Sat. morning we are headed to Seattle with our daughter, Lindy, and our two grand-kids, Kylie and Jayden!  Their parents are not going, so this will be an adventure!  We will leave on a cruise on Sunday to see the inside passage of Alaska!  Rule #1 for them is to NEVER ever go ANYWHERE on the ship alone. I Get lost myself, and may not find them. :-) Rule #2 is, to eat protein with sugar! IT is not hard since their is an abundance of good fruit, and cheese, etc. MOST of the time. OF course, pizza and ice cream are also often readily available. :-)   We are ALL VERY very, EXCITED.

   TIME to Fold and get our clothes in the suitcase!   Sincerely, JULIE Maxwell, aka Mom, aka GRAMME

Friday morning, Jan. 24th, 2014 we will get up very early and head to the airport. By 6 A. M. we will be headed to  Costa Rica, which has been on Mike's bucket list for about there years.  The sunhine and warmth is calling me. It is this time of year that I start thinking of Spring - How much longer until it gets here ??? Pray for us to have safe travels and to like our guide and tour gruop.  Julie M

Wed. morning October 9^th

This morning I woke up laughing about what happened in the middle of the night. You see, I had carried home a few shells the previous morning and left them in the sink in soap suds and set them out to dry overnight before packing up. The sink had drained but I didn't look too close—just set them up on the coffee pot by our sink.  Mike heard something clicking while in bed after I went to sleep. Then he heard something FALL. That got his attention. He got up and noticed the bigger sea shell on the counter and picked it up. A small leg was sticking out and a crab was TRYING DESPERATELY to escape. He started laughing very loudly and saying, “JULIE, you won’t believe this!!!”  I am thinking, “Mike, who is always telling me to quiet down as OTHERS are SLEEPING next door, is being WAY too loud!”  He set it outside the door on the sidewalk and I went back to sleep. Wed. morning we left our room to go to breakfast and GUESS where the sea shell was?  IT was clear down at the next door!  OH my, that poor little crab was 1 room closer to the ocean, but it had a big parking lot and 4 lanes of traffic to cross.

oh, and another one of my favorite classic vehicles! 

We also had to go to the beach a last time. We both hated to say good-bye to the coast. 

         On our way out of town I made Mike detour to look at MORE historic homes 

on our way to Pass Christian, Miss. (That is where Robin Roberts is from.) On our way back to the hwy , we heard sirens and sure enough, one of the Classic cars had crashed and was on its side. It was only 9 in the morning and NOT a good way for them to start their day. We said a prayer for them, and we were lucky to be entering the hwy after the traffic jam.  

        We had a lovely day of more beautiful scenery and lunch at Voo Doo Barbecue.  Weird name, but it was actually pretty good. In the afternoon we traveled to another Historic town, Natchez, Miss.  There was a beautiful lookout on the Mississippi River, and lots of stories about the Civil War and what took place there. 

This was one place where they first introduced Kudzu, a vine to hold down soil. Later they discovered how invasive it was. We saw lots of it on our trip, beginning in Tennessee. Mike joked that you would feel afraid to camp there at night, as it might cover you before you woke up. It can grow one foot a day!  The USDA imported it from China in the 30's and the Chinese have used the roots for years to make tea and a thickening agent. NOW it is called "the Vine that ate the SOUTH."  I am sure the current USDA people would like to choke the people who brought it INTO the U.S. It actually freezes in the winter, but the vines are do deep it just comes right back! 

 We went to the visitor’s center and also looked about the town. One of the interesting looking Plantation Homes was closed due to the government shutdown, so we didn't stay too long. Our stop for the night was Vicksburg, Miss., home of Coca Cola.  We had our last good seafood dinner, and saw a beautiful sunset!  The part of town we saw was very old and interesting looking.

Thurs. morning, Oct. 10^th, we knew we were on the homeward trail. I was eager to see Arkansas again, but not so much when I started seeing the hilly highways. Some were 4 lane divided, but some were not. I grew tired of driving quickly as it took a LOT of concentration. We stopped at a couple Antique stores for breaks, and looked for some specific license plates for Jayden.   The first one was small, but had THREE of the states we had traveled to at a good price. We snapped them up!  The next one said it as the largest around, and it was SEVERAL SHEDS FULL!  We only went in to two, but I had NEVER seen anything like it. ONE was FULL of stained glass, and it all hung from the ceiling. I can’t remember if it was 500 or 5,000 pieces, but I had NEVER seen so much!

         We started seeing lots more cotton fields too. I didn’t know that was so big in Arkansas. I finally found some blowing by a gas station so I scarfed it up.   NOW it is safely inside a plastic Christmas ball as a souvenir of our trip!  When  we were almost out of Arkansas, I asked at a gas station if there were ANY orchards around.  I had good memories of picking apples in Sept. 1983 with Mike and the girls at my grandfather McBride’s in Mountainburg, ARK.  She said, “Yes, two miles down on the right side of the road at Miller’s market.  She was exactly right and I purchased my bag full of delicious apples, about three kinds. I bet we were just a few miles from the Ark/Missouri border, so once again, God was watching over me.  Kylie and I later made applesauce from them!

          We made our goal of reaching Branson, MO. by suppertime and found a motel with a restaurant right beside it. YEA, as we were sick of driving.  We  slept well, and ventured out early the next morning to check out some cabins south of town where construction had prevented us the previous afternoon.  We were so excited to find them just like the pictures on the internet, and it sealed our desire to bring our family back next June to celebrate our 40^th Anniversary there!

The day was pleasant and we reached Kansas City by mid-afternoon where I was meeting some of my high school classmates for a weekend Girlfriends Reunion.

 THAT would be a WHOLE long BLOG all its own, so it is sufficient to say that 20 women had a wonderful time from Fri. night until late Sun. afternoon. We renewed old friendships, shared joys and some sadness, and it was a lovely FALL weekend in Overland Park, Ks. 

                                 Julie, Chris Hoffman Birnbaum and Sharon Sheppard Walker

Chris and I met in kindergarten, and Sharon moved to Hiawatha in 4th grade!  Since Sharon married one of my favorite cousins, it has not been hard to stay in touch!  What a blessing it was to be with so many friends that are Christians also.  

        We arrived back home before supper on Mon., October 14th ! 

We had not totally missed Fall at home!

We could not wait to see our family the next day, so Mike picked up the kids after school to bring them over for a visit. Kylie and I made applesauce,

 and Lindy came to help us prepare dinner too. It was so good to see all our family again after 27 day of separation!!

SORRY I didn't get YOUR picture, Kara and Joe. I really did miss you too, and thanks to all of you for watching over our home, etc. while we were gone!

      

Sun morning, Oct. 6th, we left Savannah and headed to Florida. Mike wanted to check out Okefenokee Swamp Park.  If I had read more of the travel material, I might not have been so eager for this new experience. We got there in time to board the next open boat guided tour. We hadn't gone far when we saw our first, 6 ft. long, baby alligator. He seemed pretty content but the mom on the boat was nervous about her 8 yr. old son, and I was too. She kept saying, “keep your hands in the boat,” while I was thinking,” for crying out loud, make him sit in the middle!!!” She didn't  and front row, center, I am curling into myself to become as small as I can.  Once the boy said, “IS that a tarantula?” and I looked up just after we went under a huge spider web. The guide said it was something else. OH Well, big enough!  WE got off at one place and climbed over 200 steps up a tower. Nice view of lots of trees and swamp stuff-it felt good to be high above it, but the hike up made us very sweaty in that environment.  Back down and to the end of the 45 min. tour, when the guide said, “There is CRAZY!” Crazy was a 12 ft. long male alligator that is very aggressive, thus his name. He didn't move the boat quickly enough for me. I had trouble snapping a photo.  At the end we chose to walk a few feet into the nature center but after seeing a pile of more reptiles down in a fenced area, I was done. Mike said we could skip the Live Wildlife show. I am not BIG into reptiles, or even little into reptiles. UGH!!!!!!!!!!

In the afternoon we decided to check out another historical plantation called Pebble Hill, near Thomasville Georgia.  On the way I saw my first cotton fields. After seeing them I am surprised that cotton is not more expensive than it is. It seems it would take a lot to make a piece of fabric. 

It was in a beautiful setting so far off the beaten track that we almost missed it.  It contained a huge art collection of Georgia wildlife, and also hunting photos.  A wedding was taking place but we were able to see everything, being the only “tourists” that day. Once again, we had a lovely older woman who loved sharing the stories and history with us.

One thing I enjoyed in the Southeast was seeing all the different churches, of all sizes. The small country ones, in particular, all seemed to have identical "double doors" and most of them had fall wreaths hanging on them. I snapped this going down the highway.

Sun. night we stayed in Tallahassee, Fl.  Nothing exciting and the part of town we stayed in seemed a bit depressed.  I guess we needed a night of rest.

       Mon. morning, October 7th,  we headed to Mississippi and our goal was Biloxi. We got a bit sidetracked in Destin, FL. , by a HUGE OUTLET MALL.  It was the hugest one I have ever seen!   Mike said the best find was lunch at Cheeseburgers in Paradise! YUMMY!!!

           We had heard that a big car rally was going to take place in Biloxi and when we arrived there about 5 P.M. and saw cars, RV's  and people everywhere, we got a little nervous.   Not to worry, GOD had it all under control and we found a perfect motel with breakfast and a laundry and free wi fi!  YEA. We walked along the sandy sidewalk to dinner and started seeing all kinds of classic cars. It was so fun! 

 Since hurricane force winds had threatened the area the previous couple of days, there was still sand on the sidewalks. Sand had blown from the beach, across a 4 lane divided HWY(26 mi. of coastal beach-it was gorgeous), and onto the sidewalk on the motel side of the street. What we started noticing was  that everywhere there was an empty lot left from Hurricane Katrina, people were camping in RV’s for the Car Show. What a smart way to make some bucks off an empty piece of property! 

        Mon. morning we headed to the beach first thing and enjoyed the beautiful sand and quiet.  Not many people were around.

 We noticed a LOT of crab trails in the sand. I I picked up a few shells and put them in our backpack. MORE on that later.

      After that we decided to check out the Beauvoir Home across the street. It is a Historic Landmark dedicated to preserving and interpreting the legacy of American Statesman and Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the confederate soldier. 

 It was a raised home, and has survived hurricane Camille and Katrina, although it was raised for Air conditioning and not to avoid high water. Mike was happy to find a book he had wanted to read, at the book store there. It is called The South was Right. I never dreamed how much history exists in that part of the country and we barely scratched the surface.

        Tues.  lunch, you guessed it, more oysters for Mike. It could be his last.....

  Tues. night we headed out to THE SHED for Barbecue. 

 We had seen it on TV a few months ago, and it looked like our kind of place. It was out of town a ways, but very WORTH the trip!  The decor was early attic / late basement at best. No interior decorator would EVER approve of this style, but it was sure fun and entertaining.

 The food was excellent and LOTS of people were there. I was glad I had just had salad for lunch that day!

      As we left, the parking lot was full of Classic Cars. Our outback looked so funny!

 Back in town we found one of Mike's favorite models and the color was not bad either!!!   How we hated to go to bed that night, knowing that in the morning we would be leaving the beach and heading North. Vacations was coming close to the end and it had been so much fun!

CONTINUING  OF BLOG FOR vacation ( SUE, I have been working on this since Mike went to bed early.  I finally figured out that it works much faster to download when I have it ALL in my desktop computer. I guess that is due to the connections, which Mike A. told me about earlier tonight. Needless to say, I HOPE you have better luck and I doubt I'll ever be doing this again. I want to finish , though, to have the record for us. Surely the last 5 days won't take as long since 3 of them were driving and I won't blog about my reunion with Girlfriends from high school in KC at the end of our trip! Sorry if I made any errors, but I hesitate to attempt to save again, and lose a few hours of painstaking work. OFF TO BED !  

I want to include a few previous pics. that Jogged my memory. This was in an old cemetery we found near our B & B in Asheville.

IT says that the oldest grave is that of William Foster (also known as Forster), who was one of the most prominent men in early history of Asheville, who donated property for an adjacent school, church, and this graveyard.  Oct. 27, 1776 - May 2, 1826  That is a really old graveyard. When we returned to the B & B the attendant asked us if we saw the BIG GERMAN SHEPHERD that guards it at night. We were there at dusk, so I guess we were spared THAT trauma.

I guess I didn't comment yet on the TREES in this area either. They are amazing, and so moss covered at times. Mike noticed this one in Beaufort, GA. I have to say when we hit Western Kansas last Monday, my heart almost cried for missing the vegetation of Missouri, Tenn, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Northern Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Back to Missouri.  I have to drive around a bit and see the color of Northern Co. and look to the mountains, to realize once again, all states have beauty in some part!!

This is a side view of the very cool bridge that went from Charleston to Mt. Pleasant where we stayed for three nights. I learned in Savannah that it, and a similar one in Savannah, were both designed by women. I just did some research and could not substantiate it, and no single person was given the credit, at least for the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in SC.  IT is also known as the NEW COOPER RIVER BRIDGE. They have a world-famous 10 K run on it every year and limit entrants to 40,000. We saw lots of people walking, running, and biking on the one side where it is allowed. Since it is 2.5 miles and it was hot when we were there, we saved our walking for THE BATTERY. I just realized that I showed this in part of my previous blog, but this is a different view, taken from the low country bridge over some sweet grass near our hotel. 

 The marshes have a beauty all their own. I had no idea what the term "Low country" actually meant until I saw it!  Don't ask me where I was when I studied geography in school once upon a time. I will just tell you if I knew then, what I don't know now, I would have paid a LOT more attention! There are many kinds of grass and one, in particular, is used to make beautiful baskets. I saw hundreds and did not buy even one. The main reason was that I learned that slaved from African started making them, and there was one from Africa on display at Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston. I realized it is the same technique used for a mat that I have from my Grandfather when he was in Africa. What could have more meaning than that?  There was a woman there making them and it is quite an art form. HOW they sell all the ones I saw, is beyond me, but with a 3" basket going for $15.00, one can only guess they don't have to sell many. There was a baby buggy that was for sale for $3,000 I think. She said she had actually sold one, but I think it took three months to make. I admire them for their constant use of fingers as they must get very sore. Here is one of the open air city markets where they sell things like that, and anything else some tourist might want, but certainly not need.

The houses, gardens, vines , etc. always intrigue me. Mike was so patient as we strolled and looked and looked. I think it made his neck hurt to look up at so many old houses. This was a simple style but his favorite. The door facing the front of the street was actually only the door to the front porch which faced the side yard. Most had side yards as a front yard, in the more modest homes. It was also most common for homes to face south!

OF course, I liked the more extravagant ones with the BIG yards. Of course they must have gardeners and not novices like me!

I think this next house was called a 'single' house. Very quaint and cute, don't you think?

I’ll try to include some pictures from our first day in Savannah since my computer wasn't cooperating when I was there. 

Guess what, a twin bridge in Savannah, and it was so beautiful the first night!

 (DID I mention that Savannah has 12 parks(they call them squares) in the historic district that have houses built all around them?  Each is unique and they are well used. We saw a wedding in one, one evening.  Some have memorials to different people, etc. also.) This was Columbia Square, centered with a fountain.

Fri. morning we headed out for the Paula Deen TOUR. Mike was not thrilled but thought lunch at Uncle Bubba’s Restaurant sounded OK. Uncle Bubba Is Paula’s brother and known for his Oysters.  Our guide was fantastic (again, Mike was not that impressed but I enjoyed all her trivia about Paula’s life) and knew how Paula had gone from rags to riches, and showed us places of interest in Paul’s rise to fame. She had a short first marriage and birthed two children. When her husband left, she had to find a way to make a living, and started making brown bag lunches. A friend who owned a small grocery (we saw the flower shop it has become) gave her credit and sometime free stuff for the bags. Paula’s sons went door to door to sell them. As the boys got older (I may have to read her autobiography to get the correct timing and details) she did some catering and opened a restaurant. As it grew, she needed more help and her sons were old enough to go into business with her. Soon she had to move it and decided to call it Lady and Sons, so they sort of felt compelled I guess. It was successful too and then the food network got a hold of her. The friend in New York who promoted her had her cook at his house in New York first and we all thought THAT was her house.  Oh well………ON with the tour…we saw the ranch house she rented with her two sons, that the owner now rents to tourists who WANT to pay big bucks to spend time in the house she had cooked in first! Wasn't he a smart one? We also went to the bakery she frequents and met the owners who have been on her show.   That was so fun, as it is called “Back in the Day Bakery.”

  I was intrigued with Cheryl and her staff. She gave us samples and offered to sign her cookbooks if we bought one.   Lindy and I will have fun reading her tips, LOOKING at the pictures and attempting  to make the right altitude adjustments. She said just to use the internet, but I Doubt she has EVER cooked in Denver or FC !   I bought a snicker doodle and Mike bought coffee. He said the cookies were no better than Lindy’s!  Everyone needs a doting Dad like Mike! After that we stopped at the vegetable market Paula Deen goes to and met the owner who has also been on her show. He gave us samples of fresh boiled peanuts.

 I thought they sounded awful, but they were good!  She also showed us how peanuts grow, right there in the ground. I guess it is a demo garden by their stand.

It looks like a lot of work to me--no wonder peanuts are so expensive. Did I tell you how yummy the different flavored peanuts were at the store on the Riverfront? Free dessert one night! :-)

  I bought a basket of cherry tomatoes that were the best I have ever eaten!! Georgia has GOOD soil!! Next stop was Bethesda, the first boys school in America. It was started in the 1700’s by a Mr. Whitefield. We went to see a chapel dedicated to him, and it is a beautiful little chapel which is where Paula was married to a River Pilot (her second marriage just a few years ago to Michael) and also our tour guide was married. It held about 100 people and had a beautiful setting! I guess they have lots of wedding there too. 

The boys school is a working farm, and is so successful that others in the community send their boys there during the day to attend with the orphans?.  All graduates go to top flight colleges.   

Next stop was Uncle Bubba’s for lunch. They set up a private room and buffet for us, but each person was given an appetizer of a roasted oyster with Parmesan cheese melted. Mike got three since our table partners did not like oysters. I tried it and was not impressed, but Mike loved them for the umpteenth time, this trip!  The buffet was better than the previous night and again, fried chicken, fried fish, corn on the cob, wonderful Cole slaw, and delicious biscuit/rolls and I don’t remember what all else. MORE peach cobbler though! After wards we met Paula’s brother, Uncle Bubba, whom I have seen on her shows. He was quite a card and Mike and I were humored by women who insisted on having their picture taken with him! 

The setting on the water was beautiful ( Island) and the driver/tour guide hinted that Paula lived on the next island, but she could NOT drive us over there. IT is TOP SECRET!  After that it was back to town and Mike and I were off and running to tour some more of the historic district.

 We toured one historic home that was the first in the city to have running water and toilets.  They system had two cisterns and that was a pretty big deal back then. I think they had running water before electricity.  In this house they did not allow us to walk up the free floating spiral staircase, and we had to use a back one.   It had a beautiful garden outside too. After a while it all blends together, but in a day or so you find yourself curious about peeking into another home and seeing history and families as they were so long ago.

      We also had a lot of fun at RIVERFRONT. 

   There were always HUGE barges going by. We have seen many but these were enormous looking, even from our room 1-2 blocks away.  River Street had many shops, restaurants, and interesting people.

  It had a couple candy stores, but one was 4 rooms long!  The best thing I tasted was chocolate covered pecan toffee! you! Our favorite place was the NUT STORE! They must have had 200 flavors of nuts and peanuts. You could taste about any kind you wanted. I just didn't worry about germs as it was so fun! We didn't buy much but the OKTOBERFEST down there was really fun. Friday they set up booths of all kinds, mostly crafts and artwork. It was very fun to talk to the artists too.  FRI. night we ate seafood, walked over to Market STREET on the other side of the hotel and people -watched, and visited a few shops. There were more candy shops, and a live band.  WE kind of crashed early that night though!

         Sat was open to do all the leftovers and Mike didn't want to do museums or houses, at least inside. We just decided to walk some of the historic district we had seen from the bus on Thurs. since I could never get enough of it. THIS is why we walked and walked, no matter how much sweat dripped down our foreheads due to the humidity.

 I said we COULD walk to the park where they were having the BUDDY WALK for Down’s syndrome and see if we could SEE Paula Deen, who was going to be the Grand Marshal. After a walk to see the rest of the historic district we were almost to the city park. So we ventured over there.  It was the day of DaySpring’s dash also. After a bunch of introductory remarks, they introduced Paula and her son, and her cute little dog.She thanked everyone for their support during the last few difficult months. She also said how much she supported this event for Downs Syn. Families.

  I took a few pictures and then we were going to leave the crowded place. We had already walked about 8.000 steps just to get there. As we were leaving, Mike looked back and Paula, her son, and some people were crossing the sidewalk behind us so I got “up close and personal” –she was about 10 feet away.  I did NOT ask her for an autograph or anything. In case you think I am a groupie or something, I did pay $12 to be a participant and help the Low Country Support group for families with Downs Syndrome. What an awesome and CUTE bunch of kiddos!

Paula is at the center taking off on the walk!


 We went on back to the downtown area to do accomplish our task of trying Leopold’s Ice Cream, supposedly one of the top 10 homemade ice creams in the world. I Think my MOM Would have even be impressed. She always said that only Aunt Oassie and Cousin Boyd's ice cream were better than DQ !  By the way, we did check out DQ in  Neb., and two other places when we could not find a diner, local shack, barbecue, or fish place that appeared local and interesting. One was in the middle and one was near Western KS on the way home. 

H—m-m-m-  So, I got a baby cup of  peppermint flavored ice cream. I said, “What is in this?” and they replied just peppermint and Cream. Well, that explained it!!!  Mike got chocolate with chocolate chips and fudge sauce. OHhhh, I got a taste and yummy!!!  SO, I wanted to try one more kind and I chose mint with chocolate chip!  It was really good too—I could have stayed all day! We met some people in there from England who had been to Cherokee Ranch near Livermore. It was shocking to mention Fort Collins and have them know exactly where it was!

         After that we went back to the River Walk, did some shopping, and had a small lunch.


  The booths at Oktoberfest were unique and I purchased my girls each a bracelet. Lindy’s was made of a bicycle spoke, and Kara’s was made of old Guitar strings. The stories behind both artists were interesting.  We went to a very busy pizza place for dinner that night, and then on to the grand finale for Savannah, music variety shows near the Chippewa Square, which is where the scene with Forrest Gump on a park  bench was filmed. 

The music and dancing was fantastic and we really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the pianist, whose fingers flew over the keys like nothing I have ever seen before.  It was a great way to spend our last evening in Georgia!