I'm in Big D, my oh yes...
Big D, little a, double l, a, s
Yesterday was day two of Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was a big man so he took up two days. I was kind of tired and discouraged Wednesday evening so I proposed skipping Johnson City and the LBJ Ranch but now I am glad that we didn't. My advice to future visitors...if you are short on time and can only choose one or the other, skip the LBJ Library and head for his childhood home and ranch 40 miles west of Austin in Johnson City, TX. You will learn everything you need to know and have a much more enjoyable time.
The drive over to JC was really pretty. Texas Hill country begins a few miles west of Austin. It is a very scenic area with rolling hills and valleys. There are vistas along the road where you can see for miles into the distance. Little Texas towns dot the way. The Pedernales River runs through hill country and into Johnson City. For those of you outside of Texas the correct pronunciation is Per-dah-nal-es. I don't know why.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in 1908 about 15 miles outside of Johnson City, TX in a little house on his grandfather's ranch. Grandpa Johnson had been a real cowboy. He obtained some land in what is now Johnson City and developed a longhorn herd consisting of about 1000 heads of cattle. He drove his first herd to Abilene, KS and sold it for $100,000. Most of the money was reinvested in cattle but by the time he drove the second herd to Abilene cattle had gone bust and Mr. Johnson lost all of his money. The family eventually moved to what is now known at the LBJ Ranch. Lyndon Johnson's father was a self-taught attorney turned politician. His mother was college educated, a rarity for her time. When Johnson was 4 he began running up the hill near his house to a one room school. He insisted on sitting on his teacher, Miss Katie's lap. His mama enrolled him in school where he became a voracious reader. Mrs. Johnson wanted her children to go to a better school so by the time Lyndon was 7 the family had moved into town. The house in town was adjacent to the original Johnson farm. In 1951, LBJ bought his grandfather's ranch from his uncle and it became the Johnson home when they weren't in Washington DC or Austin. Improvements were made over the years including the addition of a runway and hangar for "Air Force 1/2", the Lockheed Jet used to shuttle LBJ, his family and guests from the AF base in San Antonio. It is said that Johnson conducted 25 % of his Presidential business from the Texas White House as the ranch became known. The house is typical of a 50-60-70's décor house. It isn't huge and it isn't small but it was adequate. One thing that tickled me is that Johnson had this little amphibious car. He would take unsuspecting visitors out for a ride and while driving down along the Pedernales (remember how to say it?) he would veer off down the bank screaming "the brakes went out". They would land in the river where LBJ would engage the amphibious side of the car and off they'd go. We had a delightful half day in JC and at the ranch. We ate dinner at a local brew pub and hit the road for Arlington. 3 hours later we arrived at our hotel and hit the rack.
This morning we headed to the campus of SMU (Siri calls it "smoo") to visit the George W. Bush Museum. The last three days we've only shared the space with a few people. Today was a different story. The museum was very crowded. I'm sure its newness has a lot to do with it as well as end of the year school trips. Yes, TX schools are still in session. The building itself is beautiful, and difficult to get to. Once inside you are in the middle of a huge rotunda where every 15 minutes a spiffy multi-media show takes place ala' Disney World. The museum is interesting, lots and lots of information presented in many multi-sensory formats. The most movie exhibits are in the 9/11 gallery. A beam from the World Trade Center is in the center of the floor. A docent encourages visitors to touch it. I particularly enjoyed the Life in the White House section. One area that's neat for kids is a section on the Book Festival started by the Bush family. There is a shelf with award winning books for kids and a place where they can sit and read. Overall, the museum spends the majority of space on Bush policy, the Afghan and Iraqi Wars and Overseas initiatives.
The museum is impressive but I also found it to be overwhelming. There is so much information presented that my brain kind of turned off after awhile. I think it is a museum that would best be viewed in chunks. Choose an area you are most interested in and spend your time there. Don't miss the four films at various stages of the museum. They are worth sitting through.
Tonight is the Royals/Rangers game. Hope last night's luck carries on tonight. They beat the Cardinals at 3:10 a.m. this morning after a 4 hour rain delay. Way to go Royals!
Home tomorrow.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
LBJ for the USA
When I was in Kindergarten we had a highly technical toy called a spelling board. It looked something like this:
Being the precocious child I was I spelled out L-B-J on the first line and U-S-A on the second line. Miss Warren apparently thought I was quite brilliant and trotted me around the school to show various adults my prodigious accomplishment. I don't know why I remember that but I do. I vaguely remember that I had seen that letter combination on something at home-probably a campaign pin or on tv, I don't know. Anyway, Lyndon Johnson has a place in my memory. I think he is a fascinating man. Today, we visited the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas. The building itself is a huge white structure on the campus of the University of Texas. It would have been very modern and beautiful in 1971 when it was dedicated. Today it is a dated, large white building. When we walked in the lady at the desk said that they weren't set up to collect admission but donations were encouraged. She asked us our zip code and then the lady next to her asked if I wore a lot of yellow since we were from Maize. She said she was just asking since I was wearing yellow today. Ha, ha ha...yesterday we were asked if Dorothy had her own museum in Kansas. I don't ask Texans if they remember the Alamo or if the eyes of Texas are blue. I mean, come on!
Our tour began with an introductory movie (are you sensing a trend?) about the life of LBJ. Just as the movie came on a large group of elementary age children came into the theater. Let's just say, if a couple of them had been my students, they wouldn't have lived long. Fortunately they left after the movie. My overall impression of the museum is that it was arranged in a confusing manner, especially on the first floor. I mean the third floor. Then you walked up a giant marble staircase to the fourth floor. There is a photo that shows Johnson's casket being carried up the same stairway for his lying in state. The fourth floor is a timeline of Johnson's political career. He was a teacher who became a professional politician. There was much made of the "Johnson treatment". He was a tall, imposing man who, if he wanted something, became very insistent. He had a habit of invading what we now call your "personal space". He would grab you by your lapels, lean into your face a proceed to make his point. I think it was Rockefeller who said he had a way of breathing into your mouth until your air was completely sucked out and you had no choice but to give in. With women he was a shameless flirt. One thing they did have that I enjoyed were phone kiosks that you could listen to excerpts of conversations he had with various people on different topics. When you finished the fourth floor you had to take the elevator to the 10th floor for the final 3 exhibits. The Oval Office reproduction, an exhibit on the lovely Lady Bird and a short movie about LBJ's family life.
Johnson's legacy is a great one. Many of our social programs were started by Johnson and his Great Society. He accomplished much during his short tenure. It is too bad that Vietnam overshadowed his presidency. Sadly, Johnson died 5 years after leaving office. Tomorrow we will head over to Johnson City and the Johnson Ranch.
Off to bed.
(Dang Royals just gave STL 4 runs in one inning!)
Our tour began with an introductory movie (are you sensing a trend?) about the life of LBJ. Just as the movie came on a large group of elementary age children came into the theater. Let's just say, if a couple of them had been my students, they wouldn't have lived long. Fortunately they left after the movie. My overall impression of the museum is that it was arranged in a confusing manner, especially on the first floor. I mean the third floor. Then you walked up a giant marble staircase to the fourth floor. There is a photo that shows Johnson's casket being carried up the same stairway for his lying in state. The fourth floor is a timeline of Johnson's political career. He was a teacher who became a professional politician. There was much made of the "Johnson treatment". He was a tall, imposing man who, if he wanted something, became very insistent. He had a habit of invading what we now call your "personal space". He would grab you by your lapels, lean into your face a proceed to make his point. I think it was Rockefeller who said he had a way of breathing into your mouth until your air was completely sucked out and you had no choice but to give in. With women he was a shameless flirt. One thing they did have that I enjoyed were phone kiosks that you could listen to excerpts of conversations he had with various people on different topics. When you finished the fourth floor you had to take the elevator to the 10th floor for the final 3 exhibits. The Oval Office reproduction, an exhibit on the lovely Lady Bird and a short movie about LBJ's family life.
Johnson's legacy is a great one. Many of our social programs were started by Johnson and his Great Society. He accomplished much during his short tenure. It is too bad that Vietnam overshadowed his presidency. Sadly, Johnson died 5 years after leaving office. Tomorrow we will head over to Johnson City and the Johnson Ranch.
Off to bed.
(Dang Royals just gave STL 4 runs in one inning!)
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
George Bush Library College Station Texas
Hi Ya'll!
May 28. 2013 finds Ken and I in College Station, TX, home of Texas A and M University and the George Bush Presidential Library. More on that in a minute.
I love museums. I love looking at photos and artifacts about places and people and times past. When we travel I am always delighted to find and visit unique museums. My poor children spent many vacation days dragging through some historical place or another. When Erin was just a little girl, maybe 3 or 4, we were walking through the lobby of the Dolly Parton Stampede Dinner Show in Branson. She spied a huge oil painting of Dolly on the wall. She looked up at me and said "mommy is that lady dead or alive?" So, it's no stretch to imagine that we are on a vacation in which every day will be spent in a museum, specifically presidential libraries and historic places. Ken and I couldn't decide on a vacation for this summer. I think we were both reluctant to plan a long trip that would take us far away from Wichita or that we would have to pay for in advance. Back a few weeks ago when I wasn't mad at the Royals I mentioned that they would be playing the Rangers the first weekend in June. I suggested that we could perhaps spend the last week of May visiting the 3 presidential libraries in Texas and end the week at the Rangers/Royals game. Ken thought that sounded like a plan so here we are.
We left Maize around 8:00 a.m. Memorial Day Monday and drove to College Station. We drove through Moore, OK along the way and witnessed the terrible devastation along I-35 from last week's monster tornado. It was indeed bad but I do have to say it wasn't as surreal as driving through Greensburg, KS a month after a tornado swept the town away. I think it was more personal. I knew what had been there and it wasn't there any more-literally. I have driven past Moore several times and it was shocking to see the piles of debris but it wasn't as moving. It was good to see that the Warren Theater was still standing and that the parking lot was being used as a staging area for the utility companies.
My navigational skills weren't very sharp yesterday and we gee'd where we should've haw'ed a couple of times but we finally made it here after 8 hours of driving. Our hotel is nice and we were upgraded to a King Suite-a larger room with a couch-they will get a good review on Trip Advisor. We tried Freebird World Burrito for supper and after hitting the local Wal-Mart called it a night.
We spent today at the George Bush Presidential Library. We arrived at 12:00 and following the educational video began our tour of the museum. I was thoroughly impressed both with the lives of George and Barbara Bush and with the interpretation of the museum. It is a gorgeous facility with well planned exhibits. The layout is more or less a winding path leading you chronologically through the life of President Bush. I was most impressed with the strong values of faith, family and leadership that molded the life of both the President and Barbara and how they passed these values on to their children. The tribute to their little daughter Robin, who died just shy of her 4th birthday was especially touching. There was a little gold charm that the President had carried with him for many years that had her name on one side and "love forever" on the other. At the end of the museum there was an exhibit about Project C and the human genome project and the research being done to eradicate cancer. The Bushes talked about finding a cure for cancer and that had Robin been alive today, she most likely would've survived her bought with leukemia. All in all we spent 4 1/2 hours at the library. Dinner was at the Olive Garden across the parking lot from the Ramada and we returned to our room where we both crashed. I slept for an hour, Ken for 2--we will be lucky if we sleep tonight.
Tomorrow we drive to Austin and will visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library.
Good Night All!
May 28. 2013 finds Ken and I in College Station, TX, home of Texas A and M University and the George Bush Presidential Library. More on that in a minute.
I love museums. I love looking at photos and artifacts about places and people and times past. When we travel I am always delighted to find and visit unique museums. My poor children spent many vacation days dragging through some historical place or another. When Erin was just a little girl, maybe 3 or 4, we were walking through the lobby of the Dolly Parton Stampede Dinner Show in Branson. She spied a huge oil painting of Dolly on the wall. She looked up at me and said "mommy is that lady dead or alive?" So, it's no stretch to imagine that we are on a vacation in which every day will be spent in a museum, specifically presidential libraries and historic places. Ken and I couldn't decide on a vacation for this summer. I think we were both reluctant to plan a long trip that would take us far away from Wichita or that we would have to pay for in advance. Back a few weeks ago when I wasn't mad at the Royals I mentioned that they would be playing the Rangers the first weekend in June. I suggested that we could perhaps spend the last week of May visiting the 3 presidential libraries in Texas and end the week at the Rangers/Royals game. Ken thought that sounded like a plan so here we are.
We left Maize around 8:00 a.m. Memorial Day Monday and drove to College Station. We drove through Moore, OK along the way and witnessed the terrible devastation along I-35 from last week's monster tornado. It was indeed bad but I do have to say it wasn't as surreal as driving through Greensburg, KS a month after a tornado swept the town away. I think it was more personal. I knew what had been there and it wasn't there any more-literally. I have driven past Moore several times and it was shocking to see the piles of debris but it wasn't as moving. It was good to see that the Warren Theater was still standing and that the parking lot was being used as a staging area for the utility companies.
My navigational skills weren't very sharp yesterday and we gee'd where we should've haw'ed a couple of times but we finally made it here after 8 hours of driving. Our hotel is nice and we were upgraded to a King Suite-a larger room with a couch-they will get a good review on Trip Advisor. We tried Freebird World Burrito for supper and after hitting the local Wal-Mart called it a night.
We spent today at the George Bush Presidential Library. We arrived at 12:00 and following the educational video began our tour of the museum. I was thoroughly impressed both with the lives of George and Barbara Bush and with the interpretation of the museum. It is a gorgeous facility with well planned exhibits. The layout is more or less a winding path leading you chronologically through the life of President Bush. I was most impressed with the strong values of faith, family and leadership that molded the life of both the President and Barbara and how they passed these values on to their children. The tribute to their little daughter Robin, who died just shy of her 4th birthday was especially touching. There was a little gold charm that the President had carried with him for many years that had her name on one side and "love forever" on the other. At the end of the museum there was an exhibit about Project C and the human genome project and the research being done to eradicate cancer. The Bushes talked about finding a cure for cancer and that had Robin been alive today, she most likely would've survived her bought with leukemia. All in all we spent 4 1/2 hours at the library. Dinner was at the Olive Garden across the parking lot from the Ramada and we returned to our room where we both crashed. I slept for an hour, Ken for 2--we will be lucky if we sleep tonight.
Tomorrow we drive to Austin and will visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library.
Good Night All!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Long walk on a short pier
Late morning when we finally started moving we decided to just sight see today. Our first stop was the Gulf State Park Fishing Pier. We've driven past it for five years and have never stopped. The first year we came to Orange Beach the pier was still being rebuilt. It opened in 2009. The current pier replaced the original fishing pier that was a popular fishing spot for many years. It was destroyed in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan made a direct hit.
According to the OBA website "Ivan struck near Gulf Shores just after midnight on Sept. 16, 2004, as a Category 3 hurricane with winds exceeding 120 mph. Before it was gone, it caused more than $5 billion in damage in Alabama and Florida and drew blame for 13 Florida deaths." The GSP pier was one of the casualties. The old pier was 825' long and saw thousands of fishermen each year. Though it was popular it wasn't a consistently good fishing spot. Because it was so close to the shore the water was very turbulent on mostdays. There were only about 100 good fishing days per year. The pier was redesigned and rebuilt to make it nearly double in length so that the better,calmer fishing waters could be easily accessed. Here is a composite photo showing both the old and new piers.
The pier is a fun walk because of all the fisherpeople, fish and wildlife. We saw pelicans up close, a blue heron, a tiny fiddler crab and two Sheepshead fish right as they were being reeled in. I think pelicans were a joke from God as they are very odd looking birds. They weren't wearing little sailor hats and striped shirts like Pelican Pete (let's see how many of you know who he was). They patiently wait for scraps from the fishermen. However, the fishermen don't seem to like their presence and shoo them away. Here are two photos that Ken took today.
After our walk on the pier we went to lunch at Kitty's Kafe, the #1 restaurant choice in Gulf Shores according to Trip Advisor. It was a crowded little restaurant with a diner menu. We sat at "the bar". The food was just so so. I've had Fried Green Tomatoes two days in a row now and I am not a fan. They were two very different interpretations and I really didn't care for either. It was interesting to hear the waitress talking to "regulars". Every restaurant we've been to down here has had very friendly waitstaff. We took a short drive to the west end of Gulf Shores. There are tons of rental properties along that end of the island. I don't know how they can possibly fill all of those rental houses and condos.
We returned to the condo around 2:00 and since it was still cloudy we planned to stay in for the afternoon. I crashed on the couch for a couple of hours while Ken did whatever Ken did while I was asleep. The sun came out late afternoon so we spent an hour or so reading by the swimming pool. Now we are being boring old people and are sitting here watching TV while blogging and surfing.
Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy and cool so we might head to Belingrath Gardens or some other local diversion. Tune in tomorrow to find out where we decide to go.
Alabama Kisses.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Sun sun sun here it comes!
Hello from Alabama
There is a good chance that today was the last good day on the beach this year. The forecast isn't promising. Even if it isn't raining it is supposed to be cool. We will just have to wait and see. The fates haven't been with us this year. Also, I guess I don't understand sunscreen. I was slathered in it yesterday and today and I'm still sunburned. What's up with that?
Today was a perfect beach day. Mid-70's, light wind, sunshine. We walked across the street to Latrieges and bought the world's best steamed shrimp and took it to the beach. It's great shrimp but is even better when you are sitting in the sun watching the waves roll in. Ken wants to know why 3 1/2 hours drags by at work but flies by at the beach.
We went on the sunset dolphin/nature boat trip tonight. The dolphins were very active and swam close to the boat several times. Another dolphin boat came by and kicked up a wake so the dolphins could jump in it. It is a very dangerous activity for the dolphins but it is fun to watch. The company that we go with doesn't do that. The dolphins trust Ceatecean boats and tend to come closer when they are out. We also went to the very north part of Wolf Bay and saw the fresh water bayou and plants. The cruise was capped with a beautiful sunset. Dinner was at Lulu's, aka Lula Buffet, sister of Jimmy Buffet. Great music, great Bushwackers and pretty good food.
Calls to home this evening were less than good. Praying for my family back home.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Love to all.
There is a good chance that today was the last good day on the beach this year. The forecast isn't promising. Even if it isn't raining it is supposed to be cool. We will just have to wait and see. The fates haven't been with us this year. Also, I guess I don't understand sunscreen. I was slathered in it yesterday and today and I'm still sunburned. What's up with that?
Today was a perfect beach day. Mid-70's, light wind, sunshine. We walked across the street to Latrieges and bought the world's best steamed shrimp and took it to the beach. It's great shrimp but is even better when you are sitting in the sun watching the waves roll in. Ken wants to know why 3 1/2 hours drags by at work but flies by at the beach.
We went on the sunset dolphin/nature boat trip tonight. The dolphins were very active and swam close to the boat several times. Another dolphin boat came by and kicked up a wake so the dolphins could jump in it. It is a very dangerous activity for the dolphins but it is fun to watch. The company that we go with doesn't do that. The dolphins trust Ceatecean boats and tend to come closer when they are out. We also went to the very north part of Wolf Bay and saw the fresh water bayou and plants. The cruise was capped with a beautiful sunset. Dinner was at Lulu's, aka Lula Buffet, sister of Jimmy Buffet. Great music, great Bushwackers and pretty good food.
Calls to home this evening were less than good. Praying for my family back home.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Love to all.
Monday, March 18, 2013
If you don't like the weather...
Greetings!
The heading for today says it all...Yesterday, after grocery shopping and breakfast we decided to go down to the beach even though it was cloudy. After and hour or so of intermittent sprinkles,clouds and wind we decided to go back to the condo. Of course, as soon as we had both showered and dressed, the sun came out. I grabbed my book and went down to the pool area to read for awhile. Tacky Jack's was our dinner spot. The food was great, the drinks not so much.
Today began sunny and quickly became overcast. It was warm enough today to stay out even though the sun popped in and out. We were able to get in about 3 hours of beach time when it began to pour. The entire beach crowd made a run for the building. Of course as soon as we got in, it stopped raining. With or without the sun the UV rays were strong. Despite applying sunscreen every 30 minutes or so, my legs are very sunburned. Ouchy.
I am hoping to sleep soundly tonight. I've been waking up around 3:00 every morning. Not sure why but I toss and turn the rest of the night. The bed in the master bedroom has a definite curvature toward the middle. I feel like that Lucy episode where she has to tie herself to the bed frame so she doesn't roll out of bed. We are going to switch to the other bedroom tonight and see if that's any better.
There is a family of cats and kittens who live under the pool deck and in the dunes. They are definitely feral. I've seen two adults and at least 4 little ones. They are so cute! I hope they will be TNR'd so they don't reproduce to an unmanageable number. I watched one of the adults stalk something in the reeds today. She was so quiet and was obviously stalking something. All of the sudden she pounced and caught a little tiny lizard which she promptly took under the deck.
Tomorrow is going to be a great beach day. 74 and no rain. Looking forward to it.
So, good night all!
The heading for today says it all...Yesterday, after grocery shopping and breakfast we decided to go down to the beach even though it was cloudy. After and hour or so of intermittent sprinkles,clouds and wind we decided to go back to the condo. Of course, as soon as we had both showered and dressed, the sun came out. I grabbed my book and went down to the pool area to read for awhile. Tacky Jack's was our dinner spot. The food was great, the drinks not so much.
Today began sunny and quickly became overcast. It was warm enough today to stay out even though the sun popped in and out. We were able to get in about 3 hours of beach time when it began to pour. The entire beach crowd made a run for the building. Of course as soon as we got in, it stopped raining. With or without the sun the UV rays were strong. Despite applying sunscreen every 30 minutes or so, my legs are very sunburned. Ouchy.
I am hoping to sleep soundly tonight. I've been waking up around 3:00 every morning. Not sure why but I toss and turn the rest of the night. The bed in the master bedroom has a definite curvature toward the middle. I feel like that Lucy episode where she has to tie herself to the bed frame so she doesn't roll out of bed. We are going to switch to the other bedroom tonight and see if that's any better.
There is a family of cats and kittens who live under the pool deck and in the dunes. They are definitely feral. I've seen two adults and at least 4 little ones. They are so cute! I hope they will be TNR'd so they don't reproduce to an unmanageable number. I watched one of the adults stalk something in the reeds today. She was so quiet and was obviously stalking something. All of the sudden she pounced and caught a little tiny lizard which she promptly took under the deck.
Tomorrow is going to be a great beach day. 74 and no rain. Looking forward to it.
So, good night all!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Happy, happy, happy
Mora na maidine dhuit.
More-uh nah mod-gin-uh g-wit.
Top of the morning to you.
We arrived at Sugar Sands in Orange Beach about 7:30 p.m. Saturday. From start to finish, with all of our stops our trip totaled 17:43 hours. It is good to be here but my mind is also at home. It's a cloudy day with the threat of rain. There is a chance of rain every day this week. I am hoping we do not have a repeat performance of Galveston in 1990 when we spent several days in a condo watching the rain. There are other things to do but my first love is sitting on the beach relaxing my body and brain.
We were able to leave Wichita very early on Friday because I worked my 3 1/2 hours from 6:15 to 9:45. I am glad that we were able to leave early as the route Google gave us to Texarkana was full of small towns and stop lights. It was an interesting drive and we saw a part of Oklahoma and Texas that we'd never seen before. Our Best Western hotel was new and actually very pretty. Ate dinner at Pizza Inn for old time's sake and I have to say, my memory of Pizza Inn pizza is much better than the pizza we had Friday evening.
We took this route to Alabama for a special reason. Ken has always wanted to find the graves of his great-great-great grandfather and grandmother and his great-great grandfather in west Arkansas. Rev. Young Leander McLemore and his wife, Mary, along with their son Young Leander are buried in the Brightstar Cemetery in Brightstar, Arkansas. It was very special to visit their graves. As Ken said, you see their names on paper but to visit their graves makes them 'real'. The graveyard was on a little hill and covered in tiny wild daffodil like flowers. There is a mix of graves from the late 1800's to recent. The McLemore graves were 1901 and 1904. I'd like to find where they lived while in Arkansas so I guess that can be Ken's next task.
I have recently become a minor fan of Duck Dynasty thanks to my hairdresser, Louis. Knowing they were from Louisiana I checked out their website and found that Duck Commander is based in West Monroe, LA. I consulted my handy Google map and found that Monroe was right on our way! I wanted to stop but I was a little apprehensive. I was worried that we might be the only people there and that I would feel silly. Ha! We missed our turn the first pass by but I remember noticing bike racers and a few people milling around nearby. I thought that the people were there to watch the bike race or something. We got turned around and found our turn...and a man directing traffic. We were most decidedly not alone. There had to be around 200 people milling around this little brick building, lining up to buy souvenirs from a truck and packed into a little tiny store. I really felt silly then. Looked around, took some pictures, and bought a mug for Louis and a t-shirt for me. I couldn't believe how many people were there. The lady in front of us at the truck asked if they guys were there. She said they never show up on the weekend and I can see why. It must boggle their minds going from a quiet little (multi-million $) company to a side show attraction with hundreds of fans. We had a great time and were happy, happy, happy. If you haven't watched Duck Dynasty, check it out. I laugh out loud because it's so fun. We got back in our car and "it was on like Donkey Kong!"
I was beginning to think they'd moved Mobile but we finally got there, headed south and arrived at Sugar Beach 227. We had planned to go out to dinner but we weren't hungry so we just called it a day and crashed at the condo.
The forecast calls for rain every day but Tuesday so I am praying there will be more sun than rain. I am also praying for my parents and if you'd say a quick prayer I would appreciate it. Age is not being kind to them right now. I feel a little guilty being here when they are so in need.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you
Dia dhuit.
Gee-uh g-wit
God be with you.
(I need a laugh today)
More-uh nah mod-gin-uh g-wit.
Top of the morning to you.
We arrived at Sugar Sands in Orange Beach about 7:30 p.m. Saturday. From start to finish, with all of our stops our trip totaled 17:43 hours. It is good to be here but my mind is also at home. It's a cloudy day with the threat of rain. There is a chance of rain every day this week. I am hoping we do not have a repeat performance of Galveston in 1990 when we spent several days in a condo watching the rain. There are other things to do but my first love is sitting on the beach relaxing my body and brain.
We were able to leave Wichita very early on Friday because I worked my 3 1/2 hours from 6:15 to 9:45. I am glad that we were able to leave early as the route Google gave us to Texarkana was full of small towns and stop lights. It was an interesting drive and we saw a part of Oklahoma and Texas that we'd never seen before. Our Best Western hotel was new and actually very pretty. Ate dinner at Pizza Inn for old time's sake and I have to say, my memory of Pizza Inn pizza is much better than the pizza we had Friday evening.
We took this route to Alabama for a special reason. Ken has always wanted to find the graves of his great-great-great grandfather and grandmother and his great-great grandfather in west Arkansas. Rev. Young Leander McLemore and his wife, Mary, along with their son Young Leander are buried in the Brightstar Cemetery in Brightstar, Arkansas. It was very special to visit their graves. As Ken said, you see their names on paper but to visit their graves makes them 'real'. The graveyard was on a little hill and covered in tiny wild daffodil like flowers. There is a mix of graves from the late 1800's to recent. The McLemore graves were 1901 and 1904. I'd like to find where they lived while in Arkansas so I guess that can be Ken's next task.
I was beginning to think they'd moved Mobile but we finally got there, headed south and arrived at Sugar Beach 227. We had planned to go out to dinner but we weren't hungry so we just called it a day and crashed at the condo.
The forecast calls for rain every day but Tuesday so I am praying there will be more sun than rain. I am also praying for my parents and if you'd say a quick prayer I would appreciate it. Age is not being kind to them right now. I feel a little guilty being here when they are so in need.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you
Dia dhuit.
Gee-uh g-wit
God be with you.
(I need a laugh today)
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