August 22, 2000 Farmington, Utah

Here it is Tuesday again before I am writing my letter!!! I was going to write last night but then decided to go to bed early instead and so I was going to write early this morning - I went swimming early but it was SO nice that I swam for an hour instead of 30 minutes and then I just got super busy. My visiting teacher came and stayed for awhile and I had a beauty parlor appointment after she left and then I took Margaret to Salt Lake to get her new car and we had lunch together. I just came home - her new Mercedes silver convertible is beautiful and she is thrilled with it. This is the second one she has had - the first one kept having mechanical problems so she told them to get her another one. Things like that don't make me happy but maybe if I were in her financial position they would. She really is a very, very lovely woman who has her priorities right. She is hosting a young Chinese BYU student right now who has come from Canada to go to school.

There are not enough adjectives in the English language to adequately describe my "Florida vacation" last week - it was simply marvelous and I will never forget it and I appreciate so very much the goodness of the Woolley family for making it so special for me. I know it would have been so much easier and cheaper for them to go without me but they couldn't have been nicer - including Jessie, Russell, LeeAnna and Jimmy. I have missed being with them since I have moved from Orem and it meant a lot to me to be with them for quite a long time and in sometimes stressful situations.

I appreciate having Ricky take me to the airport last Wednesday and I was there right on time - 3:15 p.m. The Woolleys came shortly after I got there and we stayed in the ticket line and the gate at United for about an hour before boarding the plane. Right after we all got on board they announced they were having micro-bursts in Denver and planes were not allowed to land there so we were delayed about an hour in Salt Lake. We arrived in Denver over an hour late and our connection to New Orleans had left us. The next plane was scheduled to leave about midnight or 1 a.m. We really had a good time sightseeing Concourses A, B and C and trying to decide where to spend our dinner vouchers they had given us. Finally about 11 p.m. we were so sleepy some of us even slept on the floor of the airport.

THEN - we got on an airplane in Denver scheduled to go to Atlanta and I believe it was about 5 a.m. We were thrilled because the airplane didn't have many passengers and we could "stretch out" on the seats. We went to sleep only to be awakened shortly because they announced something was wrong with the airplane and we would have to change planes. We changed planes and again it wasn't very crowded so we went to sleep on the seats and it was just WONDERFUL.

We arrived in New Orleans probably about 7 a.m. and Ron went to get the van he had reserved - he had previously called from Atlanta to tell them he would be late in getting there and they charged him for this delay - ugh!!! THEN - we went to collect our luggage only to find out it had not followed us from Denver. We were disappointed but delighted that we didn't have to crowd the van with all the luggage from 7 people - Ha!!! The van was WONDERFUL and we were so comfortable and went to the French Quarters, Bourbon Street and other places of interest in New Orleans before starting out for Destin, Florida. We found the temperature outside SO hot and humid and we were happy in an air conditioned van.

The trip to Destin was four hours but the scenery was beautiful and we had good food and really enjoyed it. I still can't believe the lovely condo we had in Destin and I would recommend it to anyone - it was called the "Hidden Dunes" and it was right across the street from Doyle and Janet Reeves' gift shop and their home. We had three bedrooms with three baths and then a large roll away bed in the living room, and a very nice kitchen with all the luxuries including a washer and dryer. I had my own private bedroom and bath. It was right on the beach - we just walked out the door and down a wooden stairway to a gorgeous water front. It also had a big swimming pool.

Right after we arrived in our condo Steve and Susanna brought two huge boxes of "Krispy Kreme" donuts. The luggage still hadn't arrived and even though we kept calling United their promises were not kept. The Woolleys had planned to have a family picture taken on Friday morning but since they didn't have the clothes they wanted to wear they cancelled their appointment. When it hadn't arrived about noon on Friday we decided to go to the store and buy some bathing suits since the Reeves had invited us to go boating on their boats. This was such a MARVELOUS experience. Doyle and Janet have a very, very nice houseboat type boat and their son borrowed his father in law's skiing boat and they took us all over - I believe it was the Gulf of Mexico. I even snorkeled and saw all kinds of beautiful fish. Janet had planned lunch for us which was delicious. They took us along a beach where we saw the most elaborate huge homes I have ever seen.

They were SO thoughtful and brought along Janet's cousin to visit with me. Her name is Betty and she is such a sweet and fun, fun woman and we had a wonderful time together. Her husband has Alzheimer's disease but she has two women who care for him while she is gone. She is building a home close to the Reeves' home. I would like to go visit with her sometime.

We hurried after we got home to change clothes and get ready to go see a delightful settlement close to Destin that is named "Seaside". I couldn't find my glasses and that sweet Russell went back to my room and found them after lots of trouble - thank you Russell!!! That was very special and I'm SO glad we went - we had dinner in a darling restaurant and

Lee Anna ordered a fish dish that came with the head on and she had a hard time eating it - Ha!!! I keep thinking about some condos they are building in that area that are different from anything I have ever seen.

The next day - Saturday - our luggage had finally arrived so the Woolleys went to have their picture taken. It wasn't a good day - lots of wind and it had to be about 110 with 100 percent humidity. Annie said it would be a miracle if they turned out. We decided it would be a good time to go visit Janet's store and we could have stayed all day. She has some darling gifts and we LOVED it. Ann bought a beautiful pelican that she had to carry on her lap on the way home. I bought a palm tree napkin holder to match my kitchen - I have been using a green and red one in my blue kitchen. I will think of the Reeves' family each day I am in my kitchen.

The open house honoring Susanna and Steve was Saturday afternoon and it was simply WONDERFUL. The food was out of this world and I LOVED meeting their friends and family members who came. The Reeves' family is greatly loved and respected in their church and their community. Janet's sister, Phyllis, had driven 10 hours to come from Memphis to help and along with Betty their efforts were very visible - they had made many fruit kabobs. It was GREAT to meet and visit with Doyle's mother who lives close by them and she came to the open house. We went to their home later in the day to visit with his father who was unable to come. It was so very nice to have the wedding video showing all during the open house - that is a WONDERFUL video. I LOVE the Reeves' home - it is beautiful and they have a large swimming pool in their backyard. It was fun to meet the people who work for Janet in their stores - they have two, one in Destin and one in Navarre, a community close by. They all love her and you can tell they have a lot of fun.

Steve has a younger brother, Greg, who is a student at BYU and he and Jessie had fun together. We were thrilled to have him come to the condo and show Russell and Jimmy how to find "sand dollars" in the Gulf. They went out quite far and we worried about them but Ron was with them so we knew they wouldn't go out too far - they did find a sand dollar and I hope it arrived safely back in Provo. We cooked hamburgers and fixed cheese dip that night in our condo kitchen and that was fun. Janet, Betty and Phyllis came and brought over things from the open house and they were all delicious - I ate them for breakfast the next morning along with a "Key lime Pie" that Ron had bought. We were "well fed".

We checked out of our condo at 8 a.m. on Sunday and went to Ft. Walton Beach to attend church and it was just simply WONDERFUL. It reminded me of our days in Little Rock and it also made me grateful that we remained faithful under difficult circumstances - that sounds conceited and I don't want it to sound that way. A young lady gave a talk in the meeting we attended and she is a student at BYU and home in Destin for the Summer. I remember so well when Ann, Jean and Bob came home from BYU and gave similar talks.

After church we headed for New Orleans where we had reservations to spend the night before leaving to come home on Monday morning. I was impressed with the Woolley family when we arrived in our motel. It was about 4 p.m. and They had a meeting to decided what to do that evening - I personally thought we had done so many things that maybe we should just swim in the motel pool and go to bed. So much for that - they all voted after Jessie had presented all the things available and decided to go to "The Aquarium of the Americas" and the River Walk. Everything closed at 7 p.m. so we had to hurry but Ron didn't have any problems finding it and we were there by 6 p.m. I'm SO glad we went to that - we saw many, many kinds of fish - sharks included. It was even more interesting since we had just come from being on boats where we saw HUGE jellyfish and other kinds of ocean life - I LOVED IT!!!

THEN - we went to "Bourbon Street" to have dinner. Our dinner was delicious - each one of us tried a different kind of dish served typically in the South. Many had grits, gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp, and crab - Russell and I had hamburgers with "reumolaide"(sp.?) sauce. When we left the restaurant we found a terrific electric storm had hit the area while we were inside and it was just pouring down - a bolt of lightning just about hit us and it was frightening. We had about a mile to go to our car so we waited for a little while hoping it would stop raining but it didn't so we just walked in the rain. Just a little ways before we found our motel everyone decided we needed some ice cream SO we found a Baskin and Robbins place and had sundaes. FUN, FUN. FUN!!!

The next morning - Monday - we awakened early enough to have breakfast in the Fairfield Inn Motel and that was SO good - grits, donuts, cereal, etc. etc. We got to the airport in time and Ron got the van back and we headed back to our homes in Utah. We had a layover in Denver and it was fun to shop in the places in the airport!!!

Jeannie met us at the airport and I appreciated SO VERY MUCH her doing that to bring me home. I hope you're all doing GREAT - I'm anxious to get caught up on all of your "doings" while we have been gone. I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B XXXXOOO