Hello, all our friends both new and old, family, and PALS.

We are keeping tabs on the national weather forecasts, and it is almost the same temperature in Texas as it is in Idaho.  We are scheduled to work a big Softball Tournament in Dallas on Mother's Day Weekend, and then will be heading home.

We are still very active, and are actually working more than we are playing. But we are finding life to be very good and fulfilling.  We are spending more time all the time with our new PALS via internet and email connections in many parts of the country.  It has become a very rewarding and fruitful experience.  Truly, this "terminal" disease I was diagnosed with some 18 months ago has turned out to be a blessing in our lives, and hopefully, in the lives of many others.

Please enjoy the following photo entourage. 

Moody Mansion in Galveston, built in 1895. We are always intrigued by history.  We were too late to get to take a tour of the mansion.  Maybe next time.

Old church in Galveston, Texas.  Kay loves cool architecture, flowers and birds. And Kim.

Galveston is an Island off the coast of Texas south of Houston.  North east of Galveston is a peninsula called Bolivar Peninsula.  This photo is taken along the Gulf Coast of Mexico on the Peninsula with the elevated houses on the right just over the berm. 

On the Bolivar Peninsula, the water can evidently get quite high.  But it is teh sea waves taht can do the damage.  All of the houses are elevated.

The only way to get to and from Galveston and Port Bolivar is by Ferry.  It takes about 13 minutes to get across the channel.  We are just loading the ferry here for the return trip to Galveston.

We ate lunch in Port Bolivar at a place called Down Under.  It is along the inter coastal waterway which you can see in the background.  We saw more than one barge to by.  We planned to eat at a place called Stingaree Restaurant but it was closed, so we ate at Down Under, just under the restaurant.    The oysters were good enough to almost compete with Genevieves'.

This is the peer right outside the Down Under.  You can see that yellow house in the distance.

This picture is for our granddaughter, Tracy.  She loves purple and this is a purple house. 

A couple of goofballs at the fountain at Rayford Crossing RV Resort How about these tans??!!

More flowers at Rayford Crossing.

April 26, 2013

So I have to brag a little about how well Kim is doing.  Note the guy on the ladder is the same guy that could barely climb a flight of stairs a little over a year ago. Kim put up this batting cage by himself for a softball tournament in Cypress, Texas to promote the Sling Pitcher. 

April 4, 2013

So much for our plans to update this blog every couple of weeks.  I guess this is a couple of couple of weeks.  The temperature in the Houston area has not always been in the 70s, sometimes higher and sometimes lower, but definitely warmer than Idaho.   We still have good control of our suntans.

Dining elegance in Texas?  I think there is actually a place to eat by those two posts on the right.

Now let's see.  Is this Kim's poor balance or his silly wife?

This is the pool and clubhouse at Rayford Crossing RV Resort in Spring, Texas.  That handsome guy is wearing his new golf hat that he got at Augusta Pines Golf course.

The boots are big in Texas.

Rayford Crossing RV Resort is carved out of the forest that you can see in the background.

From Kim:  Hello Again, our dear family, friends new and old, and any of our PALS (People with ALS) that may be tuning in now and then.  We would love to hear from any of you that may be reading our blog.  We would love to be corresponding with each of you individually, but there is not the abundance of time we thought we would have.

We left Brownsville, Tx on February 16 and headed to Louisiana.  We loved the weather there.  We can count the "cool days" on our fingers.  It was rather funny to watch the Texans bundle up whenever the temperatures dropped below 60°. 
 
We headed to Louisiana to keep a meeting with Dr. Paul Harch, a hyperbarics specialist MD that has been following our ALS battle with keen interest.  He blocked two hours for us, but the "visit" went a full four.  He was excited about our fight.  He reviewed the key test results that brought the dreaded ALS diagnosis.  He also did his own "examination" and is amazed with what has happened to us.  He told us it has, to his knowledge, never been done before, someone not only halting the progression of the disease, but reversing it.  He is sending the neurological tests (EMG & NCS) to a nationally acclaimed ALS clinic in Houston, and has asked them to review the case, and even bring us in for further evaluation.  We don't know if they will do it, but he and we are hopeful this will lead to possible treatments for others with ALS.  We will let you all know.

We have now moved over to Houston, where baseball and softball are KING.  And you can guess, we are promoting the Sling Pitcher.

The following pictures are a bit delayed. We will try to do better next time.

We love you all.  We are planning to return to Idaho in early May.

We went across the Border into Progreso, Mexico for dinner.  It is not often we get the chance to be in two countries at once.  We went across with new friends, Bob and Carmela Vernieuw from Brownsville.  The food was great and more than reasonable, and the people were friendly and interesting, but there is no place like the good old US of A.

We had all the grapefruit we wanted from an orchard right behind our RV while we were at the River Bend Resort in Brownsville.  We have become completely spoiled by wonderful oranges, grapefruit, pecan nuts and avocados.  They have been the staple of our diet.

We were a couple of kids at a Valentine Party at River Bend.

Yes, she is still my Valentine.

We spent a night at a Lakeside Resort, Poches RV Park coming up out of Texas.  There is nothing quite like a lakeside blow on the harmonica at the end of a beautiful day. You need to watch out for these mature photographers that sneak up on a guy when he is trying to relax. You can see our RV and truck in the background, bikes and all.

We stayed at the Abita Springs Resort in Louisiana, just north of New Orleans, where we met with Dr. Paul Harch.  He is excited enough about our success, he is going to place our story on his website. He also mentioned adding a chapter in his next book, "New Miracle Cure for ALS". (The name of the chapter is my doing.)  I am not sure how you prescribe everything involved in our miracle, especially Priesthood Powers and the prayers and love of family and friends.

This is a little friend Kay met in a resort in Livingston, Texas, just before we got to Houston.  Her name is Snowflake.  They say she enjoys looking at her reflection in the shiny RV hubcaps around the park.

We met our special long time friends in Houston, Bonnie and Norm Jensen, and also Norm's brother, Greg, and his family, who live in Houston.  We attended the Houston Rodeo, a 21 day extravaganza.  We guys also got in a couple great rounds of golf on some  beautiful courses, while the gals took in a movie and did some other "girl" things I haven't yet figured out.  But after 43 years with her, I aught to be close to figuring them out.  FAT CHANCE!!!  Have any of you guys ever figured out why our wives enjoy grocery shopping and reading the labels on every can before they put it in the grocery cart???

We are still at River Bend RV Resort in Brownsville, Tx.  This picture is taken from the Club House patio, right next to where we are parked.  You can see the Rio Grand River, in the background, and Mexico on the other side. We are so close to the border that some of our phone calls are picked up as international calls.  When we discovered we had over a hundred dollars in international charges last week, we had a nice talk with AT&T.  They were very accommodating.

This photo is also from the Club House patio, just to the left of the last photo.  There is a grapefruit orchard just out of the right side of the picture.  We go out and pick grapefruit whenever we wish.  The drug cartels send runners over the river at night and frequently hide their drug stashes in the orchard, to be picked up by runners on this side, so we are told. We see a lot of Border Patrol in the area.  They frequently spend the night with their night vision equipment,  Needles to say, we don't go into the orchard at night.

This is a friend we met while visiting South Padre Island, about 30 miles from our present location. We were on a walkway that extended out into the gulf, between the Island and the mainland.. We had fun watching this gentleman pick his dinner amongst the small minnow-like fish he continually went bobbing for.

This young friend was sun bathing on our cart path at a local golf course last week. His shell was only about 10" long.  He did not seem to mind our intrusion, and was in no hurry to move along.  After the photo session, we finally went around him and continued our round.  Kay seems to have this thing for turtles, so I suspect you will see more of them.  On the Island is located a world renown Sea Turtle Rescue Facility.  We hope to visit it sometime.

We came across a little amusement park yesterday while returning from a visit to South Padre Island.  It is called Bobz Inside World.  We didn't go in, but Kay decided we needed to take some pictures for our grand kids and any of our other young friends that may be checking out our blog.

This is another shot as we approached Bobz Inside World. If we had not been pressed for time, we may have taken some inside pictures.  Maybe next time by, we will.

We checked out Long Island Village RV Park that is right on the Gulf, looking out onto South Padre Island.  We are thinking seriously about making this our Home-away-from-home next winter.  We will be leaving Brownsville this next Saturday, and will spend a week near New Orleans.  A doctor there has been very interested in our battle with ALS and has asked us to come meet with him.  He believes our success could also be used to help countless others.  I am not sure how they will prescribe a little Priesthood Power and the prayers from an army of precious friends and loved ones into the protocol. For they are no doubt a major part of our success.  We love you all!!!

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South Padre Island runs long the Texas border along the the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  Except for boat, the only access is this 2 1/2 mile bridge.  It is the prettiest place we have seen in Texas since arriving in Texas on October 15, 2012.

1-23-2013 - We have been in Brownsville, TX for about 4 weeks now.  South Padre Island is along the coast of South Texas.  We drove out there yesterday to take advantage of the sand and sun.  It is about 25 miles from where we are staying in Brownsville.  A family from the ward lives on the island and invited us out to see the beach and have dinner with them. 

The pictures didn't load in the right order.  This photo is just as you come onto the island.  The island is probably less than 1/2 mile wide and very long.  I don't know how long, but it goes clear up to Corpus Christi, however there are road only for several miles along the island.

This would be Kay showing off the sand on her feet.

This would be Kim taking advantage of a beach chair along the beach.

Here we are with the Gulf Coast to our right and condos to our left.