A Busy Weekend

We were up early Saturday morning and off to J Tiger for the award ceremony knowing the place would be super crowded since family members would now be coming as well as some others who were getting other belts as well.

Ken and I got there before the rest of the family and in time to watch some of the final practices of various members of the staff and the drill group who were going to do some demonstrations prior to the ceremony itself.  What fun to watch all the various skills students have acquired while coming to the TaeKwonDo school.  Everything from demonstrating a kick that breaks wood to.....

Blindfolded Master Lee managing to kick an apple off a fork and splatter it everywhere!!

To his head instructor braking a board while doing a back flip blindfolded

But then came the ceremony itself.  All ages of kids and adult received various colored belts representing the steps they've completed toward the ultimate black belt.  For some that meant a new color of belt only, for others a new belt and new colored uniform, and for some those things plus a trophy for special accomplishments.

They all were reminded by Master Lee that what they had a achieved was not only because of their hard work and dedication but the support and dedication of their parents who provided the opportunity by bringing them and paying for the opportunity,  One thing Asians are good at is showing respect for elders and this was definitely being taught.  It could be seen in the bows of respect to the teachers and finally at the black belt ceremony all of the parents sitting at the front and the kids (note white uniforms in front) first bowing to them in thanks and then giving them a huge hug.

This white uniform was given to each person receiving their black belt and they were given time to put it on before continuing.  When their name was called they were presented with their black belt

which was tied on by Master Lee, then given a trophy for their achievement, and announced  as a winner of this high achievement to much had clapping and cheers.

Following the ceremony there was an opportunity for photos of families with their black belt winner

and new black belters with their instructors.

Anders and his dad are both car nuts and immediately wanted their picture taken by this amphibious car found out in the parking lot right by the studio.

We finally had a nice warm and sunny day so we took advantage of it to spend some time at the the Art in the Square which was taking place in the mall area by their hotel.  The variety of art was mind boggling and of course the kids wanted things like face painting

and opportunities to bounce in the bounce house or jump on the trampolines.

 Of course their was also all kinds of food.

Sunday the storms were back again but we were able to fill the day with Sunday School and worship, then a variety of activities including a soccer game between the drops, a celebration dinner with the championship soccer team

including the awarding of trophies, (not everyone gets two big trophies in the same weekend!)

and a trip to the house to check on things.  One of the things we discovered was this broken branch from one of their trees that narrowly missed the fence. The high winds of the storm apparently took it down and added just one more thing that needs to be taken care of.

Dagny Spends the Day

Dagny had a rather rough night while all the mess downstairs was being taken care of.  She even lost her dinner around the middle of the night.  The result was she couldn't go to school in the morning. Janet had an early conference call scheduled which was already going to be tough to do in the water logged office with all those fans blowing so we quickly got to their house and picked up Dagny and took her back to the motorhome for the day so mom and dad could do what they needed to do for their jobs as well as deal with the mess.

For the first part of the day she just wanted to cuddle on the coach and watch a video

But as the day wore on she was more and more interested in activity and even some food.  So we enjoyed finishing up the potholder she had been working on, coloring, playing games, and even going for a walk during the half hour break in the day long deluge of rain.

We then jumped in the car and headed back to her house to get Anders when he got off of the bus. Luckily he had no homework so we simply got back in the car and headed off for ice cream cones and a trip to the library while Dad and Mom continued to deal with work, adjusters, and finally packing suitcases because it was impossible to function in their house.  They were going to have to move into a hotel for the duration.  

To complicate life it was still pouring rain and the nearby hotel was in the mall area where an art fair was going to be held for the weekend.  Despite the rain it was almost impossible to find a parking place.  We ended up on the fourth floor of the parking structure a block or so from the hotel.

Once the moving process was complete, we had a late supper out and everyone tried to settle down in their new surroundings while we returned to our RV for the night.

Black Belt and Water

Our first full day in town we enjoyed some relaxation and catching up time in the early part of the day.  Then we drove to the kids house so we could spend some fun time with Anders and Dagny after they got out of school.  Karsten soon joined us from his daycare so we could all head over to Anders J Tiger TaeKwanDo School to watch him take his two hour long black belt test.  This was the final step to earning the belt.  He had other smaller tests and even had to do an essay notebook.  This is the first page

There were 18 candidates running from age 9 to a couple of adults for the test.  As a group they did some warmups together before getting started.

They they had to present themselves to Master Lee and declare how many "stripes" they had earned during their preparation period for the test.  Each time they master a move they get a red stripe on their belt.  You can see many of them on the belt in the picture above.  He had a total of 48 of them.

One requirement is doing a series of kicks and punches resulting in breaking two different boards from both a forward and backward position using the foot.

They each had to create a freestyle series of moves to music using many of the postions, kicks and punches they've learned up to this point.

In addition they are required to break a piece of granite about 2 inches thick with the palm of their hand.  The adults had to break a cement block 4 inches thick.

 This guy had them stack up 8 pieces and he broke through 6 of them!!!!!!

Sparring is another aspect of the test.  Anders and his partner had a very close contest.

 

Once the test was over and he knew he'd made it, he along with the rest of us decide to make a run to Chik-Fil-A for a little supper and celebration before calling it a night since everyone had to be up early tomorrow for school and work.

We arrived home to see water in the driveway. Oh No!!!  That didn't look good.  We quickly discovered the fitting for the water hose for the washer had broken and water was gushing out into the kitchen.  Jack quickly shut it off and then we went in to see what had happened.  Disaster!!!! There was a minimum of 2 inches of water throughout the first floor of the house including Janet's office (she works from home), the family room and living room, the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, guest bedroom and of course, the laundry room.  It must have broken almost immediately after we left to have done that much.

Carolyn quickly got to work with a broom shoving water out the door in the laundry room, while Janet called Serve Pro for professional help and Jack called the insurance.  Then they settled the kids down in bed as best they could while we continued to shove water out the available doors.

The company finally arrived about 10:00 pm, we left but Jack and Janet were up till two in the morning while the guys removed the remaining water we'd not gotten out, got furniture up on blocks, got things off the floor, throwing some stuff out and putting other stuff up to drip and dry.  Then they put 57 fans, 2 dehumidifies and a power distribution box on the floors and started them up.  What a roar!!!!! They were told it would take a minimum of 5 days to get the floors and walls dried. 

We Continued West

We left Mobile, actually Theodore was the location or our campground, and headed northwest making a stop in Monroe, Louisiana for the night and then on to Roanoke, Texas a suburb not far from Dallas and the campground that puts us just 20 minutes from our youngest daughter's home in Southlake. It was wonderful to see Janet and Jack again (we had visited at Christmas) and enjoy the hugs and laughter of our three grandchildren Anders (9), Dagny (6) and Karsten (18 months).

As we traveled through Louisiana we passed fields of yellow wild flowers along the expressway

putting lots of sunshine in a rather dreary looking day.

Sadly we missed the blue bonnets that stretch sometimes for miles along the roads in Texas but there were some smatterings of red, yellow, white and pink wild flowers.  It made for a pretty drive.

After we arrived we had the fun of playing in the backyard on the trampoline and swings getting a chance to have a little outdoor fun with the kids.  Here you can see that I even got in the action a bit with Dagny climbing on the trampoline, sweeping it down and doing a few fun things with her.

She is taking gymnastics so we even practiced running, leaping somersaults 

Discovering the Mobile Bay Area

We were up early today as we were eager to see as much of the Mobile Bay area as possible in one day since we have to leave here in the early tomorrow.  Our first stop was the Mobile Carnival Museum in the Historical area.

WOW!  We had no idea what was behind Mardi Gras nor the fact that it all started in Mobile, not New Orleans.

Did you know that Mardi Gras was first observed in the new world in 1703?  While it was nothing like the celebrations today, it was held in the first settlement of Mobile.  The first masked parading happened in 1830 when some men who later formed the Cowbellion de Rakin Society grabbed rakes, shovels and other tools on a New Year's Eve and started yelling and parading about in their New Year's Eve finery.  They continued doing this for several years before others decided to form their own organization and also carry on as these men were.  Now there are over 50 parading and non parading groups with such names as the Polka Dot Ladies, Santa Claus Society, Order of the Inca, etc. Each of these organizations has its own requirements of joining and putting on parades and balls all associated with the carnival.  The members not only pay for all of their own outfits but pay for the floats for the parades, the things they throw, the dinners and coronations they hold, and any other costs that are incurred during the Mardi Gras celebrations which go on for 3 weeks.  The amount of money spent is mind boggling when you realize that outfits run into the thousands - especially the ones worn by the kings and queens.

The woman who greeted us at the gift shop attached to the museum and collected our money for a tour was a queen many years ago.  Her robe, dress, crown are now on display.  Many of the past "royalty" have loaned their outfits so they can get a tax deduction rather than store it all at home. For that we were grateful since we could get a chance to see some of the finery. This is just one example of a "robe" worn by one of the queens for the coronation, parade and dinner party.  She probably spent upwards of $10,000 or more making it and it weighs around 25 pounds so it took a great deal of effort to wear it and walk in it gracefully.  Each of these is meant to tell something about the person who is wearing it. You can tell gardening was important to her.

This shot gives an idea of the detail. And yes that is fur around the edge.

The kings finery is just as elaborate.

Even children are involved playing the part of pages in elaborate outfits.

Only in recent years have people sometimes borrowed or rented some of their attire.  Sill most want there own personally designed and made outfits which can cost more than a car!!!

Some of the organizations put humor in their choices gear such as this group that honors an Indian that is now buried in the nearby historical cemetery where only those with a loved one buried there can go.  To get around that they dress up a lady as his dearly departed widow (he now has many) and also as his mistress (he now has many).  It is apparently quite an elaborate event to attend looking over the fence into the graveyard.

At one time they had a child king and child queen with all the pomp of the adult courts including upwards to 100 children all in courtly clothes.  This is an example of a former child king.

After spending a couple of hours touring the rooms and ooing and ahing over all the outfits, we decided to walk around he area just to take in some of the beautiful old buildings and homes. The wrought iron balconys are mindful of New Orleans

There were several parks in the area including this one dedicated to the Spanish, founders of the area.

With lots of statuary, ornate benches and greenery.  Most of the parks have lots of azalea bushes that must have been spectacular to see just a few weeks ago.  Now only a lonely blossom here and there remains.

Queen Isabella who gave Colombus the jewels to help pay for his explorations still has beads on her head from the last Mardi Gras.

In this same area is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception build in 1835 with a gorgeous green in front of it with fountains, greenery and benches.

Lovely stained glass windows line each side aisle wall.

This put us on Dauphin Street where where many of the old homes and buildings have been converted to shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed lunch at Spot of Tea where  we could sit outdoors along the narrow street and just enjoy our surroundings.

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In this same area is Fort Conde built by the French between 1723 and 1735, It is shaped in the form of a four-sided star.  The British won the French and Indian War and took over.  The Spanish then captured the area during the American Revolution.  Eventually the Americans won the area and the fort fell into their hands.  It was demolished in the 1820s so the prime land could be used for homes and shops.  The foundation was found in 1976 when the huge tunnel entry into Mobile was being built.  The original plans were found and a section of the fort rebuilt on top of the tunnels to be used as a Visitor Center and part of the History Museum which is in the next block.

While a the Visitor Center we got a copy of the Oyster Shell Trail and fun finding some of the 24 decorative shells that now are placed around the area telling the ecological and economic benefit oysters provide to Mobile Bay.

From there we decided to drive to Dauphin Island which sits out in the Gulf of Mexico with the other side on Mobile Bay.  It is a very skinny island with several neat places to visit but by the time we got there the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, Sea Lab, and Fort Gaines were closed for the day.  Still we could get great views of the water from the western end public beach and eastern end ferry landing.  We counted 14 gas off shore wells.  

 Saw the fort from the outside

Enjoyed watching the birds

While waiting for a beautiful sunset that again couldn't happen because of the heavy cloud cover.

So ended our time in Mobile but we now know there is lots more to see and good reasons for returning again some day.