Sunday, October 12th

These photos should be self explanatory. However, if you should have questions, please direct them to my Hubby or his Middle Brother.

When I get a chance, I will have hubby explain the photos. The boys went out to get Middle Brother's keys from his office. He left the set there that had his lawnmower key. For some reason he said he needed the key to start his mower to mow the lawn.

The girls stayed at the house and the younger girls got the table ready for dinner. They did a great job and it was a surprise for the guys.

Since we were having a cash crisis and a paycheck that had not be deposited, we stayed at Middle brothers one extra night so that we could get the money resolved and pay for gas on the way home. ''The best laid plans of mice and men...."

Saturday, October 11

 Above are some more pretty clouds.  Yes I love clouds. 

I believe that this is a look at the Gulf of Mexico from the harbor near Mobile, Alabama.  We did see the Gulf there. 

 We finally made it into Texas!!  All along the way from Alabama we saw wind damage to homes, buildings, signs and telephone poles.  We surmise that some of the damage may have been from Katrina, but more likely from Ike and Gustov.  

Then we came nearer to Beaumont and we saw damage that we knew came from Ike.  I am sure glad that we don't live where hurricanes occur.  The devastation we saw was quite impressive.  Storm damage was every where you looked.  It was unreal. 


This sign is like so many others we saw.

 This is an area that is still flooded.  There is no outlet for the water to leave the area.

 
Today we made it to Beaumont.  There were not many motel rooms available near Hubby's middle brother's home.  So we stayed with him.

Friday, October 10th

 Today we went to the beach in Jacksonville, Florida to visit the Atlantic Ocean.

We spent a couple of hours there and of course mom got sunburned. Not bad, though, but since it was October and overcast, mom forgot that the sun in the south could still cause sunburn.


We found lots of sea shells and the kids had a blast playing in the surf.

 We were completely covered with sand.  Oh it is sad when one forgets about the sand at the beach!  I can't believe that I forgot how sand can get into everything.  But somehow we survived.

We all had a great time.  The kids loved being at the ocean.  I wish I could have spent all afternoon there, on a towel, listening to the surf break over the beach.  It was so calming and heavenly.

On the way to Mobile, I made several shell and beach find necklaces.  It was fun to see how broken shells, full shells and rocks could make some cute stuff.  I haven't taken any photos yet, but I will soon.

Then we began the long drive towards Texas. We are staying on the east side of Mobile, Alabama, actually on the other side of the river.


See the pretty cloud?  This was a Alabama cloud.




Then the sun set and soon we were in our motel.

Thursday the 9th of October

Today when we left Orlando we took the opportunity to go on an airboat ride.  We all enjoyed it very much.  We saw several small alligators and lots of bird wildlife.  It was really a wonderful trip.  I would say that compared to a small (18 seater) plane, a helicopter and a slow boat tour, this airboat is my favorite of all.  I was in a small plane in Norway, a helicopter in Hawaii and a slow boat in Hawaii. 

I fell in love with this small gator.  I really wanted to bring it home, but I couldn't.  I loved holding it and wished I could have held it longer. 




Hubby enjoyed holding the alligator also.  He thought it was pretty cool.


The kids would not hold the live gator, they did settle for holding chocolate gators though.

The sun went down as we headed for Jacksonville, Florida for the night.  We were in a motel very close to the Atlantic Ocean.  Can't wait to visit the beach tomorrow.  It should be fun for the kids and I am sure I will enjoy an hour or two on the beach as well.  I miss the Hawaiian beaches I used to visit!

Wednesday the 8th in Florida

Today for lunch we went to CeCe's Pizza - (a buffet like Eats-a-Pizza) and the food was really good. They had salads, pasta and pizza. I don't think that any of us ate too much. At least I wasn't.

Then we went to 'Wonder Works', a science interactive museum. That was really fun! We all had a good time there. Here are some of the photos from the museum. First you will notice that the building is upside down. A huge tornado carried the building, flipped it upside down and dropped it on another building in Orlando- well that is what they want you to believe.



In fact, the building is still creaking. Man is it weird!




Here are the kids in Airplane simulators.


Here is an optical illusion. Do you see a vase or two people's profiles?


Here is the Davis Family Astronauts: Pilot, Shari,



Hubby and Angel.


Pilot and Hubby in the Space Shuttle.


Angel both in and out of the Shuttle.


We also got to feel a 5.3 earthquake.  That was really interesting.  There was a lot of interesting things, like wind tunnel to feel hurricane force winds.  Experience laying on a bed of nails.  Interacting with blue screens. 
Optical illusions galore.  Shuttle landing simulator.  The law of pulley's- getting to pull yourself up in the air with pully's.  Mirror distortions.  Computer question and answer games.  Lots, lots more.

Here are some more photos of the inside of the upside down building. 





Here are some more of the outside of the building.  Do you like the telephone poles?
The sounds of creaking can still be heard.  It is a real fun place to visit.  



Here are some great cloud formations.  They caught my attention.  It finally rained about 8pm.


Here is the sign at the entrance to the Resorts area where we got to stay.