That evening we flew to Luxor, the ancient capital of Thebes. The flight was about one hour and fifteen minutes. We didn’t arrive at the hotel and have dinner until after 10:00 p.m. The hotel was the Mercure. Our room was hot, the air conditioning did not go on until about 2:00 a.m. but worked after that We spent two nights there.
The food in Egypt was presented so beautifully but we couldn’t eat the salads because the food is washed in Nile water which is ver contaminated. Because of the Aswan Dam, the river does not run as swiftly as before to cleanse itself. We were told not even to run our fingers in the water if we were riding in a boat. We could only eat cooked food and peeled food. The hotel in Cairo peeled their cucumbers so we could eat them. Once or twice I cut the outside off of the tomatoes and ate them. Our meals were mostly served buffet style and we had a choice of chicken, beef and some lamb which was delicious.
Thursday, July 9, we had breakfast at 7 a.m., our usual time, and took the bus to the Valley of the Kings, crossing the Nile on a new bridge opened just last year. Many people live on the West Bank of the Nile but no one in the area of the Valley of the Kings. We drove through a range of mountains to the valley and it is SO DESOLATE. Not a singe blade of grass or little weed grown there. We were able to visit three tombs, and then the tomb of Tutankhamen. His is the only mummy in the Valley of the Kings. It is encased in one of his three gold coffins, covered with glass. It is very hot and sunny there. No flies or bugs but many pests (vendors). Our guide in Luxor is Refat, very knowledgeable. He can read the hieroglyphics on the walls of the tombs and explained what was written.
After finding that pyramids could not keep out thieves, the pharaohs decided to build tombs, hiding the entrances, in the desolate desert. That didn’t work either. They then decided to place guards in front of their tombs but the guards did the stealing. There is a village perched on the side of the hills that the government wants to move out There is no running water and new modern housing was built for them. They won’t move because at night, illegally, they dig under their houses for old tombs and treasure.
We visited the Ramesseum, the temple of Ramses II. It is a very large complex with a huge statue of Ramses II lying on its side. It is the largest statue of him, made of rose granite.
We also saw the Colossi of Memnon. They really are the statues of Amenophis II, which stood outside a palace, destroyed in the earthquake of 27 b.c.
We drove by the monument of Queen Hatshepsut (we were told to say "Hot-Cheap-Suit" to remember how to say her name. We were not able to visit it; it was the sight of some shootings earlier in the year. It is a very beautiful monument, very different from any other in Egypt. Behind her monument one can see trails going over the mountain to the Valley of the Kings, the only way into the place in olden times. I could see Amelia Peabody trudging over these hills.
That evening we were supposed to take a sail in a felucca on the Nile. The river runs north and the winds blow south so one can usually go in any direction. That day there was no wind. We were pulled out from the bank by two fellows in galabeeyas, the long robes used by men, then one fellow, with rope in hand, hopped on anchored boats and pulled us out into the river. There a diesel-powered boat towed us up the Nile. The boat eventually was towing three sail boats and spewing out black, stinky smoke. After awhile we were turned loose but instead of going downstream with current, the fellows started rowing us towards the shore. I guess if we had just gone with the current we would have passed by our anchorage. When we finally got close to shore, out jumped one man again and started to pull us in towards the bank, again hopping on the anchored pleasure boats. They were anchored because tourism was way down and were not in use. It was quite hilarious watching the man pull the boat to shore. Instead of a sail on the Nile we had a tow on the Nile.
As we drove on the west bank we saw the houses where Lord Carnavron and Howard Carter lived while searching for tombs. In Luxor, we drove past the Winter Palace, a famous hotel, and the Chicago House.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pyramids in Egypt
Our first visit was to the site of Memphis, an ancient capital of Egypt. There we saw a huge statue of Ramesis II. We then drove to Saqqara or Sakkara (in Egypt and Israel one finds several different spellings of the same word). There we went into a small pyramid of King Teti, then into a mastaba, a flat-topped tomb, of Mere Ruka, King Teti’s advisor. There were many paintings on the wall.
We then saw the famous step pyramid of King Zoser, built by his architect Imhotep. It was the first pyramid built. We visited a silk rug factory where children and adults were weaving rugs. The children range in age 8 to 12 and work 3 hours per day. We bought a small silk rug and they threw in a tiny rug too. The salesman spoke Spanish which surprised me. I found Spanish-speaking salesmen all through Egypt and Israel. On our tour we had two Spanish-speaking girls, one from Mexico and one from Guatemala. I did a lot of translating for them.
At a lunch at a restaurant, I had to use the restroom. Our guide called them "Temples of Comfort. After I came out of the stall a man came into the area where the wash basins were holding out his hand for his tip! He quite surprised me. Every restroom has an attendant that you have to tip. In some places the attendants tear off 5 or 6 squares of toilet paper and give it to you to use; none in the stall.
After lunch we drove to Giza to see the Great Pyramids. What a sight, so huge! The largest (Cheops) was closed for repairs but I was able to go inside the second largest, built by Cheffren, the son. There are other names for these two pharaohs but these are the ones I know. It was not considered good from to build your pyramid taller than your father’s so Chefren didn’t but he did build it upon a plateau so it actually looks taller. The smallest pyramid of the three was built by a grandson.
To go inside I had to walk bent over for a long distance, walking on a ramps that had little boards across it every foot or so. I had to walk down, then could walk upright for a short distance, then bent over going down again. Then I came to the chamber where the sarcophogus was. It was just a large, empty room with the stone sarcophogus as the only item in it. We then visited the museum that houses the Solar Boat. The guide said it was a mortuary or funeral boat. It was found in pieces right by the Great Pyramid about 20 years ago and was very large and impressive. It took three tries and many years to get it put together.
One of the fun things we did was to ride a camel. Leon’s driver had a turban for him to wear so he looks quite authentic in our pictures. The camels had only one stirrup, to help you get on. It is a funny sensation as the camel gets up in sections. First you go forward as his rump goes up, then you lean backwards and the front part goes up. Interesting.
We drove by the Sphinx. It is huge but not as big as I thought it would be. Most pictures are taken at such an angle that it is made to look almost as big as the pyramids but it isn’t. Right in front of it is a little round park and behind that the city with shops and streets. It surprised me how close they were to it.
We then saw the famous step pyramid of King Zoser, built by his architect Imhotep. It was the first pyramid built. We visited a silk rug factory where children and adults were weaving rugs. The children range in age 8 to 12 and work 3 hours per day. We bought a small silk rug and they threw in a tiny rug too. The salesman spoke Spanish which surprised me. I found Spanish-speaking salesmen all through Egypt and Israel. On our tour we had two Spanish-speaking girls, one from Mexico and one from Guatemala. I did a lot of translating for them.
At a lunch at a restaurant, I had to use the restroom. Our guide called them "Temples of Comfort. After I came out of the stall a man came into the area where the wash basins were holding out his hand for his tip! He quite surprised me. Every restroom has an attendant that you have to tip. In some places the attendants tear off 5 or 6 squares of toilet paper and give it to you to use; none in the stall.
After lunch we drove to Giza to see the Great Pyramids. What a sight, so huge! The largest (Cheops) was closed for repairs but I was able to go inside the second largest, built by Cheffren, the son. There are other names for these two pharaohs but these are the ones I know. It was not considered good from to build your pyramid taller than your father’s so Chefren didn’t but he did build it upon a plateau so it actually looks taller. The smallest pyramid of the three was built by a grandson.
To go inside I had to walk bent over for a long distance, walking on a ramps that had little boards across it every foot or so. I had to walk down, then could walk upright for a short distance, then bent over going down again. Then I came to the chamber where the sarcophogus was. It was just a large, empty room with the stone sarcophogus as the only item in it. We then visited the museum that houses the Solar Boat. The guide said it was a mortuary or funeral boat. It was found in pieces right by the Great Pyramid about 20 years ago and was very large and impressive. It took three tries and many years to get it put together.
One of the fun things we did was to ride a camel. Leon’s driver had a turban for him to wear so he looks quite authentic in our pictures. The camels had only one stirrup, to help you get on. It is a funny sensation as the camel gets up in sections. First you go forward as his rump goes up, then you lean backwards and the front part goes up. Interesting.
We drove by the Sphinx. It is huge but not as big as I thought it would be. Most pictures are taken at such an angle that it is made to look almost as big as the pyramids but it isn’t. Right in front of it is a little round park and behind that the city with shops and streets. It surprised me how close they were to it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
start of trip to Egypt, 1998
In 1998, it was time for a new roof. We had lots of help but the person who stands out in my memory was Alan H. The day he came to help was very windy and threatened rain so he and Leon were up on the roof trying to put a large, blue tarp over the areas not covered with shingles. The wind blew the tarp around and it was very hard to get it finally down and fastened.
David Barlow was married in June to Elann Romney in the Salt Lake Temple. It is always a pleasure to attend a grandchild’s temple marriage. The reception was held in a chapel near the temple. It is the chapel with a stained glass window depicting the visit of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.
A wonderful trip had been planned and finally came to fruition. (I will be quoting from the journal I kept as it is hard to remember all the wonderful things we did and saw) It was a trip to Egypt and the Holy Land hosted by BYU. On Sunday, July 5, we spent the night at Nancy’s in Salt Lake and the next morning Ryan Barlow, who had been staying the summer with her, drove us to the airport. We met BYU travel people there who gave us our tickets and fanny packs. They had already given us two BYU blue carry-on bags. We had two suitcases to check plus the carry-ons.
We flew out at 8:15 a.m. and with a couple of stops, arrived at JFK airport in New York City, where we had a four-hour wait for the 9:50 p.m. flight to Cairo. Several of our fellow travelers knew people I knew. Our travel guide was BYU professor Monte Nyman. It was a very long flight and we arrived in Cairo around 3:30 p.m.
Our Cairo guide was Mohammed and he and the tour bus met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo. The city seemed to have many gray cement buildings, lots of them seemed unfinished. Many buildings had windows or shutters trimmed in lavender, blue, orange or green paint. There was a mixture of poverty and wealth, modern cars and little donkey carts.
Our hotel was a SuissOtel called El Salam, very fancy, a nice room but the toilet didn’t flush well. I had to fill a wastebasket with water to flush it. We advised the desk and it was later fixed. We had brought two little bottles of water so we could brush our teeth that night. We knew we would have to buy water every day. The cheapest was buying it from the bus driver. The currency is called pounds and the coins piasters. We soon found we had not brought enough $1 bills. Everything is "One Dollar or Two Dollar" pronounced "dollah".
The breakfast buffet was fabulous! There was a table with breads, cereals, and sweet rolls. A table with jams along side fresh fruit. A table with cold cuts and salads, and a table where you could have eggs fixed any way you wanted. There were potato cakes, beef sausage, crepes, pancakes, orange and sweet lemon juice. What a feast! We could only eat things that you could peel or were cooked, no raw foods.
Every morning on the bus we sang a hymn and had a prayer. I was chosen the music leader so I chose a hymn every morning and led the music. BYU had given us headphones so we could hear Bro. Nyman wherever we were. Such a blessing. Other tour groups we saw didn’t have the headphones and had a hard time hearing their guides, all trying to get close to their guide to hear.
David Barlow was married in June to Elann Romney in the Salt Lake Temple. It is always a pleasure to attend a grandchild’s temple marriage. The reception was held in a chapel near the temple. It is the chapel with a stained glass window depicting the visit of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.
A wonderful trip had been planned and finally came to fruition. (I will be quoting from the journal I kept as it is hard to remember all the wonderful things we did and saw) It was a trip to Egypt and the Holy Land hosted by BYU. On Sunday, July 5, we spent the night at Nancy’s in Salt Lake and the next morning Ryan Barlow, who had been staying the summer with her, drove us to the airport. We met BYU travel people there who gave us our tickets and fanny packs. They had already given us two BYU blue carry-on bags. We had two suitcases to check plus the carry-ons.
We flew out at 8:15 a.m. and with a couple of stops, arrived at JFK airport in New York City, where we had a four-hour wait for the 9:50 p.m. flight to Cairo. Several of our fellow travelers knew people I knew. Our travel guide was BYU professor Monte Nyman. It was a very long flight and we arrived in Cairo around 3:30 p.m.
Our Cairo guide was Mohammed and he and the tour bus met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo. The city seemed to have many gray cement buildings, lots of them seemed unfinished. Many buildings had windows or shutters trimmed in lavender, blue, orange or green paint. There was a mixture of poverty and wealth, modern cars and little donkey carts.
Our hotel was a SuissOtel called El Salam, very fancy, a nice room but the toilet didn’t flush well. I had to fill a wastebasket with water to flush it. We advised the desk and it was later fixed. We had brought two little bottles of water so we could brush our teeth that night. We knew we would have to buy water every day. The cheapest was buying it from the bus driver. The currency is called pounds and the coins piasters. We soon found we had not brought enough $1 bills. Everything is "One Dollar or Two Dollar" pronounced "dollah".
The breakfast buffet was fabulous! There was a table with breads, cereals, and sweet rolls. A table with jams along side fresh fruit. A table with cold cuts and salads, and a table where you could have eggs fixed any way you wanted. There were potato cakes, beef sausage, crepes, pancakes, orange and sweet lemon juice. What a feast! We could only eat things that you could peel or were cooked, no raw foods.
Every morning on the bus we sang a hymn and had a prayer. I was chosen the music leader so I chose a hymn every morning and led the music. BYU had given us headphones so we could hear Bro. Nyman wherever we were. Such a blessing. Other tour groups we saw didn’t have the headphones and had a hard time hearing their guides, all trying to get close to their guide to hear.
Monday, November 2, 2009
July 1997 trip back east
Time for another fabulous trip. In July 1997, we first went to the Romriells in Austin. We love visiting all of them and had fun enjoying their wonderful swimming pool. It is always like being at a resort to visit there. We headed east and visited the Shiloh Tennessee Civil War battlefield. We were given head phones so we could listen to all the information about the various places. we saw as we drove around the battlefield. We saw Pittsburgh Landing and the Shiloh church, they were prominent in that terrible battle. The first day, the South prevailed, the second day, the Union carried the battle.
We then went to Nashville, or rather White House, to visit Rob and Erika and family. The kids are really growing up. Rob gave us a tour of Starstruck, Reba’s publishing company. We then proceeded north, with Rob giving Leon a ride in a big semi-truck that he drives; I followed behind. After a few miles, we said goodbye to Rob and continued on into Kentucky.
We stopped at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, KY and watched them build the cars. It was most interesting to see the cars roll off the assembly line, all ready to go. We also drove by the United States Bullion Depository Fort Knox Kentucky. That’s its official name. One can only look at the building from afar off. No samples!
In Fort Knox is the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor. That was really interesting. Lots of different models of tanks, from very early models to huge modern ones. Also, lots of memorabilia of Gen George Patton, including his car and lots of pictures. Kentucky is so green, a beautiful state to drive through.
We continued on and arrived in St Louis, or Creve Coeur, where Mark and Sharon live Their three children had also really grown a lot. We were able to attend a session at the St. Louis Temple with Mark and Sharon. Then they, and their kids took us to Grant’s Farm. It used to belong to Gen. U.S. Grant and is now owned by Budweiser and has a huge Clydesdale breeding farm. There were other animals also, but the horses were what was so special. It was so fun seeing those beautiful horses. Then back home. Mom came back to live with us and we continued enjoying living in Mt. Pleasant.
We then went to Nashville, or rather White House, to visit Rob and Erika and family. The kids are really growing up. Rob gave us a tour of Starstruck, Reba’s publishing company. We then proceeded north, with Rob giving Leon a ride in a big semi-truck that he drives; I followed behind. After a few miles, we said goodbye to Rob and continued on into Kentucky.
We stopped at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, KY and watched them build the cars. It was most interesting to see the cars roll off the assembly line, all ready to go. We also drove by the United States Bullion Depository Fort Knox Kentucky. That’s its official name. One can only look at the building from afar off. No samples!
In Fort Knox is the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor. That was really interesting. Lots of different models of tanks, from very early models to huge modern ones. Also, lots of memorabilia of Gen George Patton, including his car and lots of pictures. Kentucky is so green, a beautiful state to drive through.
We continued on and arrived in St Louis, or Creve Coeur, where Mark and Sharon live Their three children had also really grown a lot. We were able to attend a session at the St. Louis Temple with Mark and Sharon. Then they, and their kids took us to Grant’s Farm. It used to belong to Gen. U.S. Grant and is now owned by Budweiser and has a huge Clydesdale breeding farm. There were other animals also, but the horses were what was so special. It was so fun seeing those beautiful horses. Then back home. Mom came back to live with us and we continued enjoying living in Mt. Pleasant.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
heart attack, 1997
On April 7, our anniversary, we were in Provo and took Nancy and her kids and Doug and some of his kids to dinner. That was a Monday. When I went to bed that night I had a funny feeling in my chest, like bubbles going up. Had little pains off and on during the night and morning but nothing in the afternoon but had another pain that night. Leon thought I should go to the doctor so I did see Dr. Speakman on Wednesday. He took some blood tests and an MRI, I think, I’m not sure just what it was. He told me I should go to the hospital in Provo and see a Dr. Asay. I packed a bag just to be sure but felt fine. Of course, Leon and Mom came with me.
When I went to admissions they put me right to bed; I thought I would see the doctor first. But no, they took me to an operating room and Leon and Mom were with me in the room, which surprised me. That’s when I first saw the doctor. A catheter was inserted in my ankle and I could see on a monitor my heart and all the little veins which were moving about. It was funny to see that. I didn’t feel anything. I had an angioplasty to clear one of my veins, or arteries that was clogged, which caused my heart attack It was called a myocardial infarction. I have never felt so well in a hospital. I was hooked up to a solution dripping in my vein but could get out of bed, pulling the stand that held the bag with the solution, and go to the bathroom. On Friday, I was able to go home. Mom went to either Mary or Carol for a month or so while I recuperated. Have done very well ever since.
In July, we had our last Honey band play in the 4th of July parade. This is the list of people and the instruments they played. Melissa: flute; Leon, Sylvia: clarinet; Brent: trumpet; Doug: baritone; Chris: tuba; Ron Barlow: banjo; Alan: snare drum, Peggy: bass drum; Daniel, Lauren, Sam: percussion. Mark drove the truck that pulled the flat bed and Sharon, Tricia H and Nancy rode in the back of the pickup with the grandkids. It was a fun experience. We then went to the Barlows for a delicious meal.
When I went to admissions they put me right to bed; I thought I would see the doctor first. But no, they took me to an operating room and Leon and Mom were with me in the room, which surprised me. That’s when I first saw the doctor. A catheter was inserted in my ankle and I could see on a monitor my heart and all the little veins which were moving about. It was funny to see that. I didn’t feel anything. I had an angioplasty to clear one of my veins, or arteries that was clogged, which caused my heart attack It was called a myocardial infarction. I have never felt so well in a hospital. I was hooked up to a solution dripping in my vein but could get out of bed, pulling the stand that held the bag with the solution, and go to the bathroom. On Friday, I was able to go home. Mom went to either Mary or Carol for a month or so while I recuperated. Have done very well ever since.
In July, we had our last Honey band play in the 4th of July parade. This is the list of people and the instruments they played. Melissa: flute; Leon, Sylvia: clarinet; Brent: trumpet; Doug: baritone; Chris: tuba; Ron Barlow: banjo; Alan: snare drum, Peggy: bass drum; Daniel, Lauren, Sam: percussion. Mark drove the truck that pulled the flat bed and Sharon, Tricia H and Nancy rode in the back of the pickup with the grandkids. It was a fun experience. We then went to the Barlows for a delicious meal.
Monday, October 12, 2009
trip to Oregon
Here is the latest on the travels of the Leon Honey family. On Monday, the 5th, we took off for California, heading for a night’s stay in Barstow. We stopped in St. George for a delicious Mexican meal at a restaurant Kirk and Nancy had introduced us to. When we went to get into the car NOTHING. Dead as a doornail! A fellow from the restaurant gave us a jump and we drove a block and one/half to a Checker Auto. The people were most helpful and put in a new battery and air filter. Then on to Barstow. In the morning, we drove to Garden Grove to pick up the clothes I had left the week before. We saw Caryol Tolman for about 15 minutes, then on to Fresno.
We had a great visit with Jenny, Garrett, and their three darling children. They are very well behaved and we enjoyed being around them. The dog, Molly, didn’t hardly bark at us this visit. After a nice dinner, we all went for a walk around the block. The kids run ahead until Jenny calls out "Red Light" then they stop and wait and go again when she says "Green Light." Max kindly gave us his bedroom. We left the next morning after breakfast and drove to Redding, CA where we spent the night.
Thursday we started north and when we got into Oregon, we stopped at Crater Lake. It is so blue and beautiful. It is in a very large crater and there is only one steep trail to the water. We were told one can swim in the lake but for only a very few seconds; it is very cold. We watched a movie about the lake which was most informative then drove part way around the lake and ate our lunch overlooking the beautiful site. Dad took lots of pictures.
We continued on north to Bend. Nancy and Kirk have a very nice home, so large and spacious. The landlord had freshly painted the house and put in new carpet. The living room, kitchen and bedrooms are very large. The only drawback is that there is no back yard, just a narrow piece about 8 feet wide. Maddie is a doll and Reagan is adorable; she is now ten months old and crawls all over the place and pulls herself up to stand by everything. We enjoyed seeing them, also Nan, Kirk and Tanner. They like where they live; it is a beautiful place with lots of pine trees. Nancy took us to a pharmacy and we got our flu shots. Nancy drove us to the top of a butte, called Pilot Butte and had a wonderful view of the surrounding country with various mountains in the background.
Saturday, Tanner drove Dad to see the band room at his high school and Nancy and I did some shopping at Goodwill and the grocery store. Tanner cooked us a delicious dinner "Penne Primavera" which was great. He had worked in a café in St. George and enjoys cooking and is great at it. The dish had chicken, pasta, red onions and peppers with a sauce of Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and cream. It was great.
My nephew Fred Williams lives in northern Oregon and comes down each Friday for classes. He is working on his Masters in Counseling. He came to dinner and then we all went to Tanner’s high school to attend a band concert: the President’s Own Marine Band. It was GREAT. They looked great in their uniforms and sounded great. Dad was really impressed as everything was in tune. One of the members played a Clarinet Concerto by Artie Shaw and he was wonderful. Dad liked his tone quality. It was a wonderful evening. Fred spent the night on the couch as it was rather late. His wife Karen and son were in Arizona for a wedding.
Saturday morning, about 5 a.m. Dad woke me and said "I want to go home!!!" We had not planned to leave until Monday. I persuaded him to wait until afternoon as we had plans to see where Kirk works. We drove to Sisters, the town where his office is and then went on into the forest. Very tall Ponderosa pines, so beautiful. We went on a trail to the headwaters of the Metolius River. The water comes out of the side of a hill and is very cold. While we were looking at the river two bald eagles flew above us. It was a thrill to see them. We then drove to a fish hatchery on the Metolius River and as arrived at the place the river water comes to a bridge where there are some small rapids and the water is an ice blue color and also frothy white.. So beautiful. I really loved being in the pines and along this beautiful river.
We then drove back to Sisters (there is a mountain range that has three peaks, called the Three Sisters) and found a very good Mexican Restaurant. At first the waitress gave us Dinner Menus and the prices were shocking. When she changed to luncheon menus my heart settled down and we had a great meal. When then said goodbye to the family and headed towards Boise, ID.
In Boise, as it was rather late, there were no non-smoking rooms left on the lower level. They had us check out a smoking room but it smelled terrible. We thought we would have to lug all our stuff upstairs but the lady found a handicapped room, non-smoking on the ground floor. The room was o.k. but the next morning, the shower didn’t work. Darn! I had planned to wash my hair and look decent again.
Coming into Lehi, that afternoon, we stopped at Rob’s to drop off some baby clothes from Nancy for Rachel. She also had a car seat for her. We are also bringing baby clothes for Becky. It was wonderful to arrive back home; there’s no place like home, no matter how much we enjoy visiting. Sylvia had left some dinner for us in the fridge and homemade bread. That was a treat. All in all it was a great time.
We had a great visit with Jenny, Garrett, and their three darling children. They are very well behaved and we enjoyed being around them. The dog, Molly, didn’t hardly bark at us this visit. After a nice dinner, we all went for a walk around the block. The kids run ahead until Jenny calls out "Red Light" then they stop and wait and go again when she says "Green Light." Max kindly gave us his bedroom. We left the next morning after breakfast and drove to Redding, CA where we spent the night.
Thursday we started north and when we got into Oregon, we stopped at Crater Lake. It is so blue and beautiful. It is in a very large crater and there is only one steep trail to the water. We were told one can swim in the lake but for only a very few seconds; it is very cold. We watched a movie about the lake which was most informative then drove part way around the lake and ate our lunch overlooking the beautiful site. Dad took lots of pictures.
We continued on north to Bend. Nancy and Kirk have a very nice home, so large and spacious. The landlord had freshly painted the house and put in new carpet. The living room, kitchen and bedrooms are very large. The only drawback is that there is no back yard, just a narrow piece about 8 feet wide. Maddie is a doll and Reagan is adorable; she is now ten months old and crawls all over the place and pulls herself up to stand by everything. We enjoyed seeing them, also Nan, Kirk and Tanner. They like where they live; it is a beautiful place with lots of pine trees. Nancy took us to a pharmacy and we got our flu shots. Nancy drove us to the top of a butte, called Pilot Butte and had a wonderful view of the surrounding country with various mountains in the background.
Saturday, Tanner drove Dad to see the band room at his high school and Nancy and I did some shopping at Goodwill and the grocery store. Tanner cooked us a delicious dinner "Penne Primavera" which was great. He had worked in a café in St. George and enjoys cooking and is great at it. The dish had chicken, pasta, red onions and peppers with a sauce of Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and cream. It was great.
My nephew Fred Williams lives in northern Oregon and comes down each Friday for classes. He is working on his Masters in Counseling. He came to dinner and then we all went to Tanner’s high school to attend a band concert: the President’s Own Marine Band. It was GREAT. They looked great in their uniforms and sounded great. Dad was really impressed as everything was in tune. One of the members played a Clarinet Concerto by Artie Shaw and he was wonderful. Dad liked his tone quality. It was a wonderful evening. Fred spent the night on the couch as it was rather late. His wife Karen and son were in Arizona for a wedding.
Saturday morning, about 5 a.m. Dad woke me and said "I want to go home!!!" We had not planned to leave until Monday. I persuaded him to wait until afternoon as we had plans to see where Kirk works. We drove to Sisters, the town where his office is and then went on into the forest. Very tall Ponderosa pines, so beautiful. We went on a trail to the headwaters of the Metolius River. The water comes out of the side of a hill and is very cold. While we were looking at the river two bald eagles flew above us. It was a thrill to see them. We then drove to a fish hatchery on the Metolius River and as arrived at the place the river water comes to a bridge where there are some small rapids and the water is an ice blue color and also frothy white.. So beautiful. I really loved being in the pines and along this beautiful river.
We then drove back to Sisters (there is a mountain range that has three peaks, called the Three Sisters) and found a very good Mexican Restaurant. At first the waitress gave us Dinner Menus and the prices were shocking. When she changed to luncheon menus my heart settled down and we had a great meal. When then said goodbye to the family and headed towards Boise, ID.
In Boise, as it was rather late, there were no non-smoking rooms left on the lower level. They had us check out a smoking room but it smelled terrible. We thought we would have to lug all our stuff upstairs but the lady found a handicapped room, non-smoking on the ground floor. The room was o.k. but the next morning, the shower didn’t work. Darn! I had planned to wash my hair and look decent again.
Coming into Lehi, that afternoon, we stopped at Rob’s to drop off some baby clothes from Nancy for Rachel. She also had a car seat for her. We are also bringing baby clothes for Becky. It was wonderful to arrive back home; there’s no place like home, no matter how much we enjoy visiting. Sylvia had left some dinner for us in the fridge and homemade bread. That was a treat. All in all it was a great time.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
visit to Southern California
Leon (Dad, Grandad) and I had a great weekend. My cousin LaMar Williams passed away in California. He is the son of my father’s brother O.C. We had been good friends my first year at BYU and we went to many dances there. For one dance we made a corsage of vanda orchids a bank was giving away at its opening! We kept going back inside until we had enough for the corsage. He then was a missionary in Uruguay and we sang in the mission choir and saw a lot of each other. He married Sonia Auliso, a beautiful young girl from Uruguay and we have enjoyed our relationship all through the years, though we didn’t see each other all that much these past years. He and Sonia lived in Buena Park and then Santa Ana. Sonia worked at the Chicken Restaurant at Knott’s Berry Farm for many years.
Friday, the 25th Leon and I met Mary and Greg at the Wendy’s in Nephi and continued on together to California. We enjoyed traveling together and hearing Greg’s stories, both coming and going. We arrived that evening at Jerry and Caryol’s in Garden Grove after dropping off Mary and Greg in Riverside, their daughter Becky’s home. It was so good to see the Tolmans and Jenae and her kids were there. They had spent the day at Disneyland as it was her birthday. We had a great visit with them.
Saturday morning early we drove out and saw our old home in G.G., Thomas Payne School and La Quinta High School. We then drove on down Brookhurst to the beach and drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to Beach Blvd., turned into the beach entrance and looked at the ocean. We could only spend a few minutes as we then had to drive to the funeral in Santa Ana.
The funeral was very uplifting with both Ronnie and Larry (sons) speaking and grandchildren either singing or playing piano, flute and/or violin. After the funeral we drove to Forest Lawn in Cypress for the burial, then went to the Williams’ home for a nice luncheon. We were able to have nice visits with Christine, Ronnie (Rrronie as Sonia would say) Larry and Patricia (their children). My Williams cousins Myrna and Pam were also there and we had a good visit.
After the funeral we returned to G.G. and Caryol and I attended the Relief Society General Broadcast at the church and had a meal afterwards. I saw Sa Wilson, a great lady we had known when we lived in G.G. and a few other I had known in the past. Sunday we attended church with Jerry and Caryol at the Valley View ward. The Stanford chapel is being remodeled and no meetings are held there right now.
Sunday evening Mitchell and his family came over to visit, also Jerry and his family. Their kids are really growing up. Paul also came by. Jerry and Paul had visited Brazil not long before and Paul saw many of his old friends there. It was nice to see all of them.
Monday morning, early, we drove to La Quinta H.S. Leon wanted to see it so badly. The principal, a woman, was so gracious and took us to the band room, introducing Leon to several teachers telling them he was the first band teacher when the school opened in 1963. One teacher, a Mr. James, was still teaching and remembered Leon. At 7:30 a.m. the orchestra was rehearsing and Leon got to take pictures of them and the band room. The risers have been taken out because the band doesn’t fit with them when they rehearse. The orchestra was quite large too.. He met the music teacher and really enjoyed himself. The school looks very well cared for.
We then drove to Riverside and picked up Greg and Mary and started back to Utah. Dumb me, I had forgotten our Sunday clothes that were hanging in the closet at Tolman’s. We will pick them up when we go see Jenny and Nancy next week. All and all it was a great few days.
Friday, the 25th Leon and I met Mary and Greg at the Wendy’s in Nephi and continued on together to California. We enjoyed traveling together and hearing Greg’s stories, both coming and going. We arrived that evening at Jerry and Caryol’s in Garden Grove after dropping off Mary and Greg in Riverside, their daughter Becky’s home. It was so good to see the Tolmans and Jenae and her kids were there. They had spent the day at Disneyland as it was her birthday. We had a great visit with them.
Saturday morning early we drove out and saw our old home in G.G., Thomas Payne School and La Quinta High School. We then drove on down Brookhurst to the beach and drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to Beach Blvd., turned into the beach entrance and looked at the ocean. We could only spend a few minutes as we then had to drive to the funeral in Santa Ana.
The funeral was very uplifting with both Ronnie and Larry (sons) speaking and grandchildren either singing or playing piano, flute and/or violin. After the funeral we drove to Forest Lawn in Cypress for the burial, then went to the Williams’ home for a nice luncheon. We were able to have nice visits with Christine, Ronnie (Rrronie as Sonia would say) Larry and Patricia (their children). My Williams cousins Myrna and Pam were also there and we had a good visit.
After the funeral we returned to G.G. and Caryol and I attended the Relief Society General Broadcast at the church and had a meal afterwards. I saw Sa Wilson, a great lady we had known when we lived in G.G. and a few other I had known in the past. Sunday we attended church with Jerry and Caryol at the Valley View ward. The Stanford chapel is being remodeled and no meetings are held there right now.
Sunday evening Mitchell and his family came over to visit, also Jerry and his family. Their kids are really growing up. Paul also came by. Jerry and Paul had visited Brazil not long before and Paul saw many of his old friends there. It was nice to see all of them.
Monday morning, early, we drove to La Quinta H.S. Leon wanted to see it so badly. The principal, a woman, was so gracious and took us to the band room, introducing Leon to several teachers telling them he was the first band teacher when the school opened in 1963. One teacher, a Mr. James, was still teaching and remembered Leon. At 7:30 a.m. the orchestra was rehearsing and Leon got to take pictures of them and the band room. The risers have been taken out because the band doesn’t fit with them when they rehearse. The orchestra was quite large too.. He met the music teacher and really enjoyed himself. The school looks very well cared for.
We then drove to Riverside and picked up Greg and Mary and started back to Utah. Dumb me, I had forgotten our Sunday clothes that were hanging in the closet at Tolman’s. We will pick them up when we go see Jenny and Nancy next week. All and all it was a great few days.
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