Frank & Mary Lew Brown

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR HOME SWEET HOME

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..............to the oceans white with foam...........

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...........to the prairies...................

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From the Mountains......................

Glad to be Home

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These are the states we have traveled in.

We arrived at our home at 627 Hillsboro Road in Montgomery, Alabama on Wednesday, August 13 at about 2:15 in the afternoon. We have driven over 9,000 miles, used untold gallons of diesel fuel, driven in 22 states and seen some of the most beautiful pieces of God's creation you could every imagine. We felt His hand, we felt your prayers and we thank Him and praise Him for a wonderful trip, for traveling mercies and for friends and family like you who have traveled with us in our thoughts and prayers. We love you all. Frank & Mary Lew

Alabama is Beautiful

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These are just little bits of Alabama's beauty.

Almost Home

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This was a welcome sight.

Our Last Night on the Road

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This is the name of the RV park we stayed in on our last night on the road (Tuesday). The perfect name we thought.

More Louisiana

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We drove over this strange sight. It is called Henderson Swamp.

We also drove over the Atchafalaya River (don't ask me how to pronounce it).

This is the 20 mile bridge we drove on as we drove over the above attractions.

Lake Charles, Louisiana

2008-08-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures of Lake Charles. They had a really odd bridge to drive across, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. It went up hill and looked like when you got to the top that there was a big drop off. Really a wierd feeling.

Louisiana

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Today (Monday) we drove through part of Louisiana. We will stay the night here tonight in Scott, Louisiana. Alabama is getting closer and closer. Thanks again for your prayers, God is with us and is taking good care of us.

Houston, Texas

2008-08-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday we drove through Houston to get to our RV park in Baytown, Texas to stay the night. I saw this flag flying in the breeze and I thought it was beautiful so I took a picture.

Downtown Houston. Traffic was a mess, they were working on the roads, even on Sunday. But we made it through the traffic mess, thank the Lord.

Lackland AFB

2008-08-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

We had to go one last place in San Antonio before we left.

Lackland Air Force Base where Frank went through Air Force Basic Training in 1960.

He couldn't believe there are still using World War II barracks on the base.

Sweet Home Alabama

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We will be leaving San Antonio on Sunday, August 10 to travel back to Alabama. We will stop 3 nights on the road. We ask for your prayers as we travel the last few hundred miles. God has been so good to us, He has blessed us with His protection, given us untold traveling mercies, and allowed us to see some awesome sights that He has created. I know He has His hand on us and we look forward to Him taking us back to Alabama safely. Thanks for your prayers. Love to All.

The View from the Top

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As you can see in the background the view was really something!

This is the view of the Alamodome where the evening services for General Assembly were held.

This is some of downtown San Antonio.

This is a view of the Alamo from the tower.

Tower of the Americas

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After the Botanical Gardens we went to the Tower of the Americas for lunch. We rode the elevator 750 feet to the top where the restaurant is located. The elevator had a window in it so you could look out over San Antonio while you were riding up.

The plaza around the Tower has some beautiful waterfalls, this is just one of them.

More Garden Pictures

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Franks Flower Pics

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Here are just a few of Frank's Fantastic Flower Photos

San Antonio Botanical Garden

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Friday, August 8, we went to the Botanical Garden. As you can see it was very beautiful and Frank knew he would get some fantastic pictures of the flowers there, he was not disappointed.

Did you know pomegranates grew on trees? I didn't! I guess I thought they just showed up at the grocery store.

More Beauty

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Frank found some flowers he just couldn't walk by without taking a picture!!

More Caverns

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See for yourself, aren't they beautiful?

Natural Bridge Caverns

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After the Safari we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns. They are amazing. God really made some beautiful formations in these caves.

Even More Wildlife

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And here is even more of the beautiful animals.

More wildlife

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These are some more of God's creation.

African Safari, Texas Style

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Thursday Frank and I took the pups to "Doggie Day Care" and went on a Safari. It was really fun. We drove through this wildlife ranch and saw a lot of animals. They came right up to the truck.

Friends

2008-08-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

We have spent time with some special friends while attending Generall Assembly

We had supper with Pastor and Sis. Marie.

Visited a little with Bro. & Sis. Causey

We met Frank's brother Gordon's wife's sister Maxine. We talked about how much we enjoyed the family reunion.

Frank was happy he got to talk with Bro. Ray Hughes, Sr.

The Riverwalk

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We finished up the day with a walk on the Riverwalk. We finished just before it started to rain.

More of the Gardens in the Alamo

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There was also a pond with some huge Koa fish in it, some more flowers and a pretty fountain.

Gardens Around Alamo

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They have some beautiful gardens inside the walls of the Alamo and Frank got some beautiful photos of some of the flowers and this very unusually shaped tree.

Remember the Alamo!!

2008-08-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today (Tuesday) we visited the Alamo. In March of 1836 a small group of about 200 Texas volunteers held off the huge columns of General Santa Anna's Mexican army for about 13 days, but the Mexican army proved to be too much for this small band of men. Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were among those who died defending the Alamo.

Church of God General Assembly

2008-08-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

We arrived in San Antonio Texas for the Church of God General Assembly. The worship service was wonderful. And it was so good to see Pastor and Marie. It seemed like forever since we has been away from our church.

We ran into Mark Roddy who works for ColorCraft Studios. He has done several picture projects for our church in the 1990's when were on Broadway Street and also on Creative Street. We recognized each other, but couldn't quite put a name with a face. After we talked for awhile it all came together and we had a real good visit.

Texas

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We stopped at a rest area in Texas and there was a replica of the World War II Memorial in honor of the Texans who died in that war.

Cowboy Exhibits

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There really was much more to see besides Casey Tibbs. These are some of the other exhibits.
The had a beautiful art gallery with some fantastic paintings and sculptures, but we were not allowed
to take any pictures. You will just have to take our word that they were amazing.

More Casey Tibbs Exhibit

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Casey Tibbs

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Casey Tibbs was the only cowboy to this day to hold the saddle bronc riding and bareback riding championships in the same year.

Cowboy Museum

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Today (Saturday Aug 2) we visited the National Cowboy Museum. It was very interesting especially since Frank and his brothers knew some of the cowboys personally. His brother Gordon was good friends with Casey Tibbs and officiated at his funeral at Casey Tibbs' request.

More of the Memorial

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The granite pathway goes around the perimeter of the Memorial which was the place where the Murrah Federal Building stood. The pathway is made from the granite that was salvaged from the Murrah Plaza.

This is called the Survivor Tree. It is an Elm tree that survived the bombing.

We were very moved by this Memorial. We are so glad we were able to see it.

West Gate of Memorial

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The West Gate of the Memorial has 9:03 on it representing the time when Oklahoma City was changed forever. The bombing occured at 9:02 am.

East Gate of the Memorial

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The East Gate of the Memorial has 9:01 on the entrance, representing the time when Oklahoma City was still untouched, and innocent.

Oklahoma City Memorial

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We made it safely to Oklahoma City. We give the Lord all the glory for keeping us safe.

We went to see the Oklahoma City Memorial. It is very impessive. We didn't realize why the chairs were in the position they were. Each of the 168 chairs symbolize a life lost in the bombing including 19 small chairs representing the 19 children killed. The chairs are arranged in 9 rows, one for each of the 9 floors of the Murrah Federal Building, they are placed according to the floor on which those killed were working or visiting. We are glad we went at night. It is more impressive at night when each chair is lit.

More Pictures of the Cross

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The Cross in Groom, Texas

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Then we came upon a small farming town of Groom, Texas. These are just a very few pictures we took. Please click on the following link to see more amazing pictures and learn more about it.
The link is http://www.crossministries.net/index.htm

Scenes from Texas

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The scenery in Texas was nothing to write home about..........some cows..............

.......A crooked water tower.......

....and a whole lot of prairie grass land.

Texas

2008-08-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

After spending the night in Amarillo, Texas last night (July 31) we continued driving through the panhandle of Texas on our way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

More Really Soon

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Tomorrow (Friday, August 1) we will be going to Oklahoma City. I will put more pictures on first chance I get. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We know the Lord has His hand on us as He allows us to see His beautiful, awesome creation. Love to all!!

New Mexico

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Today (Thursday, July 31) we drove through New Mexico. These are a couple of interesting mountains we saw along the way.

These are some lava beds right along interstate 40. I thought it was odd that they would be right along the highway.

This mountain has some interesting markings on it. At first we thought the marks were man-made, but as we got closer we could see the marks are part of the mountain, God put the marks there.

Caught Up

2008-07-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

I think we are caught up with this blog. After being without internet for 3 days in Las Vegas and then a few problems yesterday. We will be traveling again tomorrow. We do appreciate your prayers. The Lord has had His hand on us the whole 6,500 plus miles of this trip. Love to all, thanks again for your prayers. Frank, Mary Lew, Cocoa, Bootsie and Missy.

More Petrified Trees

2008-07-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some more petrified trees. Strange looking, but beautiful.

Petrified Forest

2008-07-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

In the same national park as the Painted Desert is the Petrified Forest. These are some pictures from there.

Wildflowers

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Frank took some beautiful pictures of some of the wildflowers at the Painted Desert

More Painted Desert

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Painted Desert

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Today (Tuesday, July 29) we visited the Painted Desert located in Petrified Forest National Park.

These pictures are great, but they can in no way show the actual beauty of this. It truely looks like God took a paint brush and painted this desert. The colors are amazing and the rock formations are awesome. God's creation just gets better and better!!!

Route 66/Winslow, Arizona

2008-07-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

We traveled down historic route 66.

We ended up in Winslow, Arizona.

Frank & his "friend" "Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" as the song goes.
(the song is "Taking it Easy" by the Eagles.)

Meteor Crater

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We went to see a huge hole. A meteor crashed and caused a hole 700 feet deep, and over 4000 feet across.

It was very interesting.

Arizona

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Monday we drove to Arizona. We saw about every landscape imaginable.

Mountains, rocks, and pine trees.

Sunday

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On Sunday we went to church with Virginia at Guardian Angel Cathedral.

After lunch we went back to Virginia's and met her friend and neighbor Tom.

We had a great visit, but much tooooooooooooooooo short.

Why Go Anywhere Else?

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We saw the Statue of Liberty...

...the Pyramids....

...the Eiffel Tower...

...and Mount Rushmore... All without leaving Las Vegas.

Downtown Las Vegas

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Saturday night we went downtown to watch the light show. These are pictures of lights in the roof of the covered street downtown. They played music and the lights were on the beat with the music. Really something.

We ended the night with a huge shrimp cocktail. It was delicious.

Check out the price!!

The Last Pictures of the Gardens

2008-07-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here are the last set of pictures of the Gardens at the Bellagio. We have tons more, but we need to move on the something else.

The Trains in the Gardens

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There were several trains running within the garden displays. It was pretty neat.

The Gardens at the Bellagio

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These are some of the pictures from the amazing gardens at the Bellagio Hotel. It is an indoor garden and it is just beautiful.

Problem Solved

2008-07-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

It looks like the problem with the pictures being posted has been solved. I am using Frank's computer and it seems to be working well. I will put some pictures from the Gardens at the Bellagio. They will be out of order from the other garden pictures but you will get the idea of how beautiful they are. Thanks again for your patience.

More Shark Reef Aquarium

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These are a few more pictures of Shark Reef Aquarium

Shark Reef Aquarium

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On Saturday we went to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandelay Bay Hotel

These are a few of the fish we saw.

Problems

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For some reason some of the pictures are not posting. I don't have time now to check it out, we have to leave to go to the next town. I will check it out as soon as possible and see what I can do to fix it. Thanks for your patience. Love to All.

More Gardens at Bellagio

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More Flowers

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More of the Gardens

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Frank took some outstanding pictures of some of the flowers.

Dinner at Tuscany

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We got to Las Vegas on Friday afternoon and my cousin Dave took us out to dinner. A great Italian restaurant. We all had a good visit.

Me, Aunt Virginia, and her grandson Derek.

My cousin Dave and his girlfriend Sandra

The whole gang!

The Road to Las Vegas

2008-07-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

We finally have internet service so I can share some more pictures.

We left Southern California on Friday (July 25) to drive to Las Vegas Nevada to visit my Aunt Virginia. These are just a couple of scenes we saw along the way. Mountains, desert, sagebrush, etc.

More Tomorrow (hopefully)

2008-07-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't put any new pictures since Southern California. The RV park we are at in Las Vegas does not have internet. I am at my Aunt Virginia's house and she was kind enough to let me use her comupter to type this note. I can't put any pictures on because the pictures are on my computer. We will be in Arizona tomorrow and hopefully the RV park will have internet and I can put on more pictures. Have a blessed day. Love to all.

On to Las Vegas

2008-07-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we go to Las Vegas to visit with my other Aunt. We continue to ask for your prayers as we travel. Love to All.

More Fireworks

2008-07-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Bang bang, pop pop, boom boom. Can you hear it?

Disneyland Fireworks

2008-07-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight is our last night here in Anaheim California and we went just outside and sat at the picnic table next to our trailer and watched the fireworks that happens at Disneyland every night at 9:30 PM. Frank took some fantastic pictures we would like to share. Of course you can't hear the bang bang, pop pop, and boom boom. You will just have to imagine. Enjoy!!

Huntington Beach

2008-07-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

Another one of my "hang outs" was Huntington Beach. We went there on Wednesday. The Pacific Ocean is still as beautiful and powerful as I remember. We were the only people on the beach without a swim suit! I did roll up my slacks and got my feet wet, Frank didn't want to so he just took pictures.

Tribute to Vietnam Veterns

2008-07-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Two of my cousins were in the Vietnam War and my Aunt Bette started an organization called "Mothers of La Mirada Servicemen". This memorial was built as a result of this organization. The flag and eternal flame are beautiful.

She also had this flagpole put up on the street in La Mirada. For years she would drive up every morning to raise the flag, then go every night to take it down. Then the city made a permanent memorial with a light so she doesn't have to put the flag up and down. She is 86 years old and still very active in the city of La Mirada, California where she has lived since 1956.

More Family Fun

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Mary Lew's Family Reunion

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We have had the best time visiting with my aunt and my cousins. We have laughed. cried, ate and relived some great memories. We are so glad we came to visit them.

Hobby City

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We also went to another "hang out" of mine, Hobby City. It is a neat little place where they have different buildings that house special hobbies.

This one is for trains.....

This one is for magic.....

This is for dolls.

Faircrest Apartments

2008-07-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) we visited the apartment complex that I managed from 1976-1978. When I was manager the rent was $350.00 for a 3 bedroom and $250.00 for a 2 bedroom. Today the rent is $1,300.00 for a 3 bedroom and $1,200.00 for a 2 bedroom. Considering what I have heard about rent in southern California I thought the prices were pretty reasonable.

I was able to visit with the current manager Deirdre (left) and the assistant manager Annamarie (right). They were very nice and friendly. No wonder they have 100% of the 228 apartments rented!!

This is the front of the rental office.

It is much nicer now than it was in 1976-78.

Anaheim, California

2008-07-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

We are here in Anaheim, California for a few days visiting with my Aunt Bette and my cousins and seeing some of the places I used to "hang out" when I lived in Southern California from 1974 to 1978. We are staying in an RV park very close to Disneyland.

I still love to look at the palm trees.

And we saw this big hedge that surrounded this house and the owners cut a hole in the hedge to get in the front door.

Burn Area

2008-07-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

We also saw some of the area burnt by the latest fires. This area did have some sections that were not burned. There was some smoke in some areas, but not much.

Southern California I-5

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These are some of the sights we saw on our drive into Southern California.

Lots and lots of orchards (cherry, plum, etc.)

Buena Vista Lake

Lots of traffic!!

And truck, after truck, after truck loaded with plums.

Traffic

2008-07-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

The rest of the day was spent in traffic. So we are spending the night in the big city of Gilroy, California. The only thing it has is a HUGE outlet mall, a big regular mall and this RV Park. It is beautiful and so we will enjoy spending the night here and then driving to Anaheim California tomorrow to spend a few days with my Aunt. I haven't seen her since my Mom's funeral in 1977. Thanks again for your prayers. The Lord is keeping us safe and blessing us with His beautiful Creation. Love to All.

After San Francisco

2008-07-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

We didn't stop in San Francisco, too much traffic, we just drove through. Just outside of town we saw a lake and some mountains, really pretty.

More of San Francisco

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We also drove through a tunnel that was kinda neat.

We saw block after block of row houses.

Golden Gate Bridge

2008-07-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

We continued down 101 and in San Francisco we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Frank did real good driving through all the traffic pulling the trailer.

Grapes

2008-07-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today we headed south once again on Highway 101 and on both sides of the road as far as the eye could see there were vineyards. Grapes everywhere!! They were in such straight rows they were really interesting.

Even More Redwood Trees

2008-07-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

These were the end of our scenic drive, hope you enjoyed seeing them.

More Redwoods

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The size of these trees is just so amazing that if I hadn't seen them, been in them and touched them I would never imagined how big and beautiful they are.

The Giant Redwoods

2008-07-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

We stopped for the day in Fortuna, California. We set up the trailer, unhitched the truck and drove about 30 miles to drive the Avenue of The Giants. The drive was well worth it. Frank said this is his favorite place we have seen. See if you agree.

More of God's Creation

2008-07-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

More pictures along the southern Oregon Coast.

Highway 101 South

2008-07-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today (Saturday, July 19th) we left Coos Bay, Oregon and continued our trip on Highway 101 heading south. The following pictures were taken just south of Port Orford, Oregon. The Pacific Ocean is beautiful. God's Awesome Creation just keeps getting better and better as you will see. Enjoy!!

Finally

2008-07-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Finally about 7:30 pm they were ready to eat. Frank and I decided it was too much work for the amount of meat you get, but it was an experience. (Next time we want to eat crab we will go out to a sea food resturant)

The Crabbing Continues

2008-07-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

We did end up catching 6 small Red Rock crabs that we could keep, then more waiting for them to cook.

Finally they were done.

Then we had to clean them....yuck!

More Crabbing

2008-07-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

...about 15 minutes later Frank pulled up the trap...

There were several crabs in the trap, unfortunatly they were too small to keep.

Crabbing

2008-07-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we went "crabbing". We took the crab traps to the bay........

........made sure the trap was tied to the dock..............

.....put in a turkey leg for bait.....

.....tossed the trap into the bay and waited...........

Myrtlewood Factory

2008-07-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Bud and Connie took us to a factory that makes bowls, trays, and all kinds of things out of the wood from a Myrtlewood Tree. The tree has to be at least 100 years old in order to be used to make these products. It was quite interesting.

Old Friends

2008-07-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today we had lunch with my old friend Connie Miller and her husband Bud. Connie and I have been friends for 50 years and she and Bud have lived in Coos Bay, Oregon since 1983. It was so good to see them. Connie has been really sick and is just starting to feel better. I thank the Lord for touching her.

It's a Dog's Life

2008-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

I put my computer case on the sofa so I could put my computer away and Bootsie decided to make himself at home in it.