It's a date!

Sometimes date night includes a stop at Kwik Trip to sit and people watch. Don't underestimate the entertainment value! The best one in Winona is on Huff St. by the university. There is usually a constant stream of people. I've always enjoyed people watching. When I was a kid and we were visiting my grandma in Bemidji, we would go downtown on a Friday night and watch people. Grandma was a hoot and her commentary would bring great laughs. We do usually buy something so we aren't just loitering. After this I had a MacDonalds hamburger--I am a cheap date! Where do you like to people watch?

Projects

I've had this cute owl fabric for quite awhile and Tessa and I thot it would be perfect for Mylah's cradle--I think so! John told me I was using my engineering brain when I was figuring out how to make everything. I might have a headache but it worked.

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I finished up some distressed canvases yesterday. The white on my shirt is sposed to be there, but part of my face was distressed. I love doing these.

Grown up, engaged, and a quilt

The baby of the family is now 21 !

And Trevor and Jessee are now engaged! No date set yet. If it's during this year, we will have 3 weddings and a baby!

The latest finished quilt. Top is the front and bottom is the back. I made it for my niece's mother-in-law, Barb who is going thru chemo.

Free Counter

Forewarning

What a mess. I tried to do the trip in order, but it's backwards. So go to the Trip To Texas post and work your way up. Irritating.

San Antonio

We enjoyed a day and night in San Antonio before flying back to winter. The Alamo, a trolley ride, a boat ride along the Riverwalk, and fancy dining at Landry's.

The Ship

Two fighter planes that amused me.

Tim is a mailman and we had a photo op in the bowels of the ship.

And there is the name I couldn't remember--it was the Lexington.

Corpus Christi

We visited an aquarium and toured an aircraft carrier. My old brain can't remember the name of either.

Looks can be deceiving

While in South Padres, I looked online to find a hotel on the way to San Antonio. On North Padres Island near Corpus Cristi I found a Holiday Inn that looked great on the website. Oh MY!!! As soon as I got near the door, I figured there was false advertising going on. The first thing we see inside is the 2 elevators and one is blocked off with yellow caution tape. The place is old and worn and the elevator were scary--working one minute, not working the next and smelly. Becky jokingly said we'd maybe get stuck in one. Well, she did. It stopped and the door opened just enough for her to yell out to a maid who heard her and suddenly it worked again. We used the staff elevators after that. The room had nice looking pillows and damp, gross feeling carpet. After a walk on the beach, I came into the bathroom to find John with his foot in the toilet washing the sand off and he informs me the water is really warm--in the toilet??? It was a hot water toilet!! At one point I couldn't get any hot water in the sink or shower so I called the desk to inform them and tell them the toilet water was hot tho. The next morning Tim saw the maintenance guy in the hall and called him in to show him the hot water toilet and whisked his hand in there as proof. It still cracks me up--Tim is not one to put his hand in the crapper! The restraunt was extremely slow--one guy waited so long for his breakfast and coffee, he jsut up and walked out in disgust. After letting Priceline know, Becky got $40 towards another stay--we'll use that in Melbourne on the sister trip next month. The best and worst hotels are the memorable ones!

I just realized that this is where there were no shells, not South Padres. Figures ;)

Vroom Vroom

One day we went 4 wheeling on sand dunes which was good fun. I was the inexperienced one so one of my first moves was to turn into a hill and get stuck. After that I did pretty well. It was out of my comfort zone so I was proud of myself.

The last day on the island the guys went jet skiing and saw dolphins. It was cool and windy so the waves were big, but they enjoyed it.

The Birds

A bag of Cheetos on the beach will draw a huge flock of fans. They were eating right out of his hands. Some were more mannerly and sat on the ground hoping to have one thrown their way.

See that spot on Tim's shirt? He got crapped on! Then he washed it off and was left with an unsightly wet spot for photos. I was trying to get a jumping shot.

Once the crapping on people began, John moved away and watched from a distance. The pipe was part of a 5 mile pipeline they were pumping sand and water thru to dredge and build up the beaches.

Sea Turtles

Just a short way from the hotel was a sea turtle rescue place that we went thru. They had big tanks with turtles who had been injured--some missing limbs. They also watch nesting spots and protect the eggs when it gets cold.

Beach

Becky and Tim were our fellow travelers.

We drove down to almost the end of the island. This is sand drifting which is way more pleasant than snow drifting. All along here there were public beaches. It was beautiful, but hardly any shells to be found.

We heard they use snowplows to plow the sand.

Trip to Texas

A big snowstorm was predicted for the morning our flight was leaving so we stayed in Mpls. the night before to make sure we'd make it to the airport. This was our room at the LaQuinta Inn (I love hotel rooms!) We left the vehicle there and they shuttled us to the airport and picked us up--all for the price of about $100! When we got up there was no snow but on the way to the airport we were riding with pilots and flight attendants who were hearing Chicago was shut down. Our flight at 9 am was one of the last ones to leave Mpls. because the snow began--we heard it was awful.

We flew in to San Antonio and drove down to South Padres Island. It seemed like a lonnnng drive and was pretty desolate country--flat field and depressing little towns. We stayed at a new hotel--the Hilton Garden Inn and it was beautiful. The staff was great and food was too. These were our digs for 4 nights. I hated to leave!

We had an ocean and pool view. There were big man machines working 24 hours a day moving sand to make the beach wider. We couldn't hear them in the room which was good.

Day view.