THIS KIND OF EXCITEMENT WE DON'T NEED!!

(written yesterday, Jan 28, 2014)

We'll we have had some exciting times lately.  First off Ron spent the weekend in the hospital.  He hadn't been feeling well since last Monday so we went to an urgent care center mid-week. They gave him fluids and took blood test and sent him home.  But Friday morning he starting feeling worse so we went to the ER of the local medical center.  After 11 1/2 hours and 4 tests they admitted him to be seen by a gastroenterologist.  Saturday they performed an endoscopy to remove gallstones that had lodged in his bile duct and to insert a temporary stent. Then Sunday laposcopic surgery was performed to remove his gallbladder.  It wasn't necessarily an emergency but this 112 bed facility is the only one within 25 miles and they are so busy that they run all tests, procedures and surgeries 7 days a week.   He came home yesterday feeling tired, and a little sore but all abdominal pain/discomfort is gone.   Because he has a follow up appointment with the surgeon in two weeks and will have to have the stent removed in 6 weeks, we have extended our stay in the Gulf Shores area.  All of the rooms at this medical  facility are private with sleeper sofas, so I was able to stay with Ron the entire time.  I was glad, but hospitals are the worse place to get sleep!  We luckily have a couple parked next to us at the campground who have been awesome!  They are ironically from Missouri, and have called or texted me a couple of  times everyday to see how we were doing and to offer help for anything we may have needed. They also brought Ron brownies and a card when we got home. Two other couples we have met here also stayed in touch as did the campground personnel.  Which is nice when family is not close.

The other exciting news is the weather.  A wintery mix warning is in effect for the gulf coast from Mississippi to Florida.  They are predicting 1/4" of ice followed by 1-4 " snow.  Closer to the gulf where we are, is only expecting 1" of snow but freezing rain is occurring as I write this.  Now this is not too exciting for anyone living in north, but the locals are panicking!  They have no snow plows or salt.  Since they have unlimited sand this is how they prepare the roads, however, I hate to tell them with ice then snow the sand will be pretty much useless.   The communities near I-10 and I 65 had salt trucked in from northern AL.  The meteorologist missed how far north the storm would track so the Montgomery area did not close schools today.  So when it got bad they couldn't get the buses on the road and parents had to scrabble to pick up their children.  They are leaving the schools open tonight and making arrangements for the children to spend the night if parents can not reach them.

Our poor little coach has never been in this type of weather!!!  Our goal when we started travelling was to "follow the sun".....what happened to that?!

The bushes don't like this and the palm trees REALLY don't like it!










The above pictures were taken around the campground.  The following picture was posted on line of snow at the Alabama Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL.

 The good news is even the worse weather does not last long down here.  Predictions are for mid 60's - low 70's this weekend.  I'm ready!  The weather since we got here in October has been unseasonably cold so maybe by extending our stay we will be able to enjoy the warm weather that brings us to the gulf!

That's all the news from "arctic Alabama".    Hope all is well!

OH NO...now what has she gotten me into?

We have about 3 weeks left in Foley Alabama.   And although the weather hasn't consistently been warm and wonderful we are enjoying our time here. 

We spent 2 weeks in St. Louis over  Christmas, surprising some family who did not know we were coming in.   This is our 5th holiday season on the road and the first time since leaving that we went back to celebrate Christmas and New Years.   We enjoyed spending Christmas eve with Ron’s family….just like ole times!   We stayed with my sister and as an added bonus my 2 nephews and their families came in….it was a full house but great to all be together again.

Once back to the coach we have been catching up on the daily, mundane tasks of unpacking, re-stocking the fridge, laundry etc.

As most of you know, one of the most interesting events we have enjoyed in our travels is attending different Catholic Churches for Sunday mass.   Here in the Gulf Shores area we have mostly frequented Our Lady of the Gulf.   They recently introduced a new pastor from Montgomery who seems to have a good sense of humor...even adding some to his sermon, but is very conservative.  They don’t have ushers, a choir and just recently substituted plastic flowers around the altar for live plants.    They do have an organist and God bless him, he tries…..

One week we attended the Mission - Our Lady of Bon Secour.   Bon Secour is a settlement located on the Bon Secour River, 7 miles southwest of Foley.   The church served its congregation for many years until it was damaged by a storm in 1917.   After that it was dismantled and carried across the river, piece by piece, and reassembled at its present location.

Our Lady of Bon Secour.

The church is so small only one side at a time could go up for communion.

Cute, little altar.

Yesterday we attended Worship @ the Water.   The service takes place every Sunday at 11:00 am at the Flora –Bama Lounge.    If you look past the flip flops and beer banners you may find the officiating Reverend Jeremy Mount  dressed in t-shirt, jeans and sandals, complete with a full arm of tattooed bible verses.  The Flora Bama is a popular honky tonk bar on the border of Florida and Alabama.  They host several events such as the Mullet Toss and the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival  along with nightly music venues, average food and lots and lots of bar drinks. Since 2011, a local United Methodist church has organized the Worship @ the Water service.   The weekly attendance is over 500 with as many as 2,400 attending on Easter.   Last month Rev. Jeremy Mount, an award winning pastor and U.S. Army chaplain announced he would be leaving the United Methodist Church to be ordained with Christian Church, a  non-denominational  organization based in Las Vegas.   His church wanted to move him, so he chose to leave the organization to continue his service at Flora-Bama. 

The members/congregation.  

 I would guess there are many churches who would love to get this many to show up every week!

 T-Shirt worn by many...."My Church is the Flora Bama"  They are sold in the gift shop with all proceeds going to the ministry.

Hymnal.    I like the subtle hint at the bottom .

If it weren't for the temporary cross on the stage and the podium you
wouldn't know you stumbled into a religious ceremony.

The "choir"   

The band/choir praying before they start.



This weeks service was not the norm.  The preaching was by two ministers from Central Christian in attendance to ordain Jeremy.   I would have liked to heard him.  The entire ceremony lasted about 1 1/2 hours.

Jeremy is third from left.  

 The ordination took all of 10 minutes....we sang I'll Fly Away, everyone picked up their chair to put away and that was the end.   

Ron is so good natured...he will do anything I want to do.   But many times I'm sure he thinks
"now what has she gotten us into?"

Take care....hope all is well!

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!