The Last of Texas...

The Tower Life Building, unfortunately finished in August 1929, just before the stock market crash. A year later, the company that built it was bankrupt, and the entire building was sold for $27,000.

Jon & Shelly DeJong's little Etta. She was a great traveler, and oh-so-cute!

Guacamole expert at work!

Our trip to San Antonio ended with a boat ride through the Riverwalk area. It was fun to hear some of the history of the old buildings, and see a different view of them. After our ride it was off to Boudros, "a Texas Bistro", for a wonderful dinner! We'd eaten there earlier and it was so good that we wanted to do it again. Both times I ordered the same thing -- papaya marinated flank steak with roasted vegetables and chimichurri sauce...Oh, man! SO good -- and I couldn't even eat it all which was quite sad! The server made our guacamole at the table, and many of us tried their prickly pear margaritas. That sounded a little daunting to me at first, but it was quite delicious, and I was glad that I tried it -- and I didn't get squiffy either, in case you were wondering, kids! After dinner the group decided to try out the "Howl at the Moon"Saloon where they had dueling pianists playing requests...Great musicians, and loud music, but it was fun -- for awhile...We turned into pumpkins early as we were flying out at 8:30 the next morning, unlike the rest of the crew who were staying until Thursday afternoon.

The next morning we arrived at the airport to find that our flight had been "delayed" a half hour, though our plane was sitting, ready, out on the tarmac. Normally, this would not be a problem, but the reason we were leaving San Antonio earlier than the rest was to be in attendance at the Lynden High School Sports Hall of Fame Induction that evening. Randy's dad was being inducted for his meritorious service -- 30+ years of announcing football and basketball games -- and all the family was going to be there. The airline had conveniently (this is a matter of opinion) re-booked us to a later connecting flight -- so, instead of arriving in Seattle at 12:45, we would be leaving San Francisco at 1:35, getting to Seattle at 3:45, and driving through rush hour traffic, trying to be in Lynden at 6pm. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?! Even more maddening was the fact that our flight from San Antonio came in early, and the flight we were originally booked on was just beginning to board. We asked if they had room, and they did, but since our bags were checked for the later flight, they would not allow us to get on. There we sat in San Francisco for 3 hours, wondering how it was going to work out once we got home...

Fortunately, everything went smoothly when we got into Seattle -- bags came promptly, shuttle to parking was efficient, and best of all, the traffic wasn't too bad. On the Hannegan, I crawled into the back of the van to change into a shirt that was a little less casual than my "airplane clothes". Our family filled plates at the buffet and had them waiting at our places when we arrived about 7pm, dessert time. We were able to slip in without looking out of place, and then enjoyed this very special evening for Lawrence. We were relieved that we had made it, and it was a lot of fun hearing some of the old sports legends tell their stories. Nearly all the family was able to be there, which was special for Mom & Dad. Lawrence has supported Lynden Athletics in numerous ways for many, many years -- not the least of which is his "moderation of the Lynden Sports Forum held daily at the Dutch Treat". It's really neat that there has been a great effort made to appreciate those who help make LHS sports successful by their behind-the-scenes support.