Christmas in Indiana

Matt and Julie sent us airline tickets so that we could spend Christmas with them and our three grandchildren. What a wonderful Christmas gift. They were wonderful hosts. Somehow, Judy and I both ended up being sick during the trip. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the time we had with Matt and Julie and our grandchildren. Santa was very generous to all on Christmas morning. We got to go into Chicago during the front and back ends of the trip, and while there, got to drive through the heart of the Windy City at Christmastime, walk around Millenium Park in the famed lakefront area of Chicago and walk under Cloud Gate (the big bean) and watch ice skaters skating from above, enjoy hot dogs at a downtown hot dog eatery, go to the Lincoln Park Zoo at nighttime in the winter (a rather different experience), drive around Wrigley Park (home of the Cubs) and more.

It was a white Christmas, but at least not a white out Christmas in Indiana. I tried to make a big snowman with the grand kids, but the snow was so dry, I ended up making a miniature snowman with three snowballs. When we got back, I couldn't believe I had only taken four pictures on the whole trip, Allison on the computer, Lauren being silly, and Megan with Julie nearby, and one of Maestro Snowman.

Mississippi and Tennessee Reports

Mississippi. We really enjoyed the time we had with Lori and James. On Sunday, after Church, we traveled up to Natchez, MS, and stayed there overnight. On Monday morning, it was already raining, so we decided not to rush to Vicksburg, but to follow our original plans. We spent some time in the morning looking at some of the historically significant buildings in downtown Natchez that make this town on the Mississippi River so special.

We followed the picturesque Natchez Trace (trail) up to Emerald Mound, the 2^nd largest Indian mound in the U.S. The rain actually stopped long enough for us to climb up the mound. Further up the road, we went to Sunken Trace, which gave a sense of the importance of the original trail that the road follows and that early American Indians used. Again, the rain subsided long enough for us to enjoy this experience.

We finally made our way up to the Vicksburg National Military Park. While it was raining off and on, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience there, with very few others in the park while we were there. James took some impressive pictures and video segments that the overcast day actually enhanced.

The following day, we went to the WWII Museum in downtown New Orleans. The new movie that Tom Hanks narrates was an otherworldly experience, and truly helped me appreciate the scope of that war that was fought on several fronts. There was so much about WWII that I had was oblivious to, so the whole experience (movie and exhibition) was quite an education. We all enjoyed the time we had together, and we were all thrilled about how well this trip went. Lori posted some of the pics that James took during our time together on her Facebook page (Lori Ure > Photos > Mississippi & Louisiana 2009).


Tennessee. I took three days off to make some person-to-person contacts with potential contractors to build our future home in Tennessee. One day was spent getting there, one doing business on site, and one getting back home. I was very happy to be able to make some important contacts, and to get a better handle on what steps need to be taken in order for us to move forward with our home building.

What was meant to be a whirlwind trip, however, got stalled in a record-setting snowstorm in Washington D.C. I had the misfortune of having D.C. as the leg between Nashville and New Orleans in both directions. In coming back, our jet got as far as being de-iced and on the tarmac, but the snow was coming down so fast that snow plows couldn’t keep up, so we never got clearance to take off Friday evening. It continued to snow through Saturday, and Dulles ended up with 18+ inches of snow, eclipsing the previous snowstorm record of 12.1 inches in the month of December, and the 6^th greatest overall snowfall from a single snowstorm on record for the area. I finally got out Sunday evening. What a relief!

Plans through December

My agenda for the remainder of the Month of December is as follows:

Dec 6 - 12 (Sun - Sat): Making sugarcane crosses at Canal Point, FL (see last year's blog this time of year).

Dec 12 - 16 (Sat - Wed): Spending time with Lori & James, who are coming into town. We're excited.

Dec 17 - 19 (Thu - Sat): Whirlwind trip to our future home site in Tracy City, TN, meeting with Grant Miller, and other people we will be contracting work out to.

Dec 22 - 28 (Tue - Mon): Judy and I will be spending Christmas with Julie, Matt, and three granddaughters, Allison, Lauren, and Megan, the youngest of whom I will be introducing myself to for the very first time.

On another note: I am updating the book, "Tew Heritage," which is a history of Wm. Thos. Tew and his wife, Clara, and their descendants. I had conversations with descendants of each of his seven children last night, and was amazed at the level of interest there is in me pursuing this project. It will probably take several months to complete. When completed, it may very well go on line, so I may be looking for some "family" expertise.