The motor home is in storage, and we are enjoying a vacation from our normal retirement vacation. This is a special time with special people, and we are so excited! Our son and his wife traveled to the island of St. John, and decided that it was the most beautiful place they had ever seen.
They decided to plan a return trip, so they could show all this beauty to their parents. We are blessed to share this trip with our son and daughter-in-law, and her parents. What a great group! We feel so honored that it was this young couple's idea to share this island with their parents!
With all that background information, we're on track to explain how to get to the island of St. John. It's one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, so no passport is required for this trip. We boarded the airplane in Oklahoma City very early this morning, and after two flights we landed on the island of St. Thomas. This is a small airport, where passengers still walk down the steps and across the tarmac into the airport.
St. Thomas is also one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and it would surely be a delightful destination. But our travel day isn't over. We picked up our rental car, and then boarded the ferry. The picture below shows the cars leaving the ferry we will soon drive onto. Kudos to Mark, who has already driven across the island of St. Thomas (on the left side of the road). Now he must back our rental car up that steep ramp backwards into a tight spot on a floating ship.
The water is a beautiful blue here in the Caribbean, and the views off St. Thomas are stunning. While temperatures were in the 30's this morning when we left Oklahoma City, we arrived to a humid 80 degrees on the islands.
It's a twenty-minute ferry ride from St. Thomas to our destination for the week--the island of St. John. It's exciting to see the island silhouette appear on the horizon.
Mark's down at the car level of the ferry, getting his first view of our new little home town of Cruz Bay.
The sun is setting on this long day, as we have traveled via car, plane, and boat across two time zones to get to St. John today.
We were met on the island by an escort to show us to our villa. Blake found a place with a great location and view.
We share a swimming pool with a few other units in the complex, but we never saw anyone else using the pool or taking in these views from the top of Battery Hill.
We were anxious for the next morning, to get our first look at the beaches that we had heard so much about. The views did not disappoint! We pulled off for our first look of Trunk Beach, which is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world.
We're heading to Maho Beach today, because of its reputation for getting to snorkel with sea turtles. We were up early this morning, and we had the beach to ourselves when we arrived.
It didn't take us long to get our snorkel gear on and head into the water. We immediately started seeing sea life. We saw sting rays, sea turtles, and a myriad of brightly colored fish. We found a 5-foot sting ray, and smaller ones with fish catching a ride on their outstretched "wings." The sea turtles didn't disappoint, and we swam with some up to four foot across. The sea coral at Maho Point is the best we have ever seen. How thrilling it is to share the water with all these creatures! Our underwater camera immediately went on the fritz, so we have no pictures of the underwater wonders we found today. But it was the best snorkeling we have ever experienced anywhere!
The water is perfectly clear, and the winds were calm so the conditions were at their best for seeing clearly underwater. Have we mentioned how much we appreciate our son for making all the plans that made this vacation possible?
Trees line the beach, and we found a shaded place to stay out of the sun and to hang our snorkel equipment to dry.
We snorkeled several hours, wandering God's underwater wonders. Then we spent time enjoying the beach, where we took way too many pictures. After traveling for years with guys, Denisa thinks it's fun to take pictures with the girls on this vacation.
After enjoying the morning at Maho Beach, we moved a mile down the road to Cinnamon Bay for the afternoon. This is the largest beach on St. John, and we could walk or swim almost a mile from end to end.
Patrolling the parking lot is one of the resident roosters that live on St. John. He was taking his guard duties very seriously.
Because it is the largest beach on the island, we had plenty of room to fly a kite. Cinnamon Bay also has some great snorkeling along its rocky edges. We swam out to the cay and snorkeled all the way around this little island to find more interesting fish and sea life.
Just across the road is the Cinnamon Bay Nature Trail, so of course the Engelmans took the half-mile hike. It started at the ruins of a sugar mill that once was part of the biggest business on this island.
The old stone work of the sugar mill is lovely draped in tropical vines and studded with palmettos.
Hidden in the forest, we found reminders of the life here in the 1700s. We also found reminders of death here when our trail took us through the community cemetery. Because of the low water table, all burials are above ground.
Our nature trail hike included signs that described the forest plants. Denisa is standing between two bay rum trees. We found that another industry of these Caribbean islands is the production of rum from the aromatic leaves of these very tall trees.
Termites love the moist surroundings and ready supply of wood. They form massive termite nests that often engulf a group of trees.
We went snorkeling for most of four hours today, and enjoyed two of the prettiest beaches we have ever seen in our lives. As we packed up our chairs and headed to the villa, we all agreed it had been a great first day in paradise.
Thanks again to our children for inviting us into their little slice of paradise, as we get to wander God's wonders with them in St. John!
You can tell how far we are behind on blog posts, when you see that the following picture was taken on October 31. That was the day that Denisa flew from South Texas to Kansas City, and Mark drove from the panhandle of Oklahoma to the Kansas City airport to pick her up. We liked this airport because it put us close to very special people--our son and his family. We liked the October 31 flight date, because that meant that we would get to see our granddaughter in her Halloween costume. Her Mother had worked hard to make the walker, and to put together the appropriate old-lady wardrobe to go with it. But when she turned her hair gray with spray-on shampoo, Carter decided that she didn't want to look like Gram after all. Suddenly she didn't like the beads or the glasses, and she didn't want anything to do with the walker.
We tried to get the cute Halloween picture with her friend the elephant, but Carter was obviously not liking this accelerated aging process one bit! Besides, she's getting some new teeth, and that kind of pain would make any old lady want to ditch her walker.
She much prefers her snuggly monkey to all that Halloween hoopla, especially since she doesn't get to eat any trick-or-treat candy yet.
We stayed in Kansas City for several days, enjoying this precious time watching her grow. We've already mentioned that she loves to sing, and one of her favorite songs is the E-I-E-I-O chorus from Old McDonald. But we learned a song about a boat, and she is really good at singing the opening line of, "Row, Row, Row your boat." The next day Gram asked her if she knew a song about a boat. You could just see her mind working until she brightened and sang out, "E-I-E-I-boat."
We love how the 18-month-old mind works! After a few days, we headed to Oklahoma City for more family time with Denisa's sister and brother-in-law, and our other son and his wife. That puts us close to the Oklahoma City airport for our next flight to a very special location!
After almost two weeks of spending time with our son and his family, it's time to make the six-hour drive across Kansas. We are back in the Oklahoma panhandle for a couple days to see our Mothers and check on the motor home. It's more family time, as all of Mark's brothers and sister and spouses were at the ranch at the same time. This actually happens often enough that we didn't think to take any pictures.
Mark will be here in Beaver for the next week. But Denisa is super busy during these two days. We have a complicated schedule during the next month. She is packing for a week-long trip to drive her Mother and her car to South Texas. Then she'll fly from there to Kansas City for another baby-sitting gig. After that, a drive to Oklahoma City for several days will put us in position to leave from that airport on a week-long vacation in the Caribbean. So Denisa is packing for temperatures in the 90s for south Texas in one suitcase, and temperatures in the 40s in Kansas and Oklahoma Cities in another, and bathing suits and shorts for the beach in yet another. What a crazy packing game this is to get everything where it needs to be! Mark's packing is easier since he has one less destination that starts a week later.
Just to prove that it is truly time to head south for the winter, it snowed the night before Denisa and her Mother drove to south Texas.
This is really unusual for Oklahoma to have snow so early in the fall! We were surprised to see that the ground got completely covered. The panhandle of Oklahoma has been plagued by grasshoppers during this hot summer, and they have eaten all the flowers and even the leaves off all the bushes and trees. Only fake flowers are still blooming here, and these silk roses looked like winter had truly hit the Oklahoma panhandle.
The next morning Denisa and her Mother waited until later than usual to leave, giving the roads some time to clear. We still got into snow- and ice-covered roads in the Texas panhandle about an hour down the road. Denisa took this picture as she drove. She missed pictures of the worst roads and heaviest snow pack where snow plows had already made two-foot drifts beside the road. When she was driving through that, she had both hands on the wheel!
Denisa and her Mother made the 13-hour drive down to the tip of Texas in two days. While it was less than 30 degrees when we left the Oklahoma panhandle, it was 90 degrees when we reached the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We went right to work, cleaning Denisa's mother's winter house and unloading the car. During her five-day stay, Denisa completely forgot to take any pictures of the blooming flowers and the palm trees that we love down there. The citrus fruit on the trees are all still very green, but we're looking forward to that harvest when we make the trip south in the motor home later. Most activities don't start in the park for another week, but we did go to card bingo one evening. The first female getting a bingo is the queen for the night, and Denisa has pictorial proof that Mark is married to royalty.
Meanwhile, back in the Oklahoma panhandle, Mark is staying at his Mother's house on the ranch. He had a good time hanging out there, but he didn't take any pictures either. His Mother hates taking photos, so he didn't force her to smile for the camera. So again, we don't have any pictures for the full week.
After five days of Denisa "enduring" temperatures in the 90s and spending some time at the outdoor pool, it was time to fly back north to winter. Denisa flew from south Texas to Kansas City on the same day that Mark drove from Oklahoma to Kansas City. Since we're used to spending all-day-every-day together, this was a long time apart! Now we're happy to be back together in Kansas City--spending time with our oldest son's family again. You can be sure that we won't be forgetting to take pictures now that we're around our granddaughter!
After a week of hanging out near Kansas City to re-acquaint with our granddaughter, the time came for the real reason for this visit. Her parents left for a trip to celebrate their fifth anniversary, and we are in charge!
Our son and daughter-in-law love the national parks almost as much as we do, so they flew to California for five days in the beauty of Yosemite National Park.
Meanwhile, back in Kansas, we are enjoying more time with Carter.
We had great fall weather to spend time outdoors with our granddaughter. She is quite the talker, and she entertained us with her animated stories. We are also happy to report that she can now say "Gram" and "Granddad" surprisingly well for a 17-month-old.
She's also a great eater, even though the food in the spoon doesn't always make it into her mouth. For some meals it's easier just to take off her blouse and plan to head straight to the bath after she eats.
Car rides mean that Gram sits in the back seat with Miss Carter. We sing all the way to our destinations, as we try to remember more and more songs that toddlers enjoy. Then we go home and play the piano and sing some more. Gram is obviously enjoying this music time!
One of those road trips included a visit to Mark's cousins' house about thirty minutes away. We knew that Carter liked chickens from our earlier time at the pumpkin patch. But here we got to see them without the chicken wire in the way.
Our extra time in the Kansas City area has afforded us the luxury of seeing some relatives that we don't get to see often. 
We took a walk each day, and we have noticed that the fall foliage in the Kansas City area is beginning to put on quite a show since we arrived.
One of those stroller rides took us to a gravel trail in one of the city parks. That brings us to our wildlife picture of the day--a snake on the trail.
It's been a while since we have been responsible for a toddler 24 hours a day. Now we remember that having a little one to "help" means that normal tasks take three times longer than it would normally. But she certainly is a cute little helper.
It is such an honor to get to be grandparents! We cherish the time to spend with this little person as she learns new things every day.
Our son and daughter-in-law returned from their anniversary trip to find that Carter was a little spoiled. But they also found that she is incredibly loved. We'll be leaving in the morning, and we're already looking forward to the next time we get to see this sweet little family.
Because we were visiting our granddaughter (and her parents) in Lenexa, Kansas, for close to two weeks, we had time to find plenty of fun things to do with her. We loved the playground at the Shawnee-Mission Park!
It had soft-spongy flooring, and plenty of toys for all ages to enjoy. We'd never seen a toy like this with rollers that a child can ride from one end to the other.
There were slipper slides of all shapes and sizes. This one was big enough and wide enough for many children and their grandparents to go down at the same time. We weren't the only grandparents at the park, but we noticed that we were the only ones riding the toys.
Our granddaughter, Carter, loved it, and yelled, "More! More!" as soon as they zoomed to the bottom each time.
We also love the paved paths through the woods and beside the lakes at different city parks. We can walk from our son and daughter-in-law's front door to this trail at Craig's Crossing . . .
while the trail at Black Hoof Park leads to this playground. The toys here have a less-exciting grandparent-slide option.
We're always looking for a farmers' market, and Lenexa has a nice one. After a cold snap, one of the vendors reported that last night was the coldest he had ever been while picking tomatoes. Check out the vegetable vendor in the picture below, bundled up this chilly morning.
We also enjoyed Lenexa's chili cook-off festival. Around two-hundred teams had cooked up their best chili, and offered free samples to the attendees. Even though Carter is a good eater, we brought her snacks in lieu of that spicy chili. She loved waving to the crowds of people that attended.
Another day we were at the Art and Music Festival at the outdoor theater in Shawnee-Mission park, practicing our grassy walking skills.
Carter was happy to walk between Gram and Granddad for the fresh blueberry rewards. We call this "the blueberry game," and it's very popular with our granddaughter.
Strolling at the supermarket can also be a fun activity, especially when there is cheese involved. We went to watch "the cheese lady" sculpting a new edible masterpiece made entirely out of cheese. The audience was welcome to eat the cheese scraps that are left-over from this art form.
Besides walking, there are also some great biking options for little ones and their very fit mothers. Carter's waving at Granddad, who's pretty good at riding a bike and taking pictures at the same time.
But the day we took the most pictures was at the pumpkin patch at the Red Barn Farm near Weston, Missouri.
Our daughter-in-law planned a morning at the Red Barn, and the paparazzi grandparents came along to take way too many pictures.
We explored many different pumpkin options that morning.
Can't you just hear her saying, "And what was God thinking when he made a lumpy-bumpy-half-green-half-yellow gourd like this?"
We found out that Carter really likes chickens, and can watch them for a very long time.
What do you think could possibly make three generations of females smile like this?
It might be a stretch to call this "the wildlife picture of the day." But this turkey made the three females smile when he plumed out his tail feathers and strutted around the coop.
The red barn had goats to feed . . .
and Carter looked a little surprised when this baby got out of the pen.
A friend and his Mom met us at the barn, and we all took a hay ride.
It took us down to the pumpkin patch, where the recent first-frost killed the leaves and left the orange pumpkins easier to spot.
It was a great morning of pumpkin fun, and another fun toddler day in the Kansas City area. We're loving our time with this little girl and her parents! Even though the landscapes aren't as grand, we still think we are wandering with some of God's most precious wonders.
