2017 July 4, Tuesday, Day Trip to Huntsville, Alabama

Hubby and I rode into Florence to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I ordered one scrambled egg, two slices of bacon, and two slices of sourdough toast with strawberry jelly. I also ate Hubby's fried apples.
Hubby ordered the big breakfast...
We traveled Highway 72 east to Rogersville, stopping at Foodland to pick up a couple of canned drinks.
We rode to Rogersville Park, where they had just installed a splash pad for kids.

Splash Pad Rogersville 

Playground and restrooms, Rogersville Park

In Huntsville, we rode through Providence Town Center, where we saw statues of Darth Vader and R2-D2 standing in front of the Mellow Mushroom Restaurant. (Characters from the Star Wars Trilogy)

Darth Vader and R2-D2 

I wanted to see the construction work where the Old Huntsville Mall was once located, so we rode there next.
The mall is gone, with its piping and wiring all dug up, leaving only dirt remaining.

No longer a mall 

Next, we rode through the Twickenham District to Monte Sano Mountain.
We paid the admission price to enter the park and stopped at the restrooms at the campsite. We stopped at the overlook near the one-room CCC Museum, which was closed. 

Overlook near Birding site 29 (overcast day)

 CCC Museum (one-room museum) 

We stopped, and I took pictures of the Burritt Museum and Trough Springs Markers. 
We rode down the mountain onto Governors Drive, passing the Hospitals. 
Next, we rode to Brahan Spring Recreation Center on Ivy Avenue Southwest.
We stopped at the park, where we saw the  Merrimack Marker.
The marker mentioned the Merrimack Manufacturing Co., the Huntsville Manufacturing Co., and Springs Industries Inc., from 1899 to 1991. It also mentioned the Merrimack School and the Joseph J. Bradley School, established in 1900 and 1967.
Next, we stopped at Brahan Spring Park for a few pictures and to use the restrooms.

We started home, stopping in Athens at Zaxby's to eat dinner.
I ordered boneless wings and a side salad. My husband ordered a boneless chicken wing meal.

Boneless Wings 

Side Salad

We were home for about an hour when my husband got a call to go to work.
Another trip to Huntsville. 
The job didn't take long, and we were home by 7 P.M. 

My son, Andy, called and said, 'Mom, we're going to shoot fireworks at 8:30 P.M.' So, at 8:15 P.M., we rode to my son's house.
We sprayed ourselves with bug spray, grabbed our fold-out chairs, and off we rode to my son's house.
We had a great time with family, watching them shoot off fireworks.
These three bulldogs hated the sound of the fireworks, and we had a hard time keeping them away from chasing the fireworks.

We were home by 10 P.M., and both of us dropped into bed from exhaustion.

🚗2011 ~ Sept 14, Wednesday, Day Trip Paducah, Kentucky

Left the house at about 6:30 A.M., drove up Highway 43 to Highway 64 leading to Pulaski, Ten, then onto I-65 toward Nashville, Ten. 

We rode through the construction work and early morning work traffic. 

We arrived in Paducah, Ky., at about 10:30 A.M. 

Murals along N Water Street. Each mural tells a story 

We walked along the riverfront on Water Street, which displays several blocks of 43 beautifully painted storytelling murals by Robert Dafford and his team. It has taken over eleven years to paint these Wall-to-Wall murals, which display the "3 queens," visiting Paducah, the American Queen, the Delta Queen, and the Mississippi Queen.

Whaler's Catch Restaurant and Oyster Bar Market

We walked around the town back to Whaler's Catch Restaurant and Oyster Bar Market to eat lunch. 

Whaler's Catch is located in the historic Johnson Building on Second Street in Paducah. 

Outside is the main eating area called the Crow's Nest, which overlooks the River. 

We had boiled seafood Potpourri, cooked shrimp, crab cakes, baked fish, salad, and iced tea. Their specialty is a pot of black-eyed peas; everyone is welcome to take a bowl.

After the meal, we walked across the street to the National Quilt Museum. 

Quilt Museum, along with Lewis, Clark, and their dog 

On the lawn outside the museum were displayed five statues: Lewis, Clark, Indian Girl, Man, and Seaman. (The dog Lewis paid $20 for, and he only paid $5 for Paducah.)

At the National Quilt Museum, we saw A Sense of Balance, The Chicago School of Fusing, The National Quilt Museum Collection, and the Miniature Quilt Collection.

In the sense of balance display, we saw how quiltmakers of the past balanced form, color, and lines in their quilts. 

In the Chicago School of Fusing, we saw works of artists that displayed vibrant, whimsical, and 3-D quilt cloth objects. "Fiesta Del Mar I," by Anne Lillie, Autobiography, by Susan Else

Ongoing exhibits include quilts donated by the museum's founders, Bill and Meredith Schroeder, as well as award-winning quilts from the American Quilter's Society quilt show and contest, donated through AQS.

The collection includes more than 300 quilts created by more than 333 quiltmakers. 

The miniature quilts may not be wider or longer than 24 inches, and they must be reduced in scale. 

We rode along the Ohio River, where we saw tugboats, Raymond Schultz Park, and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway historic markers.

We drove back through the town of Paducah, and I took pictures of old buildings (bank, churches, theater, Irvin Cobb Hotel, Tilghman home/Civil War Museum, Hank Bro and Jones Hardware building, etc.).

We rode past the Oak Grove cemetery, where Irvin S. Cobb, Dr. Reuben Saunders, and others were buried. 

Indian wood carving by Peter Wolf to honor the Chickasaw Indians. 

We stopped at Noble Park to take a picture of the Indian wood carving by Peter Wolf to honor the Chickasaw Indians. The trail of the whispering giants, Wacinton, is intended to foster understanding.

Superman Metropolis, IL 

We then drove to Metropolis, where we saw two statues. The first statue was a ten-foot Superman in front of the Metropolis courthouse, and the other was Big John in front of Big John's Grocery store. 

We rode to Harrods casino, where we spent $5.00.  

We saw a sign that said we would get $100 and a free meal at Harrods, so we went to check it out. 

You had to be a first-time player, play for a solid hour, and lose $100, and they would reimburse you.

Beautiful staircase at Whitehaven Mansion, Welcome Center, Paducah 

We stopped at the Welcome Center located! -24 Eastbound Mile Marker 28 in Paducah at Whitehaven 

On our way home, we stopped in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, a Patti's 1880 settlement, where we saw a small church, animals, boating, a waterwheel, and a flower garden.

Patti's 1880 Settlement 

For dinner, we ordered an appetizer at Patties restaurant.

We arrived home at about 9:30 P.M. We had a wonderful day.

Sentences using the word LOST !!!!

The next thing I knew, he was calling for help because he had lost his balance and fallen into the water.

We watched a 30-minute Indiana Jones Stunt show scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

We lost Madison in the crowd.

There was a group of six that toured the Lost Sea Cave.

I had lost twenty-five pounds.

Sierra had a softball game, and they lost.

I replied that he lost both legs.

We met a couple from Oregon who had lost their little girl to kidney failure and had come back to the Ronald McDonald House to bury her. 

We met a family from Oregon, who had just lost their seven-week-old daughter to kidney failure. 

So we lost them; neither Ron nor I had brought our cell phones.

Finally, they arrived, and Dakota gave Ron his cell phone, just in case they got lost again.

We walked through the mystery maze, got lost, and had to ask for directions to get out.

Madison got lost, and we went to look for her.  

We lost Madison for about 45 minutes. 

We exited Desoto Caverns and went to the parking area, where there were rides, archery, a cave crawl, and a mine for gemstones. We walked through a lost trail maze.

I had been in the field of an electrical storm and had lost my short-term memory.

I thanked him and went in search of my lost sisters.

I lost the forty dollars in my shorts pocket and had to go back to the car for more cash.

We met a US Coast Guard member who was on his way to catch the bus home. He asked if we were lost and if he could help.

The Patriots lost by one point, 30 to 31.

I thought I was lost!

My friend had lost a son in an auto accident the year before, and her husband was having a hard time dealing with his grief.

The lost spaceship. 

Hubby lost his job at the end of January 2002, so we drove our RV home to Alabama.

We saw the memorial for the seven crew members who lost their lives when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded.

🚙Getting lost leaving Chicago

We spent the weekend at the Westin Hotel for The Magic Foundation Convention in Wheeling, IL. 
We checked out of our room at around 12 P.M. 

We called for a bellhop to help us with the luggage. 

We checked out, loaded the truck with all our belongings, and rode to Burger King for lunch.

The Magic Foundation had arranged for everyone who had attended the conference to have a free day of fun at the Wheeling Aquatic Park Center. 

Lora and the kids went down the tube, and Meadow and I played in the swimming pool.

Wheeling Aquatic Park Center is an outdoor aquatic center with amenities:

Volcano Valley has tube and body slides, and Paradise Falls has two drop falls.

Willie the Whale has a toddler slide, and there are lap lanes in the swimming pool.

Kana Courts have sand volleyball, a Grassy area for tanning, 

Willies Coconut Café for food, a picnic area for eating, and a diving board, and Aloha Beach has zero depth in the entry of the main pool.

Karki Island has a sand play area, locker rooms, and lockers for storing valuables.

Tsunami Splash has a water playground with tipping buckets.

Lilypad Lagoon has a splash pool, water basketball, and monkey bar activity pad. 

We stayed at the aquatic center until 4:30 P.M.

Lora then drove us to downtown Chicago to tour the Sears Tower "sky deck."

The Sears Tower, completed on May 3, 1973, was the tallest skyscraper in the World until 1996.

It is still the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. What a view!

We walked to Giordano's Pizzeria, across the street from the Sears Tower. 

We had to wait 40 minutes for a table and another 40 minutes for our food. 

We ordered a deep-dish stuffed medium pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. It was covered with Marinara sauce and as thick as a medium cake. 

Madison enjoyed the stinging mozzarella cheese.

Lora drove us out of downtown Chicago, leaving at about 9:00 P.M. 

I took over driving for several hours. 

Everyone fell asleep except me, and when I got sleepy, we stopped at a Motel 8 somewhere in Louisville, Indiana, off I-70E. 

We were so sleepy that we did not even inspect the room, which we should have because the beds were falling apart. 

That does not matter when you are too sleepy to drive.

It was late, I was very sleepy, and I drove seven miles in the wrong direction.

The first clue was our location because the following day, I had taken a wrong turn about seven miles off during the night.

I remember going through a lot of construction, with orange cones everywhere. I am sure that is where I got lost.

We had to do a lot of backtracking.

Anyone could get lost by leaving late, getting sleepy, and traveling with kids. 

It is strange how a sermon can trigger your thoughts about something that happened in the past.

Have you ever been lost or gotten lost driving? Ask yourself and tell your story.

Engulfed by Darkness

 Jonah was swallowed by a whale for disobedience.
I was engulfed in darkness, heavy traffic, and blinding rain.

I loaded up my grandson, Justin (age five), and my granddaughter, Hannah (age seven), and we began our journey to Pell City.
We traveled I-65 South all the way to Birmingham.
In Birmingham, we took the I-20 to Pell City, which took us about two and a half hours.

I did not have the exact address of my grandson, as he had moved from his old address.
Now, I was depending on a five-year-old to get us to his new address.

We rode up and down the same highway for over an hour before I could get in touch with his dad.

By the time we left for home, it was getting dark, and it had started to rain.
On the Interstate, we got behind a large truck, and I couldn't see around it, so we missed our turn.

All I remember was that we were headed north on a very rough highway. (79)
Several times, I almost stopped because I thought my tires were going flat, but I was afraid since it was very dark and there was not much traffic.

Thank God I had a cell phone that worked, so I called Hubby, who was working in St Louis at that time.
I told him what happened, and he said, What highway are you on? This was before we had GPS on our phones or our vehicles.

Hubby said I will call you back when I locate you on the map.
Hubby called and said you will have to go over the mountain to get back to I-65.

The darkness and rain did not help to see along the winding roads we took over the mountains.

We almost rammed into a stalled car on a dark bridge.
It took us twice as long to get home, but we made it safe and sound.

God was in control in both cases.

Getting Lost in Miami

In church today, our minister asked if anyone had taken a wrong turn. 
He told the story of  God choosing Jonah to preach to the wicked people in Nineveh. 
Jonah hated the people of Nineveh and chose instead to go in another direction.

It got me thinking about some of the wrong turns that I have made in my life.

The first wrong turn was during my trip to Miami.
I flew to Miami to be with my daughter during her surgery and recovery.
I sat in the waiting room while my daughter was having her surgery. The nurse came out and gave me a prescription for my daughter for painkillers and antibiotics.
She said I should get the prescription filled at the nearby Publix Pharmacy, which was within walking distance.
We had taken a taxi to the surgery center (keep in mind, we did not have a car to drive).

A couple from Rochester, New York, was going to the pharmacy to get their prescription filled, and the nurse asked if I could accompany them.

The couple was polite and said I could go.

The woman was getting breast implants on Friday. 

The nurse gave directions to the Publix Pharmacy to the husband.

We walked to the parking deck and loaded into their rented red mini car. 

Their luggage was still in the car, and they had not yet checked into their hotel.

The red mini car had two doors that opened from the outside and two more that opened from the inside only.

Off we went in search of the Publix Pharmacy. 

We went to Flager, then NW, on Forty-second Avenue.

Next, we went SW on Forty-second Avenue, where we stopped at Publix.

The woman and I got out of the car and went inside the store. I asked one of the women working at the checkout where your pharmacy is.

The woman replied, "We have no pharmacy." 

The woman from Rochester, NY, and I started to laugh. 

Then, we went on to explain our search for a Publix Pharmacy.

The woman at the checkout register drew us a map to the nearest Publix (which I later found out was the wrong pharmacy). 

We took so many turns that I was completely lost when we finally found the pharmacy.

We gave our prescriptions to the pharmacist, and he said it was going to take at least one and a half hours to get the prescription filled. We asked why it was going to take so long, and they replied that one of the prescriptions was a narcotic drug and only pharmacists had access to the drug. 

We rode back to the surgery center, where I was dropped off.

I thanked the couple for letting me tag along with them. 

I never saw them again.

I went to the lobby to wait. There, I met a couple from Charlotte, North Carolina.

They said that they both worked for the US Post Office in Charlotte. 

They said that they had four children, two boys and a set of twin girls.  

She was having breast implants done that day.  

I told her husband that he had better get her prescription filled before she came out of surgery because they had told us it would take an hour and a half to fill. 

The Hubby dropped off her prescriptions.

His wife went back to surgery before my daughter came out of surgery.

My daughter came out of surgery around 5:30 P.M. She was in a lot of pain. She kept saying Just shoot me!

We had to wait until 6 P.M. to leave because the owner was going to give us a ride to the hotel, and the surgery center did not close until 6 P.M.

We rode to Publix Pharmacy to get my daughter's prescription 

What we thought was a quick stop turned into stopping at two different Publix.

We arrived at the first Publix, and as I was going up the escalator, I met Mural. (Man from Charlotte, NC)

We walked to the pharmacy together, and I said to him, "This place does not look familiar."

I was next in line. I gave my daughter's name to the pharmacist, and she tried to look up my daughter's prescription.

The pharmacist said you must have left the prescription at another Publix Pharmacy.

So, I walked back to the car and told my daughter and our driver that it was the wrong pharmacy. 

My daughter was not happy about that at all. 

We went several miles in the wrong direction when I said, We are going in the wrong direction.

I told the driver that the Publix we need to go to is not far from the first one, because I remember coming back down West Flagler St.

The driver said, "Now I know the correct location; it is a new Publix Pharmacy."

We arrived at the correct Publix pharmacy, and I got in line to pick up my daughter's prescription.

The woman in front of me kept asking questions about the prescription she had just filled. 

 I did not think she would ever shut up!

Finally, I got my daughter's medicine; the cost was $2.00 I paid and left.

On the way home, the driver said, "I have not eaten all day. Do you mind if I stop at Wendy's?"

He ordered a Coke, fries, and a large hamburger. He asked if we wanted anything to eat, and we said yes, so we ordered a junior cheeseburger and fries. 

I offered to pay, but he paid for everything.

My daughter was sitting in the backseat.

When she opened her pill bottle, she dropped one.

I was sitting in the front seat, and I had to unbuckle my seat belt, lean my head toward the back, and put my butt up in the air to look for that pill. 

Never found it!

We arrived at the hotel, got out, and thanked the driver.

The driver had to pull the seat out to reach the pill. 

He said I have two small children, and I don't need a loose pill floating around for my kids to get their hands on.

You can get lost by disobeying God, 

You can get lost in your mind, 

You can get lost by not paying attention

You can get lost anywhere!!!