Where to begin....

At the end of the last entry is a good place I suppose. We left you with a trip to Colorado Bend State Park shortly before Christmas Break last year. School came to a close and we three Texans hit the air. We flew in to Chicago where Leah's parents met us and hauled us back to Michigan. The beginning of Christmas Break was filled with wedding planning for Leah and only just a bit for me. Christmas Day was filled with presents and family.

Grandma Harrison was staying with us over the holidays so she didn't have to go far to find us. Grandparents Prescott were not able to make it due to unpredictable weather.

Christmas evening was spent with the Becks, Leah's aunt and uncle, as well as many other family members including Grandma and Papa DuPuis. It was wonderful to have the chance to see everyone. They have a huge family which is always exciting. Gatherings there stand in stark contrast to our small and quiet family events.

The rest of the break was spent with family taking walks in the dunes and dining out.

Shortly before we left for home we got the chance to tour the Felt Mansion, the venue for our wedding next summer.

Our time up north came to a close right near the same time that we were all getting used to being back. All three of us were quite ready to head home and relax before the new work year.

New Year's was very low key for Leah and I. We walked over to the top of our favorite parking garage roof and watched the fireworks. The distance between us and the show seemed much greater than on the 4th of July. We were about two miles away and looking down on the show from a higher elevation. I retrospectively suppose that is why they seemed so small.

The few days between New Years and work were beautiful. The weather was pleasant and we were able to enjoy it on a number of occasions. Rising and shining on that first day back to school was tougher than I had expected. The next couple of weeks passed with one notable landmark, the making of our first ravioli. The first batch was shrimp stuffed with a wine and cream sauce, still my favorite so far.

Soon afterwards we had arrived at our next camping trip.

Just about a week ago we were at Lost Maples State Park ~90 miles W of San Antonio. The Friday night drive was the longest one yet but very much worth it. Waking up in the fresh air to the sunrise on Saturday morning was superb. Saturday we took a great hike around the park's west loop.

The trail was a Texas standard mix of singletrack and two track. The hills were high enough to afford some good scenery and we hiked through places with names like Mystic Canyon. By the time we returned to camp the wind had picked up to a comical speed.

Half gallon jugs of water being blown off the table. We borrowed the groundcloth from under the tent and tied it over one side of the picnic table shelter as a windbreak only to see the grommets rip out one by one. With a little extra effort and some patience we fixed and ate our lunch of sausage and bean tacos, delicious by the way.

Sunday was an equally beautiful day with warmer temps and less wind. We had our soon-to-be-phased out traditonal bacon and eggs for breakfast and went for a second and last hike, this time around the park's east loop. The views from this trail were spectacular. For about a mile the trail ran along a high ridge with unobstructed 270 deg views.

Before long we were on the road back home. The drive was long and the arrival back to the city was not overly welcomed. I could have very happily remained in the wilderness for a few more days.

That more or less brings us to now. One more week of work under our belts and soon to be one more weekend as well.

We'll try and cover less time with the next one.

Write us something.

Love,

Jay and Leah