Alicia Vazquez sent greetings to the club.
"Hello Newark Rotary Club, the PREMIERE Rotary Club in district 7120! I hope all is well with you and your loved ones. My husband and I have settled very well here in Beaumont, TX. We bought a house back in December and now live at Beaumont, TX (Editor's note: please get complete address from Jeff Patchen). Can't complain about the weather, we have been in the steady 70s and 80s the last few months and only two tornado warnings! Not having a winter with snow was very weird, but again, can't complain about not having to shovel snow.
Working at the Beaumont Public Library System is very different from working at the Newark Public Library. I work at two of the four branches running storytimes and programs for kids and teens. I am very happy to still be working in a library and being a Children's Librarian, but still miss the staff and families at the Newark Library. We have been eating lots of crawfish as that is a staple here with being so close to the ocean. We have seen alligators, including one that was 12ft long, while taking a walk at Cattail Marshes which has 900 acres of wetlands, 250+ species of birds, a boardwalk, botanical gardens, and a nature center.
We have visited Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, and taken a vacation to Daytona Beach, FL for Bike Week. We continue Geocaching and exploring the area. Beaumont offers so many amazing things to see and do. Beaumont is home of the Lucas gusher at Spindletop which struck oil in 1901 and blew for 9 days at a rate of 100,000 barrels of oil per day! There is a replica of the gusher at the Spindletop museum and during special events it gushes water as high as the oil did as a demonstration. Beaumont boasts the largest working fire hydrant, you can rent bikes to go on a mural tour, go kayaking at Big Thicket National Preserve, and of course Gator Country Adventure Park which houses Big Al and Big Tex weighing in over 1,000 pounds!
Lots of great things to do if you ever feel like coming down this way to visit! Though I am joining a new Rotary club, the Newark Club will always have a special place in my heart. I miss everyone greatly and hope to visit soon!"
-Alicia