2023 OCT 5, Trip to Mobile, Kathryn Tucker Winham Museum & the Clarke County Museum

 Day 1: Thursday

On our way to Mobile, we made several stops along the way.

We stopped in Thomasville to tour the Kathryn Tucker Museum (Storyteller). The curator guided us through the museum and shared the history of Mrs. Windham.

Mrs. Windham was famous for her ghost stories about "Jeffery the ghost," who took up residence in Mrs. Windham's home.

Kathryn Tucker Windham T-shirt with Jeffrey's Ghost on the Front. 

The story about how Kathryn got her first camera!

A sculpture of Kathryn by her good friend
 "Charlie Lucas"

Kathryn's life story is told in a quilt.

Reserved for Ghost Jeffery 

We thanked our guide, and she said if we liked the museum, we should stop at the Clarke County Museum in Grover Hill, Alabama.

Clarke County Historical Museum with Pioneer Village in the back.

The museum was having some issues with the inside of the building, so many of the displays on the ground level were in disarray. 

French Bed 

We walked upstairs to see a bedroom with a French Bed. This bed was made in 1825 from French walnut. It came from Samuel Barnes' plantation, which was located in the once-thriving town of Suggsville in eastern Clarke County. The bed posts are hollow, allowing for a canopy to be added. The bed was donated by Mrs Donald Mills of Montgomery, Barnes's great-granddaughter.

Josiah and Lucy Martin Matthew Cabin 
This structure was donated to the Clarke County Historical Society for its present site. 
Restored in 2008.

We learned that Clarke County was home to 3 salt works during the Civil War. These Springs were also used by the Native Americans. 

We also learned that salt prices escalated so quickly during the Civil War that workers were paid in salt. Prices rose from $1.25 per bushel of 50 pounds in 1861 to $50 by the end of the Civil War. 

When the rumor circulated that Mobile had been captured, everyone scattered, ending the widespread use of the works.  

Salt-making kettle 

At the Clarke County Museum, Pioneer Day 2023 will take place on October 28, from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. 

Pies, cakes, and other homemade baked goods will be available for purchase. The renowned Gee's Bend quilters will demonstrate quilting and offer for sale some of their exquisite handiwork. Winky Hicks and friends will be playing bluegrass music, and storyteller Deborah Rankins will be on hand to tell local tales.

We thanked our curator and began our final journey to Mobile. 

We will stay at the Battle House Renaissance Hotel, room 5242, another historic site. 

The hotel is connected to the completely new and impressive RSA Battle House Tower. The RSA Hotel is 40 stories tall in the state. 

It originally opened in 1852. The Franklin Hotel was on this site before it burned down in 1829.

Andrew Jackson set up headquarters in 1812. The first Mardi Gras Ball was held in the Crystal Ballroom in 1852.

Elvis Presley stayed the night he was kicked off the fairgrounds in 1952 for doing the "Shake."

It features a Whispering Arch, known as the Six Flags of Mobile.

1702-1763 French Flag

1763-1780 British Flag

1780-1813 Spanish Flag

1813 -1861 1st US Flag 

1851-1861- Antebellum Period 

1861-1864 - Alabama Confederate Flag 

1964-present 2nd US Flag 

You can see portraits of Louis XIV, George Washington, Ferdinand V, and George III in the Whispering Arch ceiling area.

Whispering Arches

The Grand Ballroom 

We walked up the street to Loda Bier Garten for dinner, but were stopped by two men from Chanel 10 Fox News, one with a camera and the other with a microphone. One asked us if we were going on the Cruise ship out of Mobile, and we said yes. So he interviewed us, and we were on TV that night. 

Several people on the Carnival Cruise Ship Spirit said they saw me on TV. 

This was the first ship to depart Mobile in over a year. The bay had to be dredged so bigger vessels could dock.

We continued our journey to the Bier Garten, where we enjoyed a hamburger, fries, and fried mushrooms. 

It had been a long day, so we returned to the hotel, took a hot shower, and climbed into bed. 

We wanted to be rested before we began our journey on the Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship to the Bahamas. 

Fried Mushroom at Lola's Bier Garten in Mobile 

🍉🍉🍉2016 Friday, August 19, Watermelon Festival Russellville

We arrived at the Watermelon Festival in Russellville a little before 6:00 P.M. 
We parked on the street behind the main street and walked one block to enter the Watermelon Festival.  
As we walked up Main Street, we saw Daddy's Roasted Sweet Corn, which was positioned near the Roxy Theater.  
Posted on the marquee was "Welcome to the 36th Annual Watermelon Festival." 

Main Street was crowded with vendors on both sides, and many people were buying their wares. It was a struggle just to walk up the street because it was so crowded.
A little breeze was blowing, but not enough to take away the humidity. The sky was filled with dark, heavy clouds, ready to burst into rain. 

We could hear the Kerry Gilbert Band beginning to play.

We could hear the Kerry Gilbert Band as they began to play. We walked toward the sound of the music. 
When we arrived in the band area, the sun was beaming down right into my eyes, so we had to find a shaded area where we could watch the band. 

We had brought chairs to sit in, but left them in the van, so we ended up sitting on the concrete curb near the tables filled with juicy, red slices of watermelon, free for the taking. 

We sat and watched the band play while the watermelons behind me said, "Come get a slice." 
So, I walked to the table full of sliced melons and picked out a slice, making sure I had plenty of napkins.

Free slices of red juicy watermelons! Make sure you grab enough paper towels!

I listen to music while eating the melon, with juice dripping down my arm. 
I savored every bite until nothing was left but the rind. 
I found only a few seeds in the watermelon slice, which I spat onto the ground. I found a garbage can to dispose of the rind, and I wiped my face and hands of all that red, sweet juice from the melon.

Slices of the red juicy watermelon were going fast. 

Kerry encouraged the crowd to clap. 

Kerry is an Elvis Presley fan, and he sang one of Elvis's songs, Suspicious Minds.  Kerry gets way down on the base, with the song Way Down. 
Kerry, Hugh Banks, Terry Frank, Randy Kimbrough, Alyssa Ashley, Mitch Curtis, and Wendell Dean performed an a cappella of the gospel song "Sweet Sweet Spirit."
Alyssa Ashley and Mitch Curtis performed a Dotty West Song, Two Worlds Collide. 

Several women and a man got up and danced, while others clapped and stomped their feet to the music. 

SWEET TREE Productions controlled the sound system and provided the stage for the bands.

When the band ended, we walked back into the crowded streets. 

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade YUM!!!

We saw Smoothies and Tropical Treats by Dixie Concessions.
We saw Corn Dogs, Chicken tenders, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, French Fries, Ribbon Fries, Philly Cheese sticks, Polish Sausages, and Funnel Cakes. 

We saw on the Roxy Theater Marquees facing down Main Street: Whiskey Tree Guest Kendra Hope, Travis Wammack, and Snake Band Saturday, August 27, 6:30 P.M.

We saw Captain Marvel and Spiderman.

We saw Protect and Serve Police Officers. 

We saw Protect and Serve Police Officers. 

We saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse, along with children, getting their pictures taken with them. 

We saw U.DO. IT Chill Factory, Alabama's Best Fresh Made Ice Cream, Tharptown Wildcats Cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, Italian Ice, & Dipping Dots Ice Cream.

We walked to the carnival rides where we saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy's Bouncing House. We saw children buckled into the Reckless ride. We saw children loading into Pirates Revenge Ride. 

Swings, Mind Winder

Monster Truck 

Reckless and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy's Bouncing house

We saw a giant Monster Truck called Mayhem, an inflatable, and a large inflatable slide. We saw children being slung around on the swings. 
The last ride we saw was the Mind Winder.

Standing in Silence, the Festival Festivals 36 years, is this Historic Home.e 

Facing one another at the end of the festival, Silence two historic Homes.
On the right was a red-brick house with two chimneys. To the left was a white siding three-story home with a red slate, a triangular roof, a rounded dome room on the third level, and a covered front porch. 

We started back up the street where we saw a young boy riding the bull; he stayed on for 48 seconds. As we walked past, I said to myself, not me, that bull can buck someone else off. 

I ain't afraid of no GHOST!

As we walked up Main Street, we saw a Ghostbuster.
Not yet dark enough for any ghosts. 
Yet there may be ghosts lurking in the two houses just beyond the festival, or Festivalwalking among us!