Florida Jan. 2009

On January 1 we decided to head to Florida for a couple of weeks for warmer days. We found most days to be in the 70's or even the 80's.

One day we went to Blue Springs State Park where many manatees spend the winter. Manatees need water temperature about 70 degrees - they have only a thin layer of blubber so they don't stay warm if the water isn't warm. If temps get down to 65 or below, the manatee will become stressed, become hypothermic and die. They live in shallow water and eat as much as 150 pounds of food each day. We also took a boat ride in this park and saw many varieties of birds along with alligators and turtles.

One day we decided to go to Epcot where we visited exhibits from many countries. We had dinner at the German Restaurant, Bier Garten where we had good food and interesting entertainment.

We also visited Homosassa State Park. This park is set up with pens and cages for fox, bear, a 48 year old hippo, alligators. In the center of the park is a large area where there are many birds - flamingos, herons, ibis, egrets, owls, whooping cranes, wood ducks and anhingas along with eagles and many other birds. They were in an enclosed area, but many were able to fly out and were sitting in trees or on the path. In an underwater observatory, we could see fish manatees and anhingas. A couple times each day someone feeds the manatees and talks about their habits and life span.

Then we headed for the Atlantic and fortunately the weather was very nice. At Daytona Beach, we were able to drive our car on the beach and also took walks. We saw the tallest lighthouse in Florida - Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. The 203 steps to the top seemed like a greater challenge than we wanted to take so we just took pictures from the bottom.

CRWRC project II - Quad Cities

This CRWRC team worked in the Quad Cities area from November 8 to 22. All were from West Michigan except one couple from the Munster, Indiana area. We worked out of the United Way building. One of the last nights they presented us with pizza. The men received a John Deere hat and the women received a plaque made by Isabel Bloom from the Quad Cities area. In the Quad Cities area, the Mississippi River runs from East to West, the only part of the river that does run in that direction.

Our team leaders were John and Ginny Swierenga from Holland Michigan. They both retired as teachers from the Holland Christian Schools.

One day we visited Arsenal Island which is a 900+ acre Island in the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois established in 1816. They serve as the largest employer in the Quad Cities area manufacturing artillery, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, small arms, aircraft weapons subsystems, grenade launchers, and weapons simulators. The most successful are the M198 and M119 towed howitzers and the M1A1 gun mounts. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians work there. During the Civil War the island was home to a confederate prison camp. Almost 2,000 prisoners died while interred there, creating the need for the Confederate Cemetery. A museum gives many tidbits of information about guns as they were used through the years.

One day we had to work along the S. Concord road right along the Mississippi River and found hunderds of white pelicans along with many ducks, even a few buffleheads.

While on this trip, we celebrated our 41st anniversary. The team surprised us with a fruit pizza which we shared with everyone.

CRWRC Trip II

November, 2008, we spent two weeks in Davenport, Iowa. The first week was spent surveying Illinois cities on the south side of the Mississippi River trying to find people who had damage in earlier floods and straight line winds.

The second week we will canvass the Iowa Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf.

This area of the country is John Deere country. In the mid 1800's they started building farm machinery and today are known as the pride of any farmer. Shown are the old and new of John Deere tractors.

On Sunday we were able to meet with friends Harry and Nancy Olthoff for brunch. We had spent many hours together in our younger years and spent four hours trying to catch up for the last twenty years. Harry and Nancy currently live in Iowa City, Iowa.

Galveston Tx

I am on a work trip in Texas, and I spent my Sunday in Galveston. About a month ago, the Galveston area was hit with a hurricane. I am amazed at the power of the wind and water. The damage here is very extensive, and yet I am surprised at how many large resorts and hotels survived. Judy and I spent some time here last summer, so I remember how it looked then. I have taken some pictures to give an idea of what a hurricane can do.
The first picture is of what use to be a large shell and souvenir dealer which was built over the water on pilings. There was another restaurant right next to this pier, and you can't see any evidence of that structure at all.
The second is a boat in the middle of the road. There were many of these boats scattered along the highway coming on to the Island, and others on the Island itself. You can see one of these where a large boat was moved by the water into a building, and the building came down on the boat.
You can see a large fishing boat in the parking lot of a restaurant that we ate at. I have no idea how it got there as the water is on the other side of the restaurant. This last picture is of a large truck that is from out of state that is cleaning up all the trash along side of the roads.

Back home again

We arrived home from Iowa on Saturday afternoon, October 11 after spending two weeks gathering information about disastrous events in the northeastern Iowa area. A tornado came through at the end of May followed by floods the beginning of June - a number of people were affected by both. We interviewed persons who told us about the events and how they were affected by them. Our group of ten, called the green shirts, jotted down the information gathered, which was in turn passed on to their county coalition who should be able give them some of the help they need. A priority right now is the need for a furnace and some still need a hot water heater four months after the disaster.

It was good to be back home and watch the sun rise over our small lake on Sunday morning causing us to praise God for the many blessings we have and blessings received after talking the victims of the disaster. Continue to pray for victims as they recover.

We love the prices of gas in Iowa. Unleaded gas was at $3.09 with an ethanol gas at $2.57.

Hope Michigan prices have gone down since we left.

We moved to Cedar Falls on Friday, Oct 3 and have been working in New Hartford and Shell Rock. New Hartford was hit by a tornado that hit Parkersburg and then two weeks later was covered by a flood. New Hartford is a rather depressed area so these hits were devastating to their economy. Yesterday I talked to a 50 year old lady who was at Mayo Clinic with her 21 year old son who was diagnosed with testicular cancer. She lost her house and two out building plus she has the medical bills and stress from all of the recent events. We hear many stories - most are very resiliant and are able to work hard to recover. Some homes are on the buyout list, but that takes an average of 12-18 months which leaves people in limbo.

This picture is of the a bank in Parkersburg, IA. All that is left is the vault and the metal poles for the drive-thru. A temporary bank has been set up in a trailer.

We were interviewed for a TV station while canvassing in the rain. We did not see the spot so we don't know if it aired or not. We weren't looking our best, but no one here knows us anyway.

Volunteering in Iowa

We are spending two weeks in Iowa for CRWRC disaster relief. The first week, we spent canvassing the area trying to determine needs from the June 11 flood. This house was in our territory . A single man lived here and we found out from others that he was a pack rat - this is what is left after the city removed several loads earlier.

We heard lots of stories from the local people. One family had the foresight and materials to remove their furnace, hot water heater, washer and dryer from their basement to a truck before the flood came. After they cleaned their basement, they moved the items back in place and were ready for living. 970 homes were affected, some with flood water and others with sewage. Foundations were washed out as in the case of the pictured home, most had water in the basement and many were displaced after water entered their first floor. Most had insurance, many were helped by FEMA and other organizations. We found most people were working hard to finalize their living quarters - a few still needed furnaces. We passed the information we gathered to a city coalition who will follow up on this information.

Next week we will be working in the Cedar Falls area doing the same type of work.