Hello, everyone. I’m sorry that last week’s column was so short. Between the mountains, poor service, and operator error, I could not get that thing posted. My daughter-in-law, Heather, finally let me do it on her phone. So now I get to catch up on the trip. For anyone who loves below 60 degrees, this trip was heaven. I didn’t pack enough cold-weather clothes, and my thin Texas blood about froze. On the day we went whale watching, it was 56 degrees and raining. The mama humpback whale and her giant infant put on a tremendous show for us. The baby even rubbed his belly on the bottom of the boat. The whales stayed out there for about 30 minutes, and so did we. Consequently, I was wet and cold to the bone. We had an impressive time. This was a belated fiftieth anniversary trip for Russ and me. We were able to cross off one of his bucket-list items.
Our trip to the airport in Austin was delayed. Our low tire gauge came on, so we stopped at one of those automatic air fillers. It drained our tire instead of filling it. Poor Russ had to change the tire to the donut which has a 55-mph limit. That doesn’t work well on the toll road. That meant that after being up for 24 hours, we had to find a place to fix our tire before we could head home. I pulled up Southwest Tire, and we followed maps guidance to the shop. It was a truck type stop, but they were friendly and accommodating. They took wonderful care of us and the tire. They didn’t even charge us.
The flight back from Alaska was exciting to say the least. As we headed into the final approach our plane suddenly veered back into the sky. We did that several times. Then the pilot let us know we were having trouble with the flaps, and they were clearing the flight path for us. We circled and descended several more times until the pilot decided he could make the emergency landing. Firetrucks lined the runway as we made an extremely low and very fast landing. We were thankful that our pilot put us down safely. In total, Russ and I were up 40 hours before we made it to the front door. I may not get Russ back on the plane to go to Costa Rica in a few weeks.
I wish I could have sent some of the lovely rain home to Texas, but Alaska kept it all. All I have heard since our return is a prayer for rain. The sale of cattle continues as ranchers struggle to feed livestock. My grass is brown, and trees are losing their leaves. My fear is we will lose more oak trees again this year.
School has begun, and expectations are high here in Richland Springs.
The Coyotes have a scrimmage scheduled this Friday. I understand the volleyball girls played their first game and gave a stellar performance. There are two home games this year. Our teams will be travelling long distances. There will be Fifth Quarters for the home games unless the homecoming game has a sponsored dinner.
Please look out for our school busses and walkers as they make their way to classes. Please remember to pray for our country, government, world peace, and RAIN. It’s good to be back even if it is steamy hot. Take care, everyone, and have a wonderful week.