Sunday--- going home

I rarely sleep well or long in a hotel and this was no exception.  Even tho' I went to bed way past my usual bedtime, I still woke up too early.   When I tried to check the Ranger's baseball score on the computer, I discovered something not quite right.  The hotel's wifi system was down.  Went downstairs to check with the lady at the counter, and she verified that it was indeed not working-- she blamed the problem on the storm the night before.

Packed up my belongings and got ready for breakfast.  The morning before I had been conservative with breakfast (yogurt and dry cereal), this morning I decided to "go for it".  Enjoyed a Texas shaped waffle with chocolate chips sprinkled over the batter and it was really yummy.  Then I had some fruit and yogurt--which was the only "good" food I had all day.  When I travel by car, I 'm usually just not hungry.

I had filled Fred Ford up with gas the previous afternoon, so I was ready to hit the road.

I drove and drove and drove some more-- stopping at rest areas to get out and walk around.  At one convenience store where I got gas, I got some  Chex MIX and I nibbled on them and a diet Dr. Pepper all day as I drove and drove.  After declining but thanking BR for the offer of a place to rest in Abilene, I found the radio station with the Tx. Rangers game and listened to it all the way home.  I either listened to the radio or my music CD's the entire drive to El Paso and back.  Did lots of singing.  Folks have asked me why I didn't listen to a CD book, and the honest answers are I enjoy the music and the voice of a person reading a book drones and puts me to sleep.  That would NOT be good.

The first number, 1294.9 is the total number of miles traveled in the 3 days of my trip.
Obviously, the second number is the miles per gallon used, not bad for a Ford  Explorer.
Third number, 22:12:08, is the actual number of hours/minutes I drove including my Saturday morning exploration of Clint, Horizon and El Paso.  At times I got really lost.


It was a long tiring trip, but I'm so very glad I went. 

The Reunion

Had some hotel reservation difficulties, when they were alleviated, I took a nap and read .  The Reunion is scheduled for 6-7 happy hour, 7-10 dinner, program, pictures and ,10-12 dancing.  It is being held at Cattleman's Steakhouse Party room, which is north of the Fabens exit off I 10.  The Reunion is for graduates from Clint High School's classes in the '50's, '60's, and '70's.  So I had the possibility of having taught half of the '60's graduates and all the 70's folks.

I arrived about 6:30 and the hugging began.  My guess is that I received and gave more hugs in the next 4 hours than I ever have.  I repeatedly had someone come up to me asking if I remembered them-- I always said yes, altho it was not always the truth.  The name tags helped some, but during this time frame I probably taught 400 to 600 students.

The reunion was organized by members of the class of  1967, celebrating their 50th anniversary, with classes from 1948-79 invited.  The organizing committee did an amazing job of gathering alumni from the various classes, communication, and managing the nuts and bolts of an event this size.  113 actual graduates attended with family, friends, and teachers in attendance.

Cattleman's Steakhouse is "famous" throughout the area for it's steaks and sides.  When we lived here, this was a place to go for special celebrations.  This meal did not disappoint.  Their menu changes slightly for parties as opposed to ordering from the restaurant.  Party steaks are not as thick as restaurant fare and large baked potatoes come with the restaurant meal.  For the party we were served beans, potato salad and coleslaw to go with our 10 oz. steak.

After we ate, the "program" continued, with a professional photographer on hand to record everything.  I talked to ex-students who were doctors, nurses, career military, owned comanies, and worked with computers.  Particularly interesting were the young women who were retired from law enforcement.  Realize that when they began their careers, it was not usual for women to have that job.

I heard much about how fortunate the graduates felt to have lived in a small town with a strong educational system.  We talked about the fun they had in speech class, doing plays, pantomime, and International Phonetic Alphabet.  Several told me that their skill in writing and grammar had served them well in their careers.  One man reminded me of his and his partner's winning first place medals in the UIL State meet.   We talked and hugged and discussed their favorite (and least favorite) parts of my classes.  One recent retiree has decided to get involved in community theatre and is having a blast.  Another ex-student told me he is making "Austin weirder"  and I believe him.  Some people I recognized immediately and others, I had to read name tags to know who I was talking to.  I did ask about where the new Clint High School has been built- and the info is "down Alameda toward Fabens".  Heard this on Sat night, didn't take the time before I left to check it out.  Guess I'll have to believe what I was told.

I would have stayed longer, but a freak rainstorm had descended on the party room and I still had a way to go back to the motel, so I dashed out to get my car and got drenched in the process.  Drove back to the freeway and then to the Clint exit, where my motel was waiting.  I got to bed by 11:30, much later than my usual bed time.

Saturday- re-exploring El Paso

My trek began looking for our old house in Clint.  Because of several pipe gates, I couldn't get very close, but could tell that lots of changes have occurred in the 30 or so years since we lived here. There was a crew picking up the hay bales in the foreground, our house is among the trees.  Can't tell much about it from here.

Next to check out the little apartment we lived in when we first married.  It's not there anymore and where it was is a large brick bldg behind  a large pipe gate.  Just down Alameda I should have found Clint High School, but it wasn't there.  The bldg is there (and larger), but it is labeled Clint Junior High School.   Hmmm!  Wonder where the High School is.  That's one of the first things I'll ask when I get to the Reunion tonite.  I did find the church we attended, Bond Methodist and it is right where I left it and there were no big pipe gates.  Clint was/and is/ a little town, but it has 2 Dollar stores.

Next on my memory lane  journey is Horizon City and Desert Hills Elementary School.  As I entered the southern part of Horizon, it didn't look as though much had changed, but the farther I drove north, the changes were astounding.  I had read about a "prison" being built out in the sand hills and I saw it,  But the farther up Horizon Blvd I went the stranger it looked.  Not only does Horizon have a WalMart, but there is a hospital!!  When I worked there, it was a bedroon community with very few businesses.  The population sign bragged about 5,000+ residents and any type of thing (food, service, etc) a town of that size would need is there and more.  Impressive.  The area has changed so much I drove right by the elementary school where I was principal without seeing it.  When it was built, the land was empty between the school and Horizon Blvd--- no longer.  I had to backtrack and finally found it.  Really looks well cared for.

Then I decided to try to find the first house we bought (for less than $10,000).  It looks so sad and unloved.  We had a huge tree in the front yard, flowers, hedges and a wonderful garden, but now it just looks sad.  I hesitated to stop and get out and take the picture.  I know if I saw a stranger taking a pic of my house, I would not be happy, so I took it from the drivers seat of Fred Ford.

The last house we lived in in El Paso has fared better-- It looks well taken care of although the huge palm in the front yard is gone.

After finding our houses, I headed to find Desert View Middle School where Nick was principal for many years.  I used the panorama function for this picture to include it all, but I really should have gotten a bit closer.  N says the parking lot is much bigger than he remembers.

My last project for looking around in El Paso was a pic of Eastwood High School being demolished, to be rebuilt.   When I got there, the demolition must have all been inside, cuz the interior seems to be intact. 

I headed back to the motel at this point to nap and have lunch. 

Adventure 1- Summer 2017- El Paso

Clint High School Reunion--

I taught English, Speech, Drama at Clint H.S. from Sept. 1964-1984 (I think) .  I'd have to look at yearbooks to be definitely sure.  (I retired in '98 after spending some time as  asst principal, principal, and central office all with the Clint district)   When I first came here to teach in '64, I began in a one building K-12 school.  The district grew while I was here adding schools until when I left there were 3 high schools, 3 middle schools and 3 elementary schools.   Many more have been added in the ensuing 20 years.

I am in Clint (El Paso area) for a reunion arranged by classes of 70's which will be at Cattleman's Steakhouse tonite (Saturday June 24).  I came a day early to look around and browse to see how much Clint and EP have changed in the almost 20 years since I retired and left the area.

I didn't want to fly (it's such a hassle, altho' much faster) and I don't mind a long drive, so rather than come in my 9 year old Smart Car, I was convinced to bring Nick's 1 yr old Ford Explorer.

We (Fred Ford and I) had a fine trip yesterday.  It was hot outside (ranging from 99-113), but comfortable inside.  At one point, driving thru Sierra Blanca, we experienced a sudden rain shower and the outside temp went from 106- to 76 in about 4 minutes.  As soon as the rain was over, the heat soured up to 106 again.  The forecast for today is a "cool front" where the high is expected to be only 96.  I've been out walking this morning and it is quite pleasant with a little wind-- to be expected in west Texas.

As I was driving, I saw quite a few people pulled off the side of the road with car trouble - mostly tire problems and over heating.  So glad Fred behaved and got me here without incident.

I'm staying at the Clint Best Western hotel.  Who would of thought?  Not only is there a Best Western, I see from my window, 2 other motels which weren't listed on my internet search.  Oh, when we lived here last there was an R V Park at the Clint exit road and a restaurant whose name I can't remember- Maybe Boll Weevil?  Anyway the restaurant is now Mamacita's Bar and Grill and this area is really growing.

Breakfast on Saturday at this hotel doesn't begin til 7 and when I finish eating my plan is to drive into Clint to scout around, then on to El Paso to see places where we lived and check out the demolition of Eastwood High School.   I've heard the old Farah manufacturing plant has been turned into an upscale mall and thought as long as I'm here I'd check it out.  

Traveling home

La Costena's plane this time was one of its largest.  Couldn't see the pilots, we even had beverage service.  Arrived in Managua 3 hours before we needed to leave.  This was the only flight from Managua to Houston today and since we were so early, the check-in desk was not manned.  We waited in line for 34-45 min and checked our luggage in.  At that time, we were told that the plane would be leaving 1 hour later than scheduled.  We walked across the street to the Best Western breakfast buffet and enjoyed being with our Virginia partners for the last time in a year.   As we got back to the airport to go through security, we were told that our flight was expected to be 2 hours late.  We were scheduled to have a 3 hour layover in Houston, so we thought we could squeak through and make our flight to DFW.  We waited for awhile upstairs after clearing security and saw on the arrivals board that our flight was 4 hours late and ,of course, there would be no way to make that flight.  Harry talked to an airline employee and got us changed to a later flight which we could barely make if we ran. 

We flew from Managua to Houston finally and had to pick up bags, go thru customs, give bags back, go thru security, get new boarding passes for our new flight and high tail it to Gate E30.  When we got there with our new boarding passes, they were cancelled because the airline/computer didn't think we'd make the flight.  The wonderful lady working the gate, reinstated our reservations and gave us better seats.    We made it on the flight with maybe 5 minutes to spare.  Y E A! 

Home --Nick picked Harry and me up and we got on the road.  Tons of traffic- maybe because of the baseball game maybe not-- anyway  we landed at our house at midnight.

The end to a very productive mission trip. 

Friday- last day before flying home

Our goal for Friday was to BlueFields to have a chat with the Moravian Bishop and to meet with Father Tony whom we had met at training.  We took the early panga from Pearl Lagoon and the weather was threatening.  I had heard when rain began on a panga ride, tarps were used to keep passengers dry.  Had heard about it, but not experienced it til this morning.  Three rows of passengers  in front of us were obviously tourists, standing up to take pics and taking selfies and applying make-up during the ride.  When the rain began, no one had clued them in on how to behave.  What we had been told is-- lean over after the tarp (large piece of plastic) is in place so the driver can see where to steer the boat,  No one had told them this and the driver had to stop one time and screamed at them to bend over-- and they never really got it.  He was screaming in both English and Spanish and these folks were Hispanic.   I took a video to show the chaos inside the tarp as we were going, but I'm having trouble getting it in here.  Maybe later/ or not. The folks pictured are the ones in front of me.

The rain stopped and we arrived in Blue Fields in time for our meeting with the Bishop, but first we went to breakfast at the Galleria.  Very good food, service lacking --ordered a sweet roll to go with my omelet-- never got it.  Could have insisted, but wasn't worth the effort.

Our meeting with the Bishop concerned the two water systems here and their need for filters and other maintenance supplies.  Many topics were discussed, along with the possible impact of the new concrete road being constructed between Managua and Blue Fields.  The workers need water, so they had a 300 ft. well dug for their own use.  When the road is finished, the Bishop has heard that the construction company will give the well to the Moravian church.  It is 30 minutes out in the country, but may be available for use at some time in the future.  Reports from the filtration systems were discussed, maintenance supplies and the possibility of a mini-warehouse for eastern Nicaragua.  Renewing covenants was mentioned and we met Juliette, the Bishop's secretary who is the person to contact if assistance or info is needed.  We received her e-mail for this.

After visiting the Old Bank filtration system (named for the neighborhood it is in) we visited with Father Tony at his church.  Father Tony is the priest for 27 churches, most of them small towns like Pueblo Nuevo and Orinoco.  He answered some of our questions about Pueblo Nuevo about sustainability and communication.  He also said he thought there was a Ciber Cafe there-- which no one of the folks we talked to mentioned.  He was supportive of our installing a system in one of the two communities.  Told us that the Catholic church would be able to assist either town to become self sustaining.   He is a positive gregarious person who worked in San Diego in air quality control in his former life.  He seems to thrive on his many challenges and all we've talked to appreciate him greatly.

To celebrate the end of a successful trip (so far) we went to a very new and fancy restaurant with white table cloths and  filtered water.  I ordered a dish called Dedos de Pollo.  We had plantain chops on the table (like tortilla chips at home) the food was good and the service excellent.  We were staying at the Caribbean Breeze and Yobeth stayed in my room.    Flying out in the morning for Managua and eventually home.

Orinoco Island

After our visit with the community of Pueblo Nuevo, we loaded up our panga and went back the way we came to the island of Orinoco.   Before meeting the community members and seeing the well and facilities, we needed to have lunch.  I should have skipped this experience.  During the whole trip I have been challenged to find "non fish" entrees cuz I really just don't like the taste or texture of fish.   At this restaurant there were no menus and they did not provide bottled water.  The waiter guy said we could have shirmp- fried, boiled, sauteed in butter or steamed.  All meals come with rice.   I ate about half the sauteed shrimp and drank water from the bottle I carried.  NOT MY FAVORITE MEAL of the trip.

At the Catholic church, we met several community folks

who had been at the training on Wed.  They showed us around the Sunday school facility across the street from the church and also showed us their well

.  This is an entirely English speaking community which would make our training jobs much easier.  They already have a building that could be used, but which would need some renovation--

 drain added, roof strengthened for the tank, plywood walls removed,

All needed changes but

Really minor changes compared to building from scratch.

The well has not been used much but is 22 feet deep, has a 3.5 ft well diameter and contains 6 feet of water, with no pump-- Water is accessed with a bucket.  Hardness of the water was 034.

When questioned about how we could communicate with them, it was discovered, while all have phones no one has e-mail or data for phones.    In this community water is only available in quarts/liters-- larger bottles are not available.  Occasionally they pour clorox in the well to kill bacteria.  No mail service is available or hardware store for replacement parts.  The local responsibilities for the installation were spelled out to the group.  They will need pumps for well and system and the tanks would need to be purchased locally (in country)

We did remind them not to begin renovating until they heard from us

and our decision wouldn't be made immediately, but after discussion and research.

We left Orinoco after looking at the facilities for visitors to stay, I'd hardly call it a hotel, just marginally better than Pueblo Nuevo-- it did include a window in each room and had mosquito netting available.  Bathroom facilities were available in the owner's house-- no clue where that was.
After returning to Green Lodge, we discussed the pros and cons of each place and were invited to think our decision over.