The Pride Is On The Move!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Lone Star State

We landed in the big state of Texas over the weekend and have made our way to San Antonio where we have spent the last couple of days touring the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I tell you, I just LOVE Texas!! Feels like coming home :-))

The church...one of the only remaining structures standing.

In the gardens inside the courtyard of the Alamo.

The famous San Antonio Riverwalk...everything I'd imagined it would be...absolutely breathtaking!!

Sooooo lovely!!

Having lunch with music included :-)

Paigey had to feed the duckies...look closely...

Can you see the ducklings?!? They were sooooo cute...Paige wanted to take these home too!! Could you imagine us bringing home a stray kitten and brand new baby ducklings?!?

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Our Valentines's Day Visitor

I've done it...we're back online with the blog and I'm so happy because you just HAD to see who our special Valentine was who joined us for dinner...and with her, came much LOVE!!

When John was cooking our chicken fajitas on the grill for dinner that night, a stray kitty (we estimate she was about 6 months to a year old) came to see if we would share our meal...and of coarse, WE DID!! Slowly she began to trust us and we even coaxed her into our camper with the irresistible chicken. She reminded us so much of home and she warmed up to us so much that we seriously thought of taking her on the road with us and bringing her back home. She even stayed in our warm, cozy, loving camper all night and slept in bed with Lila!! The next morning, she went out, did her potties and then came back inside to have her breakfast :-). Man, we really wanted to keep her...but when we tried to put her in the truck as we were leaving, she jumped out of our hands and ran off into the woods. We all cried as we pulled out of our campground that morning...never to see our sweet friend again :-(

She was automatically partial to Lila

We had our bellies AND our hearts full on that night!!

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Sunday, February 17, 2013

A Very Happy Valentine's Day!!

Our last couple of days were spent back in upstate Louisiana at the Lake Claiborne State Park. This spot had a beautiful lake and several of the camping sites had personal piers for fishing and boat docking. It was very quiet and serene (off-season, so there were only a handful of campers) and a wonderful place to spend a few days of relaxation. We even had a very special visitor join us for our Valentine's dinner...

Well, sadly as I was blogging this, my ability to upload new pictures has ended...so you will have to wait for the "rest of the story" and i will post was i was able to complete. We are all doing great, and well into Texas by now. We will arrive in San Antonio in a couple of hours and spend a few days taking in the Alamo, Riverwalk and possibly Sea World? Then it is off to Big Bend National Park for a week or so. I will fervently try to figure out (or ask my technically advanced family members for help!) how to get more memory for my pictures so I can finish this and any future blogs. Big hugs to our family and friends...we love and miss you all!!

Fishing off the pier

It's twilight time...

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy Birthday to John

Yesterday was John's birthday so we celebrated and honored him with a day filled with fun, food and relaxation. He wanted pork chops, eggs, biscuits and gravy for breakfast, bar-b-que for dinner and German chocolate cake for dessert, plus a massage mid-afternoon, so he (and we) all had a great day and went to bed with smiles on our faces!! Plus, it was Mardi Gras, so we decorated the camper with a few beads and even wore our masks for a little bit as we celebrated :-).

The bar-b-que place that we went to dinner...it was really yummy!!

Kids in their Mardi Gras masks...

John in his mask...looks like Gladiator-huh-?!?

Me in my mask

"Happy birthday to you..."

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Hot Springs National Park

The "hot spring" of Hot Springs National Park!

On Monday afternoon, we took a trip into Hot Springs (Arkansas) National Park, which was not at all what we expected. We envisioned lush, wooded forests with natural, bubbling hot springs that would be enjoyable for all to swim and play in...what we found was an old town, with a small row of adult-only "bath houses", that were popular in the early 1900's where the wealthy people would come to "cure" whatever might ail them!! So, since there was no place for the family to enjoy the hot springs together, sadly we had to leave the kids at the camper while John and I went and soaked a couple of times for his birthday. We had originally planned to stay a full week here, but we decided to hit the road this morning (Wednesday) and head back down into northern Louisiana where we found a gem of a state park near Lake Claiborne to spend a few days until we begin making the trek across Texas. So, we tried to make the best of our time in Arkansas for the few days that we were here, but we are looking forward what adventures may be ahead!! Blessings to all of our family and friends that we love and miss so much :-)

One of the two remaining bath houses that are still in business...no children allowed :-(

The other operational adult-only bath house.

A huge and really beautiful Army/Navy hospital on the hill over-looking Hot Springs.

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Welcome to Arkansas

This morning, after schooling, we got on the road headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas...home of one of the top ten national parks in the US...Hot Springs NP. We were making great time, until about 30 miles southeast of our destination...then....slam on the breaks (literally... Which is NOT easy to do with our big rig) and come to a screeching halt!! Praise The Lord for John's alert driving and quick reflexes...he got us shut down in good order!! We are very much thankful that we are safe, not part of the accident that is apparently up ahead and that we have food, drinks, a place for the kids to play AND toilets, right behind us!! So far we have been at a stand-still (not one inch of movement!!) on I-30 for almost and hour and a half, with now relief insight. After nine months of being on the road, this is our first major accident/slow-down, so we have nothing to complain about!! Plus, we are praying for whom ever was in the accident up ahead....

Life on I-30 at the moment...

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Last Night in New Orleans

Our spot to watch the parade go by...

Our time in New Orleans would not be complete without a Mardi Gras parade, and lucky for us, the family friendly parades began on Wed evening, our last night there!! Here are a few pictures of our first (and only) Mardi Gras parade. I apologize for the picture quality, our iPod doesn't take very good photographs in low lighting. We pulled out of New Orleans yesterday morning, after one more breakfast of beignets, and began making our way north. Overall, we had a GREAT time in the "Big Easy" and we were glad to get out when we did...before the craziness of Mardi Gras begins!!