Tripping with Family and More

Let me just say, I love spending time with family. I love listening to the banter. Banter with history is THE BEST. I love watching kids play and laugh together – and devour a whole bowl of strawberries in seconds. I love catching up and talking/listening as fast as the words can stream out.  I love getting to know new family members.  I love shopping and eating and sharing conversations with family. I even love listening to crickets with family! (Inside joke, only certain FAMILY members will get that.)  Of course, I love taking pictures. I love watching “the boys” play euchre. I love the hugs. I love the love. And on this particular trip, I loved delivering a table and seeing it settle into its new home. I am so thankful for the time we had with the Alabama Traffs on this trip. We were only there for under 48 hours. That seems impossible. We did so much and took over their space so completely. Their hospitality was amazing, and I am feeling very filled up right now.

Chris and his kids, with Barb's table, now their table.

My husband and his brothers.

The kids

The ladies

 We left them all on Day 4 of our trip, departing around 2:00 in the afternoon. We had planned to leave a little earlier, but a nasty rain storm passed through the area, with the threat of tornadoes and other severe weather. When we saw a television report of a trampoline being lifted from someone’s yard and deposited on some power lines, we decided to let the worst of the storm get past us before we started out. It was a good choice, as we saw downed trees and other evidence of the storm’s power as we drove south and west. From this point on, our trip is a true adventure, as we have never been to any of these places before (well, until we get closer to home again, that is). We split off Interstate 10 W to travel along US 90 W. It went through a lot of smaller towns and then – WOW – the view opened up and we saw the Gulf at Biloxi, Mississippi. It was spectacular. I’m so glad we left the Interstate and got that fabulous introduction to the Gulf.

Storm damage

The view as we approached Biloxi

 We arrived at our Airbnb place in Pass Christian, Mississippi, just before 6:30 p.m. We found the place without too much difficulty, although it was a bit of a challenge figuring out where to park. This rental had a lot of great features, including a comfortable couch, charming décor, beautiful quilts for throw blankets, a fabulous shower, and a nice kitchen. There were only a few little forgotten features. We looked the place over and discovered there was no microwave. That was inconvenient but not fatal. It’s not quite as posh as the last place, but it is certainly way better than staying in a motel room. It was nice to be able to relax on a couch, do a load of laundry, and call the kids to check in (and make sure the boys put the garbage out for pick-up). The best part about this place was the location. It is located right up next to a park, and just across the highway from the Gulf beach. We got some supper in us and then headed over across the road to visit with all the shore birds. We were right in town, but no one else was on the beach – well, no other people anyway! I loved that. I could take pictures and roam around to my heart’s content. We wandered back to our space when it was mostly dark. It was a quiet evening, and I fell asleep trying to complete this blog.

Our new place to stay

The bedroom

Shore birds

Shore husband

More shore birds

When I woke up on Day 5 of our trip, I was ready for more time with the beach. I got out there after a quick shower and breakfast. R.J. stayed in and relaxed. I saw an osprey, a brown pelican, and a heron, all looking for their breakfasts. There were many other shore birds out and about as well. I did some beach-combing and found a few pretty shells to take back home for my preschoolers. Most of the shells had been broken by the surf, but I found one in excellent condition. I was holding my precious “finds” in my hand until they dried, when I felt a little tickle on my hand. Apparently that really nice shell was really nice because it was someone’s home - someone who was still in there! I apologized to the hermit crab twice, once for picking him up in the first place and a second time for rather hastily dropping him when he reached out and touched me. I put him and his portable home back on the beach, near the water. Oh well, the rest of the shells are nice enough.

Brown Pelican

Heron

Osprey

 We left Pass Christian at about 9:30 this morning. This was a very nice travel day. We went from Mississippi to Louisiana to Texas. Traffic was intense at times, but for the most part, it was an uneventful day – which is just what I look for in a travel day! One kind of fun thing was that we crossed a bridge that just kept going and going – for 17 miles!  There were several other unusual bridges too. It is fun to think about all the creativity that goes into designing something like a bridge, where structural integrity is obviously the most important factor.

Anyway, we arrived at our latest destination, Shoreacres, Texas, at about 4:30 this afternoon. It’s another wonderful Airbnb. It is really decorated cute with a shore theme, and it has absolutely everything we need.

The kitchen, as you walk in the door

The dining area

The living room

The bedroom

 We made supper and then took a walk (about five blocks) down to the Gulf, where the pelicans put on a show for me. Have I mentioned that I love being near the shore? Tomorrow we have just a little more time along the shore and then we will be heading back inland. I can’t wait to see what each day ahead holds as we travel all these miles together!

Pelican, fishing

Pelican fly-by

Our shirts say, "Not all Who Wander are Lost." We're definitely not lost.