New Caney and Humble, TX

April 5-7, 2011

Texas is known for its wayside parks for rest and picnics. On the way south we came upon one of the nicest we have seen. It was dedicated to the politician and newspaper publisher William Hobby, born near the site. The Houston airport is named after him. I was interested in the major accomplishments of his wife, given a paragraph on his signage.

Flat Stanley pretended to read upside down

We arrived at our destination, the Lone Star Lakes RV Park, and one of the first things we saw was a mother duck and her nine ducklings looking for handouts. We counted the ducklings every time they came around!

It seemed a little sad as we pulled into the RV Park from which we would have visited the Andersons, Bill's mother- and father-in-law from his marriage to their daughter, Paula. Paula, Ashley's first mother, died of Hodgkins disease when she was 30. We missed seeing Mom A by three days! We got the notice of her death on April 2. (See future blog on Mom Anderson) None of the family were in town as they had gone to Amarillo, TX, for the memorial service.

We had, however, also planned to see Adda and Dick Beisel in Humble (pronounced Umble for those in the know). Dick was the vice-chair of the committee that called Bill to serve as pastor at Emmanuel United Church of Christ in Sebring, FL, in 1996. He and Adda hosted us when we returned to Florida after the initial interview for Bill's trial sermon. Following that sermon, the congregation voted approval of the man with the mustache. Adda taught me about iced tea machines and graciously showed me the handmade quilts from Dick's family. She and Dick introduced us to the neighboring town of Lake Placid, FL, with its many murals. We also enjoyed the large local arts and crafts display and sale.