From Jim

Here we are again, in Laredo, Texas waiting on another load. It is a bit more bearable this time because we had a chance to visit with family during the past few days. It is a blessing to see our sons, and it was a special treat for me to see Jonathan and Ashley one evening and Douglas on our way back home. In case no one else knows, Douglas is in the Air Force Reserves and is headed to Iraq in February. Keep him in your prayers as he takes his rebuilding skills to another country to help them overcome the ravages of war. We also had a chance to see Ashley's house, a well maintained historic structure from the early days of New Braunfels and a picture of pioneer German heritage construction.

Just as I started the first paragraph above we received a call for another load. Good thing I guess, no one wants to spend any more time in Laredo than they have to. As I write we are headed from Eagle Pass to St. Paul, Minnesota. We were just there a couple of weeks ago so finding our way around should not be difficult. Today we are hauling two crates (about 2500lbs) of leaf springs to the Ford plant. We are going straight up IH 35, leaving Eagle Pass at 9:30pm and expected in St. Paul 36 hours later…piece of cake.

Oklahoma is nicer than I had been lead to believe all my life, at least from OK City east. They’ve had plenty of rain and it’s very green, especially for fall. Sandy has driven most of this trip so far. I tried to sleep last night until about 3am but the road was just too rough. I think I dozed some, then drove until about 10:30 or so. Ate at Cracker Barrel (an absolute must once a week or so). By the way, last night, before we left Eagle Pass, we ate at a place called “Danny’s”. We had eaten breakfast at the one in Laredo and really liked it, so thought we would try it for dinner. It was really good, and I want to recommend these places to anyone who gets down to the border area. I don’t usually go for Mexican food, but these dishes had great taste, were large, and very fresh. Sandy liked the guacamole ( green stuff) and I loved the beef fajitas. A good discovery and worth driving to. Sounding like a food critic now, but dang those tortilla’s were good!

We are looking at a piece of property in Junction to buy and hopefully turn into an RV park. It used to be one, but is out of business now. There are 10 acres, a large building on the bluff overlooking the river, and a house on the highway. The property has the bend in the south Llano river right between the state park and the city park. If we can pull this off we will have no shortage of visitors. The place is subject to flooding and there will be some expense in setting up a septic system that can withstand being submerged. We intend to bring it up to speed over the period of a year or so if we can get it financed. (Any pocket change you want to donate will guarantee you a place to go fishing) Don’t know if this will work out, but its location is perfect for the boys, other family, and all our friends to come to.

Tried to slip by and see you when we came through Snyder, Troy, but you weren’t in your office. (yes, I checked to see if you were taking a siesta in the lab) Sure enjoyed the visit with Tommy Watts. Tommy, we’ll find you a truck so you can “shed the institutional coil” too. Sandy was with her mother in C-City getting a vaccination for one of the dogs, so she didn’t get a chance to go by the college. Maybe next time we can stay a little longer. TTFN …heard this means “Ta Ta For Now”, stay tuned.