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)