Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Here we are!!

Well, as many of you know, we're here! Although we left on 08/30, we had many miles and adventures to endure before planting ourselves amidst Californians. We spent the first day and night of travel on the road with Hurricane Ike evacuees, bumper to bumper on our way to Dallas. We arrived at 3:00 a.m. on 08/31 and got just a little sleep before visiting with our 'daughter', Tex. We planned to leave early on 09/01, but got up to find the truck had been burglarized and my computer, along with all my jewelry, DVD's, and quarters out of the change slot had been taken. Now mind you, we don't generally keep valuables in the vehicle overnight, but we were just so tired that it was an oversight. To the delight of whomever stole the goods, we're sure they were surprised to see all the jewelry in the computer case. It's just stuff.....of course, stuff with sentimental value attached to it, but just stuff. This was a good reminder that we're just sojourners in this world and it is not our home. We come with nothing - we leave with nothing. We're thankful that no one was hurt, the truck was not damaged (other than a window), and someone in need (hopefully) got some help.

From there we journeyed to Tucson and stayed with my sister, Kathy & her family. Duane was itching to get to work, but could not go yet due to permits not being issued, so he settled for doing some handyman chores around the Boyd residence. That, at least, kept him a bit occupied until we left for vacation to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was glorious and as memorable as last year's trip. We never tire of seeing the beauty God has given us in this nation. Cool nights, beautiful, breezy days, and not too much rain. I think it drizzled a little, one night, but that was it. The 'Big Hike' was taken on Tuesday by Duane, Larry, Kathy, & Mike. After 11 miles and I can't remember how many hours, they were happy to get back and we were all elated to see their tired, smiling faces. (The rest of us had to guard camp, you see.)

Well, we finally arrived in Los Angeles on September 28th. Did you know they have cell phone towers that look like palm trees out here?!?! They're so life like, too! We stayed in a hotel for about 12 days, during which time I took a trip home to re-up duty with my former employer. He got me all hooked up and wired to work from our place out here. I even have a phone that's wired straight into their office!! Now that's something! Anyway, on October 10th, we moved into our apartment. We were so happy to have a 'real' place to be after living out of suitcases and tubs for nearly six weeks. Here we are and here we'll stay planted until the job is done. Meanwhile, I'll let you know what sights we see and things we learn along the way. Haven't seen no movie stars yet, but we'll be here a spell!! Love to all of you and we miss you!!