St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

First stop, St. Thomas.

Norwegian Sun in port at St. Thomas

Here's a 360 view from the dock:

A view of the downtown area from above. Note the solar panels on the closest building

Gas prices are about $1/gallon higher than at home

This fellow was sunning himself near a pump station

The mountains are close to the shore line so St. Thomas has a lot of hills

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What are they talking about? I haven't figured out this billboard near the dock.

The Giant Tortoise

The tortoise in our back yard

While walking the dogs one block from home, we came across a giant tortoise walking out one driveway and into the next.  I assumed he/she was a pet from a nearby house.  But when, a few days later, I saw him crossing the street in front of our house I decided he must be wild or lost. I tried to pick him up and carry him to our yard, but he was too heavy for me to lift. So I herded him through the gate into our yard and Dinah called animal control.

It took both animal control officers to lift him into their truck and he was taken to the animal shelter where he weighed in at 130+ pounds. We understand he was claimed by someone living on our street and we haven't seen him since.
The video below lasts about 43 seconds, and shows the tortoise walking around our back yard.

Dr. Oliver Witte

Oliver during the oral defense of his dissertation

Dinah & I timed our visit with our friend Oliver Witte to coincide with the oral defense of his dissertation for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mass Communication and Media Arts. He had been working on the dissertation for several years and we were happy that we could be there to see the culmination of his hard work.

 The defense consisted of Oliver's 20 minute presentation, followed by over an hour of questions from the dissertation committee.

Oliver's dissertation committee

After the presentation and questions, we were all asked to leave while the committee discussed their final decision, then Oliver was called back into the room.  He emerged as ... Dr. Witte, with a list of revisions to go into the final version of the dissertation.

We went out to lunch to celebrate the new title, and Dr. Witte took the afternoon off before returning to work on the final dissertation updates.

Dinah, a school friend, Dr Witte, and me, celebrating!

Congratulations Oliver Witte, PhD!

Har-Ber Village, Grove, Oklahoma

Har-Ber village entrance

We came to the Grove, OK area because Dinah, who visited Har-Ber Village several years ago, wanted me to see it too. The name Har-Ber has nothing to do with the lake on which it is located, but is taken from the names of the originators; HARvey & BERnice Jones.  The property was their summer home, and the village was started when Harvey built a small church for Bernice.  The village continued to grow until it had over 100 buildings. Many of them are authentic cabins, moved from elsewhere.  Most contain specialized collections.  The Jones have since died, and their property remains open to the public as it was during their lifetimes.
I spent a full day roaming the village and viewing the many displays.

A look inside the village

Because my father was a printer, I was particularly interest in the old time print shop which contained several items I recognized from my father's shop.

And the display of telephones showing how they changed over the years was also of special interest to me.

This old radio is similar to one I owned as a kid, bought at a church auction for 50 cents. The picture is compromised by reflections from the display window.

If you are in the area, you will enjoy visiting Har-Ber Village.  They have a web site at:
 www.har-bervillage.com

This farm truck was part of a group of antique vehicles visiting the village

Oklahoma Tornadoes

As we sat at the COE campground at Fort Supply Lake in Northwestern Oklahoma, on the weekend of 18-19 May, our weather radio gave us repeated warnings of severe thunder storms capable of producing golf ball sized hail with winds up to 60MPH.  We kept our map near the radio to determine where each storm was located and in which direction it was headed, and none were expected to hit us. We had some strong winds, and a mild thunder storm during that time, but nothing dangerous.
On Monday we left the campground and headed to Ponca City where we planned to spend the night in the Walmart parking lot.  We had some drizzle during the day but again, nothing of any consequence.
After we arrived in Ponca City, I got a call from my brother, Dave, asking if we were ok. He told us about the Moore tornado; the first we had heard of it. On Tuesday we moved on to Afton, OK where we are now staying at the Grand Country RV Park, and this park has a tornado shelter!
So we have not seen any tornadoes nor even the aftermath of a tornado.  We are safe, we are near a tornado shelter, and we are in the extreme northeast corner of Oklahoma, heading to Missouri in a few days.

Mother's Day in Gate, Oklahoma

Driving east from Liberal, KS, we stopped in front of an out-of-business gas station in a small town in Oklahoma to stretch our legs and walk the dogs. As I stepped out of the door, I found myself staring at a cowboy

painted on the old garage door.  The dogs and I walked up the street a bit, and found ourselves at the Gate, OK town park.

It appeared that almost every building in town had been painted with murals.  I walked back to the motor home and got Dinah so she could also admire the art work.

Across the street was Lauries Cafe, and we decided to go there for lunch.  It turned out, according to a couple that we sat with for lunch, that Lauries was the only restaurant worth its salt within a 30 mile radius.  The restaurant was bustling with families celebrating Mothers Day.  The food was good, and the people friendly.
In the course of dinner conversation, the couple we sat with recommended Fort Supply Lake Corps of Engineers Park.  We liked the idea, and changed our destination.  So after a nice Mother's Day lunch we were off to Fort Supply, OK.

On the Road again - May 2013

On Friday 3 May I started our summer travels, driving to Valley of Fire, our usual first stop.  Dinah had embroidery orders to fill so stayed behind to finish, joining me the next day. We moved along to Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell, NM where we spent 5 days, then moved along to Amarillo, TX for a night, then to Liberal, KS for another overnight at the local Walmart. No pictures for this first portion of the trip; I'll try to do better!