Long weekend

We left for Houston on Friday morning before 8.

The drive should have taken a maximum of 8 hours, with short stops for lunch and breaks.

It rained almost all the way down, though, and there was flooding on the highways in Texas, so there were multiple traffic jams.  One of them lasted 3 hours.

The storm system was literally following us down from the north, so we were under thick, black clouds almost all the way.

It should have been daylight, but it was like dusk.

Finally got safely to Dave's brother and sister in law's house.  I'm not sure what time it was.

Stayed with them that night.  On Saturday, the guys went bay fishing, and the girls went thrift store shopping.  Lillian showed me around their part of town, and it was SO cool.

Palm trees and really lovely architecture.

The sun was out, and it was really hot and tropical, but there was a breeze, so that helped.

It was fun and relaxed.

Then, we met up with the friends who did the fund raiser last year for me to get to the Grateful Dead farewell concert in Chicago. They live in a suburb south of Houston.

It was great to finally meet them in person!

Had a wonderful dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, then followed them home, and hung out in their spa and pool, and spent the night at their beautiful new construction house.

Homeward trip was MUCH easier, with no rain and far less traffic.

We got a late start, but still got home before 8 last night, after making a destination stop at Trader Joe's, and another stop at a regionally famous smoke house for some treats.

It was a nice little get away.

Now today, Memorial Day, we have to get groceries for the week, and go check out a potential assisted living center for Dave's dad.

The hope is that he will be relocated pretty soon.  He has no idea, and it will be a very rough ride.