By Linda Elissalde
Melissa and Jon Filkowski are our wonderful niece and nephew-in-law. They live in Richland, Washington. The Filkowskis and their fine children, Alina and Alexander Marcel, have visited us once before. Now Alina and Alex are all grown so Melissa and Jon came to visit us for a week before leaving on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony. What a grand time we enjoyed with two delightful relatives.
Multi-talented Melissa, like her mother and grandmother, is a superb chef. She created the best Jambalaya that I have ever tasted. Then she made roux so we could produce seafood gumbo. Marcel and I always “chicken out” too soon. Now, all we have to do is add liquid, shrimps, etc.
Jon’s hobby is creating sand art wherever he goes. He forms the name of the place in sand. Then he searches for items on that beach to decorate and represent a particular place. A photo of one past sand creation still adorns the CrystalBeach.com home page. Jon builds a new sign when he returns to a former spot. Someone ran over his newest formation on Crystal Beach, but he did not become angry. Jon just repaired it. Folk had their pictures taken standing behind this structure. It even lasted through several very high tides.
We delivered our relatives to the Galveston boarding area on Sunday and bid them a sad farewell along with a wish for Bon Voyage. We definitely miss these delightful relatives and look forward to a return visit. How lucky we are to have as guests the charming, talented Melissa and husband Jon who is CREATING SAND ART WHEREVER HE GOES!
