uhoh...i had an accident. yesterday i slipped and fell on mud. i knew something bad had happened as soon as i got up. my left arm was useless. jess drove me to the round rock er, and the x rays showed a fracture of the distal radius. there have not been many times in my life when i had pain so intense that i felt that i would pass out or throw up, but this was one. now the arm is in a cast and sensitive to any touch or movement. when jacob saw me with the cast on he said, grandmommy! you are tough! all you said was you thought you broke your wrist. i said - it is because i am german.
life goes on however. i called raymond who has never failed to be faithful in an emergency, and he came this morning to drive us back. we all went to the airport to meet him. then we drove around downtown austin, showing jacob the beautiful red granite capitol building with its well kept grounds and brilliant green grass. then, james took us to the cool new whole foods market where we all got smoothies.
now we are at the sensible wingate inn where we stayed last year. got some good pics of the kids in the pool here. one steady right hand was all i needed.

Yesterday was San Antonio. First we saw the Alamo movie at the IMAX theatre, then on to the real Alamo. Davy Crockett days remembered. We spent all day in the Riverwalk area. It was hot and the sun cooked me as we walked outside between the shaded areas and along the river ride. We ate fried catfish al fresco on the balcony at the Lone Star and later had cokes at the Hard Rock Cafe. Hey Stuart...we saw a guitar that belonged to Stevie Ray Vaughn. We got To Jessica and James' about nine. I think Nicholas recognized me.

Jacob had been fascinated by a show he had seen on the Discovery Channel about the dangers of catching Alaskan crab and had been talking about eating some since we left. I figured we could find any kind of crab in Galveston. We drove along Seawall Boulevard eventually choosing a nice local restaurant. When we entered, Jacob asked the maitre d if they had crab legs. "Try Landry's," the host said. I thought what he meant was 'we don't serve your kind here' as we looked like bums. We found Landry's about a half mile up the road and were seated at a table that had a view of the Gulf. He satisfied his curiosity, ordered, and ate a pound and a half of meaty barnacled claws of some grandfather crustaceans whose scent stayed with us til at least Houston.


To get to Galveston, we got off I 10 at the Winnie exit as my Texan cousin Jim suggested. We took a scenic state road that parted the Gulf of Mexico on the left and cattle grazing land on the right. The road ended and we drove onto the ferry that took us across the bay and into Galveston.

Galveston was much prettier than I had imagined. I found that just driving the interstate through East Texas makes me think how I'll bet people love it here, especially if it is home for them. On the beach, the adults sat under aqua umbrellas in wooden chaises that were in a neat row along the curvy shore, and many children were playing in the water. Jacob had put on his swimsuit and fit in, but I conspicuously walked to the water in the traveling clothes - long pants, T shirt, checkered visor - I had worn all day, along with a royal blue towel over my shoulder and a camera around my neck. We didn't stay too long. Had to get on the road anyway.

I 10 took us around the extremely congested city of Houston, an adventure in itself. We eventually made it to this crummy Comfort Inn on the outskirts of San Antonio.

Jacob and I are now tucked away in a Best Western off I 10 in Rayne, Louisiana. I have showered off the sweat that stuck to me as I walked through the sultry French Quarter, reorganized stuff in my suitcase, and checked my email. I am hoping for a good night's sleep. The pillows look inviting.

We left Greenville yesterday about 10 am. After a thankfully uneventful trip to Birmingham, we found Nancy and Bob's condo at Arlington Place. We didn't stay there long. They drove us around the area and to their daughter Sara's house. Three sets of "English villages" line sections of the curving streets between the two homes. Two years ago, Sara and her husband John bought a neglected 1927 English tudor house in the Mountain Brook area across from Birmingham Country Club golf course and have been renovating it and decorating it in the style of the classic rich. Jacob was impressed with the vault, the wine cellar, and the 1984 Mercedes convertible. Then, always hospitable, they took us to Chex Lulu, quaint and colorful with reds, yellows, lights, paintings, a French cafe in one of the villages. I got a tasty caramelized onion and eggplant thing. Jacob asked why the sofa in the bathroom? Maybe for the fainting French ladies? Then on to the Botanical Gardens - next to Alabama's biggest attraction, the Birmingham Zoo - where we spent most our time walking through the Japanese Garden. When we came back to their downtown condo, high on the sixth floor, Nancy and I sat by the pool and talked while Jacob swam as the sun set over the city.

This morning we left about 9. I didn't know how far we would get, only that it was to be a long day of driving. When we stopped at the Louisiana Welcome Center, we decided to visit New Orleans after all, not in my original plans. Lightning and rain accompanied us on the five mile bridge - it is officially hurricane season again - but stopped as we entered the city. I drove to the infamous French Quarter and parked in a lot near Jax Brewery at the Mississippi River. Would you go to Paris without going to the Eiffel Tower? Neither do you go to New Orleans without a beignet and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. It was the first place we hit. We took an outer table to hear the street musicians - a dark haired guy acoustic guitarist and his percussionist, a skinny woman adeptly strumming a washboard - playing old blues and other familiar tunes. Music wafted from open shop doors on Decatur and Chartres Streets, and Jacob saw the sights that caused him to comment, "This isn't a place you should take kids." We passed a "magick" shop with stained glass pentagrams hanging in the window, candy stores with praline samples, gift shops with crass souvenirs, and T shirt shops. One shirt bragged, "After Katrina, all I have left is this T shirt...and a new cadillac...and a plasma TV."