Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Done with vacations!

We just got back from Jonesboro. We had a great time. Best part I got to see Reagan with my own eyes. She is really a doll. I was “Reaganized", I just wanted to squeeze her, and she was so cute. Reagan is at that age where everything is an adventure and she sees everything with new eyes. She loved the lights from the disco ball at the wedding reception and she wanted to simply just follow the lights and dance around. Reagan is definitely a living doll. Sad to say I didn’t take one picture, which is so unlike me. Hopefully Debbie will send some. Hint hint!!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Leaving!!

After we realized how big Katrina had gotten we started gathering and packing. I wasn't sure what mom and dad wanted to take. Medicine, important insurance papers, a few clothes; I think we all kind of went in shock. My dad wanted to take some new tools that he had just bought. I think my mom thought that he was loading all of the tools so she didn't take much. My dad did take the very old portraits of relatives and I think my mom picked up a few things. And of course they loaded some coolers with the food from the frig. At one of the stops mom noticed how empty the truck was and said we could have brought more but by then it was too late. Oh well.
Now one of the reasons that we had went to Mississippi was because my dad had some overhead lights and electirical wire that Bob could have. He had also mentioned that he had a big stainless steel sink, all of this for our big shop. On Saturday they had loaded Kevin's truck and then here comes the Big Sink. Alrighty then it was a big sink, we strapped it down and it was as long as the truck bed. It has three sinks that are attached together. BIG, did I say big. It was big, when I get the pictures back I will post them on the blog. To say the least when we were going down the road we got quite a few double takes. I wonder what everyone thought. "Looky there! There goes a guy who is taking the Kitchen Sink with him!!"
Dad decided to take the back roads. A few other people did also, but definitely not as many as there would have been on the main roads. We followed dad down the road, I kept looking through the back window just thinking that there was one big, huge, hurricane coming. When we stopped to get gas the other people were in a daze also, most of the them had no destination. Town after town they had stopped and there were not any hotel rooms to be had. At one of the last stops we made after we had entered Arkansas, the gas station attendent had told people that they would probably have to go to Little Rock for a hotel room. I felt bad for them. But alas as the days went by, I realized that they were some of the lucky ones.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Vacationing with Katrina

Ok in my last blog I said that we were going to visit my mom and dad in Mississippi. We left on Thursday evening and drove all night. My mom and dad live between Picayune and Kiln. We arrived about 12 the next day. We visited some and then went to Gulfport to one of the casinos and had some of the best seafood that I have ever eaten. It was an all you can eat buffet, and we got our fill on shrimp, crab legs, muscles, and of course dessert.
After we ate we each took $20.00 to play the slot machines. I ended up winning my 20 back; I think Bob lost about 10. Kevin was the big winner; he had 50 to the good when we left. When we left, dad drove us around Gulfport and showed us all of the buildings that he had helped build.
The next morning we got up and drove into the French Quarter, walked around, took a few pictures. We stopped at lunch and had some shrimp Po’boy sandwiches. Walked around some more and left about 3. As we drove home we noticed the police were setting up the barricades by the roads. Originally we were going back the French Quarter, but decided against it.
After we got home dad and Bob decided to take a nap, so mom, Kevin and I decided to go to the gulf and do some swimming. We drove on along I-10, found a spot and walked along the beach and started walking in the water. We walked for about 15 minutes and the water hardly was over our waists. We did swim but there was oddness about the water. The water was very hot and had a sticky consistency. We started picking up shells and they had hermit crabs in them. Thought it was best to leave them. We went home and got dad and Bob and went out to eat again at Ryan’s in Kiln.
The next morning when I got out of bed I turned on the T.V. and all of the stations was reporting that Katrina was a category 5. When mom and dad woke up I told them about Katrina and we decided it was a good time to leave.