February 5 - “On to basketball”

We got on the road again. Headed to the basketball tournament in Fort Worth. We left about a quarter to 10 … and were promptly detoured. Working on the street. We backtracked a bit and finally got moving again at 10. 

We started looking online for a possible new car. Now, our old one is still fine, but we’re approaching 150,000 miles. It’s driving fine so far. Just looking ahead. I think we would stick with an Equinox or maybe a Trailblazer. Hope we don’t have to find out anytime soon. 

We made our obligatory stop at Bucee’s. Lunchtime. We split a chopped beef sandwich, a hot apple pie, and a tub of cantaloupe. I lamented that we arrived 20 minutes too late for the biscuits. 

We stopped at our friends’ house on our way to the hotel. Larry and Diane have always been more than hospitable to us. And they’re fun to hang out with. 

We took what amounted to a shortcut through the countryside from there. Lots better than staying on the freeway, except we were heading almost due west at 5:30 in the afternoon. Tough sun. Chris handled it admirably, as usual. 

We got checked in at the hotel and found a nearby Jason’s Deli. Great baked potato soup. Chris had some broccoli cheese soup. We both had a sandwich of some kind to go with it. And to top it off? Free soft serve ice cream like the kind on the cruise ship. Flashback!

We made back to the hotel by 7:40 or so and crashed. Watched a college basketball game and a Hallmark movie at the same time. Back and forth, anyway. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ says, Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the Law and the Prophets.

Father, be with the boys playing basketball today. Keep them safe from injury on the court. Amen. 

February 4 - “Here we go again”

We started our morning out with an eye on travel again. We signed up for our last cruise excursion coming up (the behind-the-scenes look at ship operations). As far as I can figure, the only thing left for us to do is fill out their  pre-cruise medical form. Can’t do that until the middle of March sometime. 

Then we turned our attention back to the land. We already had a reservation for a hotel this weekend (Wednesday -tomorrow  - through Sunday) for Caleb and Luke’s regional basketball tournament. All set to go on that one. Go Texas Wins!

If Caleb’s team ranks high enough in regionals, they will then have a state tournament in College Station next weekend. No hotel info available yet on that one, so we are waiting patiently …

Our next reservation was for the hotel we’ll be staying at for Zak and Lindsay’s wedding. That hotel is in Fairfield, so we locked in a room for those couple of nights. All set there. Well, except for writing the ceremony, but I’ll do that when we get back from Spain. 

Last night Jachin came by after work and had a slice of pizza here. It was fun hearing him talk about work and church and his new car and the World Baseball Classic. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ says, Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff — they comfort me.

Father, thanks for Jachin. Be with him at work and home. Amen. 

February 3 - “On naps and dreams”

I remembered a classic word of wisdom that I heard on the cruise. One of the staffers was signing off of a session. He offered these words:

“Don’t give up on your dreams; Take more naps.”

That’s one I can sure get behind. 

Yesterday morning we hit the ground running. Chris had a mammogram appointment at 8:30 (she had to be there by 8), so no rest for the weary around here. All was well, by the way. The doc said top come back next year and do it again. 

We made some stops on the way home. First we went to Academy. Janell told us they were having a massive clearance sale. Best we could do there? I found an errant dime in the parking lot. Yay. 

Then it was on to Randall’s. I had a prescription ready to be picked up. In and out. Better than a fast food joint. 

And finally back home to keep going on the clothes washing. 

We got word in the afternoon that our neighbor and good friend’s mom died. We headed over to the hospital to support him. His wife joined us so that she could ride home with him. Please keep praying for Corey as they walk through these tough steps. 

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ says, So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, andin pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Father, please grant Corey comfort and wisdom and most of all peace. Amen. 

February 2 - “Back Home”

Back in port - Galveston port - and off the ship by around 9. April finally fought her way through the traffic and got us on the way home by a little before 10. 

For lunch we heated up some pizza we found leftover in the freezer. Nothing else to eat in the house except some candy and stones of the snacks we took on the cruise with us. 

After lunch we chatted with Janell, Brennan and Corey for a while. They, as always did a fabulous job talking care of Freddy while we were gone. 

We had to make a quick Walmart run. Absolutely zero groceries in the house. Feels good to have that taken care of.  

We stopped at Whataburger on the way home. Hey.  It’s not Guy’s Burgers on the shop, but you can’t beat Whataburger. Welcome home. 

Speaking of welcome home … we had a bit of a late night. We went up to the hospital to be with Corey and his family. His Mom was taken to the emergency room. It took forever for him to get in to see her. I mean to say, we were in the family waiting room for literally hours. Long enough that I feel asleep. That was a first for me. Hey. Guess I can’t handle late nights anymore. We all finally left around two after he got to see her. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭46‬-‭47‬ says, And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior

Father, thank you for all the great experiences we had over the last two weeks. But it’s sure good to be home for a while. And please be with Corey’s mom. Amen.

February 1 - “Galveston”

Hmm. Galveston. Somehow that sounds vaguely familiar …

We were up and at ‘em by around 6 yesterday. Last full day aboard ship (at least for a couple of weeks. We already had to check in from here for our Royal Caribbean cruise). 

We attended another of the random sessions they offered. This one was to go over the Debarkation info. Actually, it was the same stuff that was on the handout we got the night before. But, hey. Some people are auditory learners. 

Just outside that session the ship store was having its final sale of the decade (well, of the two weeks, anyway). This one was a sale on their destination themed t-shirts. We found a few that we liked, so we used up the last of our onboard credit (that we just discovered we had).  Chris’ says Caribbean. Mine says Galveston.  Gotta support the home port, right?

Did I mention that it got cold again? The closer we got to Galveston the colder it got. Back to long sleeves and jeans. At lunch we decided on a Guy’s hamburger. That meant going outside and standing in line. The wind was gusting up to 40 miles per hour. My fries didn’t even stay warm! Good smash burger, though. 

We made it to one show in the afternoon. Staff combined with cruisers performing music and dancing from the 50’s. Best music all week. Well, except for the violins. I liked the violins. 

The rest of the afternoon we spent packing. Yep. Last day. That means today is departure day. Or disembark. Or whatever they call it. Here we go!

Oh, wait. I forgot dinner. I may or may not have been recruited by the waiters to join their evening dance event. I think I have figured out how to do the YMCA dance. At least the way they did it. It was lots of fun. That’s three good fellas we got to know. 

After dinner we went to the evening show. Some guy who came in fourth on The Voice season 22. He had a really powerful voice and some incredible range. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬ says, And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works

Father, thanks for a pretty amazing couple of weeks.  Bless all the folks we met for the first time. And bless Ibrahim and Atma and Gusti. Amen. 

January 31 - “Dinner Dancing (not dirty)”

We went to school yesterday. Yep. Of course we were late for class, but we didn’t get scolded or anything. OK. It was the Origa-towel folding class. In our 30 minutes there we folded a towel to look like a dog, then a bear, and finally a penguin. The one little girl nearby (watching over my feeble attempts) said I could take it back to my stateroom, but the guy with the mic was pretty adamant that we turn the towels in before we leave. 

We were so encouraged by our raging success at origa-towels, we decided to go to another class where they showed us how they cook the food we have been eating. The executive chef was a guy originally from Boston who lives in Alaska now. His presentation was a lot of fun. The guy had a great sense of humor. Reminded me of the famous TV baker who is based on the East coast (I guess not that famous. I can’t remember his name). 

He (well, actually his assistant chef did all the work) showed how they made a salmon chowder, Alaska style. The taste of the soup part alone was kinda odd. But when we mixed it with the biscuit they gave us, it wasn’t all that bad. (But I still don’t really like salmon).

After some lunch we adjourned back to our room. Yup. Nap time. We just couldn’t help it. 

Then we went up to the Lido Deck. We wanted to see if we could get a glimpse of Cuba as we passed by. Guess we were too far away.  Nothing but water. 

I must confess. I took part in some dancing last night.  Dinner dancing. Not dirty … dinner. After the meal the waiters all break into a dance. I have consented to join them each night. Most of the time the dances have been semi-choreographed. This time, however … free style all the way, baby!  One of the ladies at our table even joined us this time. I heard that the performance was captured for Facebook stardom. The guy sitting next to me predicted 250,000 hits by morning. I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen that video. But I did have fun. 

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬ says, But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Father, thank you for the good-natured waiters and fellow cruisers for their encouragement on the dance floor. Bless them all. Amen. 

January 30 - “Ocho Rios, Jamaica”

Our big tour for Jamaica was called “Panoramic View of Ocho Rios”. It turned out to be a pretty good overview of scenery, vegetation, and even a little bit of “local color” (read here, “the guys on the side of the road selling Reggae brownies and cannabis gummies, and the teenager doing back handsprings down the hill in front of the bus”).

We drove through the Fern Gully Rain Forest. That’s where we learned that the word “Jamaica” means land of trees and water. We also heard that the only wild critter is the mongoose. We did see some goats roaming around here and there, though. Oh, and we saw the former vacation home of Diana Ross. Mick Jagger had one there as well. 

The tour guide told us the official language of the island was English. Not what I was hearing when she talked to the bus driver. Even when she assumed focus and spoke to us on the mic, I was still confused by how some words were pronounced, especially if they began with the letter “H”. Sometimes they enunciate it. Other times it is silent. Here are some examples from the mouth of our illustrious tour guide:

High school - eye school

Hour - hower 

Health - elth 

Hundred - undred 

Hurricane - urricane 

See? Confusing. 

We stopped at a shopping place. The guide described it in exactly the same way we describe Walmart. One stop shopping. Basically … tourist trap. They did give us half price on almost everything. And they accepted credit cards … if you were willing to pay the extra fee involved. We finished our souvenir shopping there. 

Our final stop was a lunch place.  We ordered a meal of jerk chicken and festivals (something like hush puppies) and a soda (Pepsi. No Coke). Had to at least try the local cuisine. It wasn’t nearly as spicy as I expected. But then, I didn’t add any of the sauce. She warned us that it was the kind that “comes out the same way it goes in - hot.”  Nope. Not for me.  

We spent a few hours in the afternoon back on the ship talking to our friends Joe and Cindy. It was great catching up with all their news and sharing what’s going on with us. 

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ says, There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You! And there is no rock like our God.

Father, thank you for yet another chance to experience a totally different culture. It was even fun listening to them talk to each other. Amen.