Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

We celebrated Easter with Tom and Sherry's family on Saturday with our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  Aunt Jen plans and sets it up every year and we all enjoy watching the kids search for eggs with such enthusiasm.   It was wonderful to be outside this year because last year the hunt was held indoors because of snow. Here Madelynn and Anna start out in opposite directions.  Madelynn was very grown-up acting and allowed the younger kids to find the 'easy' eggs.  But in the end, Anna proved to be the best egg locator by finding the last eggs. Look at the joy on Jack's face as he runs with bag in hand. That determined look on Anna's face may be why she proved to be such a ferocious hunter. After the egg hunt, Aunt Jen had a science activity with the kids.  They made silly putty which we all enjoyed playing with.  Madelynn had asked for a chocolate bunny with big ears and I found this one.  That bunny certainly met her criteria. On Easter Sunday we attended First Baptist of ...

Yesterday it was 72 degrees here so we took off on the motorcycle.  It was the first ride of the season for me.  Tom had been out a couple of times last weekend.  The weather has turned cool again so I'm glad we went.  It was a beautiful day. We headed toward Lake Odessa and found the DQ open.  Great place to celebrate spring! This morning I encountered another sign of spring-a pothole.  Joyce and I were running and I didn't see the pothole because it had an asphalt patch around it and we were running in the dark. I went flying down and couldn't stop myself.  It felt like I was in slow motion.  I'm fine but have a split lip and some scrapes on my face, hands and one knee. I'm putting the pictures to show off my sports injuries-I haven't had many.  Joyce and I have been running together for 16  years.

8400 miles and 22 states    In slightly over seven weeks we traveled across the US and back to Michigan.  We saw Jen in North Carolina, Kristen in Phoenix and Eric and Jess in Minneapolis.  We visited friends in Temecula and Shafter , California and Tom's cousins near Santa Cruz California.  We crossed many mighty rivers-Ohio, Mississippi, Red, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and the Wisconsin.  We saw Hoover Dam, Hearst Castle, Midway aircraft carrier and many more wonders.  I think my favorite spot was San Juan Capistrano but everywhere we went we saw beauty and majesty.   It will take me a long time to process it all.  (and organize my pictures). We saw Mom Benedict this afternoon and she is doing very well.  Tommy, Sherry and the grand kids came over tonight for dinner.  It was so good to see them.  We missed them so much.   I'm back to work at Grand Rapids Public Schools on Friday.  It seems like a lifetime ago that I was there last but it was the day before we left on our a...

We arrived in Arizona on January 15 and we left today.  It was difficult to leave Kristen but we have so many wonderful memories of our time with her.  She graciously hosted us for the entire time except our two weeks in California and Las Vegas. We took a new route this time and saw some wonderful sights.  The mountains around Payson , Arizona showed us more mountains and I always thing they are the most beautifiul yet.   The steep up and downs took a toll on our van's transmission and when we arrived at Payson , the transmission was whining, literally, and it didn't sound good.  Tom saw a Chrysler dealership and pulled in.  The service department took us in immediately and they determined that the strain of the mountains was causing the transmission to make the noise because the transmission fluid was a bit low.  It was still in the safe zone but getting close to low.  They refilled the fluid and when Tom asked what we owed, the service man said, "Nothing, just have a g...

We had a relaxing weekend after such a busy two weeks in California.  Friday we went to bargain day at the movies and saw Slumdog Millionaire.  It was excellent and that made it fun watching the Oscars last night because the movie won 8 awards.  We then went looking for a new computer for me.  My computer has been acting up but we didn't find what we wanted and then I was able to get my computer working well again, so we will see.   Saturday we went to an Arizona State University baseball game.  They played University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  It wasn't even close-I think Arizona teams have such an advantage over Midwest teams because they can be outside practicing so much of the year.  But the best part of the game was just being able to sit outside without being bundled up. Yesterday we attended church, went out for breakfast and then relaxed watching the NASCAR race and the Academy Awards.  We also took Kristen out to help us find a laptop for me but once again, computer shop...

Monday was a wonderful day spent with Kathy & Phil at their bike shop, Sprockets.  They have a well-stocked shop and it really gave me the bug to start biking more.  Kathy and Phil left Wednesday for a biking tour of Italy.  This is their second time to explore the southern Mediterranean area. We were there to watch the bike race, Tour of California.  An added benefit was that many of Kathy and Phil's friends came to see the race there too.  We had fun meeting some interesting people who were friendly and open.   The friends are a very supportive circle for Kathy & Phil.   We did get to see Lance Armstrong pass in the race.  He is the fifth rider in this picture. Tour of California is still running and wraps up today. Kathy & Phil made it fun for the spectators with popcorn and lots of bike people enjoying the race. Link, Kathy & Phil's dog enjoyed the day too.  He goes to work every day with them. After a great lunch with Kathy and Phil, we hit the road and mad...

Our trip the last two days has covered some of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen.  We spent Saturday morning exploring Morro Bay.  The Morro Rock sits out in the Pacific.  We hiked around the area and down to the beach.  I had hoped to see surfers while here and there were many of them venturing into the water this morning.  What surprised me was that all the surfers I saw were old.  About my age.  Not the picture I had of California surfers.   We have been traveling up the California Pacific Coast on Highway 1 that winds up and down through mountains and running right next to the Pacific Ocean.  Yesterday's travel was through most areas with very little commercial development but many turn-outs to watch the ocean. We also stopped at Hearst Castle which was the home of William Randolph Hearst and is now a California State Park.  We spent several hours there and there is no way to adequately describe the beauty of the place.  This picture is taken from the road that approa...

When we planned our trip to California, the purpose was to see friends and loved ones.  We have done that and are having a great time.  But we are also seeing the sights of California, so it is much more than I expected. On our trip from Shafter to Temecula , we stopped by Pasadena and saw the Rose Bowl. Temecula is about an hour from San Diego and is a rapidly growing community.  Because it had its roots in the late 1800's, it was a wild West town.  Here Tom and I are exploring Old Town Temecula . Dave and Jan Moorhead took us down to San Diego.  Here I am putting my feet into the Pacific Ocean on Coronado Island. We toured the aircraft carrier, Midway and learned a great deal about life on board ship.  Jan and Dave are great fun and up for any adventure we could think up. On Thursday we took a trip across the mountains to San Juan Capistrano.  I had always heard about the shallows that return there every spring but I learned it is much more than that.  There is a series of 21 ...

We traveled from Shafter to Temecula in California-from one Moorhead household to another. We are at Dave & Jan Moorhead, Senior. Temecula is wonderful and a beauitful drive down through the mountains. We stopped in Pasadena to see the Rose Bowl facility. We are having a great evening watching the Michigan State-Michigan basketball game while looking out at the mountains in the distance.

We have been in Shafter , California the past three days visiting Dave & Mia Moorhead .   Shafter is near Bakersfield which is in the San Joaquin Valley.  This valley is an extremely fertile area with a desert climate.  The desert has been irrigated and huge farms abound.  The valley is rimmed by mountains on all sides.  There was a snow fall yesterday in the southern mountains and we could see them far in the distance.  Dave says they are about 60 miles away. Ben, Dave & Mia's son, works on an almond farm.  It is owned by a family from New Hope Community Church.  We had a tour of the area today and got to tour the facility where Ben works.  This time of year Ben is involved in sorting almonds by size.  You can see him moving huge pallets of almonds.  The operation is huge and  it was fascinating. The San Joaquin Valley produces 100% of the US almond crop and 80% of the world's almonds.  The valley also grows other kinds of nuts,  fruit and vegetables . Each of these c...