Family Visit in Pearl River

December 26-30, 2022

Having enjoyed Christmas day with Mark and our church family, we noted with encouragement that the weather crisis was calming and started thinking about renewing our plans to go to Pearl River. Our suitcase was still partly packed and we had done quite a bit of preparation earlier in the week, so we got busy and finished preparation and headed out on the morning of December 26.

We had a smooth trip down to Pearl River and arrived at Judy Moyle's around 3pm Louisiana time. Judy had invited us to stay with her, so we unpacked there and after a time of visiting with her, we went to the Radio Road house and visited with Jeff and Darla. They were busy with installing some of the revolution ply ceiling in a part of their suite.

We had the treasured opportunity to visit with all three girls on the occasion of Elyse's 18th birthday, so we planned to go out to dinner at the Japanese Hibachi restaurant SOGO where we had dined twice before. Jeff and Darla came to Judy's and drove our van with us and Jordan to the restaurant, and were joined there by Ashleigh and Elyse.

We had this rare opportunity to visit with all three Granddaughters, and we didn't know when we would again have such a privilege. That motivated our trip, and we were delighted to have a time of visiting at the restaurant while we were waiting for our table. Jordan was with us, but was rising at 3AM for a flight to California for a skiing trip with Luke and his parents. Elyse was working each day at the Deng tea shop, and had just gotten off work. Ashleigh joined us for the evening, but had work to do on her break from her 3rd year in LSU Medical School.

This was a treasured time for Rod and Brenda to be together with the girls and we were very excited about getting to relax and visit together.

Seated at our table where the food will be cooked and served.

We watched the beginning of the food preparation after having chosen our meat. The combination cook and entertainer cooks right on the metal surface before us. He demonstrated the type of open flame cooking which can be used on the surface under the large metal hood. But the main cooking was done on the heated metal surface.

The food was very well seasoned and very good, and we had enough for at least one additional meal at home.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we spent a good bit of time at the property and it was interesting to see the progress they have made. We had supper with Jeff and Darla, and got to spend a little time with Ashleigh.

On Thursday they had a scheduled soccer game for Elyse as player and Darla as coach. The spectator seating was across the field from the teams, so the only picture I got was this one of Elyse and Jeff Moyle leaving the field.

Elyse had told us that the team they were playing was very good and that they would most likely lose. The team from Ouachita Parrish were good and looked better than Pearl River in the first half, but it was 2-2 at the half. In the second half Pearl River looked better and got one goal to win 3-2. Jeff Moyle has been faithful as a volunteer coach all these years with his sister Darla.

We had supper with Jeff and Darla again on Thursday night and then left from Judy's the next morning for our trip home. Almost immediately upon leaving Pearl River northward on I-59, we were struck by a violent thunderstorm. I judge that it was the second-worst thunderstorm I have ever driven through with high wind and sheets of rain sweeping across the expressway for 50 miles. That took us an hour because I could drive only about 50mph because of the limited visibility. Then there was pouring rain for another 150 miles until about 50 miles past Meridian, Mississippi before it calmed down and gave us mild weather and no rain the rest of the way home.