"Mom, I will drive you to Norman to the train station," our son Greg announced. Wow! Really? What a big help! We had decided to take the Heartland Flyer to visit our sons in Texas, but we would have to board in Oklahoma City or Norman, which we preferred. "But I will have to take you the night before," Greg continued. That was alright, we could get a hotel and get a taxi to take us to the station early the next morning.
All went well, with our having time that evening to have a nice supper with Greg and grandson Adam before they drove the 80 miles home. The next day found us comfortably ensconced on the train and enjoying the view of the rocks and rills of Oklahoma. We were to have a two-hour wait at Ft. Worth before taking our connecting train to Austin, our destination. Our train was running an hour late, and the Austin train hadn't arrived, although it was imminent. We stood on the platform with others waiting in the sweltering temperatures for 45 minutes, reluctant to risk missing it by going inside. The accommodations of lounge car, observation car, and dining car
on the Texas Eagle were well worth the wait, though.
Arrangements had been made for us to meet son Jamie and his family at older son Mark's house in Austin, then return with them to their house in Houston the next day. I called Mark to give him a heads up that we were almost there. "The conductor said in eight minutes we'll be in Taylor, and in Austin in 55 minutes," I told him.
A few minutes later the phone rang, and Mark said, "Did you say Taylor? That's just 15 minutes from our house! Get off at Taylor!" I jerked Howard from his conversation with the old preacher he had joined in the seat ahead of us. We grabbed our carry-ons, hastily retrieved our luggage and made our exit just as the train screeched to a halt at a whistle stop in the small town.
"Is Jamie here yet?" I asked Mark after he had loaded our luggage. He said Jamie's family was waiting for us at a restaurant where we would all have dinner, the best barbecue place in town. Well, it was good, and novel to eat off a sheet of butcher paper piled with creamed corn, baked beans and brisket. The next day our fare was at a famed taco place. This was Texas, after all!
A wonderful week of playing with the little granddaughters, tagging along at the great food stores (including Sam's), eating everything from Mexican, to French, to seafood, followed. Not only that, we went to church three times (once to hear Jamie preach to Chinese youth), visited the Children's Museum with the kids and last, but not least, had a great time at Kemah, a lovely resort town with boardwalks, exciting rides and waterfront views. I felt like I was seeing the great catch of fish from the Bible when a solid mass of hundreds of catfish swarmed at one of the many 25-cent fish-food vending locations on the fenced walkway, their hungry mouths gaping and their bodies thrashing in the swirling waters below us.
The week ended with Jamie taking us back to Mark's house to catch our train for home. First, though, we had an incredible evening with Mark and Rhonda at the Oasis restaurant on Lake Travis. We had been there over twenty years before, but the original building had since been destroyed by fire, and an imposing, castle-like structure of native stone had replaced it. Strolling through the winding brick plaza surrounded by soft lights and the music from a live band somewhere made me feel transported to Italy. The meal, the view, the fellowship and the weather combined for a memorable finale of our visit.
One more treat awaited us, though, as our son Trevor met our train for a 3-hour layover in Ft. Worth. Our sweet red-head took us to eat at Sweet Tomatoes, an all-you-can-eat trendy restaurant specializing in a make-your-own-salad bar, soup and bread selections, and home baked cakes and muffins, which we relished over an hour of visiting, laughing and catching up. After driving us through attractions like the Botanical Gardens and Ft. Worth's Sundance Square, Trevor waved goodbye and we boarded the train for the last leg of our journey, where our faithful son Greg was waiting at Norman to take us home.
Wow! Being with all four sons on this trip was amazing! As the Bible says in Psalm 127:3-5, "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord...As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them." Including our two daughters, that is a full quiver!
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