Golfing

Here it is January 15th, Wow does the time fly when it is warm out. (relatively speaking of course).  We have just said a sad goodbye to Dad and Joan as we are departing Gulf Shores in the morning heading for Austin Texas.  We will stop at a fairgrounds in  Sulphur, LA in between for 1 night.  We have had a crazy busy week here, it is hard to keep up with the 80 year olds I  will tell you. 
THEY PLAY HARD!

Yours, truly.

Today I went golfing with them, TWICE.  We did the 9 hole course, went to lunch at Jesse's a fabulous little restaurant (kind of reminded me of the French Laundry in Fenton) Then back to play it again in the same day.  Now I am not a golfer, only played once in my life about 10 years ago but it was FUN.  The first round I scored 55, it was under 100 so I was pretty happy.  The second round I got the low score of 36.  I do catch on fast.....sometimes.  Now I want to go to the golf range to practice.  Terry will have to learn how to share those clubs because i might be hooked.

Joan in her short pants.

Bobe

Dad

Yesterday we went to the Grand Hotel, walked on the boardwalk ogling the mansions then had lunch at the hotel.  We went with Tweety Bird, Mrs Tweety (Angie) and their two friends, Joyce and Gary.

One of the many nice beach houses but the live oaks are spectacular with their hanging moss.

Two days ago, Terry and I went to see the USS Alabama, parked in Mobile Bay since 1965.

View from above.

Capt Bobe.

I was really quite neat to scramble all over the thing.  Except freezing cold in there.

I'm saving the USS Drum, the submarine for tomorrow. And the story of Lamberts.

Goodnight all.

BRRRRRR

Just left the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.  What a fantastic place.  Had a free tour from a Vietnam Vet who flew in some of these planes and was in general very interesting to listen to.  44 young Marines were in our group.  I had a crazy thought that I was old enough to be their Mother.  ECK.  The new year resolution finally kicked in today...you know which one I am talking about so I got my "princess" butt out of bed and worked out than went for a nice sweaty walk with the dogs and Bobe.  I did the P90X Ab workout!  Rough but I felt good after...good I could do it (mostly).  Yesterday Terry and I went to tour the Alabama in Mobile Bay you know the battleship and also toured the USS Drum, a submarine, very interesting.  Both are self guided tours so it was fun to just climb all over everywhere although it was freezing in that big boat. ( I know you are thinking how cold can it be DOWN THERE but it was really cold here yesterday and 28 this morning when we got up.)  Pics of ships and subs later and planes later.

Today is the first day I went out without my long underwear on.  To some of you that may be TMI. But for those who have known me since childhood, I NEVER take them off until at least April.

Hope all of you are doing good.  Oh yeah for those of you who are horse lovers, I passed my Parelli Level 2 on-line and Freestyle!!!!  It has been a very long journey to this point and I can't express my excitment at the accomplishment.

Goodnight

Greetings from the Beach

Okay, I know this looks bad, on the beach in my long johns and winter coat but

IT'S STILL A BEACH AND IT IS JANUARY 11TH.  AWESOME!!!!

MaryJean loving the warm sun.

We are in Gulf Shores hanging out with Dad and Joan and Tweety Bird and Angie.  It is about 40 ish here right now but sunny today finally and it feels heavenly.  The trailer and horses and us are parked at a horse motel in Silverhill, AL about 20 miles north of Gulf Shores.  A lovely place to camp on a 25 acre horse ranch.  We are the only ones camped there but since the weather has been cold (for here) we are inside alot.  Lady and the Tramp are resting up for the next journey we will leave in a few days.  Terry and Tweety went to breakfast today and to the driving range. Joan and I went walking on the beach (no dogs allowed) with the dogs, lovely.    It's happy hour here now at Dad and Joan's condo.  Life is good and I am getting used to this life.  You know...Not everyone who wanders is lost.

Alabamie!!

Howdy all!  We are on the road again heading south now towards Gulf Shores, AL.  There is an ice storm heading towards GA and where we just were so we are leaving there one day early to avoid it.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 34 degrees in Talladega.  EEECCHH.  We are outta here.  We managed to get out of that danged camp without tearing up anything and had a really nice ride there yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday I went to town to do laundry, make calls, do internet banking etc.  I was gone 4 hours and Bobe was ready to call in the search party.  I did get into a Piggly Wiggly.  I just couldn't go by without going in.  I had Val on the phone with me.  We had our second night in a deserted horse camp, we were creeped out the first night and went to bed heavily armed but last night we were fine and didn't even think about it.  We have started a new habit (thanks to Richard and Roz) of having our morning board meeting over tea in bed with Gracie.  Now when we were in GA, that included hot breakfast in bed. (Cary spoiled us)   oh well, guess you can't live like a queen every day...

Lady and the Tramp are doing good traveling around, he is still a little nervous to get in the trailer and getting out of the trailer but yesterday on the trails he was a maniac, leading very bravely, pushing up the hills, just doing great.  He is still a little afraid of water puddles but we are working on that.

This morning a group of trail riders pulled in and we met some nice folks from the local area.

Well, we are staying at our first horse hotel tonight, will write more later.

Ray the wonder dog getting something treed.

On Mark's trail.

Tina & Cary's west pasture and house in the distance, and Lady's ears.

Our campsite in Talladega, AL

Testing the weight load limit of Tina's couch.

Michele and her 4th child Chuck.

Cary and Cody

Me and Chuck snuggling.

The Midnight shooters on 1/1/2011

Coon Huntin', Getting Stuck and Alabama

Okay I will start with Coon Hunting since that is where I left off. (by the way I have barely a signal here in Alabamie so bear with me)

So we eat a delicious dinner of Venison Stroganoff with yummy home grown green beans and some beer that I can't pronounce. (Yeangliang??) Then go coon hunting about 7:30pm.  Off we go into the pitch black with the hunting expert Ray, an 11 year old Mountain Cur and our own Mary Jean, the rookie.  We hiked around a bunch in the dark and Ray treed (is that a word?) but we couldn't find anything.  (reminder to self:  next time I go coon hunting I need a better light)  So we went tramping some more, climbed under a fence that Cary says, "If you touch that wire it will make you cry like a girl".  So knowing what that is like, I didn't touch the wire. (Ida mae knows what that feels like too).  Now we are near some neighbors houses who are cat lovers so I am getting nervous about MJ eating a cat.  I also know that Ray has a special bark when he trees a cat, like 10000 barks per second so I was waiting to hear that but nothing.  He treed again and I am thinking where is houndog MJ????  She is sniffing my leg instead of hunting, some mighty hunter she turned out to be, more interested in where Mama is instead of getting something treed. (I'm getting the coon hunters lingo down now) Again we can't find what he treed.  So we decide it's either go home now around 9pm or go over the mountain for an all nighter.  We decided to go home.  On the way home wonder dog trees again in another neighbors backyard and Cary and Terry decide to drive there to get it.  It being an opossum that got shot and Ray got to play with it on the way home.  Meanwhile back at the ranch, I was trying to help our wonder dog MJ out from under the board fence.  And that pretty much sums up Coon Hunting.
Last night we went to Mark and Michele's house for delicous lasagna dinner.  Fun and we played "PIT"  which is hilarious and I was hoarse from shouting when we left.

This morning after taking Cary out to breakfast at the "Good Restaurant" we departed for Alabama.  We made it here in about 3 hours and spent the next two hours trying to get into our camping spot.  Apparently no one here in Alabama has a rig quite as long as ours and the road has weird humps in  it that our spare tire kept getting stuck on.  Terry had to back up through a tight curve in the woods with me on the ground navigating.  Now everyone knows husbands and wives should never to this together.  (Where are you Uncle Lloyd when I need you)  Can you believe we actually got the trailer stuck on a hump in the road?  After we finally got turned around with a lot of shouting and name calling it dragged AGAIN before we finally got it parked on a hideous sidehill and spent another hour trying to level it.  So I am sitting in the truck DRINKING TEQUILA and listening to Vince Gill sing me christmas carols and trying to destress.  It is working beautifully and I see Terry has a fire going.  All in all this campground looks really nice and we are the only one here and were able to scrounge some wood from other campsites and for $3.00 a day it is perfect.

With my low signal I won't try for pics, maybe tomorrow if we go into town.

Goodnight all.

Tuesday

Slept in today, glorious!  Mark, Michelle and kids had to go home last night after a wonderful dinner cooked on the fire, chicken, baked potatoes and jalepeno poppers.  It was cold here last night and Tina and I were huddled around the fire clucking like hens (says Terry) and MaryJean started running a track and braying her hounddog head off.  Tina ran to get Cary and I ran to get Bobe (freshly showered and in bed already) and out they came dressed for coon hunting.  Much to their disappointment I had called her back (oops) and she actually came back(miracle).  So tonight we will be going out at dusk:30 (southern?) with the amazing Ray as Maryjean's teacher and will go coon hunting in them thar hills.  More on that later.

So yesterday the traveling welder guys arrived to put our hay rack back together.

And they did a great job and didn't charge us too much either!

They love their Auntie Tina and of course Gracie too!

An unusual sighting of an appy mule.

They have 4 mules and two horses, here is the princess of the bunch. 

More later after coon  hunting.

Greetings from GA

We had a great New Years Day here in Dahlonega, GA although it rained for about 15 hours.  We bravely cooked breakfast under the porch off the barn.  Went antiqueing in town, to the grocery store than had a Jaws marathon in the house.  We had a great North meets South News Years day dinner, Pork and Saurkraut, collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread, Delicious!  It is sunny and 53 out today but very windy.  Terry and Mark are up on the roof of the trailer right now unloading all the hay (major bummer), since one of our legs on the hay rack broke on the trip down and the front left corner is laying directly on the roof of the trailer.

Brookie has been staying in the trailer with us and last night we kicked bobe out and she got to sleep in the big bed with Me and Gracie.  Bobe slep with MJ on the couch-bed.  FUNNY!

Brookie says we are going to ride horses than play horsepoly the rest of the day.

Cary and Tina, our hosts.\

Brookie, Chuck and Me

Tina and Cary's back yard

Their adorable house