Putting on the Miles

We continue to put the miles on our worn out old bodies.

I took the RAV4 in for its 10,000 mile service this past Monday. We bought the car in April. So we're putting about 1,400 miles a month on it. That's not bad considering we've made 2 trips to Colorado, 1 to Shreveport, and several to East Texas. I think the long trips are over now; at least, I hope they are. I prefer shorter trips and shorter stays. I hope we begin concentrating on trips closer to home to interesting places.

On Tuesday, we loaded up and headed to East Texas once again. The purpose of our trip this time was to visit the only surviving sibling of Donna's birth-mother. She resides in an assisted living facility in Crockett.

On Tuesday, we took our time. Our plan was to spend the night in Fairfield (my home town), then make the short drive to Crockett the next morning. Along the way to Fairfield, we stopped at Shanks Cemetery near where my mother was born and raised. My great grandfather rests in that cemetery. I wanted to get a picture of his marker. Next to him lies one of his 3 sons. It's a nice, quiet little cemetery away from towns and major highways, the kind of place to spend eternity.

We rose early Wednesday and made our way to Crockett. We spent nearly 3 hours with Donna's aunt, looking at old family pictures and discussing family. It was nearly noon when Donna and I left. We had decided to return by way of New Braunfels, where we would spend 2 nights. I'll tell more about that part of the trip in another post.

I continue to work in genealogy fields. I related previously about my failed attempt to locate some graves in Fairmont Cemetery. I wasn't ready to give up. I went to Find a Grave and got a list of requests from people looking for pictures of grave markers for Belvedere Memorial Park Cemetery, which is only 3 or 4 miles from our home. 6 requests were listed, and Donna and I were able to locate 4 of the markers. We felt pretty good about our efforts. We'll continue to do this. I find this to be a pretty rewarding undertaking. Not only does it help someone, it gives Donna and me the chance to get some fresh air and exercise. And we find cemeteries to be interesting places.

The weather has continued to be warm in San Angelo and over much of Texas. I believe the our local weatherman said that we have set 7 new high temperature readings in the last 17 days. That's not good. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to take walks in my shorts during November, but I worry about our local water situation. Warm weather means greater evaporation from area lakes. Combined with the fact that we are just not getting the rain we need, we could be seeing some difficult times next summer.

It's nice to be home again. Donna has started her preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids are all coming down, so this will be a lively place. I may have to leave. And Donna doesn't do anything half way. We'll have way more food than an army could devour. I always try to get Donna to do less, but she just doesn't have the ability. I won't complain, though, cause the old girl can cook. I love her dressing; I've never had better. I look forward to my chess pie. No one else is allowed to eat any of my chess pie. It's my chess pie, and I don't share food. Those little monsters better stay away from my chess pie.