We have graduated....

We are still enjoying our time in the Gulf Shores area, although the weather has been cooler like everywhere else.   Some days are chilly and dreary but we are still getting our fair share of 70 degrees and sunshine, just not everyday like we want.

Events are starting to pick up at the campground and will continue even more once all of the snowbirds arrive after the first of the year.

We have been attending a few pot luck dinners, movie night, poker night, craft workshops and the annual
Christmas tree decorating party.

We have met a couple from Wisconsin who like to play hand & foot, so we meet at the clubhouse for competition...husbands vs wives.

We have also met another nice couple and she is into crafts so we are exchanging our ideas on making earrings, zentangling, card making and kumihimo.  

Speaking of Christmas trees, we have graduated to a larger tree this year...wooohooo!!!

We put our one foot tree to rest and now have a "huge" 3 foot tree.    Room in the coach is not as much as a problem as storage after the fact.

Other than going out to eat a few times, the mundane chores of everyday life and Christmas shopping we are pretty much just relaxing and enjoying life!


Hope all is well!
Merry Christmas to all.

You know you are in the South when...

* you see a  field of  cotton....

*or you see this "A"....

when Ron sees someone with this emblem on a hat, he always asks if they are Atlanta Braves fans...he knows good and well that  this is the logo for Alabama University's football team...Crimson Tide, but does it just to get a rise out of  these college football enthusiasts.

* you attend Oyster cook-offs instead of Chili cook offs....

* one syllable words become three syllable words....  it takes a few minutes to understand what they are saying, even though you are pretty sure you are both speaking English.

* anyone who doesn't know you  addresses you as "ma'am"   (this really makes me feel old especially if they are close to my age)

   or when those who do  know you call you "Miz Joan".

* life is a bit calmer and slower...

* the farmers markets sell an abundance of mustard greens, turnip greens and black eye peas....but never heard of bok-choy.

* a cashier says “have a blessed day” and you can only think  “peace be with you" because that is the only religious phrase that has stuck with you after  years of attending Catholic school/church.

* you  still  see Confederate flags flying

* they don't think their tea is sweet enough as your gagging on a sugar drink with a little tea added.

But us Yankees are really enjoying our stay here in L.A. (lower Alabama)

Hope all is well!!

Sunrise...sunset with oysters and songwriters in between

Last weekend started with a beautiful sunrise:

We spent the afternoon at the 6th annual Oyster cook-off.  It is held on the white sands of the Alabama coastline and this year was hosted by The Hangout restaurant.   There is no charge to get in and then you can purchase a book of 20 tickets for $30.00.   Beer, wine, Bloody Mary's and champagne cost 3 tickets and one oyster for one ticket. .      My favorite are the ones cooked (especially if fried...of course) with lots of extras on top...cheese, spinach, ham or bacon bits, sauces etc.   But you have to like oysters because unless you go inside to eat all you can buy are oysters and if you were lucky you found a couple of tents that offered saltine crackers!     Over 46 celebrity chefs competed for combined total prizes of $10,000.

Looks crowded, but it was well laid out  and organized.   

                                   Shucking or "sukin" oysters is an interesting process but a bit messy.


Saturday evening we had happy hour at the site of one of the owners and got to know them better,  and gave us an opportunity to ask questions about the resort from an owners prospective.

• After Mass on Sunday morning we drove to the border of Alabama and Florida to Flora-Bama, the host of the 29th Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival.   We attended when we were here last year and had it on our travel schedule to come back.    The event takes place for 10 days and is host to Grammy Award winning songwriters and up and coming stars of tomorrow.  Venues of all kinds spread along the Florida and Alabama coastline and  welcome over 200 participants.  

                                  Oops...I think we picked the day the bikers were in attendance.

                           
                               They are an interesting group to watch with their very colorful attire.

                                         they come from all over to attend...From Norway...

                                   
                                           To the Czech Republic.

                                We listened to 3 ladies who write, sing and play gospel music.

                                                 And enjoyed a trio of mail gospel musicians.

                                           
                                                    And a Rhythm and Blues group who were very good.



The Flora-bama is an interesting place in itself.   Opening in 1964 and going through several mix-matched renovations due to fires and hurricanes,  it favors unusual decor...

such as these signs:

And a ceiling full of clothing lines draped with hundreds of bras.

Here's the link to our last years post if your interested in more information about this event.

2012 Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival



And our weekend ended with this awesome sunset taken from the Gulf  State Park Pier.

Hope all is well!

We inherited a table!!

The resort we are in is a membership complex.   They are in the process of selling their last 60 sites and the site we are in is an owned spot that we rent.   There are 3 levels of rentals, gold, silver and bronze.   The owners who have chosen to enhance their site with outdoor entertainment areas, pergolas, sheds, furniture, fire pits etc. place theirs in the gold program.  The silver have a few amenities and the bronze is basic.   The level also depends on where the site is located, such as facing the lake and fountains, middle rows which are pull throughs or back in spots.    We try to choose a silver, lake front but this year the one we picked out got sold so we had to re-choose and the only lakefront available that we liked is a bronze.   The good news is it costs $50-$100.00 a month less, the bad news is we have nothing, nada, zip, zilch on the lot.   Although I prefer not to have a site with all of the elaborate upgrades I do like having a table.   At one of the evening functions I mentioned we were going to start hitting estate/garage sales for an outdoor table.   Well, the next thing I know one of the workcampers delivered one of their table for us to use while we are here.   There really are nice people in the world (sometimes you have to seek) but we have found that people in this life style are exceptionally friendly and helpful.

The table is nothing extravagant, but very functional and works perfect for us.    Now we have someplace to eat outside and set our drinks.  

The resort is just now starting to gear up for the return of the snowbirds.   We did attend a gathering  for the Monday night World Series game shown at the clubhouse big screen theatre.  Not many showed up...this is college football territory...but we brought 2 St. Louis traditions for everyone to enjoy...toasted ravioli and a cooler of Bud.    Toasted ravioli was developed in St. Louis and is a popular appetizer served at all of the great Italian restaurants.   In St. Louis you can buy them already breaded and frozen, however, apparently  not in LA (Lower Alabama).   So I had to buy ravioli and bread them myself and fry them.  For my first attempt they turned out pretty good.  Everyone tried them, liked them but never heard or had them before.

We also attended a Halloween party.    We went as "cereal killers" donned with our favorite cereal boxes hung around our neck, with switch blades coming out at all angles and "blood" running down the box..   A little hard to see in the picture, but here we are:

We are not happy about our Cardinals....but there is always next year!!

The weather, although, warmer than up North has gotten a little chilly at night, settling in the high 40's/low 50's.  But we are still enjoying it.  Even spent one afternoon walking and reading at the beach!

Hope all is well!

BACK ON THE ROAD….BACK TO OUR BLOG!

This is going to be a catch up blog...

After our rally's in Gillette WY and a couple of weeks in Rapid City, SD we headed to Minnesota.   I have a dear friend who moved there 20+ years ago, and although we don’t talk that often, I couldn't be so near and not make contact.  We had a very nice dinner and visit at their home and we thank Debbie and Bill for an enjoyable evening. 

  

Our plans were to spend a week in St. Paul, MN and a month in Wisconsin but Ron’s mother went into the hospital the end of July  and he thought it best to head back to St. Louis.  So on July 30^th we arrived at Lakeside 370 campground in St. Peters, MO.    

Ron’s mother had been going between a rehab facility and the hospital and is doing well at home in hospice.   Each day is a struggle for her but she seems to be happiest at home.

   

This visit didn’t result in as many social activities as usually, however, we did get in some visits and dinners with my sister and brother in law,  a few of Ron’s siblings, our annual Scott winery trip including nieces this year and an afternoon shopping with my sister in law.  Ron’s brother, sister in law and their son and granddaughter came in for a short visit.  Ron and Bob took in a Cardinal baseball game .  I didn't get to a game this time….boo hoo!  

My second cousins, Lou and Lorie, were in town from California  to visit his second cousin which gave us an opportunity to visit over two great meals…one at the Lemp Mansion (no, we didn't see any ghost) and Favazza’s on the hill.  

One evening we drove into Washington, MO about 45 minutes from St. Louis and where we lived for the first 3 years we were married.   Ron worked for the local newspaper and I did “miscellaneous”  jobs.  We took in dinner at the infamous Cowans Restaurant known for their mile high meringue pies and attended a concert of 3 Southern Gospel groups.  

Ron and I took an afternoon drive to Belleville, IL to visit the National Shrine of our Lady of the Snows.  Ron remembers taking a school field trip there, many, many, many years ago, but I didn’t remember ever going and it has been on my list for awhile.   It is owned and operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic order of priest and brothers serving the poor in 60 countries.   There are 12 areas of observation spread over 200 acres.  These include The Lourdes Grotto, scaled to 2/3’s the size of the original Lourdes in France.   Here are some of the other devotional areas:

                                                                  The Lourdes Grotto.

                                                               Our Lady of Guadalupe Hill .

The Annunciation Garden, feature larger than life Angel Gabriel and Blessed Virgin mounted on stone wall.  Each hour is marked by the tolling of the Byzantine Bells in the reflection pool. 

Main Shrine and Amphitheater

Agony Garden with a large Carrara marble statue of a kneeling Jesus. 

St. Louis skyline leaving  the shrine.

They also have a nice café where we stopped for lunch before heading home.

St. Louis now has 2 outlet malls.   These malls were completed in August within 2 weeks of each other and 5 miles apart.    Not sure why they built 2 so close together, but apparently these developers go head to head in other states.

One is so-so, but the other is really nice, so both were on my list of things to do while in St. Louis.

While in town we celebrated our 40^th anniversary.   Ron booked a room at a hotel, we took in a movie at a real theatre (that wasn’t a Redbox) and we had a very nice dinner.  

There are only a few things I miss from our house.   We had a beautiful deck that looked out on a heavily treed lot, I miss gardening and my bathtub.

So when Ron booked the room, he reserved a suite with a whirlpool tub.   I think I took 3 baths in a 20 hour period, but found I lost my touch and this is what happened…..

We left St. Louis on October 4, spent one night at the Crown Winery in Humboldt, TN.   We are members of  a newly formed organization called Harvest Host, where you pay an annual fee of $40.00 and can stay at over 400 wineries/farms at no cost.   The employees where very accommodating, although our first contact couldn't give us very good directions…how do these people get to work?

                                           Our "free" spot at the Crown Winery, Humboldt, TN.

The  parking area was gravel and very level.   They allow the use of jacks and generator and there was plenty of room to extend our slides.    Of course their incentive is you buy their product, so after setting up we walked to the wine sampling lobby and purchased a couple of bottles for our reserve.

Left early the next morning taking US 45 all the way into Marion MS to spend a couple of nights at Benchmark Coach and RV campground.   It’s a small campground with only 27 spots, but level concrete pads.    However, do you see a problem …..

We kept a close watch on  tropical storm Karen because our next stop was Foley, AL about 10 miles north of Gulf Shores.   We arrived in Foley on October 8, pulled in, hooked up, put slides out,  mopped floors , put rug down etc...   and Ron received a text saying his mothers blood pressure dropped and he should head back.   SO the next day at 6:30 am, after pulling the slides in, unhooking and packing we hit the road by car arriving at her hospital room around 8:00 pm that night.   

In the meantime my sister also had to go into the hospital for about a week stay.  As it turned out I am glad we were already in St. Louis.   We stayed long enough for both of them to return home, then headed back to the coach.    Our return trip resulted in one over night....I just couldn't do another 12.5 hour drive.     We have been back for about a week and are just relaxing, enjoying the nice weather and rooting our Cardinals to a World Series victory.   

Hope all is well!

Rally #1 and Devils Tower National Monument

We arrived in Gillette, WY on June 17 after spending a few days in Cheyenne.  The highlight of our visit to the capital city was a day spent with our nephew Joe and his family - Shani, Lucy and Daniel.   They live in Montrose, CO but drove to Laramie, WY to visit friends that had moved there.   The day was spent at Vedauwoo, a popular rock climbing area within Medicine Bow - Routt National Forest.

Lots of wildlife in Vedauwoo.  We saw this moose while taking a walk. 

The FMCA  (Family Motor Coach Association) rally ran for 4 days and the agenda was jammed back to  back with seminars, exhibits, nightly entertainment, catching up with friends for dinner and meeting new friends.   This was our first FMCA rally and we really enjoyed it....already talking about attending the 2014 one in Georgia.
This is a huge rally with over 2,300 coaches in attendance and takes place at the Cam-Plex, a 1,100 acre facility with plenty of room to park and several buildings to hold all of the events.   We did experience a rather nasty hail storm at the end of the rally,  with horizontal winds that damaged the fins on our radiator.   Many were parked on grass/dirt and had a trying time getting out with a few getting stuck and having to be towed/pulled out.    Yes....we were one of the coaches that had to be pulled out.   But not because of our parking situation.  Because Ron walks with a cane we requested handicap parking.  That can mean many things to different groups, but in this particular case, we dry camped on asphalt and had easy access to the handicap trams.   How do you get stuck on asphalt, you ask?    Well you don't unless your (dumb, stupid, adventuresome) (you pick the word to insert here)  to drive the coach to use their dump station that is all dirt, grass, gravel and what we found..MUD.....   But the complex sent over a huge tractor, tied a rope around our tow hitch and with the coach in reverse very nicely, smoothly and quickly got us to drier ground.

We then relocated to a "real " campground with full hook ups and 30 amp electric for a couple of days between the two rallies we are attending at the same complex.

Catching up on daily chores and resting from the many seminars and activities we also took one day to explore the surrounding area.

In particular we drove about an hour northeast to Devils Tower National Monument.   Best known for its more than 150 routes of numerous climbs up to 500 feet peak ; it's formation to this day is still a mystery.  Some geologist consider the tower to be an intrusion of molten rock that pushed into surrounding sedimentary rocks before solidifying, while others call it a volcanic plug or remnant of a volcano's neck.   Although, they admit, there is really no evidence in the area that indicates any volcanic activity took place here.  So they have come to agree that it is a small intrusive body formed by magma which cooled underground and was later exposed by erosion.  Whatever.....it is still a very interesting monument to visit.

It is the first declared National Monument in the U.S. by President Roosevelt in 1906 and covers 1,347 acres.  It is a sacred site to the Lakota Sioux who often camp nearby where they perform ceremonies.  Prayer offerings are still left on the trail surrounding the base of the monument.

Out of respect for Native American beliefs, climbers are asked to not climb during June when religious ceremonies are held.   The is a voluntary request and although the numbers are less, some climbers still feel it is their right to climb whenever they want.    The fastest climb was 18 minutes in the 1980's but the typical climb takes 4-6 hours.   No we didn't climb but I did take the trail....which took me 75 minutes when the brochure said it would take 45 minutes.   I guess they didn't take my age, physical condition, photographic encounters and time to chit chat with a few people into consideration.

A geologic feature protruding out of the rolling prairie that surrounds the Black Hills

Climbers

Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the best climbing areas in North America. 

One of many prayer offerings.

Trail circling around the base of the tower.

Ponderosa Pines.   I got my hug in....did you know it  is suppose to be good luck if you hug a Ponderso Pine?
I think the people around me thought I was crazy, but I can use all of the good luck I can get and besides, they
smell like vanilla!

Panorama view from highest point on trail.

Ron in front of Tower.

There are lots of prairie dogs.

And lots of  wildflowers.

A sculpture - "Circle of Sacred Smoke" honors the American people as a gesture of world peace and is located near the monument.   It is designed to help raise visitor awareness of the importance of the tower to over twenty tribes.  This is the third of seven works planned by Japanese artist Junkyu  Muto   around the world, with  one located at Vatican City and the other in  Bodhi  India, where the Buddhist reach enlightenment. The sculpture represents the first puff of smoke from a newly lit pipe.  The Italian black granite base comes from the same Quarry as Michelangelo's marble.  It sits on two large  stones that  were transported from the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of neighboring South Dakota.

An adjoining picnic area where we stopped to have lunch lets you take in the beauty of this sculpture as you look over the prairie to the tower.

Hope all is well!