FUN AT THE FRIO

Just wanted to post a few of the pics from the Frio River. This is our little cabin at River Band. It is really nice with a full kitchen and sleeping porch. We just love staying here. The people are so friendly and it is a family oriented camp.

This is a pic of Kenzie on a boogie board going down a small rapid at the swimming hole. There were no big rapids this year. We are hoping with El Nino coming to visit this fall maybe there will be lots of rain to fill the river back up. Here is Mekhi swimming in the river. He is becoming a good little swimmer for a four year old.

This is a picture of the river from the camp ground. This area used to be really deep, but now the little kids can play in it safely with water only about up to their waist. They loved it.

Here is a picture of the Glenn Girls' toes. We just love us some pedi!!


Here is Steve (hubby) who actually took a few days off the golf course to come to the river with us. He had to leave early (Mon.) to come home for a work related training and then off to the golf course.

More later...

FRIO BOUND

This will probably be my last post before we head to the Frio River on Sat. morning. I am off work tomorrow and will spend the day at the grocery store, packing and doing all the necessary prep. That is the hard part. I have many list and lots of packing to do. You are always worried that you will forget something. My favorite part is getting in the Tahoe and starting to unwind. At that point if I forgot something it's too late to worry about it. I can not wait to get my toes into that cold spring fed river. Stephanie saw pics of the river from a week ago and said it still looked pretty good. The radar is showing they may be getting some rain today, but I am not holding my breath. The biggest shock will be to my in-laws from Colorado. My sister-in-law posted this morning that it was 53 and raining in Denver. Heifer! What was she thinking posting something like that for us heat stroked out Texans to read. The revenge will be when they try to acclimate to the Texas Heat. LOLOLO!!

We have so many fun things planned to entertain ourselves while there. Most do not involve being in the sun except when we are sitting in the cold river. Campfires and somores at night, but it will be a little cooler then.

The grand kids (and the kids) are on pins and needles waiting for time to leave. I will have my little helper Kenzie with me tomorrow, and she might actually be a lot of help. I have her doing the running around gathering up stuff. She will love it. Too bad she won't want to put things back when we get home. I will have to use her while I can. I'm sure everyone will disappear when we get back and start cleaning up and putting away. Isn't that always the way??

I'll have lots of pics and stories when I get back.

HEATHER WRIGHT BOTKIN

It is with much sadness that I write this evening. Heather, was only 30 years old, had a two week old baby girl, 7 year old daughter and a loving husband. After the birth of her precious daughter she developed a staff infection which took her life within days. It is almost unbelievable. Heather and her husband Jeremy graduated with my oldest daughter Stephanie. Jeremy works with my son Lance. Heather's mother is a good friend and was my middle daughter, Courtney's, first grade teacher. We know it is not our place to ask why, but it is so hard to understand why this young woman was taken. Heather was so sweet and never had an unkind word for anyone. She worked at the bank here in our small town and was loved by all who knew her. My heart goes out to this family and to the father who will have to raise his two little girls without their mother.

BUMPED

Bob told Steph that he got bummped from World News Tonight last night, but they told him he would be on there tonight.

TEXAS WEATHER ON NATIONAL NEWS

My daughter, Stephanie (AKA Dutch to the F/V Northwestern bunch) works for the Lower Colorado River Authority in water services. Her office is right across from Bob Rose's office (the LCRA's weather guru). She just emailed me that Bob is going to be on World News Tonight and on Good Morning America tomorrow morning talking about our Texas drought.

When ever anyone here in my office wants to know about the weather (especially when storms are coming, etc.) we call Steph and ask her, "What does Bob say?" He send out alerts, etc. to the employees at LCRA to keep them up to speed on weather issue. Other weather persons in the area also depend on Bob for his knowledge.

As you know, summers in Texas are hot and dry anyway, but this summer has been brutal. We have been over 100 almost every day this month with little or no rain in months. I will be very interested to hear what Bob will have to say. I know I am miserable and it is so hard to keep our homes cool even with central air. If you want to see what I am always complaining about, be sure to watch tonight or in the morning.

THE REUNION IS STILL ON FOR THE FRIO

After much discussion about the river status and the heat, etc. we decided to take our chances and go to the Frio as planned. This family can have a good time anywhere. I believe in my heart that it will rain before we go, she said with her fingers crossed. We are planning meals now and who will cook what, when etc.

As I said ,we will be having a Pan Cake Cook Off while we are there. I have already downloaded the I Hop recipe for Cinnastacks...my all time favorite pancakes. I will be taking home that trophy!! First I have to make the trophy. I am going to get a small skillet and either paint or do something to signify what it's for. Each year you must bring it back and defend your title. Not sure if we will be doing anything for the other winners.

I think for the meal my family is responsible for we will do Gormet Hamburgers with all the trimings. Mushrooms, thich sliced bacon, avacados, etc. Sounds yummy to me. Just can't wait for somores, funnel cake...oh, I drooling...lol!

Glad we decided to go anyway. It would have been a let down after all this anticipation. Just 15 more days...

Frio Status, Family Reunion Plans

The river is really down today. We watch it daily and we need rain!! Stephanie works for LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) in water services. Bob Rose (the premier weather man in Austin) works just a couple of offices down so she is in contact with him. He says there is a chance for rain this week end or early next week. Let's Pray. Bob says even 4 inches would make a huge different to the Frio. We had a fleeting thought about canceling if the river got worse, but it was just a fleeting thought. We are going to tough it out and just hope we have enough water to swim in or get really lucky and get a good rain and can float too.

We are in the process of getting our Glenn Family Reunion T-shirts. Everyone gets to choose their favorite color and we will take a big family photo on Sunday morning (hopefully before it is 106 degrees). We are planning the meals...each family will choose a night to host. We will have a Pan Cake Cook Off one morning, a Guitar Hero Play Off, a Tiger Woods Wii Golf Tournament, etc. But, we're not competitive..lol!

Everyone is so excited about going we could never have canceled. What were we thinking??

NOOOOOoooooo!

I just recieved an email from my brother-in-law. He said that he talked to River Bend (the camp grouds where we stay) and they said that the Frio River is so low right now that there is no tubeing, just swimming. Steph said she might cry...lol! Everyone pray for rain!!! I want to float the Frio.

:( Sindee

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER AND RECORD HEAT

Kenzie and Pearl cooling off in Pearl's pool. Pearl can't get into the big pool because Bulldogs can't swim (they can ride skateboards though) so she has her own pool. She loves to get sit in the water and cool off. Of course then she gets wet and dirty and wants to jump on you or sit in your lap...eweeeee. She is such a tomboy dog. Nothing girly about her.

Texas has been experiencing record heat and a drought. Today is suppose to be about 106 if I heard the weather man clearly through my early morning daze. Oh, how I long for the sweater weather of Alaska!! Today is my Friday and I am so looking forward to my 3 day week end. Even though tomorrow will be spent cleaning house and washing clothes with a little pool time slipped in some where. Saturday will be spent with Janice getting everything ready for Thelma and Louise's Scrapbook retreat. That's our side business. We hold scrapbook retreats at a local Bed and Breakfast. We have sooooo much fun and get a little cropping done if we are lucky...lol! This retreat's theme is Flip Flops and Sea Shells. The girls will be getting a number of items with that theme. Sand pails with pebble candy rocks inside, flip flops, flip flop scrapbook page kit, etc. We always try to think of cool things to give them. Wish my Alaska scrapbook buddies could come sometime! We had a girl come from England last year. It was ever so much fun.

Hope everyone is staying cool, Sindee

FIREWORKS

Our small town of Bastrop puts on a fireworks display each Fourth of July. Most of the town turns out for it and my family is no exception. We look forward to it every year. We have hamburgers on the grill at my house and then head on down to watch the extravaganza. Local fun in a small town. I love family traditions. Of course my BFF Janice and her family join us...they might as well be family. Hope everyone had a good time with their family and celebration.

OLD BEAU

BEAU

1996 - 2009

BELOVED PET

FAITHFUL

LOYAL

PROTECTOR OF CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN

FRIENDLY

LOVING

BEAUTIFUL

WE WILL MISS YOU OLD FRIEND

Thurs. the new Friday, July 3rd and 4th

Thursday is my new Friday. During the summer months we work 4 tens. Long days, but three day week ends are always worth it. Today is most people's Friday because of the Forth being on Sat. this year.

Tomorrow, July 3rd, we will be gathering at our house for hamburgers and swimming. At dusk we will go to watch the local firework displays. Kenzie and Khi got new red, white and blue t-shirts which is a tradition at our house. I love to take pics and make patriotic scrapbook layouts. This will be Pearl's first July 4th celebration. Hope she is not afraid of the noise. Our big Australian Sheppard, Beau is terrified of fireworks and thunder. I always feel so sorry for him on July 4th. He is now about 15 years old and his health is failing. So sad.

Speaking of scrapbook layouts, Janice (AKA Thelma, BFF) and I are going to a scrapbook store in San Antonio (about 2 1/2 hours away) to a July 4th Crop. It begins at 9:00am and goes till 12:00am. Plus everything in the store is 30% the entire time. WooHoo!! We will have a ball. We will be staying over night at the Comfort Inn. We have been going over there for years now. They have the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in. The scrapbook store we are going to is called Scrapbook 911. It is so cute. All the employees wear scrubs and everything is related to that theme. Can't wait. All I can say is SHOTGUN. Whenever Janice emails or texts me with an idea of going somewhere I respond with SHOTGUN (like when we were kids and we would call shotgun to sit in the front passenger seat)! I am always ready to go anywhere. I love being 58 yrs old, have raised my kids, husband is self sufficient and I can drop and run anytime. On the road again...

Hope everyone has a great Fourth! Sindee

WEDNESDAY, 1 MONTH TILL WE LEAVE FOR THE FRIO RIVER

We have a long standing tradition of going to the Frio River sometime during each summer. It is about 3 hours from here. The water is ice cold and so clear you can see to the bottom in even the deepest places. When we were children Steve's family and my family went camping at the Frio...we didn't know each other then and never ran into each other. After we married and had children we began taking them up there. Now we are taking our grandchildren as well. Everyone, from the oldest to the youngest in the family looks forward to it all year. This year we are having the first ever Pat Glenn (my father in law) Family reunion. Steve's sister, Annette and her family are coming all the way from Colorado. They are only staying for 3 days and since we are staying 7 days, Janice (AKA Thelma) my BFF and her family are coming up and taking over their cabin for 4 days. This should be a blast!! Cooking on the campfire, floating the river, catching up on everyone's family stories, playing domino's and just relaxing. It is so great to have all your family around you up there. Something for everyone to do and nothing to do if you don't want to. The pic at the top is a shot of the river. I am starting to get my list (I have kept a running list for years which I edit each year) together, buying non perishables, planning meals, etc. You know the Frio river is where George Strait learned to swim...at least that is what he says in his song...lol!

We actually got a cool front yesterday. It will be 90 something degrees today instead of 106. We also got some much needed rain this morning. It's just a drop in the bucket of how much we need, but we will take any little bit we can get.

Did y'all catch Deadliest Catch and After the Catch last night? After the catch was so funny at the end and Sig's fish balls looked delicious.

DAY 8 ALASKA CRUISE and LAST PORT OF CALL

Cruising into Victoria, B.C. we awoke at 9:30am. It felt like we had slept till at least noon. I dressed and headed to the Great Outdoors for my morning cappuccino and french toast. We will not dock in Victoria till this evening. We will have the day on the ship to do what ever. After breakfast I went to look at the T shirts they had on sell and finished up my gift shopping. I went to the photo gallery and found a decent pic of me with the sea otter mascot disembarking in Ketchikan. I got it because it came with a pic of the ship and I really wanted that keepsake. I went around to the internet cafe and got in on a "minutes sale". Got 30 minutes for $12. Sat down and immediately used half of them. I used the other half when I got back from our Castle excursion. I then went back to the room to pack my suit cases. We had to put them outside our door at 10:00pm tonight to be taken and sent to our airlines to meet us in Houston. Thank goodness we will not have to lug them off the ship, into a cab, through the airport, etc. The ship personnel also printed out our boarding passes for us. That makes going to the airport a breeze. It was a tight fit, but I got everything into my suit cases. I still don't know how I did it but there was a lot of huffing and puffing and laying across the suit case. I relaxed till time to go ashore. We even had a leisurely dinner in the Summer Place before we disembarked.

It was windy and cold getting off the ship in Victoria. We quickly found our bus and climbed aboard. Our driver told us all the history and highlights of Victoria. It is a very beautiful city with a beautiful coast line. Most all the houses look like Cape Cod Bungalows. We toured Craigdarroch Castle. It was really pretty and HUGE.

There was some beautiful flora in Victoria. I love seeing how the plants vary from region to region.

China Town

The Empress hotel. Sorry for the glare from the bus window. No tea with the Queen.

More touring of the city, then back to the ship about dark.

An ice cream snack, blog and a movie before bed.

We docked in Seattle about 8:30am, Sunday morning. Sunday morning was relaxed. After breakfast for the last time on the deck of the Great Outdoors we looked around our room for anything left behind and closed the door for the last time. We disembarked about 10:00am and hailed a taxi. He was a very nice gentleman. We told him we would like to go to a movie to kill time till our flight at 5:40pm. He drove us to a movie theatre downtown and gave us his number to call when we were ready to head to the airport. We watched "My Life In Ruins", cute flick, then went across the street to the Cheese Cake Factory for a late lunch and to kill a little more time. We had originally planned to sight see when we got back to Seattle, but fatigue got the better of us. After lunch, no cheese cake (too full), we called our taxi driver. He was busy so his brother, the taxi driver, picked us up. He was equally as nice. He told us of his country, etc while driving us to the airport. We bid him good bye and went into the airport. We did a little shopping in there...very cute stuff...then went to wait for our flight to be called. Maxine came through again and we boarded first. A few minutes into our flight the captain said to look out the left window (just happened to be my side) to see Mt. Rainer right next to us. Here is the incredible shot I got.

Had a relaxing flight and movie.

Glad to be home...sad to be home...miss Alaska. Hope you enjoyed the journey, I sure did. NCL is a fantastic Cruise Line. The Inside Passage is an amazing place to see. If you ever get a chance to visit Alaska, Take it! You won't regret it. It was so worth the year of scrimping and saving to take this amazing trip. I would go back in a heart beat, but I would like to see some more of what the world has to offer. Where to next? That's the question.

Day 7 Alaska Cruise and Texas Heat Wave

Happy Monday morning everyone. Today it is suppose to reach 101 degrees. Everyday last week was between 101 and 103. See why I hate Texas summers. Steve doesn't mind it. He actually plays golf in it, but I can't walk from the house to the car with out becoming a sweat puddle. It even gets hard just to catch your breath when you are out in it. Misery!!

Now, on to cooler thoughts...Day 7

As we slept, the Pearl sailed to Ketchikan. We woke early for our excursions. We drew back the curtain to the balcony and beheld a quaint little town built on the water's edge and up the mountain. It looked like something out of a travel book about beautiful harbors and places to visit. I stepped out onto my balcony and there almost directly below me was the Aleutian Ballad. She is beautiful and now converted for tourist. I hurried to dress, eat breakfast and scurry down the gang plank (above you can see that it took me almost right onto the Aleutian Ballad). We were welcomed aboard by Capt. Terry, Chief and Kiwi (all former Bering Sea fishermen). I got a seat in the front row (better for pics I thought) and waited to begin our journey. I had been slightly concerned about the sea sick issue being on a smaller boat, etc. But I needn't had worried. The waters we were is were calm as glass. It was wonderful. They entertained us the whole time with stories and facts and there was always something to keep your attention. This was easily my favorite excursion. Kiwi and Chief taught us about long lining and caught some nasty fish. I can't remember the name of it, but I know you never want to come in contact with those spines.

We stopped beside an island where Eagles nest. They began to feed the Eagles and they swooped in from all around us. I got some amazing shots. Here are a few.

This Eagle had a fish in his talons. Capt. Terry said he had never seen this many Eagles in one tree. The one with the brown head is a juvenile.

They are so fast it is very difficult to get good pics of them. They will be flying right at you and then roll over and dive for a fish. They a simply amazing and beautiful!

After taking pics of the Eagles and eweing and aweing, we went on to the buoys where the crab pots were soaking. Chief then threw the hook and Kiwi worked the hydraulics. Chief hand coiled the line (old school) and they brought up the pot. They opened the pot and let and let us hold the crab as they continued to educate us all with facts about crab fishing. It was really interesting and entertaining.

After returning to the dock I only had 1 1/2 hours to shop for gifts for family and friends. I had saved my shopping for Ketchikan because I heard they had some of the best shopping and because I had not really had the time to shop in the other ports. Not so smart on my part. I whizzed from store to store to get the things on my list and get back to the boat in time to board.

Upon returning to the ship they announced "Chocolate Madness" from 10:00 to 12:00 that night. We decided to catch a short nap to help us stay up for the festivities...anything for Chocolate. The chocolate was every where. Anything that could be made from chocolate was there. There were chocolate sculptures and ice sculptures. It was wonderful!! After our chocolate feast we went to our room and watched "The Wedding Date". Very cute movie.

It was a wonderful day in Ketchikan. I would love to return with more time to take in the town and local flavors. If I take this trip again I will allow myself more time for seeing the towns, shops and eating local cuisine. Tomorrow is Victoria, B.C. and the last port of the cruise.

DAY 6 ALASKAN CRUISE

On day 6 of our cruise we sailed Glacier Bay. It was almost surreal. The blue water was slick as glass and the ship seem to glide across it. There were rivers of ice coming down the mountains to the sea. There was snow on the mountains, but it was not that cold in this protected place. We spent time sitting on our balcony, but most of the time we viewed this magical world from the deck of the Great Outdoors. We sat in the warm sun, drinking cappuccino, listening to sea birds waiting for the sound of the CRACK which indicates a possible caving of the glacier. We were lucky enough to catch a couple of very small caving's, but nothing like you see on National Geographic. There were pieces of ice floating all in the bay. They are called crumbles.

The colors of the glaciers are just amazing. White to blue to turquoise to grey to black.

As we were sailing out of Glacier Bay Jackie and Betty went to take a nap but I couldn't bare to miss anything. I sat in the Spinnaker Lounge at the front of the ship. It has big floor to ceiling windows with comfy chairs and couches all around. I sat almost dead center and almost felt if I were sailing the ship myself. We watched with binoculars and camera lens for whales and other signs of sea life. We were fortunate enough to see many sea birds, Otters lying in the water cracking open there treasures on the tummies, seals lounging on small islands that dotted the bay. We also saw 2 whales playing in the bay. They were too far away for the naked eye, but I saw them breach and blow dozens of times. Maybe they were courting. They were very active.

Here is my one shot of the whales. Don't know if there is any hope of blowing it up to see more. This is a pic of the Sea Lions on a small island. I will have to edit and crop it to get a better pic.

Otters are one of my faves. They are just so cute lying on their backs in the water and washing their faces and cracking open the crustaceans that have gathered. It was a great afternoon visiting with lots of other travelers (some were even from Austin). We talked about what we had done so far on our trip. you meet the nicest people when you travel.

That evening we dressed for dinner and went to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is the Pearl's main dining room and much more upscale. The food was incredible. We were seated at a table by the window and watched the sun begin to set from our table. you know it never really sets this time of year in Alaska. After dinner we went back to our room. The movie that night was Twilight. I have seen it, but the Bells hadn't. I showered and went to bed. The Bells kept waking me from my "twilight" sleep to ask me questions about the movie. I told them it would spoil it for them and turned over. I melted into my comfy bed and slept right through everything else.

Hope you are enjoying this journey with me. I am reliving it all as I journal. I would go back in a heart beat. Wait till you see the pics of Ketchikan and the Aleutian Ballad. Ketchikan might have been my fave...hard to say though.

DAY 5 ALASKAN CRUISE

While we slept last night the ship sailed to Skagway. We have an early morning excursion so we set the alarm for 6:45am. The time changes along with the 18 hours of daylight throw your inner clock off so a lot of the time you don't know what time it is. I was continually looking at my watch. Jackie woke up at 4:45am and thought it was 6:45am and got up and started stirring around. I thought to myself, "Time to get up already?". Then a sigh of relief. I heard Betty tell Jackie, "It's only 4:45"! I fell back into a restful sleep till the alarm went off at 6:45. Love that stolen sleep. We got up, went to breakfast at the regular place and then disembarked for our first shore excursion of the day. We went on the Skagway Street Car. The antigue street car was driven by a lady in period costume who entertained us with stories and the history of Skagway. She told us all about the gold rush and the people who founded and built Skagway. We went out to the cemetery where the early town's population are buried. The graves had these ornate fences around them. They were so cool.

It was very interesting to hear about all the goings on during the gold rush. Very risque and dangerous.

After the street car excursion we shopped in town for a little bit. Cool shops, but most are very touristy...ya think? The ship was docked within a short walking distance from the town (actually a couple of blocks). We went back aboard and had lunch before our second excursion of the day, the White Pass Railroad, which came with in a few yards of the ship to climb aboard. The train takes you though the woods and up the mountains on a narrow track. Across tressels and through pitch black tunnels, across snow covered passes and over raging rivers.

It was really beautiful. The views were spectacular. The engineer saw a bear, but the time my car got to the spot it had already retreated into the woods. Zero for 2 on the bears.

After a long day of sight seeing our brains and bodies were tired (processing all this new info takes it's toll) and it was time to be aboard ship...and that is a time you never lose track of...unless you are four girls in Ketchikan...a whole other story. Back aboard ship we dined on Lobster (OMGosh it was sooo good). We went back to our state room, showered and watched a movie while falling asleep for an other blissful night of rest. Just don't know what it is about this ship and sleep...lol!

Two post in one day. When you are old you have to do it while the thoughts are there...lol!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday. Ewe, have to see what is up with Jon and Kate tonight. Steph said she heard on the radio that they filed for divorce. What a shame. Tonight is a 1 hour special about what is going on with them...supposedly. Been watching since day 1, just interested to see how it plays out.