Don't Ask!

OK- this wasn't on the trip - but it was funny!!! Bouncing Bunnies!
The puppy we miss.
Jay's experiemental photography.
I paid the kids to wear these- whatever you have to do to stay out of the Texas sun!
The beautiful view from our most recent campground

Thank Goodness for Friends, Family, and Technology!

A Christmas Poem from a friend

Well hello,


I thought I would email and wish a very merry christmas and all the best in the new year.




Was the night before Christams and all through the trailer,
Not a creature was stirring not even the mouse .
The stockings were hung by the heater with care,
in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there.

The children all nestled all snug in their bunks,
while visions of sugar cookies danced in their heads.
With Darla in her kercheff, and Jay,in his Flames hat
they had just layed down for a long winters nap.

When all of the sudden then arose such a clatter ,
Jay sprang from to bed to see what #@$$## was the matter.

When what to his fuzzy eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

with a little old driver to lifely and quick
Jay knew in a moment it must be St. Nick

and then in a twinkling Jay heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of every hoof.
(now I will have to get the roof redone-you goof)
Jay drew in his head and turned around and St. Nick just jumped to the ground.

He was dressed all in leather, from his head to his foot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back
He looked like he was in pain from all of that loot.

He eyes how they were blood shot, His dimples so merry
He cheeks were like roses, his nose like an apple cherry.
He droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
and the hair on his chest was white like the snow.

The stump of the the cigar he held tight in his tooth,
the smoke it gagged Jay I thought he was going to .....
He had a broad face and a huge belly
that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jello.

He was a chubby and plump and a drunk old man
Jay laughed when he saw him, and went to get the fan
with a wink of his eye and twist of his head
Jay knew he had a fist to the side of his head.

He spoke not a word, and went to straight to his work,
he filled all the stockings and then turned with a jerk
and layed his finger aside of his nose
and giving a nod out the door he went

He sprang to the sleigh and to his team gave a whistle
and away they all flew like the down of the thistle
but Jay heard him exclaim as he drove out of side

Happy Christmas to you canucks , and to all a good night.


Well that's about as much of a poet as I get......

Merry Christmas!!!! And a Happy New Year
I'm counting down till we see you
Carly

Texas Pics

The city of Seguin is known for this huge Pecan..it's real!
Apparently they have moose in Texas-he was one of the critters on the wall of the Clear Springs Cafe- Home of GREAT Onion Rings, Catfish, and Chicken Fried Steak.
This is the Alamo- a very popular place in Texas since 1836. We went there just for you Leo!

"Remember The Alamo!"
Another first for the Hohn's- Cactus. We are preparing for New Mexico and Arizona.
A local cowboy offered to take our photo along the Riverwalk in San Antonio. It was a beautiful winter day in Texas.

Texas

December 29, 2007
We moved into Texas a few days ago and are really enjoying ourselves. Today we spent the day in San Antonio. It also happened to be the Alamo Bowl (apparently a pretty big deal in Texas). The game between Texas A&M and Penn State was to watched by 65,000 locally and another 6 million on ESPN. It was not nearly as exciting as hockey, but “When in Rome…” We enjoyed the crowds as we wandered along the San Antonio River Walk and made our way to the Alamo. We learned fist hand of the struggle Texans faced in becoming part of the United States. Attached are some photos of our recent experiences including a trip to a local restaurant called Clear Springs, which has the BEST onion rings and chicken fried steak!!!

A Story for You.

While travelling we strongly believe it is important to point out places and sights of interest. We often comment on the road signs –for example; Alligator Crossing, Evacuation Route, 900 miles to El Paso, DANGER-Do Not Pick up Hitchhikers- Prison Area. We remark about the condition of the roads (terrible in Louisiana and Texas), we try to determine crops and prevalent industry in a given area. We also compare the scenery to Central Alberta and wonder why there are soooo many pine trees everywhere in the south. The other day we were along side a long train that was covered with graffiti. Ryley commented that people who painted graffiti were pretty good- we continued beside the train for awhile and I decided to discuss how people who painted graffiti were talented and could probably find a career in art…at that particular moment I looked over to the train to find an example of “great art” to share with the kids. What did I find (to my surprise)… a larger-than-life cartoon picture of a nude woman painted on the side of a railcar. After the awe and shock wore off in our truck- it did provide another “teachable” moment.

Untraditional Christmas

Ryley lost his sleeping space because we needed a place to put our tree. It's great to have flexible kids!
Meeting new friends...it is certainly the only snowman we will see this year!
The Coushatta Resort- not bad for $16.00. (Did we mention it has a heated pool and a hot tub?)
Our gingerbread creation. The Christmas scene is in a pumpkin- a gift from the campground owners in New Hampshire.

Louisiana Christmas

Sunday, December 23, 2007

People dressed in nightgowns, winter coats, mittens and snow caps out walking their dogs…that is what this morning brought. It got down to -1.2 last night - very wintery for the south. We are staying at the Coushatta RV Resort- it is like a mini Vegas in Louisiana. We were planning to stay at a campground down the road, but after checking it out (and finding it located in a smallish swamp) for 15 dollars a night, we decided to go to Coushatta for 16 dollars a night. They say that Louisiana has a lot of water … they are not kidding! Many roads are built like bridges and are situated on pillars about 15 feet above the ground. Alligators are abundant, although we have seen none. Alligator is also a meal of choice-although we Hohn’s opted to only try Alligator Bob’s Gator jerky… that was a reluctant endeavor for most. A few nights ago we took advantage Kids Quest for an hour-it is a childcare theme park here at Coushatta- but it is more like a “little person” lockdown facility (which is great for safety). We partook in some slot machine playing and are pleased to announce that it took us an entire hour to spend $17.00 in pennies, nickels and dimes. Look out Las Vegas…here we come.

Today we ventured to the Buffet and enjoyed the variety of cuisine offered- although I noticed no one tried Crawfish, Gumbo, or the Alligator Sausage. The serving staff was very friendly – although we wonder about their understanding of genetics. At one point several servers approached our table and inquired if Kassidy and Ryley were twins. They said they looked so much alike that they thought they might be “identical” twins. Did we miss something??? Don’t you have to be the same sex to be IDENTICAL???

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and lots of wonderful holiday moments! Bless you. We miss you and we are looking forward to coming home in the New Year…after more adventures and learning. Peace and best wishes along with lots of love and many thanks for all the warm wishes, letters, and pictures.
Love from the Hohn’s.

Katrina Photos

A typical cemetary-above ground.




The Super Dome - all fixed up!

Katrina Pictures

Debris along the beach of Gulfport.
Beach front property in Gulfport.
Reconstruction of the bridge entering New Orleans.
Abandoned apartments along the interstate heading into New Orleans. There were blocks and blocks of empty houses where families did not return after the storm.
Many buildings still remain standing that were burnt during the hurricane.

Hurricane Katrina

No...we don't mean Ma (Jay's mom, Katrina).

December 17, 2007: We are currently in Gulfport, Mississippi – about 5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The temperature has dropped considerably from the +27 temperatures we were experiencing in Florida. It was -1 last night (similar to Central Alberta). After school today we travelled to the shoreline of the Gulf. We went to collect some white sand, but as we approached the area we quickly realized the area still shows signs of the significant damage brought by Hurricane Katrina of 2005. We had expected to see “some” rebuilding evidence, but the streets (where houses used to be) are still strewn with garbage and debris, huge oak trees are bare-some even stripped of bark and the rubble from houses and businesses on the lots surround the residential beach area. There were many empty lots where houses use to be, although handfuls have been rebuilt, along with some commercial buildings. It was quite disturbing and astounding that after more than two years - so much damage remained.

December 18, 2007: Today we visited New Orleans, Louisiana…attached are some photos of the current state of the city. There were blocks and blocks of abandoned homes and people still living in houses with tarps as roofs. Another interesting site was the aboveground cemeteries. They need to be above ground because the city is below sea level. It was a humbling and learning experience.

FYI: The campground we are staying at actually has a waiver that we needed to sign (although it isn’t hurricane season) that we were aware that we were in a hurricane zone and evacuation was a possibility. On the lighter side…we have also learned that there are underwear issues in the area. All local convenience stores post signs to ”Pull-up your pants or stay out!” Another one read “If your underwear are showing don’t bother coming in!” I don’t remember seeing those particular postings in Rimbey. Hmmmm…

Leaving Florida

We have spent the last two weeks in Orlando-enjoying and becoming exhausted from taking two weeks off of school to enjoy Disney World. The experience has been great fun and we have the 500+ pictures to prove it! We learned that the entire park employs about 62 000 people and is situated on 42 square miles. One of the best days of the two weeks was the day Triana was sick with the flu - we took turns taking parts of the day off with her…she was such a trooper. After only one day of rest she was back riding the roller coasters with the best of them!!! There were many wonderful moments and special memories created-we will share a “few” of the photos on-line.

We are now the furthest away from Alberta that we will be on our trip (18,000km- we’ve traveled). Tomorrow marks the beginning of our journey home. We are looking forward to seeing and learning about much more of North America along the way. We are also looking forward to visiting with friends and family who will be visiting us for part of our trip during the New Year. As Christmas approaches, no amount of Christmas songs can make it feel “Merry & White”. No snow, flowers blooming, and temperatures of +27 just do not make it believable. Don’t get us wrong-green is terrific, but we all miss the snow!!!
There are a few birthday wishes…Auntie Theresa…Auntie Michawn…Michelle...Uncle Wayne... Kendra (can’t believe you’re 16!-just seems like yesterday you were licking the windows and pretending to be a kitty)

Love from the Hohn’s
p.s. Jay DOES NOT miss the snow!!

Disney Moments

Having the flu at Disney World is not fun.
Meeting Dale at the campfires sing-a-long makes it a little better!
Kass and Triana dressed as princesses to enjoy the last day at the park. Here they are at Minnie's House.
Here are the boys enjoying Minnie's House.
Fun on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Some Familar Faces

Animal Kingdom

Tigers for Mackenzie.
Owls for Jay- he also got to volunteer for an "owl encounter" at the Birds in Flight Show.
Bald Eagle
Eeyore...not really a wild creature-yet a soft and furry guy just the same.
The wildest animals were found frolicking in the parking lot at the end of the day.

Disney World

After going on Splash Mountain for the very first time...it was difficult to stay dry!
Our new wheels. Triana is actually a very good "little" driver.
See.....we are experiencing the same cold weather as everyone else in Alberta.
OK- we're not! +28 during our day at Disney's MGM park.

Darla's favorite ride can be seen in the background.

New favorite ride of Ryley, Kassidy, and Triana.

Triana was excited that she made the height requirement (by a hair-literally) and the roller coaster went upside down...three times!