Galveston Bay

Same image - altered using PhotoStudio app

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret altered using Pic Grunger

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. ~Ansel Adams

Pampa, Texas

A couple of weeks ago I got one of those phone calls that you know is coming sooner or later but you still hate to get it, just the same. My grandmother, who is 93 years old, had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The doctors say there is nothing they can do except keep her comfortable. My sister, Stacey, and my two daughters, Shawn and Tory, decided that we needed to take a trip to Pampa, Texas, where my grandmother has lived almost all of her life, to say goodbye.

City Hall - Downtown Pampa, Texas

What a sad reason for a trip. We decided to drive up there. It's a 10 hour drive but we figured that it wouldn't be too bad if we all took turns at the wheel. We set out on a Wednesday evening after work. Even though the reason for the trip was a sad one, it turned out to be a wonderful trip and such a great time spent with my girls and my sister. There is nothing like a good road trip to get in some good quality time.

We made it to Pampa with only one speeding ticket and an overnight stay in Henrietta, Texas. (Stacey will never speed through Decatur again!). We drove straight to the hospital and found our grandmother sleeping quietly. She was amazingly coherent when she woke up to find us there and I think she was very pleased that we made the trip. I find comfort in the fact that one of the first things she said to us was: "it's time". We had a good, but very sad visit with her. The hardest part was when she gave me a necklace and earrings that were given to her by my grandfather. She wanted me to have them and I will certainly cherish them, but it was just really hard to have that moment with her and to know that it was our "goodbye" . I will always remember her as a strong and independent woman. I feel proud to be her granddaughter.

We spent two days with her at the hospital. We also got to take a couple of side trips that were really fun. We had read about a little town called Groom, Texas that is just outside of Pampa. Stacey had heard about a 190 foot tall cross there. We decided that since it was Good Friday, this would be a perfect stop for this trip. Check out the web site: http://www.crossministries.net/ . What a wonderful place. We really enjoyed the stop and especially the reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

Our next stop was The Big Texas, home of the 72 oz. sirloin steak in Amarillo, Texas. If you eat the 72 oz. steak and the meal, you get it free. Fun place to visit if you don't mind feeling like a tourist in Texas! LOL

The next morning we pointed our car to the south and headed home. This trip was long but short and very sad but also lots of fun.

To live in hearts we leave behindIs not to die.~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"