Thursday, January 12, 2006
JANUARY TO APRIL 30.....2002
I began working more days at the Barn and things were pretty quiet until March when we took a long weekend to go to Kansas City to visit George. Becky went with us and we had our usual good time. We spend a lot of time shopping and visiting old friends.
Later that month, Rocky and I took time off to drive to California for some business and to visit his daughter and family, before coming home. It was a learning experience for me because Rocky had driven the route so many times in all his years of trucking. He told me stories of things that happened all along the way…..things that would come to mind as we traveled in and out of each State. He enjoyed taking different roads so he could see places he wouldn’t normally see on the Interstate roads over the years…….he loves nature as I do and had a few places he wanted to show me which were spectacular.
Rocky wanted to go by Las Vegas and Boulder Dam. I had been through there once before but it was a favorite area of his and so we took time to do that. We were surprised when we approached the Dam area because the trucks, vans and vehicles that could possibly carry explosives were detained and searched. It was a new precaution since 9-11 so we were slow getting through there.
Once getting to the coast in California the traffic was grid-lock most of the time. It was crazy driving at top speed and then slam on the brakes and wait for all kinds of problems up ahead. I don’t know how people can deal with that every day but I guess it’s a normal thing for them and they don’t think about it.
We were there over Easter Sunday so Rocky took me to the Crystal Cathedral to walk around the grounds and see the building. It was beautiful and well landscaped. We didn’t get there in time for services but it was still nice to see it in person. The next day we were able to get to Janet and Tim’s home so I got to meet Tim and Zach, whom I hadn’t met before. Now I had full knowledge of the Morand family.
They took us out for dinner and we had a good visit with them. We stayed as long as we could but we were leaving for home the next day so we said our goodbyes and drove back to the hotel for our last night’s lodging. The next day we were on our way as early as we could get packed and headed for Arizona. Rocky and I graduated with a good friend of mine who lived in Mesa, Arizona so we planned to get to her home around mid-morning and spend the rest of the day with her, stay over night and be on the road the next morning.
She was waiting for us and had a lunch fixed…..she lives in a nice mobile home park and had lots of living area. We gabbed non-stop and then went antique shopping…..her birthday had been the day before so we took her out for a steak dinner. After that we went back to her place and watched her favorite Diamond Backs get beat….after that it was lights out.
The next morning we left early as Rocky knew some unbelievable scenery that I would enjoy and he was so right. The Salt River Canyon is nature at her best…….it was beautiful to behold. We stopped and picked up as many red rocks as we could pack in the car….I’ve always been a rock hound and love bringing them home from every trip. (As if the Ozarks doesn’t have enough rocks….but there are always different ones to enjoy.)
Rocky is a good traveler as he is very willing to stop and look at scenic places or some of the shops he thinks I would enjoy. He took me to a Zuni Indian Trading Post where some earrings came from that he gave me once and we looked at the jewelry they were making by hand. I picked out a ring and earrings with Charolite stones from Russia. The lady who sold them to us said they were trying to incorporate different stones in their jewelry to make it more universal and the lavender color and hardness of the stone made it a good choice. It was very interesting to look at the pieces as she told us about each one.
A couple of days later we finally made it back home. We covered a lot of miles in a short time but yet the trip was fulfilling and highly interesting. It’s fun to go and see everyone but it’s always a good feeling to come home again……especially when you have pets that are so very glad to see you. April passed and on the 30th we left for Eureka Springs to celebrate our first wedding anniversary…..but that’s a story for tomorrow.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
Later that month, Rocky and I took time off to drive to California for some business and to visit his daughter and family, before coming home. It was a learning experience for me because Rocky had driven the route so many times in all his years of trucking. He told me stories of things that happened all along the way…..things that would come to mind as we traveled in and out of each State. He enjoyed taking different roads so he could see places he wouldn’t normally see on the Interstate roads over the years…….he loves nature as I do and had a few places he wanted to show me which were spectacular.
Rocky wanted to go by Las Vegas and Boulder Dam. I had been through there once before but it was a favorite area of his and so we took time to do that. We were surprised when we approached the Dam area because the trucks, vans and vehicles that could possibly carry explosives were detained and searched. It was a new precaution since 9-11 so we were slow getting through there.
Once getting to the coast in California the traffic was grid-lock most of the time. It was crazy driving at top speed and then slam on the brakes and wait for all kinds of problems up ahead. I don’t know how people can deal with that every day but I guess it’s a normal thing for them and they don’t think about it.
We were there over Easter Sunday so Rocky took me to the Crystal Cathedral to walk around the grounds and see the building. It was beautiful and well landscaped. We didn’t get there in time for services but it was still nice to see it in person. The next day we were able to get to Janet and Tim’s home so I got to meet Tim and Zach, whom I hadn’t met before. Now I had full knowledge of the Morand family.
They took us out for dinner and we had a good visit with them. We stayed as long as we could but we were leaving for home the next day so we said our goodbyes and drove back to the hotel for our last night’s lodging. The next day we were on our way as early as we could get packed and headed for Arizona. Rocky and I graduated with a good friend of mine who lived in Mesa, Arizona so we planned to get to her home around mid-morning and spend the rest of the day with her, stay over night and be on the road the next morning.
She was waiting for us and had a lunch fixed…..she lives in a nice mobile home park and had lots of living area. We gabbed non-stop and then went antique shopping…..her birthday had been the day before so we took her out for a steak dinner. After that we went back to her place and watched her favorite Diamond Backs get beat….after that it was lights out.
The next morning we left early as Rocky knew some unbelievable scenery that I would enjoy and he was so right. The Salt River Canyon is nature at her best…….it was beautiful to behold. We stopped and picked up as many red rocks as we could pack in the car….I’ve always been a rock hound and love bringing them home from every trip. (As if the Ozarks doesn’t have enough rocks….but there are always different ones to enjoy.)
Rocky is a good traveler as he is very willing to stop and look at scenic places or some of the shops he thinks I would enjoy. He took me to a Zuni Indian Trading Post where some earrings came from that he gave me once and we looked at the jewelry they were making by hand. I picked out a ring and earrings with Charolite stones from Russia. The lady who sold them to us said they were trying to incorporate different stones in their jewelry to make it more universal and the lavender color and hardness of the stone made it a good choice. It was very interesting to look at the pieces as she told us about each one.
A couple of days later we finally made it back home. We covered a lot of miles in a short time but yet the trip was fulfilling and highly interesting. It’s fun to go and see everyone but it’s always a good feeling to come home again……especially when you have pets that are so very glad to see you. April passed and on the 30th we left for Eureka Springs to celebrate our first wedding anniversary…..but that’s a story for tomorrow.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
