STAGE 7

NEW ORLEANS to HOUSTON

We waited and waited and waited for the limousine to arrive to take us to the airport. When 'it' finally arrived it looked like it belonged in the scrapheap! How embarassing... especially at the Sheraton! The woman driving apologised for being late, but not for the crummy car. The proper car was running behind.... by the time she arrived I didn't care if we'd had to leave on horseback!!

Of course to get to Houston we had to fly to Dallas first, then back to Houston! The flight system in the States leaves a lot to be desired!! The flights were almost uneventful... can you believe it! We had an hour's delay in Dallas on the runway, where I fell asleep and when I woke up I thought we'd landed in Houston.... dream on Jamie :-)

When we arrived in Houston it was really late.... around 7:30p.m. We'd been on the way for 10 hours! My Internet friend Barbara met us at the arrival gate, she had been waiting for an hour for us to arrive. My other cyber friend Betty couldn't make it to the airport so Barbara and her husband took us to their church for a Family Supper where we got to meet Betty and her husband as well.

Mum, unfortunately, was tired from the journey so we had to leave to check in to the hotel. Again, the cold was getting to her and causing problems. However we made plans to meet the next day.

HOLIDAY INN HOUSTON

JARED WAS TIRED TOO

We slept in the next morning and to save Barbara and Betty four one and a half hour trips travelling back and forth to Houston we suggested we go to a shopping centre called the Galleria which had a huge skating rink. I know Betty would have liked us to visit her home but we felt it was too much travelling in one day, not only for Mum but for Barbara and Betty as well.

BETTY AND BARBARA

The centre was fantastic. Jared had never skated before so, I got him a 15 minute lesson. He took to it so quickly and he spent 4 hours on the ice! It gave us all a chance to talk and take photos. We also made friends with a lady sitting next to us who took a group photo for us, and Jared was skating with her little girl.

JARED GETTING HIS SKATING LESSON.

It was lovely to meet the ladies and it's nice to be able to put a face to the emails now. We were to leave at 7:00 in the morning and head for San Francisco. The time had passed so quickly in Houston.

More Pics

.