On the southeast Gulf coast, that is. First day of my personal evacuation from the oncoming Hurricane Gustav, Saturday, August 30, 2008 and forward. I left my area of southeast Texas at 12:30 p.m. I made 'landfall' at my evacuation point at 6:30 p.m. Travel time not bad this time compared to 2005. I was tired of driving, hungry, but happy when I arrived at my destination. Nancy and her parents were a couple of hours behind me. They had left the area later than I had. Her son, daughter-in-law and new baby had left at 8:30 p.m. and arrived here [View Full Entry]

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Hurricane Season Should Be Shorter! We now have Hurricane Gustav eyeballing the Gulf of Mexico in a serious fashion. This time I will go farther than Beaumont. I'm going to the Dallas area again. Nancy, her parents, Gabriel, Sofia and John are going with me. We'll have all their pets along too. I had booked our rooms last Monday or Tuesday before the rush and am very glad I did. I just love the place we will stay. This will be my second 'vacation' there and Nancy and family have stayed there many more times. I may take more bathing suits [View Full Entry]

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The last storm, Edouard, luckily caused no damage to Nancy and Gabriel's house or mine. Sure, I had some limbs down on the property, but with as many trees as I have, I get limbs down in a good strong wind event. And I apologize for not having updated you on my 'escape' from the storm. I just recently got my internet back. Poor Florida was tormented by Fay, deaths there and in the Caribbean. Newest is Gustav looking for all he's worth as he's headed to the Gulf. He came into being and escalated to it's current Category One hurricane [View Full Entry]

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Actually, it's not a hurricane. It's a mid-level tropical storm. It sprang up rather quickly and right on our coasts! That surprised and worries all of us here on the coast of Texas and Louisiana. Last summer, our (my) area was surprised with Humberto that did not do what the forecasters expected when everyone here went to bed and sleep. Well, Humberto had his own agenda, changed route straight for our area and slammed into us. I had gone to bed as well, only my little bed at the time was in the Yucatan. I had just gone through Huracan Dean [View Full Entry]

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And, of course, that was a reason for the neighborhood women to throw a party! I KNOW there was food and adult beverages involved. I've been to their all night parties. I didn't ask Susie if they had to pour her on the plane at 7 a.m. I do know that Susie said there were tears involved. She is going back (aren't you, Susie?). She has a house there. Nevertheless, Susie arrived in the Houston area and immediately the southeast Texas coodies attacked her sinuses! I haven't traveled over there to visit yet but I do plan to on my (maybe) [View Full Entry]

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I got in too big of a hurry and forgot that Maurine had taken pictures on her cell when we were at Paul's. Keep in mind that these are the dead soldiers on the platter after the fact! Her pictures of Mr. Paul were better than the ones that I took. [View Full Entry]

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Hi! I didn't make it to the Mauriceville Crawfish Festival like I usually do, but neighbor Maurine introduced me to a restrauant in Mauriceville that I'd never been to. Paul's Seafood. The menu also refers to itself as a Karry-Out Kitchen. Not only did I enjoy the food there, but so much so that I went the next day too! It's a little bitty place on a big piece of land just down the street and around the corner from my neck of the woods (literally). A while back it was an Orange County Police Substation. Orange County moved into 'town' [View Full Entry]

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Hello and I've missed everyone. I do get your messages sent through this blog, so keep sending them and I will continue to respond. As you know, I came back to the states and took a very long vacation. It was not quite as much fun to be work-idle in southeast Texas as it was in the Yucatan, but I still enjoyed every minute of it! I have been back in the work environment now for two months and love my job. I'm in the Sabine Pass, Texas area and the view is not quite Merida or Progreso, but what the [View Full Entry]

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Hello, friends, I thoroughly enjoyed my work in the Yucatan last year and subsequent leisure time that I have allowed myself. Time to go back to the real world now and back to work. Tomorrow, March 3rd, I will be on the ExxonMobil LNG Golden Pass Pipeline project in Sabine Pass, Texas. This is a multi phase project of terminal, pipelines and distribution center. One of the pipeline routes is being placed at this time. Part of this line, as a matter of fact, is running on property not far from my backyard! The Sabine Pass office complex is not yet [View Full Entry]

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Our dear friend George is currently working in Equatorial Guinea. He left Texas for his latest job project in October and has been sending updates of himself and his activities to friends, of which I am one. With his permission, I let you sneak a peak at the area he is in and his renditions of the passing months. Living in a designated area for the project's working staff, George has a nice, comfortable looking apartment. Pictures of the rooms that he sent are not being included in this blog. Although neat and spiffy, a blog just isn't the place to [View Full Entry]

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