Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Don and Gail Travel Update #6

Hello To All!

Maybe some of you have thought we just dropped off the off the edge of the earth or burned up from the heat in Texas. No, neither of those! Here is what we’ve been doing.

The first of June our daughter, Lisa, and grandson, Emmet, drove out from Southern Calif. to join us in San Antonio.


We had a great time showing them the Alamo and some of that part of Texas.

Then we spent two weeks in Killeen, TX. with Cadence International (Soldiers Hospitality House) doing support work, cooking, cleaning repair, yard work, etc. During this time it was many days 105+F. We did a lot of “melting” instead of “burning up”! Killeen is just outside of Fort Hood, which is the largest Army base in the US. We loved mingling with soldiers and their families, getting to know them and their individual needs and concerns through fun, meals, laughter and worship. One highlight for us was to worship together with hundreds of military and families in chapel on base.


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This is Ben and Doris Hyde

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Chris and Elizabeth May of the Hospitality House

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This is the Hospitality House where we stayed. The motorhome is behind the house where full hook up for rv’s is provided. The vans are a group of high school kid’s from the Denver, CO. area. They stayed there for a week, about 25 in all, doing Vacation Bible School with military children on the base every morning and working around the hospitality house in the afternoons. While there, we visited one of the museums on base where we saw the last vehicle out of Iraq.


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After Killeen we want to Fort Worth, TX. where we toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, one of only two places US paper currency is created, the other is in D C. How very fun to see the sheets roll through the presses, the sheets of notes stacked high, and hear the facts and trivia of the creation of “perfect” bills. We had our minds boggled by all the numbers and facts. Sorry, no pictures were allowed!We asked about “free samples” and were told we’d missed it ~ we needed to be there on the 30th of February!

We spent time in visiting the historic Ft. Worth Stockyards in Downtown-Old Town Ft. Worth. What a place to see and learn of real cowboys, trail drives and railheads that helped feed and build this great country. Each day for visitors to see, a long-horn cattle drive of about 2 dozen, is done down the bricked street to relive a bit of the real west. Most of the original old buildings are still in use today.


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While in F.W. we decided to head to Portland, OR. to take care of some maintenance and repair on both vehicles and bodies. We will be here for a couple of months and then…….. off again to distant places still calling us. YeeeHaaa!

Much love to all.


Mom and Dad/Don and Gail