Summer 2015 - June & July

We arrived home in Texas on 2 June and left almost immediately for a few days of R&R out in the Hill Country near New Braunfels.  I know, I know, wwhhhaaattt? Yes, we just got back from a big trip.... but we were exhausted from the last 6 weeks and it was great to just sit and rest.  Our house sitter wasn't quite ready to be moved-out, so this worked well.

the cabin we rented 

visitors 

We enjoyed an afternoon at Luckhenbach

I got a new hat

and got to ride a real longhorn!  

Another day we toured the nearby LBJ National Historic Park.

about 1500 acres 

The Texas White House 

 A beautiful peaceful final resting place.

private family cemetery 

Here is a great trivia question: what was Lady Bird's real name?  Claudia Alta Taylor.  Apparently, as a baby, the family nurse commented that she was as "purty as a ladybird". The name virtually replaced her given name for the rest of her life.  Her friends and father called her "Lady" and her husband called her "Bird".  I was impressed to learn that she was a well educated woman who invested well and made the family millionaires.
We were also able to have dinner with our wonderful Aussie friends, Paul and Jill Antuar, as they finished their CES mission in Austin.

We returned home for a few days only to leave again, this time headed for Northern Virginia/Becky's and a new grand baby - the stork is circling the neighborhood!
On our drive we were finally able to stop and see the Appotmox Courthouse where Lee surrendered to Grant and end the Civil War.  We have wanted to visit here for years and it was never on the way or too far out of the way.

The McLean House

The parlor where the surrender papers were signed.  General Grant sat at the small wooden table and General Lee sat at the marble table to the left.

The parlor 

Now, if the actual important event took place in the McLean house, why is the Park called The Appomattox Court House?  It is in reference to Appomattox County and the village once know as Clover Hill, just came to be known as the Old Appomattox Court House. 

The day after Miss Mason Fowkes arrived (see separate post), a newly shaved (eeccckkk!!) Gerald left for his first summer semester at BYU Master's program in Music Education.  Isaak and Ellie had left a week earlier with Grandpa Fowkes and Uncle Mike driving the van.

The irony of this monumental shave job is once he arrived on a much more relaxed summer campus, Gerald found out he probably could have kept his beard, especially since it is so short.  Lesson learned for next summer!

We enjoyed a wonderful two weeks with baby Mason, Scout and Becky.

lots of baby cuddling 

I helped Scout sew a baby blanket for Mason

 Scout is ready for Girls Camp

Roy is feeling great so enjoyed a day of fly fishing on the Shenendoah river and happily attended a Baltimore Orioles game with Yuri (Becky's workmate Chrissy's husband) in their new Camden Yards Stadium.
Before she left for Girls Camp, Scout was good company as we toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and James Madison's  Montpellier homes.

side view of Monticello 

I had previously been to Monticello but this was a first for Roy.  As I have stated before, I am not especially fond of Jefferson but I really like his house.

Montpellier

Now, I like James Madison, especially Dolley, she was an amazing woman!  and their home, which they shared with James's parents, James Sr and Nelly, is beautiful.

view from the front door

The DuPont family would buy the plantation in 1901 and would convert it into an equestrian property with stables and paddocks.  In 1934 they founded the Montpelier Hunt Races, to be held on the grounds. Natural hedges were used as jumps for the steeplechase. The races continues to be held annually, the first Saturday each November.

Scout and me with James and Dolley

All too soon it was time for Becky, Scout, and Mason to fly to Utah and us to point Tom for home.

Mason on the quilt I made her

Photo by Scout

Family reunion in Utah

I love this picture.  Isaak and Ellie had not seen their new little sister so it was a wonderful family reunion in Salt Lake City on July 4th.

We drove home through Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River quite a bit of the way, and eventually reaching Paducah, Kentucky, home of the National Quilt Museum, a mecca for quilters.  Roy earned husband of the year by touring the museum with me on his birthday, no less.  Thank you!!

a miniature wall hanging

this is a wooden quilt          W.O.W. 

We continued down the Mississippi River to spend the night in Memphis and take a few minutes to stop by Graceland.  We're not big enough Elvis fans to pay between $40 - 80 for a tour, so we just peeked over the fence.  The King has been dead almost 40 years and over 650,000 fans still visit his home annually.

front gates

apparently everyone signs the stone fence so Roy did too! 

Our last stop, at Roy's request, was in Bienville Parrish, northwest Louisiana. On 23 May 1934 gangsters Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down in an ambush by a posse of 4 Texas officers and 2 Louisiana officers on a rural road.

We returned home safe and sound.  We have been so blessed with safe traveling over the years, and I try to never take it for granted.
Our long time Sacramento friend Jannet Williams was in Texas helping her daughter move to Austin and came to spend the night before flying home the next day.  Do I need to say, we talked far into the night?