Jacqueline’s Jaunts

Honey Grove is known as "The Sweetest Town in Texas." When settlers arrived, they found numerous bee hives in the county.  I never thought in a million years I would visit Texas.  Just not a state I was interested in, even though my Dad was born and lived here until he was fourteen. Last year, my friend Lisa Gorrel and I decided to plan a trip for genealogy. We discovered we had ancestors in many of the same or nearby counties.  The weather in Texas was too hot by the time we decided last year, so we decided to go in the spring of 2024. This way, we could also experience the wildflowers.  I have not written anything in quite a while, but I have not felt like writing anything until now. Last night, I had a dream about my dad. In the dream, I think he forgave me for something that happened in High School. I woke up feeling apprehensive and emotional. It was hard for me not to cry. This dream stuck with me all day.  The first place we visited was the Oakwood Cemete...

Ryan and Amanda’s to Deerwood RV Park in Eugene Jeeps - 5 Steps – 3,814 Ryan worked from home today so he could see us off. It's hard to believe it’s been a week. I cleaned the RV, floors, bathroom and dusted this morning. Tucker received his questions for his school ancestor project, so I spent the rest of the morning answering his questions. He seemed interested and asked other questions in addition to the ones assigned. There were two I didn’t have time to respond. We made plans to Zoom when we got home. I needed to look up a few things before answering the rest of the questions.  With lots of hugs and kisses, we said our goodbyes. We left Ryan & Amanda’s this morning around noon. We were sad to leave but ready for the next leg of this trip. We stopped at Fred Myer’s for gas and propane. There seemed to be an issue with propane. It was leaking. We think it is our propane fill valve since we had the same issue in Red Bluff. We will have to try again in Eugene. We told Ryan an...

Ryan and Amanda’s Steps – 4,006 Today is the day before we leave. Barry was up and started packing his BBQ and our chairs, firepit, etc. Kids have school today. We went to Fred Myer to check out how to get into their propane area and gas up the jeep, also off to Safeway, then to a liquor store for Prickly Pear Margarita mix for Roma and tequila for us.  All humans are home by four-ish and ready to eat dinner. We planned to go to Blacksmith’s tonight. It’s a Pub with fixed food trucks. The Pub area is a big open warehouse with many tables and chairs. Amanda and I had Margaritas. Not as good as Diego’s, but not bad. Barry was happy they had RPM IPA. I think Ryan got an Old Fashion. We went to The Kilted Kitchen; Barry ordered The Bruce, a brisket sandwich, and me, The Wallace, a pulled pork sandwich. He wanted The Scotty Dog, a hot dog, but Tucker ordered ahead of us and got the last one. The fries were sliced very thin and scrumptious. We have never had them that way. Everyone loved...

Ryan and Amanda’s Steps – 2,390 We woke up to a smokey sky. Somewhat better today, but not much. Ryan was off to work early this morning; the kids had school, cleaned up the RV, and Barry cleaned up his BBQ today. I was on a few calls today and going through email. I played ball with the dogs. They wore me out! Before Ryan got home from work, Amanda took Tucker to the pump track to ride his new bike. He said it took a little time to get used to it, but it felt great. From the photos Amanda took, he looked like he was enjoying himself.  Addison spent part of the afternoon riding Josey. No barrel practicing, just for a ride.  Ryan BBQed chicken on his Traeger, and it was delicious. We had everyone taste Aunt Reba’s BBQ sauce (see previous blogs).  They all agreed it was the best BBQ sauce they had. They couldn’t get enough. I informed him if they came to our Annual Griffin Christmas Dinner again, they would get some, but we did leave them some of ours.  The sunset was ...

Ryan and Amanda’s Home Steps – 4,066 The area was smokey due to the fires. The temperature was 85º, which made it worse. Today is a utility day. Amanda made an excellent scramble for breakfast.  Tucker’s new BMX bike came yesterday, and today was assembly day. His dad helped him assemble it, with Uncle B overseeing the task. Ryan taught Tucker a few things about his bike he needs to be aware of, like tire pressure and keeping the chain clean. Tucker could not wait to ride it. This bike is for the street and pump track only. His other bike he can use on his dirt track at home.    We decided on pizza for dinner, so Barry went for gas, groceries, pizza dough, and toppings. I stayed home and did laundry. He could only find wheat pizza dough. Everyone made their own pizza and loved the wheat dough. The kids had a great time. After dinner and pizza clean-up, we had a rousing game of Sequence. The teams were Barry and I, Tucker and Ryan, and Amanda and Addison. The last time we ...

2023-09-16 Oregon Trip to Visit Family and Friends John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Ryan and Amanda's Place Steps – 9,006 Playing with our shadows Up early, packed a lunch, and was on the road by 7:30 AM. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, here we come. It was a two-hour drive to the park. It is on the eastern side of Oregon—Tucker decided to go with us.  The road was through the mountains. This is a volcanic area that was once underwater. Volcanic rock is everywhere and looks desolate.  Our first stop was the Painted Hills. The hills have a different color for each period after the dinosaurs went extinct. The colors were gold, yellows, browns, and reds. We hiked three trails around the hills. Each hike was short, but we had better views of the painted hills.  We ate lunch in a nice picnic area with plenty of shade trees. I'm glad we got here early this morning. Today's temperature was around 97º and would have been too hot to hike. After lunch, we drove an hou...