Catching up -- Saturday, 2/24/24

Jimmy and I returned home yesterday, the 23rd, from Louisiana; we were there ten days.  My sister, Nannie's, husband (William Scott Underwood, aka "Bubba") passed away from lymphoma on February 9th.  He didn't quite make it to his 80th birthday in April, but we like to think he lived a good, long life.  His memorial service took place on Saturday, the 17th and, boy howdy, a lot of people attended.  A lot.

Their friends from Denmark, Heidi Holm and Soren Nielsen, flew all the way across the pond just for Bubba's service, a most kind and touching thing to do.  Pictured above, L-R:  Heidi, Jimmy, Soren, and Nannie.

Along with flower arrangements and plants, Nannie put together a slide show of their lives, a loop that everyone in the funeral home could watch during the service.  They were married 47 years.  The memorial service was emotional, but lovely.

After the service, half the crowd returned to Nannie's home for refreshments, most provided by the Live Oak Community Church.  I carried my camera around all day, yet took very few pics and only these few were worthy of posting.

Of course, you see the mob gathered in the kitchen.  Isn't that the way people behave?  Stand around in the kitchen, though most of the food had been placed in the dining room.  Underwoods have lived in this area for generations, so plenty of Bubba's relatives were in attendance, as well as many dear friends.

Their grandson, Joe, and his wife, Catherine, and their two youngsters were here.  Joe flew here before his grandpa passed, spending quality time with him and helping Nannie immensely.  Above is great-granddaughter, Amelia, a "firecracker" in Joe's words.  All the kids were having fun while the adults visited.  That's what kids do.  Blake's the little guy with the bucket on his head and watching him walk around like that was a riot.

 Naturally, some lighthearted nonsense is in order.  😊

When it's over,

it's definitely time to put your feet up!

The flowers were gorgeous.  This arrangement was from our sister-in-law, Anne, who lost her husband of over 50 years last month.  Been a helluva year so far.

Son, Matt, flew in from Sacramento to be with his aunt.  It was only right and fitting that he and I be with her and honor Bubba, since Matt and I lived next door to them for ten years.  I moved from SoCal to Louisiana in 1989, when Matt was nine, so we'd be near family as we had none in SoCal.

Jimmy and I were blamed for ushering in a cold front the day after we arrived, and it truly was cold!  The burial of Bubba's urn was postponed till Monday the 19th because it was too chilly outside.  Thank goodness the sun was shining this day.  Bubba's only sibling, Jim, helped inter his brother.  Nannie, Jim and Matt above.

Jim, Jimmy, and Matt above.

We are not a gloomy lot.  Nannie will mourn her Bubba forever, but life goes on for the living.  We still eat, laugh, and joke.  For dinner one night, after the donated food was gone or we were tired of eating it, we four went to Don's Seafood for a blow-out seafood dinner, and let me tell you, the food was delicious.  Matt and Nannie, above.

Matt left the next day, unfortunately sick, flu-like but not COVID, and he became sicker when he got home.  Soren and Heidi left the day after the memorial service, both ill with a nasty tummy bug.  No fun having to travel when you're feeling bad.  Nevertheless, thanks to them for being there for Nannie.

Yummy crab claws was our appetizer at Don's.  Have you ever tried fried alligator?  How about blackened alligator?  Maybe boudin balls?  No?  Me, neither.

For Bubba's obituary -- click here.

Now begins a new chapter in Nannie's life as she joins the ranks of widowhood.  Indeed, for Jimmy and me, too, since we're used to being a foursome whenever we'd go someplace.  My sister will be all right.  She has relatives all over the country to visit if she's of a mind, friends, too.  And she knows she's always welcome at our house, anytime.

And, finally -- 10/25 - 10/30

 

Our little group of 11 intrepid Road Scholars were fortunate with the weather for our Belize trip.  Rain never impeded our activities.  But on our last night, the rain pummeled Belize with a vengeance, at least where we were staying.  The word "drought" had been used during our visit, but that all-night downpour might have taken care of it.  Sleeping (or trying to sleep) under a tin roof during a pounding rain is kinda iffy (even Jimmy heard it, wow!).  No matter, I figured I'd sleep soundly the next night.

We were at the dinky Placencia Airport by 9:30am and ready to board a teeny-tiny plane that looked like it wouldn't even hold all of us!  Rain was still falling, dark clouds covered the sky, but we said our prayers and climbed aboard for a short hop to Belize City.  A few other people were booked to fly, too, so we split into two groups to board two tiny airplanes.

And this is one of them!

Our favorite leader:  Israel, at left, and our favorite bus driver:  Damion, right.

Ah, yes, we can always be silly, and why not?

Damion took a selfie with the group.

The proverbial Sardines in a Can.

Nickie and Jimmy take a selfie in the plane.

Okay, good, the pilot's ready to fly and his copilot is ... whaaaat?  Is that Florence in the copilot seat?  Yes, lucky lady, she's strapped in and ready to ... assist or sit quietly?  Very cool picture, Florence!

This is the first time I've ever been so close to the pilot and his front window that I could actually see the runway as he was about to land.  For inclement weather, this was one very smooth flight, and we all sighed with relief when it was done.

In the main terminal in Belize City, we said our goodbyes, gave hugs, and everyone split to their specific terminal.  What a great group of people to travel with!  Per usual, United's incoming flight was delayed, so we'd be late getting in to Houston.  As it was, we pretty much ran to catch our last flight to Baton Rouge, making it with only minutes to spare ... but we made it.  Jimmy and I were very happy to see my sister, Nannie, and bro-in-law waiting for us.  And, yes, indeedy, I slept soundly that night!  

* * * * *

Until our last full day with them, I didn't even think to get the camera out.  But on Sunday, my sister invited friends of hers (and mine) to a simple afternoon get-together.  Before they arrived, Jimmy suggested Nannie and I get a picture together.  Well, that's saying a mouthful.  We get to laughing, Nannie and me, and soon we're falling over with laughter.  So, this is the best I can do, above:  a picture of us together, with me already laughing my head off.  

Company's here!  The ladies parked at the dining room table, and the men gathered in front of the TV in comfy seats.  Isn't that often the way?  L-R:  Linda, Shirley, Nannie, me, Judy, and Cheryl.  We had fun, reminiscing, with hoots of laughter, happy to see each other. 

Nannie, Cheryl, me, and Shirley.  Good friends.

So that's it, then.  Our laundry was done (!!) and we'd gathered the stuff we'd strewn around Nannie and Bubba's home and put it all back in our motor home, Tergel.  We were ready to pull out Monday morning, the day before Halloween.  It was grand spending these past few days with Nannie and Bubba, and not-so-easy to leave.  But it was time for us to start heading for home.  Thanks for everything!  Much love, you two!

We filled Tergel with $2.83/gallon gas (hooray!!) and aimed Tergel west, across the old Mississippi River Bridge to I-10.  A cold front was approaching with vicious north winds that buffeted poor Tergel about.  A light rain made the on/off wipers necessary, just enough to be annoying.  Off we went, ready for the next chapter of our adventures.

Saturday, 10/7/23

Tomorrow we'll be one week on the road in our motor home (Tergel), and tomorrow, God willing and the creek don't rise (no rain in the forecast), we'll be at my sister and BiL's home near Baton Rouge.  Tonight we're at the Elks Lodge in Shreveport, where a very nice lady just stopped by our Tergel to ask if we wanted some homemade hot tamales.  That's what we ate for dinner! 😄  Delicious!

Thus far we've stayed in one RV campground, at one reservoir, a national park, one boondocking spot, a state park with a lake, an RV park at the Wichita River, and now the Elks.

We were rained on for the first two days on Hwy 50 through Nevada.  Below:  

Nearing Delta, Utah, still on Hwy 50, the sky began to clear.  Photos below.

Mountains of slag from the copper mine at Ruth, Nevada.

We wanted to stay at Great Basin Nat'l Park,

but it would've been too cold.  At the VC, above.

Approaching Capital Reef Nat'l Park in Utah, we hoped for a site in Fruita C/G, tho we didn't have a reservation.  As luck would have it, despite the sign, "campground full," we pulled in to hear, "Yes, we just had a cancelation," from the campground host.  Bingo!  We were last here in 2008 and adored it.  Oh joy to be able to spend a day in this beautiful place.  (No hookups, no genny use, but we survived just fine.)  After setting up, we took off with our hiking poles on the Fremont River Trail.  Below.

Jimmy's hiking up, white checkmark, wait for me!

Fremont River lower right.

Strenuous ascent with wonderful panoramic views at the top.

Unbelievable!  Breathtaking!

Next, we hopped in Smartie to the Grand Wash Trail, and a short hike, above.  After sitting for two solid days, it sure felt good to be Out and About and on our feet.  In these glorious surroundings.  Photo above and more below.

Majestic.  Outdoor cathedrals.

Leaving this favorite park, we continued east.  Utah has some of the most fascinating geological formations, with features that come in all sizes, colors, striations, shapes, layers, in piles, hoodoos and pillars, to name a few.  Ain't nature grand?

We wanted to continue on Hwy 50 through Colorado, only to be stymied by road construction, which necessitated us heading south instead on Hwy 550, the Million Dollar Highway, and it's 11,000+ ft passes.  550 would eventually dump us out on I-40, which was the last road we wanted to travel on this year!  But ... whaddya gonna do?

Here we were stopped for more road construction.  One thing you can say for sure about Colorful Colorado:  It's gorgeous.

One helluva road, though, for a motor home.

The Aspens!  I took one picture after another.  I couldn't get enough.

Down, down, down, from Silverton to Durango.

Ah so.  This is why we did NOT want to drive on I-40 in New Mexico.  Two years ago, (click here to read about it) the same thing happened, only it was Smartie that suffered.  The picture above is one of Tergel's outside rear tires.  Luckily, and thankfully, the tire blew just before a rest area, so we weren't stuck roadside!  I called AAA and they sent a young man out from Ortega's Wrecking Service in Santa Rosa NM who took off the old and installed the (new) spare.  A few hours out of our day, and no harm done and no one hurt.

On Friday we made it to Wichita Falls, Texas, and actually found the falls!  We were staying nearby and were out walking their fine river paths when we discovered these waterfalls.  Kinda muddy-looking, but a good flow!

I took a bazillion more photos, but I kept the blog pics down to a minimum (enlarge any pic for maximum viewing!).  We've had a few stresses, yet feel that all is well.  I'll leave you with this sunrise shot as we left Wichita Falls on Saturday morning.