Time Machines-Memories and Dreams: Cruise with the Griffins

Time Machines-Memories and Dreams: Cruise with the Griffins

Cruise with the Griffins

The elders of our branch of the Griffin family met in Galveston to board the Carnival Conquest for a 7 day trip to the Bahamas.  There were eight of us in our party. Griff's sister Doris with his twin brother and his wife Tommie their son Terry and his wife Annette and their son Trey. With the Griffin family group Griff is Buck and Lesley is Cowboy which is their childhood nicknames that stuck.

On a scale of 1 to 10 the overall best thing about the trip was being together with this group which I rate at a 10.

We would eat breakfast together and plan out our day then in the evening we would dine together at 8:15 the late dinner time and recap the days events.  Griff and I have cruised with NCL two times Holland Americas once and this was our first time with Carnival.  Over all we ranked the service on the ship a very solid 8.  We really had level 10 service with Holland American on our Alaska cruise with my sister Debbie and her husband Rick.  We enjoyed the Punchliner Comedy Club some evenings before dinner.  Griff and I spent time on the balcony and really enjoyed seeing the beautiful sunsets over the ocean.  The weather was warm in the high seventies on the days we were at sea.  We were at sea the first two days of the trip, docked in Nassau the third day, on to Freeport the forth day where Griff and I opted to stay on board, then we docked in Key West FL on the fifth day. The ports on this trip were the least favorite thing about this trip for Griff and me.  A big part of that was the humidity and the fact that we prefer history and nature to shopping.  Nassau and Freeport are geared up for heavy shopping which we knew ahead of time.  Again our main focus for this cruise was geared toward being with the family not the ports. 

This ship had the coldest temperatures over all of any I have experienced.  I failed to take a sweater or light jacket and froze most of the time inside of the ship.  Another aspect of this cruise that we really appreciated was leaving from Galveston. Easier to pack without restrictions and hassle of a plane trip. For those of you that doubted I was on this cruise due to lack of photographic proof  I have included a few shots provided by Carnival paparazzi which are always ready to snap your photo.

2008 4th of July

 Griff,Ginger,Skipper,Gillie,Reese and I packed up on July 3rd and prepared to travel the two hour trek to Graham, to stay with Jimi and Mickie and their three "fur persons" Stockbridge, Alice & Fasha (Gillie's sister)-glad we were only preparing for 1 day and 1 night, however it turned into 2 1/2 days with 2 nights.  We all had an awesome time.  Everyone arrived that evening around 6:00 p.m... and Jimi introduced Reese to his pups one at a time in the front yard.  First gentle sweet Alice, then wild child Fasha, the stately Stockbridge.  Reese was a little hesitant at first, sort of nervous since she has never been on a trip that far and since she had never met the entire family, only Jimi and Mickie whom she loves. 

The LookOut sits high a top a hill on ten acres that connect to his 90 acres he owns below and the view is just astounding.  Out of their sliding glass doors that lead to the patio you can see all the way to ....Possum.. ..Kingdom.. ..Lake.... and beyond.  It is really a breath taking view.  The Wildcatter Ranch is located just over from their place and they had their firework show on the evening of the 3^rd of July.  http://www.wildcatterranch.com/history_marlow_bros.html  -....

The pups played in the fenced back area off the patio, while we all sat on the patio and enjoyed the view and then around ..10:15 p.m... watched the show which was one of many displays that we could see from the left to the right all across the sky.  Really quite a few beautiful displays, however the one at the Wildcatter Ranch was we all agreed the most awesome we had ever viewed.  ....

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Jimi put meat on the smoker, brisket, ribs, and on the 4^th added chicken, sausage, potatoes, corn, Mickie made beans, my sister Debbie and her husband Rick drove up from their new retirement place in Cherokee.  Mom and Dad came over and we had quite a group and quite a meal.  Ginger made marguerite ice cream to top off the meal.  We really all had a wonderful day.  Debbie and Rick drove back home that evening because they have five horses and Debbie can't stand to leave her new little filly Baby D overnight.  We had intended to drive back that evening however we decided to stay over another night.  They had fireworks displays that evening and the misquotes were so bad Mickie and I opted to hang out inside the AC with the pups which were totally worn out from all the play with each other and so hot from the entire day spent in & out of the heat.  We enjoyed the morning of the 5^th and packed up and returned with exhausted pups and four pretty tired adults.  We all agree that this was one of our best family 4^th ever!

The Shelton Family Swing

The Family Swing

It has always amazed me how a photo can make memories come flooding back, memories you were not even aware are stored in that wonderful data base the brain until it happens.

While at the Look Out for a family gathering I peered into Jimi and Mickie's cabin saw it! There was the porch swing that my daddy had hand made from hardwood that had hung on the back patio at the house in Hurst. I took this photo of it through the screen that encloses the porch. When I looked at it those old memory tapes started rolling.

When dad first completed it sometime in the early 60's I thought it was so beautiful and I still do. Each hardwood slat connected to the other very solid and the back and seat is curved. I remember sitting in it during summer vacation and talking on the phone. The swing hung right outside my bedroom window. I would run the phone cord through the window and talk on the extension phone that plugged into an outlet in my room. This was my own early version of phone outside portability [with the cord]. I would lay in that swing for hours, talking or reading, sometimes just staring into space thinking. It was my haven for several summers. Dad decided to enclose the patio and install sliding glass windows that would open in the spring and summer. He built a fireplace for the cold months of winter. The swing continued to hang in the original spot now enclosed from the wear and tear of weather. It was there for many Christmas Eve & Birthday celebrations and gatherings of the Shelton clan. It was there that I sat as an adult beside my mother and comforted her the evening she received the news that her mother had passed away. In the late 80's when mom and dad moved to Liberty Hill the swing hung on the front porch of that house. There it was the center of many visits that included porch setting, catching up, watching the morning light begin while sipping coffee. It was often a great front row seat to watch grand kids ride my sisters horses, see model rocket launches and many 4^th of July firework displays most of which were put on by family since the house and my sisters house were out in the country.

Now it hangs on the porch of the little lake cabin. There is not much family traffic since Jimi and Mickie bought the house that sits atop the cliff overlooking the cabin and lakes. Sometimes Mickie and Jimi set and swing when they go down to put bird seed or corn out. I wonder what different memories the family swing stirs for them? I know it holds many for me as well as our children.

My Big Brother

This is my brother Dick and his wife Cynthia in 1962 on a fishing trip with our family. He was born 3 years ahead of me, the oldest of 5 children. He was my idol, my hero, my big brother. I was his chubby tag along sister that I'm sure embarrassed him quite a bit when we were kids. I'm also very sure this is a normal relationship between siblings if anything is normal in a family. 
Dick met his forever sweetheart and wife of 45 yrs when he was 17 and she was 16. This photo of them was taken on my Kodak brownie camera. My heart will always ache for him since he passed away of colon cancer when he was 63 yrs old in 2006. It has been  3 years and I still have not been able to deal with it completely. It really just hurts and leaves a big dark hole. We can never go back and change anything in the
past, but  hopefully can gather enough happy memories to help through the very sad times.  He was a wonderful brother and we have many happy funny loving memories. His grandson just had his first child Blake Richard Shelton.  I can't think of any greater way to honor and remember him and I am so happy that Duane and Carolyn   choose this name for their son. Fast forward to 2011 and Duane and Carolyn have added a new member to their family.  Ashlynn Margaret Shelton was born on October 2nd her Great PaPa's Birthday.  How fitting that she celebrates his birthday with her birth!  She is a beauty.