Disney World

 We arrived at Disney World with our mouths hanging open in astonishment!  It was so huge.  We drove it seemed like miles just between one area and the next.  Our hotel was Disney Pop Century.  It was perfect for us, because everywhere we went there were things reminding us of the times we grew up in.  The music that played everywhere was "our" music. 

 Lady and the Tramp was one of all time favorite movies, and there was Lady and Tramp also, but I didn't get his picture.

 The Epcot center was so fun and so amazing.  We went at just the right time and there were no crowds and about a 5 minute wait to do things.  As I looked at my pictures, I realized I was having so much fun doing things, I didn't take many pictures.  Inside the big ball at Epcot is a wonderful ride that takes you throughout time and how man's discoveries have brought us to the age we now live in. Most of the things at Epcot are oriented around the future and science, and then the wonderful  exhibits from all around the world.  At the end of the day was a most amazing fireworks display as only Disney can do.
   

 Now here are two happy monkeys.  Notice the big smile on the one on the right..

 Epcot is part of Disneyworld, so the wonderful Disney characters were there.  

Here was one of my favorites, the "real " Alice.
We spent a day and a half at Disneyworld, with Epcot being our choice of kingdoms to attend.  It was a woderful break to our trip of traveling. 

Florida or Bust--Plantations and Baton Rougle Temple!

 Ever since watching "Gone With the Wind" as a young girl, I have always dreamed of seeing a real plantation.  We visited the Houmas Plantation near Baton Rouge.  It was everything I ever dreamed an old plantation house would be and more.  The inside of the mansion was more elegant than could be described.  I could just imagine Scarelt O'Hare walking down the curved stairs at any minute.

 The gardens around this mansion were fantastic.  Everywhere there were fountains and gardens and flowers.  There was even spanish moss on the oak trees.

 This oak tree was over 600 years old.  It was huge!!!

 It was hard to leave such a beautiful place.  My dream had certainly come true.

This is the Baton Rouge Temple.  A small temple, but so special.

Florida or Bust-Day 5-6

 Being very nervous to head into New Orleans driving our own car, we became very brave, and said, "lets to it!"  We did it and had a great time.  What an amazing place.  This is a bridge across the Mississippi River.

 We took a ferry across the river, and this is the New Orleans skyline.

 Crawfish are really popular down here.  Here is Grandpa, not looking too excited about being attacked by a huge crawfish.

 Yep, we went into the French Quarter and walked a short distance on Bourbon Street. 

 The French Quarter has 90 blocks of narrow, interesting streets like this.

This is the trolley we rode from our parking lot to the downtown area.

Texas, Day 3-4

 We finally made it to San Antonio.  The drive from Dallas there was just a drive through one extended city stretching all the way.  San Antonio was also a huge city.  We found our motel and then very easily found their temple.  It sits on a hill overlooking the city.  We noticed all around the temple there were these huge, beautiful stained glass windows.

 On the inside of the temple, all the rooms, even the dressing rooms, had these wonderful windows.  The celestial room had these floor to ceiling windows on all four walls, adding a beauty beyond description.

 Being born in Texas, and always fascinated by the stories of the Alamo.  This was one of our destinations.  It was really touching to see the place where it all occurred.

 One of the highlights of San Antonio is the Riverwalk.  We loved it.  We felt like we were in another world.  Very beautiful and romantic.

 This is the view of Texas, mile after mile.  Just open, flat land.

The Houston temple is grand and beautiful.  Each of the temples that we have visited have a look of their own, but the spirit is all the same--peaceful and full of love.  Seeing all the temples has truely been a highlight of our trip.
We are ready to head to Louisiana tomorrow.  What an awesome trip this is!

Texas-Day 1 and 2

 Here it is--the Texas Border.  West Texas is very barren and flat, just a few hills, and many oil wells.

 Our first stop over was Lubbock, Texas.  We went to a most beautiful temple there.  It is a small one, but as we visited with the workers, one couple was related to Steve and had gone to high school in Grantsville, and had lived with President Orgill during that time.  Small world.

 Dallas was our next destination. The temple was located in a beautiful, old area  with big homes and big trees.  You couldn't find it until you were right in front of it.  Thanks for the great little GPS we had with us.  Steve noticed that the Angel Moroni seemed to be facing south.  Humm!

Dallas has almost 2 million people and the traffic was horrendous.  This type of interchange was everywhere.  We did see the Cowboy stadium.  Go Cowboys.  We managed to work our way through it all and on to San Antonio.

MEXICAN ADVENTURE

Being in Douglas, Arizona for my 50th High School Class Reunion, we decided to spend a few extra days and go with Ken and Judy down to their fishing village on the shores of Lake Novillo.  Well, after all these years of living right on the Mexican Border, I finally get to travel into the interior.  I was excited.  This village is about a five hour drive south of the border.  We stopped at the border, obtained visas, and away we went.  I loved the drive, through small, sleepy Mexican towns and villages; along winding mountain roads, and through valleys filled with agriculture.  All along the toad there were definite signs we were in Mexico:  . . .


Little donkeys

And dusty roads, adobe walls, and small humble homes.  It was the chili harvest and we were greeted with roadside stands selling bright red Mexican chili peppers.

Lake Novillo is a man made lake, and as the waters rose the villagers had to move to higher ground to save their homes.  They were not able, however, to move their ancient, old cathedral, built in the 1600's, nor were they able to move their cemetery.  Most of the time these are buried  under the lake, but once in a while when the water level is down, the cemetery appears as does the crumbling walls of the cathedral.  We were able to go and touch and see the cathedral and marvel at the centuries old workmanship still standing.  Walking in the graveyard that was under water was eerie, but amazing.



Our purpose in going was bass fishing.  And fish we did!  Judy took most of the fishing pictures which I do not have at this time.  Here is a photo of my brother, Ken and his tilapia.  He was such a patient mentor and teacher as he took these very novice bass fishermen and showed us the ropes.  We probably caught about 30 bass/day.  The amazing thing, we would return to hour home in the evening and the villagers would come and take our fish and soon bring them back all cleaned, filleted and ready to eat.  What a deal.

On our way back to the States we took another road that followed the trail of the Franciscan Padres. We were able to stop and view at least 5 of the missions that they established in the 1600's. All of

 them still standing and preserved and still in use.  This was one of my very favorites.  Each cathedral is found in the center of the village or town across from the town plaza.

Then it was back to the border .  Our last view of Mexico and their flags flying for a recent fiesta.

What an great adventure into our neighbor to the south.





Garden Harvest

I am certain you have all been waiting on pins and needles to see how our square foot garden did. Well, sorry I have been so late in getting this on the blog. You see I have been so busy harvesting . . .or at least this can be an excuse.

This is an average day picking. We had so many zuchinni and cucumbers all the neighbors were kept in good supply.

This is my first venture at pressure canning. The green beans were the best. Only had a problem with the canner, the lid stuck and I couldn't get the jars out. Finally I did, but I was afraid I would have to use dynamite to open it.

Here are some of my rewards. Jars of salsa and pickles. It was lots of fun. Today, I cleaned the garden and took most of it down for the winter as we have threats of cold weather (freezing) next week. And, yes, we plan to do more square foot gardening.