Harlingen, Texas

Following the Health Assembly, Nila and I traveled 4 hours south to Harlingen Texas to visit her folks. Her dad had recently been hospitalized for a month and was home just in time for her visit. It was so much fun to listen to them visit and share old stories. Her dad and Eileen took us to dinner and this was one of my favorite moments of the week. She has wonderful parents and it is comfortable and great fun to be with them for these couple of days. We will leave in the morning and head to Corpus Christi.

Nila and I visited the Iwo Jima memorial in Harlingen. We saw an excellent film of the history of the war and walked through the museum.

This is the original model of the Iwo Jima Memorial that is in Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC. This is the clay sculpture that the bronze statue in Arlington Cemetery is made from. The detail is incredible.

As I took these pictures, the sun was just ready to peek over the top of the statue. It was a powerful moment!

After lunch at The Lost Galleon, Nila, her dad and I drove to South Padre Island. Nila could hardly contain herself after arriving at the very end of the island. She RAN through the sand to get her feet into the Gulf of Mexico.

This girl loves the water! I'm soooo glad that she brought the car to a complete stop before she jumped out and started her run!