McDonald Observatory

While staying at Davis Mountains State Park, we took a drive up to the McDonald Observatory, which is one of the major astronomical research facilities in the world.

Balmorhea State Park

Balmorhea State Park

At this state park, which is located in the foothills of the Davis Mountains, there is a huge walled swimming pool with a 62,000 square foot surface (one of the largest man-made pools in the U.S.) that is fed by the San Solomon Springs, at a rate of 22-26 million gallons daily. Since the temp was 73 degrees, we decided to skip going for a dip.

Permian Basin Petroleum Museum

Here you see Dan looking at one of the many antique oil drilling rigs located in the “Oil Patch,” which is outside the Petroleum Museum near Midland, Texas. Inside, we saw the realistic artwork of Tom Lovell, which depicted scenes of the early oil industry. This museum has a variety of collections, exhibits and interpretation of the oil industry.

Getting Ready for the Trip to Texas

Before we could leave for warmer climates, the snow on top of the RV had to be removed. Guess who is getting his exercise?

Midland, Texas

Today, Karen and I are in Midland, Texas, so that I can visit the home of the Commemorative Air Force. This organization has the largest collection of flyable World War II aircraft in the world and I have wanted to see them for many years. Another item checked off on the 'things I want to see before I get too old' list. The picture is of a B29 bomber which is the type that dropped the atomic bombs to end the Pacific War.

Lemon Meringue Pie

• 
  Jennie and Zac surprised us one evening and brought over dessert. This delicious lemon meringue pie didn't last very long. It was yummy.

Christmas 2006

We had a great Christmas with our sons and their ladies and Karen's mom, Dee. The best present of all is to be with family. Hope all of you had wonderful days also.

Holiday Blizzard

The over two feet of snow we received in the last couple of days gave everyone a workout just to get the driveways shoveled. Snowblowers were a blessing.

Sailing the Sea of Cortez

We sailed north from San Carlos to Point Morrow then west across the Sea of Cortez to the town of Santa Rosalia. After a day in Santa Rosalia, we went south to Punta Chivato then on to Bahia Concepcion where we spent several days. Back to Punta Chivato for the trip back across the sea to San Carlos.


We had a great seafood meal at a little restrauant at the Santispac anchorage at the north end of Bahia Concepcion. Went swimming in a cove visited by nudists and took showers (is that Buddha or my Brudda?) on the deck of the boat.

There was some 'relaxing' going on during the trip.






Beautiful sunsets and 'hands-free' sailing added to our experiences.














At the end, OBO (it means Islander in Swedish) is back in San Carlos.

San Carlos

Brother Gus and I are in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, to spend some time on the Islander 32 sailboat I purchased last spring. In addition to working on and learning about the boat, we did anchor out one night at a bay about an hour away. The picture of Gus and the shore was taken while in that bay.

Tomorrow we leave for a more extended trip of about a week or ten days. Wish us fair winds!

Enhanced Image Viewing

The other day Zac helped me update my blog. This is how he explained what he did: Try clicking on one of the images. You'll see that the page no longer navigates away from the blog to the image. Instead, an HTML object is made visible and brought to the front of the viewing area and the larger image is loaded and displayed. This concept is referred to by some as a "lightbox."Once the lightbox has been displayed, you can navigate between all the pictures on the site by clicking on the right or left side of the picture to move forward or backward respectively. You can close the lightbox either by clicking the close label at the bottom border or by scrolling down the page and clicking somewhere else. Here's an example of what it looks like: Just click on the picture of Zac and Jen.

Moving Dirt

Dirt, dirt, and
more dirt!


We had 8 yards of topsoil delivered for our land-
scaping project.

Formal Dessert Party

We spent a wonderful evening at Zac and Jennie's Formal Dessert Party and Family Concert. The performers included: Jennie, her sisters Tabitha and Courtenay, her mother, Kathi, Zac and Dan. The guys: Bill, Jennie's Dad, Dan, Zac and Joe, Courtenay's husband, sang along with Frank Sinatra. Fancy desserts were served along with coffee and a specialty tea. Instruments used were a piano, keyboard, guitar, and auto harp. Such talent!

The Big One

When we got home we were so surprised to find this BIG zucchini! It weighed in at 11 pounds and is about 20 inches long. The tomatoes from the garden are delicious.

Power Wash

Dick and his wife, Sandy, are busy getting the house ready to put on the market to sell. Dan helped Dick power wash the whole house. Here you see Dick, Dan's brother, cleaning off the mold from the bricks.

Elephant

"What's in there? " asks Dan. This cute elephant was in the park at Sharon Woods.

Sharon Woods

We decided to take a walk (2 and 1/2miles) in Sharon Woods. This was the first park created by the Hamilton County Park District and covers 730 acres. It has a golf course, paddle boats, fishing, hiking, picnic tables and shelter areas, an exhibit hall, athletic fields and a fun play area for kids.

LaRosa's Pizzeria

LaRosa's Pizzeria was the third place we were told to try. The pizza and calzones were delicious.

White Castle

Another eating place we were told we must try while in Cincinnati was White Castle. Once was enough for me!

Skyline Chili

While we were visiting with some of Dan's classmates, we learned that everyone who comes to Cincinnati needs to eat at Skyline Chili. So we decided to give it a try. Here is Dan enjoying a Coney, which consists of a small bun, hotdog, chili, onions, and cheese. We had a small sample of their famous "3 Way Chili," (a signature dish) consisting of steaming spaghetti, covered with chili and shredded cheddar cheese. "4 Way Chili" includes chopped onions or red beans and "5 Way Chili" has it all.