Thanks so much for visiting our travel blog. We hope that you enjoy reading about our adventures as much as we're enjoying living them. Let us know what you think - leave a comment or two.
This was a full day - full of being grateful for so many things. I am grateful for: being able to get up and exercise even though it's not my favorite thing to do; seeing the sun come up after a couple of overcast days; knowing that I am loved; and the list goes on and on and on . . .
Most importantly, today I am grateful to live in a country that allows its people to disagree with each other and the government without concern for their safety, a country that welcomes others in to share in the wealth of it and where I can openly worship my way. I am grateful for those men and women who have fought (some having died) for me to continue to live freely.
To each and every man and woman who have served and are still serving, in our military, THANK YOU. To "my" soldier, my son, who is currently deployed to Iraq: I am proud to be your mother. And lastly, to the unsung heroes, the spouses of these men and women, thank you for holding the homefront while your husbands/wives are serving.
We had beautiful weather today which was a lovely change from the last couple of days. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and there was a breeze. Glorious.
About 3pm today our good friends, Russ & Pat, pulled into the park! YAY!! We walked over to greet them, got our hugs, then left them alone to set up. There's nothing worse than having an audience while you're trying to do that! :) We made plans to go to dinner once they were finished. So, a little past 5pm, they were finished and we headed out to The Shrimp Basket for their all-you-can-eat shrimp dinners. Yummy.
We had a wonderful time at dinner, catching up with each other's adventures since we last saw each other - in April! Of course, we didn't hear about everything, but we have lots of time over the next couple of weeks. Russ & Pat are going to join us for Pickers dulcimer group tomorrow. That'll be fun. Pat plays the dulcimer and Russ plays the guitar, they will fit right in.
A fantastic day, I'd say! Until the next time . . .
At least it for us. We both said that we'd had more wind and more rain in some thunderstorms. The rain stopped sometime in the middle of the night and that was when it was supposed to be the worst. NOT that I'm complaining, mind you!!
I believe my East Coast buddies/family are starting to feel the leftovers of Ida. Sorry 'bout that, folks! Hope everyone stays dry and safe.
It did drizzle on and off most of today. But, I still had to get out. We'd been hanging around the rig for the past three days and I was starting to get a little cabin fever. We had stayed home over the weekend (except for church) and it was nice to have nothing planned. Of course, yesterday we were on storm watch so we didn't go anywhere. I was MORE than ready to do something today.
So, we went shopping. Yes, you read that right - shopping. I know; you're thinking I definitely must have been a little feverish to want to go shopping, but we had to. We needed to get Kevin's birthday presents so we can get them in the mail to him. Plus we were able to check off a few more Christmas presents.
Then, Randy surprised me by wanting to go to Big Daddy's for a late lunch/very early dinner. He usually doesn't initiate going out or specifying where he wants to go, so that's why I was surprised. Of course, I didn't say no! ;) So, we had a scrumptious meal - we got our usual for Big Daddy's - the mega burger for Randy and blackened shrimp for me. Yummy!
Tonight Randy's at Pops rehearsal and I'm at home. The wind is more fierce tonight than it was last night. Weird. Russ & Pat are due in tomorrow so we're excited about that. We'll be having some good times over the next couple of weeks with them.
That's about all from our world. Hope yours is good. Until the next time . . .
Tropical Storm Ida is on her way inland and heading toward Pensacola. Some of our friends decided to get the heck out of Dodge and left this morning, heading west. We decided to stay put for a couple of reasons: one of our slides will not retract, so that's a huge impediment to moving plus Ida was downgraded and the predicted wind gusts have lessened. We'll see what happens!
Right now we're getting rain and some wind. The worst is supposed to come during the night. Guess we'll be rocked to sleep. :)
This has been one lazy weekend! Yesterday the only productive thing I did was laundry - and that was done before 8am! We had absolutely nothing else planned for the day and that's exactly what we did.
There was lots of cross stitching, computer reading, and TV watching going on, but that's it. Oh, and yes, to end the day, we sat by the fire with neighbors for a bit as well.
This morning we got up and readied ourselves to go to early service in anticipation of Russ & Pat getting here this evening. Well, just a half hour before we left for church, Pat called and told Randy they weren't coming because of concern about Tropical Storm Ida. I couldn't believe how disappointed I was!! So, I called back to see if there was any way they could just delay a couple of days and come later in the week. I talked to Russ and he said they were talking about that and would get back to us.
We went on to church and once again, found it to be uplifting and soul-satisfying. The family pastor spoke today and he brought another great message. Yes, I think we've found a home. There is a information class next Sunday and we plan to attend.
Russ & Pat called while we were in church to let us know they decided to sit tight where they are and come here on Wednesday. YAY!!! I am so delighted with this decision. They have become such precious friends and I so want to spend time with them. Now, let's pray that Ida doesn't do anything weird to spoil these plans.
We were going to have Russ & Pat in for dinner this evening so I had planned crockpot enchiladas. Since I'd already had all the ingredients ready, I went ahead and made it anyway. It's been a while since we've had it and I'd forgotten how good it is. :) We ate about 4:30 so that we could be ready for the ice cream social at 6pm.
As usual the ice cream social involves what else? lots of socializing! :) We even had music this evening by some folks in the park. A nice way to end the evening.
Now, we're back home, relaxing in our recliners and settled for the night. The next couple of days will be interesting as we watch Ida's progress.
Got up feeling much better this morning! Of course, I don't think I could have felt a whole lot worse than I did when I went to bed. Well, I guess, I could have, but I'm glad I didn't! :)
Got out to Curves first thing 'cause we were going out with Darrell & Judy at 9am. I had to get to Curves, get back and get showered by then, so I had to move. And I did it! I actually had some time to sit and drink a cup of coffee, too.
Earlier this week we had made plans with Darrell & Judy to go to breakfast then meander around Heritage Harbor Days at Foley Park. This is an annual event that exhibits the highlights of living and playing in Baldwin County. Randy & I had gone last year, too.
The four of us started our "date" with breakfast at the Foley Coffee Shop. Randy & I often go here, but it was Darrell & Judy's first time. We enjoyed our meal and each other's company - as usual. :)
The coffee shop is right across the street from Foley Park, so that was convenient. Before walking around the festival, I went to the post office to mail a package. Once that was done, it was time to see what was doing at the festival.
The park has some beautiful flowers. Don't think the pictures do them justice, though.
Now, I'm not sure if it's because Randy & I had been to this event before or because it was early on Friday, the first day of the event, but it wasn't very exciting. We thought there would be music going on and vendors galore. The musicians were just setting up as were the vendors. I was a bit disappointed; figured when an event advertises its starting time that means all vendors, musicians, food services, etc., would be up and running. Oh, well. It looked like it was pretty much just like last year, so I don't think we missed anything.
Randy did enjoy the tractors, though. Seems they never get old.
Also on the park property is the train museum which houses a fascinating "O" gauge model train set up. This is a really neat exhibit! The attention to detail is amazing. It even had a drive-in theater where The Andy Griffith Show was playing onscreen! I think we could have looked over the exhibit for hours and not seen everything.
On the way to the train museum, Darrell got "on board" with the idea. :)
From the park we made a stop at WalMart to pick up a bicycle seat, if they had one. They did and we bought it. I was given a bike and needed to get a better seat for it. Now all I have to do is start riding it. :)
After WalMart, we took a ride to find an historic home we'd heard about - Swift Coles House that sits on the Bon Secour River. Boy, was that a disappointment. We didn't even bother going in. It's obvious it's in the renovation stages and, maybe it's nicer on the inside, but from the outside, it wasn't very impressive.
The afternoon was spent on the patio in the lounger (me) and in front of the TV (Randy). Randy also had a psaltry jam session. He's playing every Friday afternoon with a few other folks. He says he's determined to master it. :)
Pizza for dinner and Friday night TV. Boy, how exciting are we! ;) Nothing planned for tomorrow - just laundry. Sunday Russ & Pat are due in the park; can't wait for that!
Since I felt like crud most of today due to a migraine, I'm going to share some pictures that make me smile. Hope they make you smile, too!
Kevin & Sara posed for "Old Tyme" pictures before Kev deployed. Cute, huh?
Our son-in-law, Jason, recently built a deck off of their kitchen. Reagan helped, of course. And isn't this what all of the stylin' deck builders are wearing these days?
My daddy turns 81 years old today and he is still kickin' it pretty darn good. He's the best and I hope he know just how loved he is!
Yesterday and today have been pretty easy-going days. The weather has been absolutely fantastic. Waking up to temps in the 40s in the morning and then 70s and sunny the rest of the day. Can't beat that.
I played music with Jam N Folks in the morning yesterday and then spent the afternoon in my lounge chair on the patio.
Dinner was at the clubhouse - enchilada casserole. Yummy. You just can't beat dinners at our clubhouse. For $5/person we got a huge portion of casserole, salad, drink, and dessert. And there was enough for seconds, if you wanted. Of course, Randy wanted and got another huge plateful. The cook, Larry, does a great job of finding, and cooking, tasty meals.
After dinner, Randy headed out to Pops rehearsal. They're gearing up for their Christmas program. If it's half as good as last year, it will be great! I just came home, practiced my dulcimer for a bit (I'm working on a song for our festival in March) and then watched some TV shows I'd recorded. Randy got home about 9:15ish.
Today was even more laid back. I went to Curves first thing then came home to watch some morning news and do some reading on the computer. Gotta keep up with my RVing friends! :) I also did some cross stitching.
In the afternoon I went over to the clubhouse for a music jam. We've got lots of talented folks in our park! After a couple of hours, I was back home and found my way once more to the patio - armed with a book and a glass of iced tea! :) I think I napped more than I read!
Randy seems to keep himself busy between the computer and the TV. He also finds little jobs around the RV to do. I came back from the music jam to him cleaning the filters in the A/C units. I never know what he's going to be doing. :)
This evening we've done the usual - watching TV. Dinner was a chicken, ham & rice casserole dish with salad.
Tomorrow is another music day. Always a fun day. :)
We have been full-time RVing since mid-2004 and are loving our life! We like to say that we are living the Lonestar song which says we are "chasing our dreams down the interstate!" We use this blog to journal about the places we see and the thoughts we have about them. We don't know how long we'll be on the road, but we'll keep at it until we don't want to do it anymore. It's a great life being able to travel with your best friend who also just happens to be your spouse!
