Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

Let me first explain the title I have given today's story: Yesterday, we had talked about returning to Galveston Island for one last beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico -- the surf, the seagulls, the sand, the wind, the waves ... however, Mr. Jones and I were listening to the news and weather this morning as we were dressing and the local folk were reporting on a "system" that was hovering around Galveston. They said they weren't quite ready to call it a "tropical depression", but thought that perhaps during the day the system might intensify into one. They predicted rain throughout the day. We went over to Nick and Rachel's shortly after 11:00 this morning. Nick had a very important interview at 1:30 this afternoon with his district manager from Starbuck's.

NICK HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO A

STARBUCK'S STORE MANAGER

EFFECTIVE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007!

Rachel and Nick left a little after noon to run some errands before his interview. Mr. Jones and I played with Nathan for awhile, but he was in need of a nap, so he went to bed at about 12:30. I did some dinner preparation while Nathan slept, and before I knew it, he was awake and Nick and Rachel were walking through the apartment door. We ate dinner and then talked about whether we were going out to Galveston. It had been lightly raining throughout the day, the sky was very overcast and dreary looking -- but to miss going out to Galveston because of a little bit of rain? No way! Mr. Jones and I did discuss the "tropical depression" issue with the younger Joneses, but we came to the unanimous decision to drive out to Galveston and see what we could see. When I say the decision as unanimous, I really mean that Nick, Rachel and I were very enthusiastic about going and Mr. Jones nodded his head and agreed to drive out there ... he was less than enthused. So the title, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" has to do with driving out to Galveston in the rain. But oh my! Was it worth the drive!

This is Nathan with "Boo" bear

First, I have to tell you about being a back-seat passenger with young Mr. Nathan. In the van, there is a front seat (for two), a middle seat (for two more), and a back seat (for three). We put a car seat in the very back for Nathan, and usually I have been the person to ride back there with him. There are several reasons for me being the designated back seat passenger. First, Nick needs to ride up front with Mr. Jones and give him directions as to where we are going. Plus, if Nick rides in the way-back with Nathan, he has to "entertain" Nathan the whole time (because Nathan is used to his daddy being very entertaining). However, Nathan doesn't expect quite so much from his Grandma Jones. But I still like to come prepared, just in case! So a few days ago, since our hotel is right smack next to a Walgreen's, I shopped to find a few little items I could put in the back seat in case Nathan and I got bored back there. I picked up three small things and paid a total of $3.17 (plus tax). So I bought a blue stuffed bear (very small), a bright yellow Hot Wheels car, and a colorful plastic Slinky. Plus, I had some pennies in my bag that Nathan and I used to do some counting with.

See the pennies in the cup holder?
Nathan would take each one in and out of the holder
Sometimes he would heave them across the van;
but usually, he was just quietly taking them in and out
of the cupholder ...
The Slinky was used for all sorts of games.
We could stretch it out and use it as a phone.
We could play "Hide-N'-Seek" with Boo Bear.
We could use it to plunk the yellow car in and out of ...

See "Boo" Bear hiding in the Slinky?

There is the yellow car and Boo Bear peaking out
on the side of the car seat ...

We found that the extra seat belt made a

handy road for our car ...
we could "vroom" it up and down
back and forth ...

Before we knew it, we were to Galveston and WOW what a sight! The wind! The waves! We had walked this very stretch of beach just a few nights ago when there was hardly a breeze blowing. Look at it now! What we didn't realize (since the younger Joneses do not have a television) was that the "system" had not only turned into a tropical depression, it actually had become a full fledged tropical storm with a name -- Humberto! We drove along the strip for quite awhile trying to get some good pictures! This was a once-in-a-lifetime event for us!

"The LORD is king!
He is robed in majesty.
Indeed, the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.

"Your throne, O LORD, has been established
from time immemorial.
You yourself are from the everlasting past.

"The mighty oceans have roared, O LORD.
The mighty oceans roar as they pound the shore.
BUT MIGHTIER THAN THE VOILENT RAGING
OF THE SEAS,
MIGHTIER THAN THE BREAKERS ON THE SHORE --

THE LORD IS MIGHTIER THAN THESE!

"Your royal decrees cannot be changed.
The nature of your reign, O LORD,

is holiness forever!"

PSALM 93

Hermit crabs in a shop on
Mermaid Pier -- aren't they cool?

We had hoped to do some shopping along
this little tourist trap -- but no sooner had
we entered the store, we were told it was closing!
(We were still unaware of Humberto being a named storm, etc.)

So we decided to go into Old Galveston
to see if we could just look around (!)
but as we drove towards town
we noticed sand bags being piled in front of the doorways
and entryways of most of the buildings!

I took this picture through the window of the van
(not good)

But can you see the sandbags?

The water was already over the curbs
and the streets were beginning to really gain a lot of water!

So we did a "U" turn
and hightailed it out of Galveston

across the causeway and back to dry land!

Except this whole area was pretty water logged!

For fun, we stopped at a Dairy Queen
and got some ice cream for Nathan ...

and us!

Nathan Paul really really enjoys his ice cream!

Isn't he just the cutest?

Irresistible! :)

"Hey, cool dude!"
Nick told us that one day Nathan was wearing
a hat from Starbuck's and Nick called out,
"Hey, cool dude!"
and Nathan repeated that phrase back
very clearly, and repeated it over and over again.
We couldn't quite get him to perform that for us tonight ...

Well, we made it back to the apartment in once piece.
Nathan said, "Good-bye" to all of us as we exited the van.
I guess his grandma and grandpa McNeil
let Nathan play in their car in their garage
(Yes, the car was off! Yes, Nathan was safe!)
However, NOW it is rather difficult to get
the wee boy to leave the vehicle without quite a hassle ...
Oh, what we grandparents do!

Mr. Jones and I turned on the local news as soon as we returned to the hotel. We then learned about Humberto and they are now reporting gusts of wind up to 50 mph out there on Galveston Island. I would LOVE to be one of those reporters who get to stand out there in the driving rain with a microphone in front of their rain-drenched faces reporting on the storm ... AWESOME!