✈️✈️✈️1998 ~ March 11-19 Trip to London, Reepham, Norfolk, Buxton, Rattesden, Orford, England

Day 1: Wednesday, March 11, 1998

On Wednesday, March 11, at 6:05 P.M., my niece and I flew from Huntsville, AL, to Atlanta, GA, arriving at 7:56 P.M. 

At 9:50 P.M., we are flying to London, England. 

Day 2: Thursday, March 12, 1998

We landed at 11:00 A.M. at London's Heathrow Airport, then we had to go through customs.

After we passed through customs, we looked for our cousins, not sure what they looked like. I saw a picture of Michael.

They had not seen a picture of us, so they did not know what we looked like.

My cousin notices this enormous woman; he says to himself, "I hope that is not my cousin."

We met up and greeted each other. Michael collected our luggage and loaded it into his Jeep.

The ride to their house will take at least a couple of hours, so we will stop at a pub to grab a bite to eat.

I slept the whole ride to their house.

Michael dropped off his wife at home, so she could cook our supper.

Michael takes us to St. Peter and St. Paul Churchyard Cemetery in Hayden, Norfolk, to see the tombstones of Michael's grandparents, Ernest and Ester Buxton.

St. Peter and St. Paul Churchyard Cemetery in Hayden, Norfolk

We drive past Blickling Hall, the home of Ann Boleyn, on our way to Reepham.

Amelia and I are standing in front of Blinking Hall. 

Michael stops in Reepham at a pub. Amelia and I get out of the Jeep and walk to the Post Office.

The Post Office is the only shop in the village that acts as a Post Office, general store, and Newsagent.

We walked across the street to St Mary's Church, which was unlocked. We walked inside, took a few pictures, and then walked outside to see the tombstones in the graveyard.

Michael comes out of the pub, and we meet up with him in the alleyway. He tells us about the town of Reepham. 

It is nearing supper time, so we ride back to Michael's house, where Jackie has prepared a nice meal.

Michael's house was once a large barn.

The house has a bathroom, several bedrooms upstairs, a huge living room, a kitchen, a washroom, and their bedroom downstairs.

For dinner, Jackie has cooked chicken with mushrooms, onions, gravy, cabbage, turnips, green beans, and baked potato wedges. 

Jackie had made jelly and filled the pie with custard for dessert.

After supper, we retired to the living room, and Michael brought out some old family photos.

We were drained, so we went to bed at 8:00 P.M. their time, which was 6 hours earlier than ours.

I could not sleep on the plane because the family behind me would not sit still.

Every time I drifted off to sleep, the woman behind me would have to get up, and when she did, she would bump into my seat, which was very annoying.

Day 3: Friday, March 13, 1998 

For breakfast, we ate cereal and drank juice. We were ready to leave by 8 A.M.

Michael drove us to his brother, John Buxton's, home, where we were served biscuits and tea. 

John brought out the Buxton family bible; it was full of information about their grandparents, Ernest and Ester Buxton. I wrote down information and took pictures of the pages in the bible.

We said goodbye to John and his family, and we rode to the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast.

Jackie let us out of the Jeep at the park near the Atlantic Ocean. She went to park the Jeep somewhere along the boardwalk.

The Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast of Norwich, England

We walked to the bank to get our American money changed into English money. 

The exchange rate was $1.74 US dollars, which equals one pound note. 

We ate fish and chips for lunch.

Eating fish and chips

We then rode north up the East Coast to Sandringham, one of the Queen's homes.

We could not tour the home because it was closed for the winter.

There was a break in the trees, so I tried to take a couple of pictures.

We stopped to visit Michael's mother, Dorothy Buxton,

Dorothy brought out some family photo albums.

We took  Jackie home so she could prepare supper.

We went to Andrew Buxton's home, Michael's cousin's, where we looked at some more family pictures and talked.

Jackie had prepared our supper of potato soup, cheese and tomato sandwiches, sausage balls, and a raspberry pie for dessert.

After dinner, we went to Rogers' home (Valentine's son) to get the mailing address of Doreen Bowthorpe, a cousin who lived in Australia. 

Roger had a letter she had written to him several years before; he was using it as a bookmark.

We stayed at Rogers until about 11:00 P.M., talking about family history. 

Roger's family was very nice.

Day 4: Saturday, March 14, 1998

Saturday morning, for breakfast, we ate yogurt and drank orange juice.  

Our first stop was at the travel agency in Norwich, where we booked a room for our stay in London, England, for Monday and Tuesday.

Next, we stopped at Norwich Cathedral, one of the significant Norman buildings in England.

Norwich Cathedral

We walked inside, and we looked at it. It was imposing; there was a lot of history.

I bought a book about Norwich Cathedral and some postcards. 

Some of the people buried at the Norwich Cathedral:

• Sir Thomas Erpingham, KG (c. 1355–1428)

• St William (of Norwich), Child Martyr (d 1144)

• John de Gray, Bishop of Norwich (1200–1214)

• Pandulf Masca, Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England, and Bishop of Norwich (1215–1226)

• John Salmon, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Norwich (1299–1325)

• Henry le Despenser, Bishop of Norwich (1370–1406)

• Richard Nykke, last Roman Catholic (before the Henrician reform) Bishop of Norwich (1501–1535)

• John Hopton, Bishop of Norwich (1554–1558)

• John Salisbury (bishop)

• John Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich (1560–1575)

• William Redman, Bishop of Norwich (1595-1602)

• John Overall (bishop), Bishop of Norwich (1618–1619)

• Richard Montagu, Bishop of Norwich (1638–1641)

• Edward Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich (1660–1676)

• Herbert de Losinga, Bishop of Norwich (1095–1119)

• Edith Cavell, nurse, executed during the WW1 I (1I 865-1915)

We ate lunch at a pub in Norwich and all ordered a ham sandwich with salad and chips.

Our next stop was Norwich Castle, where we saw a display of silver, teapots, famous paintings, dungeons, displays about Queen Boudica, and a replica Egyptian tomb with ancient mummies.

Norwich Castle

After we left the castle, we walked through the open markets, stopping to buy candy and some cards to send home.

It had been a full day of events, and that evening Amelia and I went to our room to recall the events of the day. 

We took out a map of London to see what sites were close to where we were staying.

Jackie had prepared a Yorkshire pudding, Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, and potatoes for supper, and a chocolate cream cheese pie for dessert. 

After supper, Michael brought out more family photos, and we looked through them.

Day 5: Sunday, March 15, 1998

We ate yogurt for breakfast.

Michael drove us to Botesdale, where our great-grandfather was born, and several of his siblings were baptized. 

Standing in Botesdale, where my great-grandfather and his siblings were born.

In Botesdale, I saw a sign that read, ""reyhound." I commented that it was a bus stop. 

Everyone laughed because Greyhound was a restaurant.

The Greyhound

Our Next stop was in Ipswich to pick up Joan Woolneigh, who is going with us to Orford.

Jackie, Joan, Michael, and Amelia

We arrived in Orford at lunchtime, and we stopped at the pub in Orford, called King Arms, where James Buxton spent many hours drinking beer. (Called the Crown Castle Restaurant and Inn.)

Crown and Castle Restaurant and Inn

We all ordered three kinds of cheese, rolls, pickled onions, vinegar relish, salad, and a Coke.

Our next stop was Orford Castle, the home site of our great-great-grandparents James and Pamela Buxton.

Standing in front of Orford Castle

Joan said, "I spent many of my holidays with my Buxton grandparents." 

Joan told us a story about the woman who was the keeper of Orford Castle and how she loved to drink.

She said, "The  keeper of the castle would let kids play in the castle and on the castle grounds."

Joan then told us a story about Grandmother Buxton.

She said her grandmother would walk ten miles to the store for supplies. 

She also said her grandmother would work all day in the fields picking up stones.

Grandmother Buxton was a very strong-minded woman.

We could see apartment 4 from the top of Orford Castle, where the Buxton family first lived in Orford.

Apartment Number 4, home of the Buxtons.

Next, they lived on Broad Street, which was just around the corner, next door to Orford Methodist Church.

Home of the Buxton Family

Methodist Church next door to the Buxton home, Orford Castle in the background

I took several pictures of Orford Castle, Orford Church, apartment number 4, and their house next door to the Methodist Church.

James and Pamela Buxton are buried in the cemetery behind the church.

We rode down to Orford Ness.

Michael told us a story about Sam and his brothers, and how they would go down to the Ness, get on the boats, and bring back food. 

We stopped at Buxton town to take pictures.

We arrived back at Joan Woolneigh's home in Ipswich, and I took several pictures of the group (Jackie, Michael, Amelia) all standing in front of Joan's front door.

At Joan's, we looked at pictures, and then she served us biscuits and tea.

We rode to Reepham so everyone could freshen up; we were meeting a couple (David and Janet) for supper at a pub.

At the pub, we all ordered shrimp scampi, fries, and salad. 

We arrived home at about 10:30 P.M. 

Amelia and I packed our bags for tomorrow, we are going to London.

My niece and I set up a time to talk about our visit and recall our excursions of the day. 

Day 6: Monday, March 16, 1998

We ate breakfast, loaded our luggage into Michael's Jeep, and he drove us to London.

We made a quick stop at a local store to purchase some cookies and Cokes to take with us. 

We arrived late afternoon in London.

Jackie parked the Jeep, and we all walked to the underground subway going to London.

We bought subway tickets, took the subway to London, got off, and walked 10 blocks to our hotel. Michael and Jackie came with us to make sure we arrived safely.

We thanked them, hugged them, said goodbye, and they left.

At the hotel, we freshened up and walked to the mall, which was about 10 blocks away.

We ate a sandwich for supper, then we walked around inside the mall.

We stopped for snacks on our way back to the hotel.

Amelia and I tried to watch TV, and we talked about the day's events until we were too tired to speak.

Day 7: Tuesday, March 17, 1998

For breakfast at the hotel, we ate an English breakfast of cereals, toast, eggs, and Orange juice.

We walked to the subway station and bought tickets.

We rode the subway to Central London, where everything is located: Big Ben, Westminster, the Houses of Parliament, London Bridge, etc.

We got off the underground subway, we walked a flight of stairs, we walked outside, we looked up, and staring us in the face was Big Ben.

Big Ben, London, England

Amelia and I went to the information center at Westminster Abby to ask where the statue of Sir Thomas Buxton was located.

Westminster Abby

We also asked if we could get a picture of  Sir Thomas Buxton because we thought we were related to him.

We had to take the tour that everyone else was taking, but the lady at the information center said, "When you get to the library, ring a bell, then tell what you want, and they will let you into the library."

We had to walk up two flights of a winding spiral staircase to get to the library.

When we got to the top of the staircase, we rang a bell, and a man came to the door. He greeted us.

We told him that we wanted a picture of Sir Thomas Buxton.

The man gave us a picture of Sir Thomas Buxton that had an inscription on the front of the statue. 

Sir Thomas Buxton
"To the memory of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart., born April 1, 1786, died February 19.1845. Endued with a vigorous and capacious mind, of dauntless courage and untiring energy, he was early led by the love of God to devote his powers to the good of Man. In Parliament, he labored for the improvement of prison discipline, for the amendment of the criminal code, for the suppression of suttees in India, for the liberation of the Hottentots in southern Africa, and above all, for the emancipation of eight hundred thousand slaves in the British Dominions. In this last righteous enterprise, after ten years of arduous conflict, a final victory was given to him and his co-adjutors, "By the good hand of our God" on the memorable August 1, 1834. The energies of his mind were afterward concentrated on a great attempt to extinguish the slave trade in Africa, by the substitution of agriculture and commerce, and by the civilizing influence of the Gospel. Exhausted in mind and body, "He fell asleep," reposing in faith on his Redeemer, in the 59th year of his age. This monument is erected by his friends and fellow laborers at home and abroad; assisted by the grateful contributions of many thousands of the African race."
Charles Buxton, "Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton", 1848.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004.

We thanked the man, and we walked back down the spiral staircase to the gift shop, where I bought a book about Westminster Abby and Amelia bought Chase a shirt. 

We stopped at a sandwich shop inside a Methodist Church for lunch.

We ordered a sandwich, chips, and a Coke.

We walked alongside St. James Park on our way to Buckingham Palace, the home of Queen Elizabeth.

St James Park 

We had missed the changing of the guard at 10 A.M. that morning.

I took several pictures, and we walked to Buckingham Palace Museum, where I bought a book and some cards about Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace

We went to the Guard Museum, which was just a few blocks from Buckingham.

I took several pictures of the uniforms that the guards wore.

Guards Museum in London, England

There was one exciting uniform that was made for one of the King's children. 

We saw several types of uniforms from different parts of the country. 

Day 8: Wednesday, March 18, 1998

We walked to the Houses of Parliament and stood in line for 1.5 hours.

While we were waiting to go inside the House of Parliament, we saw an Irishman holding a sign protesting.

To enter Parliament, you have to go through several security checkpoints and be patted down.

We had made it through the first section of security, and we were told to sit down on this very long bench.

We waited for several minutes and went through another security line.

House of Parliament 

We went into the House of Parliament, where we listened to a debate. 

We sat in Parliament, and they debated about young people being used as prostitutes. 

We went into the House of Commons, and we were patted down again. Amelia had to take off her bum bag. You dare not call them fanny packs!

We saw the iconic statue of Winston Churchill near Parliament.

Winston Churchill

It was getting dark by the time we left the House of Parliament and the House of Commons.

We took the subway back to the mall and did some shopping.

For supper, we ordered a pizza and Cokes. We could not eat all the pizza, so we got a takeaway box.

We finished our shopping and walked back to the hotel. On our way back, we stopped to purchase cookies and Cokes.

We packed our bags for tomorrow, and we will be returning home. 

Day 9: Thursday, March 19, 1998

We just made it for breakfast; we were the last ones served before the kitchen closed. We check out of the hotel and start pulling our luggage up the street.

Walking the streets of London

We will have to walk up a hill for 10 blocks to get to the train station.

We arrived at the depot, but we went to the wrong train station. It was a good thing we left early, or we would have missed the train to the airport.

We make it to the correct train stop, we load our luggage onto the train, and we are now on our way to Gatwick Airport.

A ticket conductor came around to everyone to collect money for the train ride.

Refreshments were served on the train, but they were not free.

At the airport we passed through customs, where we met a group of students from Tennessee, we began a conversation with them. 

After everything was checked, we walked to our waiting area.

On the airplane, the stewardess was late serving lunch, so Amelia and I ate some of the cookies and chips we brought. 

We watched TV,  a movie, and read a book before we knew it, we were home in the good old USA. 

We had a good flight home.

The ground was covered in fog and rain as the pilots landed at Atlanta International Airport.

We went through customs, and as we descended from the escalator, guard dogs were waiting there to sniff for drugs. 

Security was everywhere, and we picked up our luggage, which had to be scanned again to make sure that we were not bringing drugs into the country.

Amelia was wearing a metal hair bow when the alarm went off; she was pulled aside and searched.

We boarded the airplane to Huntsville, and before we knew it, we were in Huntsville.

Waiting for us at the airport was Amelia's son, my husband.

The end of another one of my many adventures.

Stopping to mail a postcard

Fun time after all the surgeries Jan 19-25, 2008

https://www.facebook.com/RMHStanford?ref=br_rs 
Day 19: Saturday, 19, 2008 

Last night, Meadow slept on the same side as her surgery, which caused her left eye to swell, so we stayed close to the RMH just to be on the safe side.

Meadow at the RMH

I was awake at 8:30 A.M. I took a shower, shaved my legs, and cut my bangs.

I went downstairs for breakfast, where I ate a waffle, some Mandarin oranges, and drank a Diet Coke.

I talked with Brianna Hall, who is expecting a baby; her daughter, Rachel, just had her third surgery on her heart, and she is in the PICU. 

I also talked with Robert's grandfather, who is a Spanish-speaking family from Arizona.

Roberts's grandfather is retired and a member of the Shriners.

Meadow and Lora were still in bed at 11:45 A.M.

That night for supper, everyone pitched in, and we made homemade spaghetti, a fresh salad, and toasted garlic bread. 

I was given the task of cutting up to 3 whole garlic cloves, which I had never done before, and was told I was doing it wrong.

One of the women said that you take a knife, turn it on the flat side, crush the garlic, and the peelings will fall off. 

Lora, Meadow, and I walked across the street to the Stanford Mall. 
http://www.simon.com/mall/stanford-shopping-center/stores

We walked through stores, and we stopped at Andronicus Market, where we bought a lemon cheesecake and a couple of fruit custard tarts.  

At the Fruit market, we bought 5 pounds of oranges for 99 cents. 

We walked across the street and down Sand Hill Road to the park, where Lora played with Meadow.

We walked back to the RMH, where we ate supper and veered out for the rest of the day.

Day 20: Sunday, January 20, 2008 

On our trip to the San Francisco Zoo, we rode up from the South Bay area, driving 280 north to Westlake, exiting at Daly City, then turning left onto John Daly Boulevard, then onto Skyline Boulevard (Hwy 35). At the junction, we turned left onto the Great Highway and turned right into the moon entrance.

On our way to the zoo, we stopped at the Pacific Ocean in Pacifica, where we saw a pier that extended for what seemed like miles into the ocean, with people on either side fishing.
http://www.cityofpacifica.org

It was a blustery day, the sky loaded with thousands of white, puffy clouds filled with raindrops. 

The wind whistled as the ocean rolled wave after wave onto the sandy beach.

With my camera's eye, I captured this incredible view.

We could not stay long along the ocean's edge because Meadow could not tolerate the strong wind.

Town of Pacifica 

We stopped again at Thornton State Beach in Daly, where we walked on a sidewalk to the Pacific Ocean's edge.

 I took out my camera and took several pictures of the ocean and a sign that read:

"IF IT IS SUMMER, BRING A SWEATER. DAILY CITY SUMMERS ARE VIRTUALLY RAINY BUT DON'T EXPECT ANY SUNNY SKIES."

Another sign in the same area said:

"THE GROUND BENEATH YOUR FEET HERE AT THOMAS BEACH IS NOT SOLID, AS IT SEEMS. THE GROUND ITSELF IS MADE UP OF SEMI-CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTARY ROCK FROM HERE TO MUSSEL ROCK- IT DOESN'T HOLD TOGETHER WELL, WHICH MAKES THE COASTLINE VERY UNSTABLE."
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=530

We drove about a mile up the coast to Funston National Park, where I used a porta-potty that was mounted on a slab of concrete.

The wind was blowing strongly, around 35 miles per hour. As I approached the porta-potty, I found it unlocked and went inside. 

Many thoughts raced through my mind as I prepared to use the pot. 

I could just imagine myself being blown off the clifftop into the ocean, floating upside down inside the porta-potty in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

I also thought about the time a man was eaten by a T. rex while using the porta-potty in the Jurassic Park Movie.

We walked along a sandy path into the park where people were walking their dogs, riding bicycles, and hang gliding.

Funston National Park 

I walked as near as I could to the cliff edge to get some close-up shots of the rolling waves, the greenish-blue Pacific Ocean, and the white puffy clouds.

The wind was blowing sand into our eyes as we walked backward along the sandy path back to our car.

We ate a late lunch at Burger King and arrived at the San Francisco Zoo around 2:30 P.M.

Disabled children get in free at the San Francisco Zoo, and the family gets to park free.

The cost for Lora and me was twenty-two dollars.

We entered the park, used the restroom, changed Meadow's diaper, and went to the gift shop, where Lora bought a scarf to wrap around her neck and ears to protect them from the bitter wind.

We walked to the African Region, where we saw the long-necked, brown-and-white Reticulated Griffins, Grant's White Zebras with black stripes, and the black, furry Western Lowland Gorilla.

In the Primate Discovery Center, we saw several different types of monkeys, including Baboons and a pair of chimpanzees.

At Koala Crossing, we saw 100s of long-legged pink flamingos, several varieties of birds, and the Kola cage was empty. 

Near the Cat Kingdom, we saw North American River Otters, California Sea Lions, and a Nile Hippopotamus, and Penguin Island was covered with miniature-wearing black-and-white tuxedos.

The Cat Kingdom, which housed the big cats, was closed because a tiger had gotten out and killed a man and injured two others. 

Lora and Meadow rode on a brown & white cat, with a fish in its mouth, on the historic 1921 Dentzel Carousel, which was located near the Fisher Family Children's Zoo.

Riding the Carousel at San Francisco Zoo

Several of the exhibits were closed because it was getting too close to five o'clock, when the zoo closed.

The ocean was just a few blocks from the zoo, so when we left, we found a nice spot to park along the Pacific Ocean to watch the sunset. 

The clouds were now a hint of blue, streaked with yellow, orange, and red as the sun slowly disappeared into the ocean.

Watching sunset

The setting of the sun did not stop some idiot from swimming in the cold, pounding ocean.

We arrived at the RMH around 6 P.M., where we ate supper and spent the rest of the evening talking with other families staying there.

I took Meadow upstairs, put her in the shower with me, put on our clothes, and we walked downstairs to the computer room so I could upload my pictures onto a CD.

Lucy, a volunteer at the RMH, said she was leaving and would not return until February 3.

We thanked her for all the great work she had done, and we told her we would be leaving on January 25.

We all went upstairs to our room, I called Hubby, I downloaded the pictures from my little camera to Lora's computer, and then we all went to bed.

Day 21: Monday, January 21, 2008 

We all get up, put on clean clothes, and walk downstairs for breakfast.

For breakfast, Meadow drinks a glass of milk, and she nibbles on a waffle. 

For breakfast, I ate two waffles and mandarin oranges and drank a bottle of water. 

We walked back upstairs to collect our dirty laundry and take it to the laundry to wash it.

I take Meadow to the family room while our clothes are washing, where Meadow watches Curious George, Barney, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. 

It was a nasty day; it rained all day, it was a good day for staying inside, and Lora slept until after 11 A.M.

Lora finally got up and got ready. We rode to the Stanford Mall and ate lunch at Italian Babbo's Ristorante, where I ordered a delicious bowl of hot soup with some fresh bread. 

We had excellent service, the food was great, and we had enough food leftover to take home. Meadow even brought a plate of bread. 

We walked to Victoria's Secret, and they were having an end-of-year sale. Lora spent over $100.00, and I paid $27.00.

We rode to Target, where Lora purchased a set of luggage for $89.00. 

Then we rode around the Stanford University Campus, stopping to take pictures of students walking to and from classes, carrying umbrellas to protect them from the rain.

Stanford University 

We were greeted by rows of Palm trees and a lush green lawn decorated with shrubs and flowers, with sidewalks on either side, and drove through the entrance to the Stanford University Campus. 

We also saw a couple of statues above the horseshoe-anchored, buff sandstone buildings, with red slate roofs that dot the campus.

In the main quad, we see the Memorial Church with a Celtic cross atop a remarkable mosaic facade depicting a moment just before Christ's ascension.

To the left of the Memorial Church, we saw the 285-foot Hoover Tower a building dedicated to alumni and our thirty-third president Herbert Hoover.

We stopped outside the Cantor Art Museum, which is part of Stanford University, to take pictures of the sculpture garden featuring some of Rodin's sculptures https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT.LUvJhXkTcAeaBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ3Z1b2hvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVUkyQzNfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Rodin+Sculptures+at+Stanford&fr=aaplwwhich, which included the Gate of Hell.

We would have gone inside, but the museum had already closed for the day.
https://www.facebook.com/CantorArtsCenter/

Gates of Hell at Cantor Art Museum 

We rode back to the Stanford Mall, where Lora and I shared a meal with salsa and chips at Playa Grill.

We ordered chicken nuggets from McDonald's for Meadow.

We rode back to the RMH, where Lora updated Meadows's website, while I played with Meadow.

Day 22: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 

Meadow woke us up by clapping her hands. 

I got up and put Meadow in the shower with me after Lora fed her some Pedi-Sure. 

I put Meadow back into her crib and walked downstairs for breakfast.

For breakfast, I ate a bowl of soup, with bread, and a sweet roll. 

Lora and I went back to Stanford Mall to Victoria's Secret, where I purchased eight pairs of panties and a pair of Victoria's sweatpants.

I walked upstairs to our room, collected the dirty clothes, and went to the laundry room.

While my clothes were washing, I went back to the dining room, where I talked with a woman named Helen, the great-grandmother from Montana. 

Helen said her husband was a cowboy, and when he passed away, they had a cowboy funeral, and she rode a horse in the procession.

She said, Hubby suffered for five years with cancer, and after he died, I moved to Wichita Falls to live with my daughter.

Helen said that she has five grandchildren, and two great-grandsons, Henry and Gavin, whom she is here with, he has a heart condition.

She also said that when Gavin's father learned that he had a heart condition, he ran away.

Next, I talked to a couple from Guam, Andre and Savannah, and their son,n Elisha Peter.

They said their son Elisha had a heart condition, and he was given aspirin to take. 

Elisha Peter fell, hitting his head. The aspirin he was taking caused his head to swell, and now he is waiting for surgery on his head. 

He said back in Guam, he knew a man whose 17-year-old son had fallen, hitting his head, causing a clot, surgery was done, and he went into a coma and died.

Andrew said the doctors in Guam did not know what they were doing.

The doctors there said Elisha could not fly because it was not stable enough, but Elisha's Pediatrician told Andrew that he had arranged a flight for the family to the Philippines. 

Elisha's Pediatrician said the operation Elisha needed was minor, and it would relieve the pressure.

Andrew said, I will have to go back to Guam until I can get transferred to San Francisco to work as a prison guard, but in the meantime, my family is staying here, and my family will never live in Guam.

I went back upstairs to finish my laundry.

I went to the computer room to write in my journal and to download the pictures from the little camera to the computer.

Mary Jo Blazek is a volunteer who is working in the computer room at RMH.

Lora and Brianna rode to the Stanford Mall McDonald's to get some free chicken nuggets for Meadow and Kayla.

Day 23: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 

We took Meadow to her appointment with Doctor Stenberg at 11:30 A.M., but DDoctor Stenbergwas in surgery, o we saw his nunurseeresa.

Teresasaidd Meadow was doing greatt and that she would be forwarding a copy of Meadow's medical records to all of her doctors back home.

She said, Meadow, will have to return in six months for a check-up, which will be sometime in July 2008.

Teresa said that we should start seeing a difference in Meadow in the next six months. 

We left the doctor's office and rode to Santa Clara. We stopped at Mexicali Grill, a Tex-Mex restaurant located in the Mercado Mall, for lunch, where we each ordered a soft taco with a salad.

Lora drove us to the Yahoo building at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, California, and we walked inside and asked if we could tour the building, but they weren't offering tours.

Yahoo had just laid off 700 employees. 

We rode to the PHP (Parents Helping Parents), located at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in San Jose, 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 100, San Jose, CA, where we were given a grand tour of the facility.

. 

Our next stop was the Winchester House and Museum in San Jose, where we did the garden walkthrough because the house was not wheelchair accessible. 
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEVzwVvZhXUfEAzmpXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ3Z1b2hvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVUkyQzNfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Winchester+House+and+Museum&fr=aaplw

We saw the Egret, & the serpent fountains, we saw the garage, the car wash, and an Indian statue

wearing a cloak, a headdress, and a longbow in his left hand.

We saw two orange trees full of ripe oranges, an English Yew tree near the garage, and many other trees & shrubs in various sizes and shapes throughout the property. 

There were roses, lilies, and many other flowers throughout the gardens.

The house took on an eerie look as the sun went behind the clouds and darkness fell on the house and grounds. 

Winchester House as night is falling.

We could still see the purple roof, blue light beaming from the top floor, and a yellow front porch guiding guests. 

Yellow and white lights beamed from several lower-level rooms, while total darkness emanated from many others, and shadows danced on the ground as we stopped to take pictures. 

The Winchester House was a beauty by day and a sinister, eerie, creepy place to be after dark.

We walked back to the museum, where Lora purchased a rainbow sucker for Meadow.

Meadow had stickystuff all over her face.  

At the museum, we saw Zelda's Fortune Cabinet, a aigypsy's gypsy, her fortune cards, and a crystal ball.

The lower half of Zelda's Fortune cabinet was a coin slot, and right below the coin slot was the face of the devil. He had green eyes, a red mouth, and a black beard; his face was golden, and on his head were black horns and a forked image on his forehead.

If you insert seventy-five cents, she will tell you the future, but forget playing poker with her.

We also saw a player piano built by the Link Piano Company, Binghamton, NY.

We rode back to the RMH for supper; they had prepared beef stew, potato soup, bread, and a large salad. 

After supper, many of the families sat around talking.

The family we met from Montana has moved to a hotel and will be going home on Friday.

We will also be leaving on Friday.

The conjoined twins are leaving tomorrow.

Brianna Cain is very upset about her daughter. She and Lora are talking.

I am talking to Vanessa Preston about her son Brandon, who has a heart condition, and he is still in the hospital. 

I walked upstairs to finish my laundry and write in my journal. It is now 12:30 P.M.

Meadow and Lora have been asleep for a while.

Day 24: Thursday, January 24, 2008 

After I dressed Meadow and we were ready, we went to the dining area for breakfast.

I fed Meadow a can of Pedi-sure, and I ate a waffle. 

In the dining area, I spoke with the parents and grandparents of Robert, a family from Louisiana, and with Vanessa Person. 

Lora came downstairs, ate breakfast, and joined the conversation.

We spent the morning taking pictures of our friends.

The news media came by to take pictures of the conjoined twins Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias, who had been successfully separated.

Meadow was given a Winnie the Pooh by Matthew's family. 

Doctor Steinberg had also performed moya surgery on Matthew.

We finished our packing and went to Meadows's appointment at 2:30 P.M. with her therapist, Wan Chen Kang.

While we were at the hospital, we went to visit Brandon Perso,n who was in PIC, and his mom, who was there with him.

Lora and I split a BLT, a taco, and a slice of Carrot Cake for lunch in the Lucile Pediatric Children's Hospital Cafeteria.

We went back to the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University, and Vanessa Person went with us.

At the museum, we can see museum pieces, pottery, statues, a mummy, an American Indian dancer in full dress, totem poles, and headdresses from many different countries, Africa, India, China, and North and South America. 

We have a beautiful wall hanging of the California Mountains, Yosemite Mountains, gorges, cowboys, and several portraits of the Stanford family. 

We saw many pieces from Leland and Jane Stanford's jewelry collection. 

We saw many collections from the ancient Mediterranean era, Europe, and the 1500-1900 American period, as well as modern and contemporary art. 

We saw many pieces of art from Asia, Africa, Oceania, Native America, and ancient America. 

We saw Rodin's collection of bronzes, the largest in the world outside of Paris. Twenty bronzes include the "Gates of Hell. Rodin took twenty years to complete the others, the Thinker, the Kiss, the Age of Bronze, and many others. 

We saw pieces of jade from the Orient. We saw a piece where a monkey was riding a horse with his manly parts exposed.

Cantor Art Museum monkey riding a horse

We saw many African pieces, headdresses, statues, and pottery, and many of these pieces were made out of some sort of wood. 

The oriental pieces were made out of stones like jade.

We were allowed to take pictures downstairs. 

The museum was Museumhair accessible; the elevator was quaint, like a dumb waiter, and very small. 

Lora, Vanessa, and Meadow left using the wheelchair at the exit, and I used the front door. 

We took Vanessa back to the hospital. She is nursing her son, so she needs to pump some milk for him.

We returned to the RMH, where we ate some snacks and visited with some of our friends.

When Vanessa returned to the RMH, she rode to Target with us, where I bought some cookies, 

Vanessa spent $70.00 on clothes for Brandon.

We returned to RMH, where we cleaned our room, finished washing our clothes, and started packing.d Lora went to get a cart for tomorrow, to put our luggage on, so we could carry everything down at once. 

Day 25: Friday, January 25, 2008

It was hot in our room last night, so I turned on the air conditioner. Lora and I both woke up coughing because we had gotten too hot.

Lora and I were up at 4:30 A.M. We both showered, ate breakfast, and drove to the San Francisco International Airport. 

Lora traveled down Highway 101, the traffic was heavy, and it was raining and foggy.  

When we arrived at the airport, we had to return the rental car, and Lora dropped Meadow and me off at the ticket counter. 

We both had to use the restroom before going through security.

We checked our luggage, got our tickets, and walked through security without any problems.

We were told that our 10:45 A.M. flight would be delayed until 1:00 P.M., but we could take an earlier flight at 8:30 A.M.

We are flying with Frontier Airlines, our plane has an otter on the wings and tail. 

The flight to San Francisco had a sea lion named Sherman. 

The frontier hub is in Denver, Colorado, and its logo features animals.

We sat in the front of the plane in seats A, B, and C. I sat next to the window, Meadow was in the middle seat, and Lora was in the aisle seat. 

Lora changes Meadow's diaper once we are in the air, and after that, Meadow and Lora fall asleep.

I am writing in my journal about our many adventures and trying to listen to "Deathly Hollows" on my Pod. 

My sinus was draining, so I could not sleep.

We flew from San Francisco to Denver, Colorad,o in two hour. After we landed, we ate a nice meal at Jimmy's Beefstro in the airport.

Lora and I split a steak sandwich, a salad, and some fries, and we each ordered tea. 

We saw two flight attendants from our plane ordering at Jimmy's Beefstrof, and they said the food was good, and it was!

After we finished eating, we went to our waiting area, where I noticed a man wandering around as if he were lost. 

He fell to the ground, hitting his head. He was having a grand mal seizure, and no one knew what to do.  

The ticket collectors called for help, and the man was taken away on a stretcher. 

In the lobby, Lora, Meadow, and I were sitting next to a serviceman who was born and raised in Wyoming. He was traveling to Lexington, KY, and said he had two children, ages one and four. We started talking about Meadow's surgeries performed by Doctor Steinberg and our stay at the RMH. 

He told us he was born with a cleft or club foot and that he was fortunate enough to get it fixed at a young age with the help of the shiners in Wyoming. 

His flight was boarding about the same time as ours, so we said goodbye.

I called Hubby and said we were leaving Colorado. He said Frontier Airlines had emailed him to inform him that our flight had been delayed. 

I told him we had taken an early flight. 

We were the first to board; Lora had taken Meadow out of her wheelchair and was carrying her, and I was left behind to push the overloaded wheelchair.

As I started through the shoot, the overloaded wheelchair turned over, spilling luggage everywhere.  

The door to the shoot was closed, and Lora handed Meit adw, as she and the woman at the counter began gathering up our belongings and loading them onto the plane.

We were safely seated in the middle of the plane, in row 15, seats A, B, and C, and everyone else boarded.

During our flight, we were served a drink and pretzels.

We laughed at Meadow when she spat out the pretzel she had been sucking on, and it splashed down, nearly hitting Lora's Coke that she was drinking.

When we arrived in Nashville at 6:25 P.M., the pilot came over the intercom and said, We had a smooth flight, and everyone clapped.

Hubby was waiting for me, and so was Walora's husband. We still had a two-hour ride home.

On the ride home, I ate a Milk Chocolate Hershey Bar and drank a can of Mountain Dew. 

We stopped at Chick-fil-A in Athens, where we ordered a chicken sandwich and some waffle fries.  

Lora said that her family was going to Nashville to eat at Rainforest Café at the Opry Mills Mall. 

We are HOME!

Summary:

We had many adventures in January, including the scary porta-potty along the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.

A  man having grandma seizures in the Denver airport on our flight home. Meadow's two major surgeries, three MRIs, a SPEC Scan,  an Angiogram, and many ohewees. 

Our trips to the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Pier 39, the San Francisco Zoo, walking the grounds of the Winchester House, Stanford University, the Cantor Art Museum, Stanford Mall, to Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Happy Hollow Zoo, and Park. 

The weather was good, which helped us have a safe flight home. The temperature in Denver, CO, was in the mid-50s, and all the snow near and around the airport was gone, except for a patch here and there.

Meadow is on her way to healing from her surgeries, her hair is beginning to grow back, and she is full of energy,  playful, and a happy little girl.

Doctor Steinberg's nurse said that we should start seeing results from Meadows in the next six months as the grafts fuse into the surgical areas.

I am thankful that everything went well with all the tests and surgery, and that Meadow is recovering. well

We met many families staying at the RMH in Palo Alto. I hope their children get to go home, and our prayers are with each and every family we met at the RMH.

In February, I will be going to Disney World with a group of Varsity Cheerleaders from Rogers High School. This will be a totally different adventure from the one I just went through with my granddaughter, Meadow.