We were back to bicycling at Bentsen Park this morning, wearing our new helmets. It was still windy, but not as bad as the past two or three days. We had a great ride of 4 miles and we both did well. One thing I learned today, is all of this time I thought I was in the gear that would allow me to pedal the easiest. For some reason I decided to move them around and just double check - oh wow, I should have checked that sooner. It will be much easier trying to make it up hills from now on! Lol! At least my legs have been getting a really good workout. Today, going up the incline as we left the park was a breeze compared to the other day.
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| My new bicycle helmet! |
When we returned to Bentley we had breakfast and got ready for church. We weren't sure if Gary was running the bus this morning or not, so we were prepared to drive if he did not. We have not heard from or seen him all week, so I hope he's not under the weather. Once we arrived at church, another couple that attends, Ray and his wife, Arlene or Evelyn {There is both an Arlene and Evelyn that attend church with us - and I can't remember which one she is} told us that Gary was not feeling well. He thought he was getting a cold so was staying away from others until it passes. Prayers he is feeling better very soon. He's such a sweet and caring man, and full of love for God. By the Ray and his wife are from Benton, Kansas.
Pastor Domingo had a wonderful sermon this morning about the importance of taking communion. Today was the first day they have taken communion in their new church. It was one of the best sermons I've heard about why we take communion and how important it is. The first service (given in Spanish) ran late - partly due to the communion but they also had several people saved, and they did the week before as well. The Spanish service is pretty large, but I've noticed the past two weeks the congregation in the American service is growing as well. I think it's at least doubled since we've been going. The people here are very loving and it reminds me of our church at home. We miss it, our pastor and friends there.
We were a little later getting home due to the services running longer than normal, which was not a problem. We have plans to Skype with Matt and Megan at 2. I made us a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and warmed up a little of the leftover BBQ pork to go with it. By the time we ate and I cleaned things up, it was time to call them. Dean tried to connect a couple of times but nothing happened.. I sent Matt a text to see if they were ready. He told us Megan and Sarah were napping so he'd let us know when they were ready. No problem. About 3:00 or 3:30, we tried again and while we finally got through, we could only see them, they could not see us. That wasn't as much fun for the kiddos. We love the ability to do this, when it works. It helps the grand-kids remember who we are while they are so young, since we do not see them as often. After talking to them and seeing their sweet little faces and antics, it makes us look forward to seeing them even more. We are feeling that way about all of our kids and grand-kids back in Kansas as well. As much fun as we are having, we sure miss them and look forward to seeing them all again.
By the time we hung up, it was 5:30. We planned to grill shrimp and salmon for dinner but it was just too windy, so I made chicken and noodles in the Instapot. Dean was outside emptying our tanks and I could hear him banging around so once the food was on, I went out to see how long he would be. He was talking to our neighbors. I could not hear their remarks so I walked closer. (Dean told me later the gusts were 25-30 miles an hour) They asked us to sit down to visit for a bit. Until now, I've only said hello to them as we come and go, although Dean and Rich have talked a few times when he's been out working around the rig. We had a nice visit with them. Rich and Jane live in Hannibal, MO. This is their first visit to Val's as well. They are heading back home on Wednesday. About 20-25 minutes later I had to excuse myself since I needed to check our dinner, which should have been done in about 10 minutes. I'm glad it worked out that we visited, for two reasons, the opportunity to get to know them, and my meal came out even better. The last time I made chicken and noodles they were good, but the noodles (Reames, frozen noodles) were not as done as I would have preferred. By letting them set that last 10-15 minutes, even though they were no longer cooking, the warmer was on. It was just enough to soften the noodles up. They turned out perfect.
It was a quiet day and we enjoyed it. The coming week is going to be busy. We already have three luncheon dates planned and we are looking forward to each one of them. We also will be getting the tires for Bentley and making a final decision on the combo washer/dryer purchase. There are still a number of places we want to visit, so I'd like to fit in at least one a week our last four weeks here. We are still trying to make a decision on returning to the Valley - if we do, how long, if so when, and do we want to return to Val's or look at some other parks? While we really like Val's and the location to Bentsen State Park, there are things to consider. A number of parks are offering some great prices - as little as $199/mo if you stay at least 3 months. At this point, we are not sure we want to commit to 3 months next year, and the rates are higher if you do not stay at least that long. A lot to consider.
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| This tree is at our site. These flowers just started blooming the past few days. It is very pretty! |
I pray you enjoyed your day. Thank you for following along on our adventure, even when we do not have much happening. May God richly bless each of you!
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