2003 ~ April 2-6 My English cousin comes to Alabama from Reepham, England

Day 1: Wednesday, April 2, 2003

I took two of my grandchildren with me to pick up my cousin at the Huntsville, Alabama Airport.
His flight arrived at 5:53 P.M.

I tried to give a little history about the Buxton Family to my grandchildren. 

I told them that one of my great-uncles was a midget.

My granddaughter said, “ Granny was your great uncle born small and did he grow small?

My granddaughter was trying to figure out why my great-uncle was a midget.

I took the grandkids to Zaxby’s for supper where they ordered hot wings.

While we were at Zaxby's the kids asked me what my cousin looked like, and I said I had not seen him in five years but I am sure he looked the same.

After we finished eating we went to the airport to pick up my cousin. We met up with him at baggage claims.

My cousin said he was starving so we stopped a SubZone.
My grandson was still hungry so he ordered a Meatball sandwich.

The ride home took a little over an hour and a half.
We stopped at Ronald's and then I took the grandkids home. 
My cousin was impressed by the double-wide trailer where the grandkids lived.
We live in an RV with only one bedroom so we booked my cousin a room at Days Inn in Florence Room number 124.

Day 2: Thursday, April 3, 2003 
I picked up my cousin and we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

I ordered two pieces of sourdough toast and my cousin ordered fried apples and muffins.
My cousin wanted to make a long-distance call to his wife, so we stopped at a pay phone booth at a local gas station.

Off to see the sites that the Shoals has to offer. 

Our first stop was the Renaissance Tower, it was closed for renovations, but the front office was open so we went inside.

The clerk in the office said, “The Renaissance Tower will open again to the public in about one and half years.”

Then she said, I love your accent, where are you from?

Somehow we got on the subject of wine and the clerk said,” They have French Wine at Sam’s Club and it is marked down to $4.00 a bottle.”

She said the reason you can get the wine for this cost is because of the French. They supported the Americans in the war against Arabia. 

The Renaissance Tower

We rode across Wilson Dam

We stopped at my cousin's, she had just pulled into her drive. 
She had left her husband at the hospital in the ICU and had just a few minutes to visit with us.

We rode to Spring Park to see the beautiful manmade cascading waterfall.

Spring Park 

 Ivy Green

Next, we stopped at Ivy Green, the birth home of Helen Keller. 
We paid the admission price and the curator was very knowledgeable about the Keller home.
She told us how Ann Sullivan had dedicated her life to Helen Keller. 

She told us that Helen was the daughter of Mr. Keller and his second Kate. 

She also told us that Helen was born in the small house next to the large house, which was at one time occupied by David and Mary Keller Helen’s grandparents. 

She told us that Helen had spinal Meni at age 18 months, which left her deaf, dumb, and blind.
We thanked her for all the information and started touring the house.
Next, we walked outside to the building where Ann Sullivan took Helen, so she could teach her without interruption.

We walked by the water pump where Helen said her first word, WATER!

I rode passed the house that my grandfather built and lived in until his death. 
My cousin is a relative of my grandmother on my father's side. 
I also rode passed the cemetery where they are buried. 

We stopped at McFarland Park which is along the Tennessee River.

For lunch, I took my cousin to the historic, Classic Parlor Trowbridge on 316 N. Court Street. 

They are known for their different types of ice cream, hot dogs, and quick sandwiches. 

Don’t remember what we ordered but I know it was good.

Our next stop was Pope's Tavern.
We paid the admission and the curator started filling us in on the history.
I think she said was a former professor and a Watson.
She told us some history about the Watson family not sure right now how that related to the Tavern.
She was a very interesting person and she kept us way past closing time.

We rode to my home where my cousin used the computer to send his wife an email.

For dinner, we went to Barnhill's where we met up with other family members.

Amelia and her husband Peanut, my brothers David & Terry, and Terry's wife Caroline.
Harry and his wife Brenda and my son Mike.
We had a very enjoyable meal reunion.
We dropped my cousin off at the hotel and drove home. 

Day 3: Friday, April 4, 2003
My cousin and I ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, and two slices of sourdough bread. 

Our first stop was Wal-Mart.
My cousin had promised to give my aunt, who worked at Wal-Mart, some British coins.

My uncle was also there.

In Wal-Mart we met a woman in the automotive department, she asked my cousin where he was from in England and he said Reepham, then she said, I am from a little town not far from where you live.

She said I married an American Soldier and came to America to live. 

Next, we went to the bus station so my cousin could purchase a bus ticket to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. 

More site seeing: 

Our first stop was the log cabin/Home/Museum, where the Father of the Blues W.C. Handy was born and lived. The cabin was moved to this site. We saw the Handy library, Several photos hanging on the walls. There were a couple of quilts lying on the rockers, a quilt atop the bed, a fireplace, a rug on the floor, Kerosene lanterns, a beautiful piano, and in the kitchen wooden dough bowl, glassware, and many cooking tools, dishes, rub-board, dipper, bucket, washpan, soap, pitcher, and many other items. 

Our next stop was Indian Mount where we walked many steps to the top.

We rode across the O'Neal Bridge named for Governor O'neal who once lived in this area. 
We rode to Tuscumbia to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
We toured the museum and stopped in the gift shop.  
The woman in the gift shop said where are you from? I love your accent. I said my cousin is visiting family and he is from England. 

  WC Handy Museum 

For lunch, we stopped at Rick's in Muscle Shoals.
We ate supper at Newborns in Florence. Once again we met up with family members. 
Amelia's husband doesn't eat fish so he ordered chicken. 

Day 4: Saturday, April 5, 2003 
Amelia cooked supper and everyone brought a dish.
Bobbie, Dad, Teresa, Rick, Harrison, Paula, and Robert

Amelia had prepared chicken, blueberry, and strawberry cheesecake.

My cousin talked about our relatives who lived in England.

Day 5: Sunday, April 6, 2003
My husband took us to the TVA Dam to show us how the dam works.
My husband took us inside of the dam, and we all had to wear hard hats.

He showed us how the flood gates, & turbines work.
He showed us the waterfall.

 Wilson Dam Turbines

We then rode to Opry Mills in Nashville.

We stopped at the Bass Pro Shop and walked through Opry Mill Mall where my cousin bought a music box for his daughter. 

On the way to Nashville, we saw a lot of farm equipment.
My cousin was very impressed with the many different types of tractors he saw. 
He is a cattle farmer in England.

 Bass Pro Shop in Nashville 

Day 6: Monday, April 7, 2003
Sadly we had to say goodbye.
I dropped my cousin off at the bus depot and from there he is going to 

Myrtle Beach South Carolina.
He said he enjoyed his visit to the Shoals and would love to come back.

I am so glad he came for a visit. It is not very often we ever get to meet relatives that live so far away.

🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️2000 June 24, Saturday, McFarland Swimming

At about mid-morning on Saturday, we loaded into my LS Saturn and rode to McFarland Park.
My grandson Justin, two granddaughters Hannah and Madison, and my son Ronald.
The kids had not planned to get into the water but it was hot and they stripped down to their underwear and jumped right into the cool water of the Tennessee River, hoping that a large bass or catfish would not nibble on their toes.

In water up to their knees. 

Madison kept on her hot pink tee shirt and her hair was pulled on top of her head in a ponytail.
Hannah was wearing a light blue floral top with matching shorts and Hannah's hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
Ronald was wearing blue jeans shorts and a black tee shirt with the sleeves cut out.

Ronald in his cool shades. 

They stayed near the edge not getting in over their heads. They walked along the edge of the lapping Tennessee River bending over to pick up unusual rocks.

Picking up shells 

Jumping on boulder

The kids played on the giant boulders that were dotted along the River. They would jump from one to the other.

Playing in the park 

The kids played on the playground equipment and we watched several barges float down the river.

Barges on the Tennessee River 

We also saw the Miss Nari New Orleans, LA cruise boat that was docked along the Tennessee River.

Towboat 
Miss Nari New Orleans, La
The historic towboat M/V Miss Nari is named for Mrs. Narcissa “Nari” Conrad, the late wife of Eddy Conrad, the CEO of RiverBarge Excursions Lines. Miss Nari is the only river towboat in America with a twin propulsion 3,000 horsepower Z Peller 360-degree unit, which can completely turn the entire tow in place. The Miss Nari was built in 1951 and started her career in the Delta Cities. If you check your history, on September 13, 1970, the Delta Cities’ tow of gasoline-filled barges broke loose crashing into the Port Arthur Bridge. The barges, the bridge, and the Delta Cities were engulfed in flames. The Delta Cities suffered severe fire damage and remained out of service for years. She became known as “the Hulk” for some time as she lay dormant. Today the newly equipped and refurbished Miss Nari still shows the scares of this tragedy with heat-warped decks. The Miss Nari pushes the barges along at speeds of 9 to 10 miles per hour although faster speeds can be achieved depending on river currents and conditions.

We could also hear the sounds of the traffic as it crossed the Tennessee River on the O'Neal Bridge.

Busting traffic on O'neal Bridge 

2016 January 1 Friday, "New Years Day" Star wars The Force Awakes

Had a great New Years Day

We rode to the Carmike Thoroughbred 20 Theater in Franklin Tennessee 

to watch the action, adventure, Sci-Fi, fantasy movie Star Wars Force Awakens.

Movie Tickets

The Force Awakens

Carmike Thoroughbred 20 Theater in Franklin Tennessee

This theater has seats that rock and everywhere you set you can see the movie without breaking your neck to watch it. 

I was surprised to the see new droid addition the BB-8 companion, I guess it replaced the archaic C3P0 and R2D2 droids. 

Apple sales the BB-8 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero for $149.00, which is controlled by your ipad or Iphone.

This BB-8 droid is on display at Target

BB-8 relates to your interactions, showing a range of expressions and actually perks up at the sound of your voice commands. 

I had seen one of the droids for sale at the Apple Store and wonder where they had came up with the Idea. 

The movie was action packed and it kept my interest for the duration of the movie.

The movie brought back a couple of the original characters Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and C-3PO.

I had cooked waffles, bacon and eggs for breakfast earlier that morning and it was after 2PM and we were both getting hungry, so we road to Restaurant alley at Cool Spring.

We decided on Famous Dave's one of my favorite places to eat.

I ordered  1/3 St Louis Style SpareRibs, collard greens,sweet corn on the cob, & sweet cornbread.

There ice tea is to die for and I got a cup to go. 

My  husband ordered there special 8 oz rib eye steak with caesar salad, baked potato and toast. 

We had food enough for three so we brought a box full home for later. 

Cornbread, corn on the cob, collard greens, ribs

The mall parking lot was full of cars so we decided to ride home.

We rode south on I-65 to the Spring Hill Exit.

My husband ask if I had ever been through the historic town of Mount Pleasant and I said no. 

He said before the four lane was built that you had to go through several small towns to travel to Nashville. 

We stopped at Rite-Aid which was built right next to an very old cemetery. It was so old that the brick wall was falling down on the back side and that is where I walked through to take a few pictures.

Cemetery near Rite Aid

We stopped right in the middle of town where we saw the Civil War monument and several Indian markers. 

Indian Plaques Statue

Civil War Statue

Mt Pleasant

It was getting dark by this time and it is hard to get good pictures while riding in the car.

I took a few pictures of the setting sun as we rode home. 

Blue Sky with hit of white, yellow as the sun was setting 

We had a good day, we watched a good movie, filled our bellies with good food, rode through an historic town (that I had never seen), and watched the sun go down on our journey home. 

Childhood Memories!

Memories, My memories

bottled deep inside

children laughing,

children playing 

children going down a slide.

Memories, My memories

stored away for another day

children hunting, 

children swinging

children playing in the hay.

Memories, My memories

write them down 

with pen in hand and

no tablet to be found

guess I’’ll have to go to town.

Memories, My Memories 

bottled deep inside

stored away for another 

guess I’’ll have to write 

them down another day!

The Stranger

Sally’s parents owned a chain of Macy’s Department Stores.

The one Sally worked at was in New York, where she had to deal with the hustle and bustle of everyday traffic and people.

Sally would take the Staten Island ferry and then the subway to Time Square where Macy’s Department was located. 

Sally loved her job and the people but deep inside she was filled with emptiness over the loss of her beloved Jim. 

Sally and Jim were college sweet hearts, they married right out of college and had planned to spend the rest of their lives together. 

After ten years of marriage they still did not have children but hoped someday day to fill that void. 

Jim was an engineer and he had designed many of the tall sky scrapers in New York. 

Sally remembers that tragic night like it was yesterday.

The knock on the door, the two policemen saying I am sorry to inform you but your husband lost control of his car and was buried in the snow.

Jim had stayed late at work and was trying to finish up one of his projects and by the time he finished it snowing up a storm. The wind was howling, it was very dark and the roads were blanketed in snow.

Both Jim and Sally loved the outdoors and they had build a beautiful home two hours away from the city.

They also kept a small apartment in downtown New York when they kept late hours at work. 

But tonight Jim wanted to be with Sally it was their tenth anniversary. 

It had been ten years since Sally was widowed, with no children to fill her days, Sally turned to books.

Bye the time Sally had the fire roaring in the fireplace she could smell the hot coffee perking in the kitchen.

Sally put on her pajamas, poured herself a cup of hot coffee, grabbed a warm blanket and went to her library of books and picked out the latest novel that she had purchased.

Sally had settled in for the night when the ground beneath her house shook. 

The sky lite up like a christmas tree, then total darkness. 

Lighting bolded one after another.

Sally put her book aside and she started to shake. When Jim was alive he would take her in his arms and make her feel safe but tonight she had no one to hold her.

One of the lightening bolts hit the house and it caught on fire. Oh my! What am I going to do? She called the fire department but she lived so far out of the city that by the time the fire trucks arrived the house would be burnt to the ground.

Sally was racing around inside the house, trying to save her library of books when she heard the sound of a car.

The car stopped and a stranger got out and raced inside to save Sally.

Sally did not want to leave the house because of her books but the stranger pulled her outside.

The firemen arrive just in time to see the sky opened up and pour buckets of rain onto the house putting the fire out. 

Sally looked at the stranger only to discovered the stranger was not a stranger.

Sally put the face of the stranger with the man she had been avoiding at the store.

Sally remembered the crazy day, that she had met the stranger.

One day at the store she was throwing a tantrum acting like a kid, she had made a horses ass of herself right in front of the stranger. 

So, every time he came into the store Sally would run and hide, she was too embarrassed to face him.

Tonight she had to face him, he had saved her life. 

The firemen made sure the fire was extinguished and it was safe for them to return inside. 

The stranger stayed the night to comfort Sally and to make sure the fire did not rekindle.

Sally went to check on her books they smelled like smoke and the pages curled a little but other wise the books were still readable.

The roof had to be patched, the walls painted but that would be another day.

The young man stayed to help with the clean up and Sally was not long ashamed to face the man.

Could this be the beginning of a new romance.

Like Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca, “Here’s looking at you kid"

🎄🎄🎄🎄2009 December 6, Saturday, Belle Mont Mansion Tuscumbia and Walking tour of Mooresville, AL

Two of my grandchildren and I rode to the Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia for the Plantation Christmas Event. 

This event offers entertainment and raises funds for further renovations of the mansion, which it desperately needs. 

It is a Jeffersonian style plantation home built in 1828 for Doctor Mitchell and sold to the prominent Winston family of Tuscumbia. 

The family abandoned it and soon fell into deteriorate. In 1983 the house and 33 acres was donated to the Alabama Historical Commission.

I parked my car along the wheat fields, along with several other cars.

There were a bus shuttling people to the mansion but my grandchildren and I walked along the gravel road to the mansion.

As we started up the gravel road, we saw the historic marker that read

Belle Mont Marker

Belle Mont Marker

Built between 1828 and 1832, Belle Mont is a foremost example of Jeffersonian Palladian Architecture in the Deep South and one of Alabama's first great plantation houses. 

It was build for Dr. Alexander W. Mitchell, a native of Virginia, and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and one of the first large scale~ planters and slaveholders in this area. 

In 1833 this 1,680~ acre plantation was sold by Mitchell to another Virginian Native, Isaac Winston. Winston, also a prominent planter and strong supporter of the Confederacy, was the uncle of Alabama's first native-born Governor, John Anthony Winston. Belle Monte remained in the hands of Winston heirs until 1941. 

In 1983, the house and 33 surrounding acres were donated to the Alabama Historical Commission.

Belle Monte Mansion Christmas 2009

On the front door of the mansion was a green wreath with gold balls and a red ribbon. The white hand railing was covered in greenery, with red bows and orange-red and green balls. There was greenery above the door and on the front porch on the second floor.

Inside the Mansion there were green vines winding along the staircase leading to the second floor. There were vines, green plants and red apples over the fireplace and on other pieces of furniture.

There were women dressed in beautiful white and red ball gowns, and men were dressed in black suits.

In the dining area were a long table, a silver bowl full of greenery, a silver teapot full of hot cider, and a silver bowl full of punch. There were several silver trays of finger food. 

Women dressed in Red and White Christmas Ball Gowns 

We drank a cup of punch and helped ourselves to the finger food. 

On the walls were hung paintings of family members that had once gracefully walked in the rooms of this mansion, and a painting of the mansion was sitting on an easel.

 Finger foods

Belle Monte 

There was a curator in every room-filling our heads with the history of the plantation.

The book, Lady of the Lake by Scott was laid on a bedside table in one of the bedrooms. 

Gathered in the family room were men dressed in suits and women dressed in holiday ball gowns of red, and white. There were a couple of women playing Christmas tunes on flutes.

We walked upstairs where there was a display case showing the construction, layout of the mansion in its grander years.

We finished our tour and walked outside to get a better view of the three chimneys, the two tear, six, white column front porch. The house was built out of red brick, with six windows on the west side, four windows on the front with two front doors. The backside of the house had a root cellar, with the large landing of stairs leading to the ground. It had a large back porch with two of the bedrooms having doors leading outside.

I guess this was to get easy access to the outhouse.

Belle Monte Mansion Back porch 

Entrance to the Dining Room @ Belle Monte Mansion

Brick Church in Mooresville

Refreshments at Brick church Mooresville

Post Office in Mooresville

Historic homes in Mooresville

My grandkids and I rode to Mooresville to take the Christmas Walking tour. 

We toured the Post Office, the Stagecoach Inn, the Tavern, and the Brick Church. 

We walked up and down the streets of the small community enjoying the Christmas decorations. 

The Brick Church was open for the tour so we stepped inside where we enjoyed a cup of hot cider and a woman playing the piano.
The Post Office was opened for the tour and the employees showed how the post office worked and the post office is still used by the community.
The old tavern was opened with a fire burning in the fireplace, there was greenery on the mantel and a small library of books in the back room.

Stage Coach Stop 

The tour ended at 5:00PM by that time it was cold and dark outside.
The grandkids and I loaded into my car and I drove us home. 

I had spent a wonderful day with two of my grandchildren. We learned some local history about the Belle Mont Mansion and the historic town of Mooresville. I took lots of pictures and I hope the grandkids remember the time we spent on both tours.

We saw several historic markers telling the history of Mooresville. 

Mooresville Incorporated in 1818

Post office contains original call boxes 

Old tavern, 1817 used as a stagecoach stop

Red Brick Methodist church 1817

U. S. Gen. James A Garfield was stationed here 1862

White frame church is more than a century old 

Andrew Johnson was apprenticed tailor here

Neoclassic architecture

1971 by Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution 

Mooresville, Alabama Incorporated November 16, 1818

Mooresville Post Office, c.1840, is the oldest operational post office in the state of Alabama. It has served the community form the same building since its construction of sawmill lumber in 1840. The mailboxes and office furnishings are even older, having been transferred from the original post office in the Stagecoach Tavern. The mailboxes are numbered 1-48, and some families have had the same box numbers for several generations. The building is owned and maintained by the Town of Mooresville.

Mooresville Stagecoach Inn and Tavern

The Stagecoach Inn and Tavern were built c.1820 and served as the post office before the current post office was constructed around 1840. An Act of Congress on March 13, 1818, authorized mail delivery to and from neighboring Huntsville and necessitated the establishment of a post office in Mooresville. A road was built between the two towns, and horse and rider carried mail. The Stagecoach Inn and Tavern were listed on Tanner's Post Map of 1825 with supper priced at "2 bits." The original post office was located on the right side of the building and mail may have been deposited and received through the small window. This window is also believed to have been used for the after-hours sale of liquor. The first floor was used as a common room with an outside stairway leading to two sleeping rooms on the second floor. The Stagecoach Tavern is currently used as a museum and the official town hall.

Mooresville Brick Church

Completed by 1839 this Greek Revival Structure was probably under construction for several years. On November 18, 1838, Alabama's 2nd Governor, Thomas Bibb and his wife Pamela deeded this property to William K. Adams, Monroe F. Moses and James Allison trustees of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This denomination retained the title but over the years permitted the Baptist and Methodist to meet here.

Outstanding religious leaders who preached here were Cumberland Presbyterians "Father" Robert Donnell, the early leader and Constantine Blackmon Sanders, the "X+Y=Z Preacher" as well as Methodist Clare Purcell later Bishop of North Ala., West Fla. and Central Conferences.

National Register of Historic Places Mooresville Historic District 4/13/72

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church

This faith was organized in Dickson County, Tenn., Feb. 4, 1810, as an outgrowth of the Great Religious Revival of 1800. Its founders were ministers of the Presbyterian Church who rejected the doctrine of election and reprobation. They formulated and published a “Brief Statement” setting forth the points wherein Cumberland Presbyterians dissented from the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Robert Donnell, one of the founding fathers of the church, was preaching in this area as early as 1810. About 1834 he moved from Tenn. to Mooresville and was largely responsible for the early growth of the faith locally.

Mary Ann Walton, a local benefactor, died in 1899 willing much of her estate in trust to the Presbytery. Her will was contested and upheld three times by the Alabama Supreme Court in Woodroof vs. Hundley.