(click on photos to enlarge)
We left Olathe, Kansas this morning at 6:45am (my schedule) and arrived in Richardson, Texas at 4:00pm on schedule. Long day of driving. Roads were excellent until we got to Oklahoma City. The roads were very wet...hard to pass semi trucks with all the spray. They really got hit by that ice and snow storm. When we went under the underpasses there was at least six inches of ice still froze to the road because the sun couldn't reach under the underpasses...had to be careful.
Snow plow in Oklahoma City.
This is what the sides of the road looked like...the roads were wet but mostly cleared.
Just an example of the snow in Oklahoma City on I35...
Outside of Oklahoma City I stopped at a rest area to call back Jennifer...this is what the rest area looked like.
Someone didn't quite stay on the road...we saw several cars in the ditches.
Entering Texas...Proud Home of President George W. Bush.
Arrived in Richardson, Texas. Yes, these are pansies in the front of my Aunt's residence.
Just in case you forgot what green grass looks like.
I just had to let you really, really see that, yes, it was 55 degress ABOVE zero in Richardson, Texas!
We went through the outside of Dallas during rush hour...lots and lots and lots of traffice...but we made it! I still do not know which is worse Dallas traffic or Kansas City traffic.
Tomorrow is a "down day"....not sure what is planned.
I am attaching my Uncle's obituary (mainly for my family to read).
William Bruce Ravell
Ravell, William Bruce Bill was the first of two sons, born in Ennis, Texas on May 16, 1922, to the late Dee Ravell and Ollie (Newman) Ravell. Bill passed away on January 24, 2009 in Plano, Texas. He graduated from Ennis High School in 1939. After high school he worked in print shops until World War II when he enlisted in the Navy as a Naval Aviator, after his training in the Naval Aviation Cadet V-5 Training Program in 1942 he flew eighty-four missions during the invasions of the Marshalls, Marianas, Philippines and Iwo Jima. He was stationed in the Pacific, flying four engine bombers and was Honorably discharged as Lieutenant (jg) from US Navy reserve in June 1946. After coming home from the war, Bill, also known as Pierre by his children and grandchildren, married Marie Bennett in 1947. She brought two young daughters Betty and Billie to the marriage. In 1949 they had a son William Kenneth, and added a daughter Pam in 1950. In the mid 1950's Bill built a sailboat that he and his family enjoyed on local lakes for several years. Bill and his family were active in a club dedicated to the preservation and restoration of theater pipe organs. In the early 1960's he and his stepdaughter, Billie spent many nights at the Palace Theater in downtown Dallas restoring the pipe organs as the movies played. Bill's children had particularly fond memories of their many family vacations that spanned the U.S. from coast to coast in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1976 Bill married Inez L. Teefy, a Professor Emeritus at Texas Women's University. They spent many happy years together. After their retirement they traveled the world, taking cruises, visiting family and friends, and attended square dancing tournaments. They also enjoyed the Arts in the Dallas area. In the late 1940's Bill came to Dallas to study Commercial Art and Industrial Design at S.M.U. and graduated from Youngs Commercial Art School. Bill worked for Geophysical Services Incorporated, which later became Texas Instruments in 1952 becoming an Industrial Designer, in the Advanced Design Group of the Electro-Optics Division until his retirement in 1987. During his 35 years with T.I., he worked on a variety of commercial, military and NASA projects developing many designs and processes. During his tenure at T.I., his most notable contributions were on the NASA Voyager 1 and 2 Spacecraft cameras which sent back vivid images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and their Satellites. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Thomas Dee Ravell and his beloved Aunt Ruth. He is survived by his loving wife Inez; his two children, William Kenneth Ravell and Pamela Marie Readel from his marriage to Marie and several grandchildren and great grandchildren that Bill loved very much. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 2:00 P.M. at Sparkman/Richardson Funeral Home. If desired, memorials may be made to a charity of your choice. Internment of his ashes will be in the family plot at Fulkenberry Cemetery, Groesbeck, Texas at a later date. "There, in the twilight cold and gray, Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay, And from the sky, serene and far, A voice fell, like a falling star, Excelsior!"
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