We survived camping in the swamp!

Cabin 9 at Caddo Lake State Park (though on the bayou, not actually on the lake). We saw one snake, 3 turtles, one heron, one egret and half an alligator (Dan saw something move but could not confirm nor deny that it was a two foot long alligator so Lea started calling it a half-igator instead of an all-igator) It was very beautiful. Unfortunately, swimming was not encouraged, though there were lots of people doing it. We got wet to cool off but after seeing a gar swim under us I was not eager to take a dip. We paddled both full days we were at camp. The first day we headed toward Hell's Half Acre but thought it was too far... on the way back we realized we had missed the turn. The second day we headed toward Jefferson (under Thor's Thunder Bridge) and found two nice inlets to explor that were very swampy with huge cypress trees and several turns, but nothing challenging. We had a nice cabin but it was far from the water so we had to haul stuff to the water’s edge to read by the bayou. Lea read 3 books in one day and I sketched. We stayed pretty exhausted so it's hard to call it relaxing, but we had no wifi and very little cell service and no TV so that was great. Totally unplugged! I thought we’ read books and play games, but by the time we made it back to the cabin we were wiped out so early to bed and paddling the next morning. Lea and I managed to go antiquing while Dan fished one day. The closest town was called Uncertain and they had a big sign for “The Church of Uncertain” we all thought that was funny. There was the Uncertain Flea market … Lea said “I guess they are uncertain if its a flea market!” We had a ranger tell us there was infighting among the vendors so now it was just one guy so we started calling it “Earl’s pile of junk” I bought two thermos containers for Lea’s lunch and Dan found an air hose adapter he was looking for. Lea was thrilled because when we walked in she recognized a song and behind the money taker’s table on tv was GLEE. Lea has watched 3 seasons of Glee in two weeks and is obsessed with the show, so to hear a Glee song in the Uncertain Flea Market was pretty crazy! Since there was no swimming I decided the last day of vacation would be spent with a hotel pool so we booked a cheap (but very nice) room at Samstown casino in Shreveport Louisiana (about 20 miles, but 50 minutes from our camp site). That was Sunday so we went to a nice church with a very energetic priest… He talked about converting to Catholicism in 2000 and said he must have been raised Southern Baptist because he said “JESUS!” like a tv preacher. We had a nice dinner, Dan got to play poker, Lea took a bath in our huge bath tub and we swam in the morning. Then we finally came home. Very exhausted from our vacation!

10 days of Lea

When turning from single digit age to double digit age [10] we thought we should do something big for Lea's birthday. There were no big presents she wanted, especially after earning enough money and family good will be achieving some goals to buy herself an ipad mini. So experiences and adventures seemed like the way to go. I started by asking her for a top ten list months before, but we never got more than three things before she got distracted. Or they were a jumble of things like roller skating, tacos, swimming and friends. All good answers, but not quiet enough to create an itinerary on. So I took it upon myself to make an itinerary that she then approved excitedly.The biggest plus was getting to see friends through out the week and a half. We had a great mix of friends join us on many of our adventures, but I have to give kudos to our summer buddy Molly Mae. Her mom was up for almost all of our crazy antics. It really made for a special week and a half.

Day 1 : Water-balloon War

@ Lea’s House

Day 2: Pedicure

6pm

Nail Star in Casa Linda

Day 3: 

Bahama Beach 

Water Park

2 pm

Day 4: Lego Land

Grapevine, TX

1pm

Day 5: Ice Skating 

at the Galleria

2pm

Day 6: Putt Putt Golf

Lunar Golf
Town East Mall, Mesquite TX

5pm

Day 7: 

Playing School

@ Lea’s House 3pm to 6pm

Day 8: Roller Skating

White Rock Skate

 1:30pm

Day 9: Perot Museum

 2pm

Day 10: Happy Birthday Lea!

Party

@ Lea’s House

 3pm Sat. - 11am Sun.

Photos:

Merry Christmas

September Recap

We’ve had a very  busy September.

Lea is in a play “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which practices three nights week. We thought she’d get sick of it and regret getting involved, but she wants to be there even when she is not scheduled to rehearse (if they’re working on a scene she is not in). The shows are 7pm Oct. 22-24 and noon on Halloween. Dan is building benches and a “cliff rock” for the set. I put together Lea’s costume from some thrift store finds. We haven’t put it all together, but we’ve got the pieces.

The first week of September I had a big sleep over with the Girl Scouts and they earned a cooking badge. That was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I was so tired on Sunday Lea and I just watched movies and we picked Grease on of my all time favorites. She loved it, which is good, she can continue to live with us — ha!

Then we did a great Girl Scout workshop the next weekend with the “99s” which is a female pilot organization. We heard from female pilots from age 25 to 85. Two women flew “powder puff” races in the 70. Women pilots racing from California to Florida on different courses with stops, flybys and some checkpoints. They had to have matching costumes so they had pictures of go-go boots and short skirts and one of bellbottoms with colored squares up the side — one of the racing women sewed their costumes. We heard from Navy pilots, Southwest Airline pilot and a woman who ferried planes for 25 years from the manufacturer around the globe. She would fly alone for 12 hours to Hawaii, China, South America, etc.  eat her sack lunch on the flight, deliver the  plane  and usually get to stay a day or two and be flown back commercially. That was amazing that that job existed. I hope Lea enjoyed that as much as I did.

Then on the 20th Lea ran a kids Marathon. Swim 100 meters, bike 3 miles and run half a mile. The day of the race, she had left her helmet on the ground, and crickets started living in it! She did awesome! Finished the course strong. She couldn’t run the whole half mile, but she ran the final bit and her PE coach ran with her to motivate her. It was really impressive. About 20 kids from her school participated and they trained for 3 weeks. We actually miss training. It was a great way to spend Sunday — swimming and biking.

And last weekend we went to see Matilda the musical. Oh my gosh — Best Show Ever! We’d read the Roald Dahl book and seen the movie, but the musical was just great. We bought the soundtrack and Lea has been playing it or singing it since. Dan didn’t get to go, and I think he’s about sick of it — I admit I’ve been singing too. If tickets weren’t so much we’d go again this weekend. But this Saturday we’re headed to the State Fair. Ours is open almost all of October. I’ve heard there are some new things, but we’ve got our old favorites. Thanks to work we get to go free every year.

Last night I went to a Girl Scout camp training so I’ll be able to take the girl camping at a GS park or other with or without my co-leader (who roped me into it all — ha! I’m loving it!) and Friday is our regular meeting. It has certainly opened some doors. I hadn’t realized how many Girl Scout things we’d done. Because Matilda was GS related too. We got to meet a few of the actors afterward. We had met one man who played the brother and was in the chorus while waiting for our friends to show up and playing in a fountain out front. It was really neat to meet him before and after the show. Didn’t recognize him AT ALL in the show with the costumes and stuff, glad I learned his name before hand!

Last night while I was training at GS Dan took Lea and a friend to six flags (like Vally Fair) for a hockey appreciation night (again thanks to work). Dan was excited to meet some hockey players, but he said the crowds were too big around them. He said there was a mass of people and a large man head and shoulders above the crowd and that’s how he knew where the hockey players were.

October promises to be even busier than September with Lea having dress rehearsal or performances almost every night the second to last week in October. Plus another Girl Scout Training — this one instead of sitting in a classroom listening we get to go out to a camp site and learn how to tie knots, light a fire and we have to successfully cook a meal to earn our certification. I’m really looking forward to that on the 17. Oh and on the 18th I’m going to see My Fair Lady at a movie theater with food and drinks. A few girls are going. I so love “I could have danced all night” and Audrey Hepburn’s whole performance in that. Oh the hats! I love that hats!

We’ve been getting more involved at church too. Lea’s been going on Wed. to youth group, 5th and 6th graders get to hang out and play pool and foosball and then have a little spiritual guidance for 30 minutes. She said it was the best day of the week at one point, so I’m glad she’s involved in that. On Sundays we’ve been helping with what they call Sunday School, but is really just a day care. They’re working on getting a little bit of liturgy in, but the kids are very small. Two diapers were changed last week. Fortunately not by me. So both Lea and I have been helping with that. Lea is great with the kids, but sometimes gets distracted and is just playing with the toys. And I volunteered to be a Eucharistic Minister so once a month in October, November and December I’ll be a cup bearer. I’m very very very nervous, but the main training coordinator will be at the mass I serve at so I think she’ll guide me and I’ll just have to follow along.

Well that explains why I’ve barely even talked to mom this month! It has been a busy one, but we’ve really done some fun stuff. We’ve also spent some real quality time together. Even though we’ve been busy we’ve been doing it together so I don’t feel like its rushed by quite like some other months when its just get one thing over to get to another. I’m trying to savor these days that are whizzing by!

Hiyas!  Dan here.  I noticed it had been 10 months since the last post, and we had left y'all hanging in Nebraska.  Believe me.....NO ONE should be left hanging in Nebraska.  It is flat and featureless with low speed limits and too many highway patrol officers.  Can you guess what happened in Nebraska?  That's right!  I got a speeding ticket.  Bad news:  I was stopped for 65 in a 55 when there were two cars visible, mine and the highway patrolman that topped the hill coming towards me.  Good news:  The ticket was only $85 and I was going faster than that before he clocked me.
      I was speeding for two reasons:  there is NOTHING in Nebraska worth even looking at, and we had a long way to go that day.  We had to get to Hoxie, Kansas.  My father, the unwitting patron of our excursion, was buried there, and we had a rock collection, from each of the spots we had stopped, to bring him so he could "travel" with us.  You see, Dan V had always said that, after he retired, he would grow his hair and beard out and travel the country "picking up aluminum cans" with his dog.  He didn't get to do that as he had family obligations and then passed a mere two years after retirement.  It was his inheritance and the statement he made that inspired me to take my family on an adventure. (Thanks again Dad!)

We rolled into Hoxie, KS (population 1244, SAL-LOU!) near sunset and headed for the cemetery, where we placed all twenty named and dated rocks as a border to dad's headstone.  We had some quiet reflection time at sunset and enjoyed the peaceful solitude of that beautiful town and countryside.


With the sun going down, we had one more stop to make on that day, Cawker City, Kansas.  What's in Cawker City, you ask?  The WORLDS LARGEST BALL OF TWINE!  After about an hours drive, we rolled into Cawker City at about 11 pm.  The stoplight was blinking yellow and the sidewalks were rolled up and safely stored for the night.  But there it was in all of its glory, 11 feet in diameter, on the town square, under a protective gazebo.  We paid our respects, took pictures and headed two hours away for the nearest hotel.


The next day was the final long drive home.  I look back on it as a great adventure.  There were challenges.  No one got hurt, nothing major broke, and we have memories from.....

                                   28 days and 6400 miles!

The rocks laid out at Dan V.'s gravestone

Lea powering through a long night drive.

Lea and Kaya (American Girl Doll) watching the Kansas landscape.

A Sinclair station in Nebraska

 

The vast expanse of Nebraska minus the highway patrolman. The only note I'd ad about Nebraska which is probably TMI - there are NO bathrooms. We peed outside in Nebraska more than we did camping!

Coming into Hoxie, KS

Dan V. Neal's gravestone

Neal family in the cemetery at Hoxie, KS

Dan B and Dan V

TWINE!

Cawker City's Ball of Twine — Thank goodness it was open 24 hours because we rolled in very late

The Neal family with the worlds largest ball of twine — who can have an adventure like this without seeing the world's largest ball of twine!

One last hotel stay

Everyone home safely

Thanks Dan for writing the final post, the one I couldn't seem to bring myself to write. I guess because then it was really over. What am amazing journey with the people I love.

Captain of our ship and our LEAmazing race team at the final stop.