A Long Night in Mississippi

My child: Where are we sleeping tonight?

Me: Mississippi

My child: I don't know who Mrs. Sippy is. Are we sleeping at her house?

And with those questions, my child ate 6 granola bars. It was a noisy night at Mrs. Sippy's house.

I Admit It: I Love the Lonestar State

On Wednesday, we say a sad good-bye to our relatives here in Dallas and head across Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi as we wind our way toward Detroit. There are only a few states I've not visited and those three are on the list, so we're taking the long way home to see a bit of them. I used to love the show, In the Heat of the Night, so my family is sure to be blessed with me humming the theme song all the way across Mississippi.

Our time in Dallas has been lovely. We spent yesterday at a waterpark, and today we rode the commuter train into the city to walk around and visit the location where President Kennedy was shot. The museum and gift shop were very nice, but it was an odd feeling to think about that building and how it must have been that day in 1963. What you can't see in this picture are two X's which mark the spots where his car was when he was hit. The grassy knoll is that grass area to the right.

When we first rode into Dallas on Saturday, it just seemed like another big city. Now we see the beauty of it. We see how everything appears to be clean and new. We are amazed that there are middle class neighborhoods right in the city. We love the public transportation and the mix of cultures. I suspect that we could easily live here.

In another year or two we expect to make this trip again, but that time it will be for our niece's wedding. What a happy trip that will be.

Before we arrived in Texas, I thought it would be hot. It is. I thought it would be big. It is. I thought it would be just another state. It's not. Someone told me today that at the start of each legislative year, the Texas state lawmakers vote on whether or not to succeed from the U.S. It's probably a symbolic tradition, but I think that if Texas ever did succeed from the Union, it would hold its own.

Is Dallas Really a Part of Texas?

The drive from El Paso to Dallas was very interesting ... for one hour (and that's being generous.) Lots of cactus. Ample dirt. And enough sun to recharge any vitamin D deficiency I may have for the next decade. After that first hour, I went into a type of passenger-trance so the next 9 hours are a blur.

We are now in very urbane Dallas with Checkered's sister and are enjoying our reunion time with her family. Yesterday we went to the historic part of Fort Worth so Checkered could look Western and fit in a little better than his new look would fit-in in Dallas or any other part of Texas.

Amazingly, the bank temp displays showed 119 yesterday. But somehow in that heat, our kids walked through a maze at Fort Worth. Now to end on a little braggadocio: my boys finished in 13 minutes. Their sister and cousins (including a nurse and an engineer) finished in 30 minutes.

Now to plot our path back to Detroit. That is, if I can bear the sorrow of leaving Texas.

Saying Good-Bye to El Paso

On Saturday we leave my sister and her family in El Paso and head to Dallas to see Checkered's sister. It's always difficult to say good-bye and harder still to wait the probable two years until our next reunion. I am very fond of this west Texas town. My sister's neighborhood is pretty much mosquito-free due to the lack of humidity, so it has been a treat to sit outside at night and chat while the kids swim. Here's a picture of something we will always remember from our trip:

How funny that when it drops into the 90's in the evening, we all say it feels so good outside!

Someday soon, I will get my thoughts together for a better travelogue. Maybe tomorrow's 10 hour ride will be the time.

Out and About

Today we do a little touring. First stop: the town where Billy the Kid called home. From there, we head to White Sands National Monument, then do a little viewing of the "fence" between the U.S. and Mexico, and finally take a look at Fort Bliss Army Post. It's sunny. It's hot. It's wonderful.

Someday, I will post pictures. I promise.

It's Hot Here!

We've made it to the land of blazingly bright and hot sunshine. A land where I've been warned we will sunburn especially quickly and where we must watch for scorpions and snakes. But it's also a land where our a part of our hearts live. We are in El Paso, Texas visiting my sister and her family.

There is much to see and learn, and much to tell about our experiences yesterday at Bandelier National Monument and Santa Fe, New Mexico. However, today is for watching cousins laugh and play and revel in their rare togetherness.

It may well also be for figuring out how to use my laptop to access their network and thereby share pix with you.

Only time will tell about that last one.

New Mexico, Day 1

I was quite sad to leave my BFF, Kansas, today but our parting got less sweet when I went into McDonalds and the girl working there couldn't understand English.

The drive through the Oklahoma panhandle was flat and uneventful. I must say it didn't displace Kansas' place in my heart.

It would have been a great straight place for me to drive, but at 1,700 miles I am still relegated to the passenger's seat.

Here are some pix to show you what we've been doing.

This is a wonderful book, but you must LISTEN to it:

I have Kansas. Checkered has his GPS.

Riding with the windows down:

And then there was New Mexico. Beautiful, amazing New Mexico which makes me cognizant of my inability to capture its magic with either camera or words. Tomorrow we explore Santa Fe and Bandolier National Park.

FYI: We've been in two Walmarts today and two yesterday. We're crazy.