A Visit to Texas

 

C and I departed for Dallas, Texas on Sunday Feb 19th.

The trip got off to a very bad start. We arrived at SeaTac just after 6 am. We were in the line for TSA security for almost 2 hours and we missed our flight scheduled for 7:30 am. The next direct flight to Dallas wasn't until 6:10 pm. We decided to take that flight and stay at the airport and wait it out. We didn't want to go home and then have to wait in the security line again.  There were several people around us in the line and then in the screening area who were crying. We assume they were missing something important. 

We would've made our flight if we had arrived an hour earlier at 5 am. SeaTac airport is notoriously badly managed. My hubby said he wouldn't have believed me if I suggested getting there that early.

C and I settled in at a table. I made the various calls to cancel things and get a hotel for that night in Dallas. We were originally scheduled to be in Abilene that night. We people watched, watched planes take off, noted all the unusual airlines, ate only once, watched the live stream of our church, read books, and C tried to nap.

The big excitement was when it was time to move to our gate. I did get us seats together after I asked the gate attendant. Finally something went right!

Our plane taxied down the runway and the came to a stop. The pilot told the passengers that there was a problem with the fuel pump and we'd be going back to the gate to have it fixed. Our flight left 2 hours later than scheduled. 

We arrived in Dallas after midnight. I had to track down my suitcase which traveled without me. The baggage office was closed but a helpful Alaska Airlines employee unlocked it for me and found my bag. Next we had to find a shuttle to the rental car area. We waited quite a long time. Eventually the shuttle came. We arrived at the rental car center which was the size of a medium sized airport and Thrifty wasn't open. We found a taxi driver and asked him to take us to our hotel. His driving didn't inspire confidence. He hit the curb as he was backing out. I prayed the whole ride (30 minutes). The fee was 75 dollars. We got to our hotel at about 3 am. 

There was a Patriot Preview Day at Dallas Baptist (DBU) on Monday which C's friend E was signed up for. E's mom Staci picked C up at 8:30 and took him to DBU. There was no way that I was getting up after only 4 hours sleep. C was able to go to the walk in table and register for the day's events. C got to experience a chapel service. He said the musicians and singers were very talented. 

Monday was cloudy and warm. I think the high was 80 degrees. 

Staci came to get me during the lunch break and took me to the DBU campus. 

I got the tail end of a student panel. DBU students spoke to the group of parents and prospective students. 

We toured a dorm room. It was kind of depressing. C's friend B had toured before and his mom described the dorm rooms as having a low ceiling, no carpet, small, with cement walls. That was exactly right! The bathroom was also very small.

Went to see the library, cafeteria, and bookstore. I ate lunch in the cafeteria. Not as good as Biola's.

Building in which the bookstore is located

Almost all the buildings are in a colonial style. A bit unusual for Texas but they look great.

The campus is large. If C ends up going there he will get plenty of steps.

The next scheduled event was divided up by faculty. We went to the business one. The dean spoke then several professors. I liked them. They seems well qualified, genuine with a concern for students. After that was an opportunity to speak to professors one on one. C spoke to a few. 

Next was a presentation about scholarships and the admission process in the chapel. 

There are admissions counsellors for several sections of Texas and only one for out of state. Most kids visiting were from Texas. At the end was a drawing for a $1500 scholarship. Guess who won it? C's friend! Next the free t shirts were handed out. I thought it was funny to give them out at the end of the day. 

I was glad that we did that full day at DBU. That is one positive thing that happened because of the later time we arrived. Originally we planned to drive to Abilene on Sunday afternoon and tour Abilene Christian on Monday. We decided back in Seattle to skip Abilene. We were originally going to do a short tour of DBU on Tuesday afternoon. 

We took this photo just before we left the campus. 

Staci drove us to the rental center and I picked up the rental car. There was no delay. For comparison, Rebecca and I had to wait an hour when we were in California in October.

We met up with E and Staci at a BBQ place called Ferris Wheelers near downtown Dallas. The food was delicious and we had a nice time chatting. We didn't eat outside but this is what the outdoor section looks like.

On Tuesday C got a chance to sleep in. I decided to drive 10 minutes from our hotel in Grand Prairie to the headquarters of Wycliffe Bible Translators. I wanted to get a photo in front of a Wycliffe sign but couldn't find one. I went into the visitor center and explained my quest. A lady said how about a photo in front of the completed new testaments? I said that was perfect.

Here are some more photos from the office.

C and I had a late breakfast/lunch at IHOP which was next door to our hotel. 

C and I had hoped to go on a guided electric scooter tour of downtown Dallas (recommended by E and his mom) but it was sold out. We decided to go to find the spot where Kennedy was assassinated. It was 90 degrees at this point. We walked around. We found the memorial to Kennedy.

We also found this plaque about voting rights for women.

This is Dallas' original log cabin.

Old courthouse.

We eventually found the Kennedy museum but it is closed on Tuesdays. There was a friendly gentleman outside who directed us to an online self guided walking tour using my phone. It was very well done with original radio broadcasts and audio clips from eye witnesses.

This is the spot of the assassination.

We followed along the walking tour for a while but soon we needed to get some shade and something to drink. After a pit stop at 7 11 we went to Pioneer Plaza, a public park in downtown.

Pioneer Plaza depicts a cattle drive featuring three cowboys and a herd of forty longhorn steer.

Some Dallas buildings including Reunion Tower which is the round one.

Next we went to a suburban mall called North Point to enjoy some air conditioning. It was very nice mall. I found out later it is a top 5 mall in the US. We walked pretty much the entire mall. We ate a late lunch in the food court. C found some clothes in the clearance section of Macy's. We stopped in a western wear store but it was quite upscale. 

Next we went to Half Price books which is a store we have here. We stumbled up on the Half Price Books headquarters and the store was massive! The first section we explored was the collectibles or old books. We spent quite a while in the store and only left because I was so hungry.

We went to Raising Cane's which is a chicken fast food place. They just serve chicken fingers! 

After that we went to Target to get some instant oatmeal for the morning since we would be leaving before the free breakfast opened at the hotel. 

Wednesday morning we got up early to leave. It was raining and it was still dark when we left. Driving in hard rain on an unfamiliar freeway in the dark with a time pressure was quite stressful. When we got to the car rental building we couldn't find our company's section. We left the car in the Enterprise section.  We waited a while for the shuttle bus.

We arrived at the airport and went to the Alaska Airlines desk. We had to wait in line. There was a large group of college athletes also travelling on our flight so they said we could go in a different line and we didn't need to worry about missing our flight. TSA wait was about 5 minutes. 

We got on our flight and it was uneventful. We arrived to very cold temperatures and snow at our house. Quite a shock to the system!

C's friend E and his mom had an even worse time travelling back from Dallas. They were originally on a Wednesday evening flight. They had to go back to a hotel and come back to the airport on Thursday. They had a long delay while sitting in the plane without any air conditioning.

Please pray for C as he makes a college decision. 

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Our Christmas 2022

We had a very nice Christmas this year. J and I managed to stay healthy the entire time. Unfortunately, A flew home from school (on the 17th) while feeling really sick. He was sick until about Christmas Eve. Here's our tree 

We received lots of cards this year. Probably the most we've ever received.

We have 24 cards as of Dec 31st. We sent out 58.

We did turkey this year. Last year we had prime rib and it wasn't a hit. I wrote a note to myself to do turkey this Christmas. J wanted to try roasting turkey with bacon on top. It was a hit.

My table centre came from Costco.

My main gift was a potting bench which arrived disassembled. That doesn't photograph well! Once it is assembled, I'll post a photo on Instagram. I also got a shepherd and a camel for my nativity set.

J got a "great coat" from me. He had to buy it for himself since he had to try it on. He also received baclava (the Greek food). 

A got some flannel shirts, a dressier shirt in his favourite colour (mint green), a portable charger for his phone, a 5 year diary, a movie Blu Ray, storage for his digital files, and a new boomerang.

A also got a funny gift from C. C put a loaf of bread, peanut butter and a bag of apples in a box. Those are A's favourite lunch supplies.

C received a Bible, some t shirts that reflect his interests (cars and hiking), a book, a poster from a movie he likes, a 5 year diary, and some hiking themed fun socks.

The boys received a Lego car which they put together on Christmas Day. They have't received Lego for many years.

The main family activity we did was going to see the lights at Evergreen Church.

It keeps getting better and better each year.  They have free cookies (2 kinds), hot drinks for sale, a model train set up, volunteers everywhere willing to take photos, an amazing music and light show, light tunnels, and fake snow. Inside one building they had this nativity inflatable.

The night we went to Evergreen was so cold! A even wore pants as you can see in the photo at the top. 

C, A, and I put together a Christmas themed jigsaw puzzle. 

I revived a tradition this year. There is a man at our church who was widowed about 10 years ago. I started bringing him a selection of cookies after his wife died. He wasn't at in person church for the last 2 years. Since he has returned I made up a box of cookies for him and gave it to him on December 18th. It was very much appreciated. 

Christmas Day was busy this year. We are on "set up" for December at church. We had church service and then tear down. C's friend (and his younger brother) came over as part of a scavenger hunt that is a tradition in his family. 

That's B in the green, directing his brother

We had K spray fake snow on C's 2nd story window 

and J had the boys create some smoke bombs in the backyard. 

We ate our turkey dinner at about 5 pm. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing/dressing, and cranberry sauce.

We had chocolate mousse from Costco for dessert.

I'm always a little frustrated at how quickly the special meal is consumed. My boys eat fast and so does my husband. We always do Christmas crackers and wear the paper hats. I didn't get a photo of that. A fell asleep after dinner. Once he woke up we took a family photo. 

I'm so thankful to be together as a family. Some people's flights were cancelled and their Christmas plans were derailed. My friend's family was supposed to come from Texas but their flight was cancelled and they didn't come. I also know of a family trying to get back to the Seattle area and they were literally stuck at the Chicago airport on Christmas Day!

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Reunited

We were finally able to go back to Canada, all 4 of us. This fall the Canadian government dropped the vaxx requirement for entry into Canada and also A was home from college for Christmas break.

We left on Boxing Day aka the day after Christmas. My car was in the shop so I convinced J to rent a car for us. The Jeep is just not comfortable enough for the journey and too high off the ground for my mom to get into. 

We had to pick up the rental car in Bellingham since no cars were available near our home. We left the jeep in the economy parking lot at the Bellingham airport. Unfortunately, C locked the keys in the Jeep. We rented a Toyota Camry which served us well. 

We had over an hour wait at the border. We worked hard to keep our spirits up during the wait. Once we got to the agent, she said I have passports for only 3 people, where is yours? Oh my! I was driving and my face probably went white! J now has 2 passports since he became a US citizen. At home I grabbed 4 passports not knowing that 2 of them were J's. I presented my drivers license and my green card and thankfully I was let in to Canada.

We got stuck in terrible traffic in Tsawwassen since crowds were headed to the mall for Boxing Day sales. We made the 3 pm ferry. We hadn't eaten lunch so we ate on the boat. 

It was dark when we arrived in Victoria and drove straight to my parents' building. They were amazed to see how the boys have become young men and grown so tall. We weren't sure if J and the boys would be able to get into my parents' building. Technically, proof of vaxx is required since there are assisted living residents in the same building and BC still requires that. Thankfully they were never prohibited from getting in. 

We found some food from Thrifty's (grocery store) to warm up for a late supper and went to our bed and breakfast. Marketa's on Superior Street. C appreciated the historic home. This was our bed.

The boys had their own room for the first time. They also had separate beds. On Tuesday after Marketa's delicious breakfast we walked to see the amateur gingerbread creations at Parkside Hotel. On the way I noticed this government building. Now that King Charles II is on the throne, the building isn't called the Queen's Printer anymore.

The atmosphere inside the Parkside Hotel was lovely. So warm and moist. I think my mom would enjoy going in that building in the winter. It reminded me of the Devonian Garden in Calgary.

The theme for the gingerbread showcase was magic. My favourite (and the one I voted for) was the one which recreated the house from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I chose it because it represented something from a book written by a Christian.

One amazing creation was the Pegacorn which is a combination of a pegasus (a flying horse) and a unicorn. The wings were hand cut.

Here are some more examples.

I liked the detail on this one.

Next we walked to the parliament buildings. 

The building wasn't open that day. 

C is always willing to take photos for me. 

We drove along Dallas road which has the best views in Victoria

We had lunch at The Taste near my parents' building. Their soup was red pepper and yam. C and I both liked that. I did some tasks for my parents in the afternoon (including a trip to Walmart) and gave them the gifts I had brought up for them. J and the boys finished 4 jigsaw puzzles that day. They hung out in Lounge 6 where they could have more space. My parents' apartment is quite snug. 

We went to the White Spot for dinner with my dad. The wait for the food was terrible and the waitress got snippy when we asked where our food was. "It's only been 12 minutes" was her reply! The food was good at least.

On Wednesday morning we explored the famous Empress Hotel.

Here is the lobby

I took this photo near the new restaurant. Note the painting of Queen Victoria in the background.

We enjoyed the historical photos and artifacts they have displayed. You have to go the basement to find the best photos. I found this one fascinating. I didn't know there were black out rules in Victoria during WW II.

Next we went to Hillside Mall.  Jonathan enjoyed the hobby store and had a fun conversation with the owner. We ate in the food court. Again in the afternoon I did things for my parents including cutting my dad's hair. J checked into our hotel for our 3rd night - The Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Our room was on the ground floor with this amazing view.

We had dinner at the Oak Bay (with all 6 of us) which was another misadventure. Typically when I visit my parents we go to dinner at the Snug Pub. Unfortunately, it is age restricted so when the boys came in the waitress asked them for ID. You have to be 19 to eat in there. C is currently 17. We didn't know what to do since finding another place was out of the question. When another waitress came along and asked how I was, I said not good and explained the situation. She said let me check on the dining room. She came back and said she could get us a table there in 10 minutes. We all moved into the dining room. It is usually much quieter and easier to have conversations but there was a VERY loud woman drinking a lot of wine and talking very loudly at the next table. At least she was amusing.

The menu was a disappointment. Last time we were there (in September) I had salmon and my mom had roast chicken. Neither of those items were on the menu. We ordered four plates of fish and chips for the six of us. I thought that was quite funny to have fish and chips in such an elegant location. 

Desserts really matter to my parents. Mom had white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry and cranberry which she shared with me. Dad had a chocolate cake that he shared with C.

We took the very important group photo (at the top) plus some more photos

We drove my parents back to their apartment and said our goodbyes. It was after 9 pm when we dropped them off. We picked them up at 6 pm. I wasn't able to use the hot tub at our hotel since it closes at 10 pm.

This was the early morning view from the room.

Thursday morning we left without eating breakfast and got on the 10 am ferry. A funny thing happened at the Swartz Bay little cafeteria. I had a hot tea and a little carton of milk ready to pay. The man at the cash said "are you buying that milk for your tea?" I said yes. He said you can put that back. There is a dispenser for both milk and cream over there. That was so nice!

We had another one hour wait at the border. No problem getting in. The US border agent apologized for me not being sent a new green card!

We met the AAA guy at the Bellingham airport and he unlocked the Jeep. We returned our rental car and drove home.

I'm so thankful that we were able to be reunited with my parents. My boys are different people from when they saw them last. I'm grateful to have both of my parents alive. Many people I know (who are my age) have parents with dementia or don't have parents alive. 

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