Charles W. says

Charles W. (aka Chuck) .... told me many many years ago ..... "pansies aren't pansies you know"

Well Rick, Sir and I were out walking (what the heck is up with that anyway ... us  walking??) this evening (evening seems like a "stuffy" word .... is it?)  partly because Sir has really been couped up this week .. with Rick, and sometimes I at seminars etc. (okay, I've been "sleeping in")  I noticed that at our entrance to the fairgrounds was a "garden" area planted with pansies ... I can't look at pansies without thinking of what my brother in law told me many many years ago .... "pansies aren't pansies" .. So Chuck, you are the impetus behind this brief post........ 

I hope I will get some photos of this drying out, chaotic event before we move on to quieter times (and NOT a moment too soon) .... Huntington Beach State Park .... heeeeeeeere we come

In the mean time remember ... "pansies aren't pansies you know" ..

Secure???

So remember I mentioned that we were able to get into the convention a few days early because I was volunteering?  Well I never mentioned (intentionally) what my volunteer task was..........

Would you feel secure because I had on a security visor, pin, ribbon and vest?  I don't blame you at all!  

Because I can't say no I signed up to do an extra "shift"...... it was a "piece of cake" actually, but it was quite cold and very damp, but alas I got through it!  And finished a book to boot!

When Rick came up to my "station" to bring me my breakfast yesterday (which was my "duty" day ~ he couldn't help but mention to me that my vest certainly looked like a walmart vest - UGH the horror of it, particularly a member of the Whelan family in anyway related to walmart - paaalease now.

And not to be left out ... TAH DAH ~ Sir got to wear the visor.  He didn't, however, get to go to the volunteer appreciation dinner this evening.

Poor Sir is so distressed these days - for starters it's been raining on and off for two days now (the first day we were here it was 85 degrees and grossly humid.  But worse than the weather for Arlo is the chaos.  There are 3000+ rigs here now, many many many strange dogs, many strange  people and way too many different smells.  I suspect Arlo is trying to figure out what the heck we've done to him now and probably would rather be back at Pet Paradise at $43./night where he was when we fly up to the land of snow and a princess!  We will get back to a calmer situation on Friday or Saturday....

Stay tuned for more pictures from the convention ...

Post Script

Our friends Betty and Roy (aka Bethie's parents Vovo and Vovo) were in Plains last year (as you may have read in Betty's comment on the Whelanswheels post about Plains).  These are photos they took when they were there.

I had mentioned that I had not taken a photo of the list of goods and prices sold at the Carter store - thanks to Betty and Roy - here it is, as well as a photo of the train station in downtown (!!) Plains where the Carter campaign began.  I wish we had been fortunate enough to run into Rosalind and Jimmy, as Betty and Roy were ...

Thank you Betty for sharing photos ~ and yes, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Plains.  Our trip there was a little out of the ordinary for us (you remember that I am bored silly with history) but this was different - first, I think everyone, and I mean everyone, on the face of the earth should take a humanity lesson from the Carters, secondly, history isn't so intolerable to me if it was during my life time ~  I can relate/remember those history making events.

Cordelle

We left Cordelle (GA) yesterday and traveled 40'ish miles up to Perry where we will be for the next week at the FMCA International Convention/rally.  The convention actually starts on Monday, but I've volunteered so we got to  come in early which made maneuvering easy as there were only a few hundred coaches here all spread out.  By Monday there are expected to be 3000 coaches.  Should be very interesting with hundreds of seminars and several hundred vendors not to mention several hundred new coaches on display.

Anyway, when we were in Cordelle we had a lovely dead end road next to us which was a great place for Arlo to walk.  At the end of the road is this house ~ I LOVE this house.  I would loved to have seen inside, cause the outside and the grounds just blew me away.   There are several old, rusted pieces of farm equipment.  The rusted maybe doesn't sound attractive, but I really really loved it.  I could do without the gnome in the photo below but no one consulted me!

And it was so nice and peaceful at this end of the road.  Where we were was right next to interstate 75 and the last two nights we were there I got very little sleep (it is nice and quiet at night here at the Fairgrounds where the rally is, thankfully).

The last evening we were in Cordelle I got on my bicycle and peddled way down the road we were staying on.  Check out that hill in the photo above - I didn't walk my bike up it - I was not going to give in to defeat!

So I'll end this post with more sunset sky pictures.  I thought this was such a pretty pretty sky and was delighted that I had my camera with me ... I had walked the night before when there was also a pretty sunset sky, but only had my phone camera and the pictures didn't do it justice.  These new camera photos are much better (I think)!

It's just so plain ....

In Plains, GA.  

We arrived in Cordelle, GA on Sunday ~ finally leaving Chester's (and giving him some rest and his cats some peace) after one month (we were in NH freezing ourselves, but being rewarded by the love of family and the arrival of a precious princess, for 10 or so days of that month!!)

Today we set out on the bikes.  I think it isn't often that I feel strongly (and perhaps I've mentioned this before ~ Rick may disagree but I am not at all certain) one way or another about doing a side trip or whatever in our travels, but this time I felt very strongly (especially after not seeing the Clinton Library, a while back, except from the highway).  Cordelle is about 50 miles east of Plains, GA and I really wanted to see Jimmy Carters home town.  I surely did expect more than I saw, but what I did see was part of why our 39th President has endeared himself to many - his regular, human side!  Unlike his brother, who believe it or not does have a "museum" in town - no we didn't bother and I'm not certain why the heck anyone thought it should be, but that's not for me to decide.  Before explaining the photo tour below ... how is the decision made where a Presidential Library will be placed?  I made the assumption (silly me ~ my Dad taught me about assumptions many many years ago) that a Presidential Library would be in said President's hometown.  I found out after we returned home that in fact President Carter does have a Presidential Library and it is in Atlanta ~ a city I truly have little interest in visiting!

Okay, ready for the tour?  Above is the back of President Carter's boyhood farm.  The furnishings are not original Carter family possessions, but true to the period.   It amazes me how simple the life was, how unassuming it was, how just "regular" the family was.

Above is the kitchen in the home ~ don't you just love that stove.  and that chair - looks just like a shaker rocker I had from my grandmother that I believe my nephew Owen has now to rock his and Jess's babies in ... so straight backed and lovely woven seat.  How 'bout the butter churn.... had a reproduction of one of those too - can't remember where the heck that went!

Above is the bathroom - post outhouse - in the Carter family home ... now I don't usually go around taking photos of bathrooms but, seriously, check out the shower head here - designed by Jimmy's dad Earl ... it is a bucket with holes in the bottom ... and of course I think it was probably not hot and cold running water!  brrrrr

Perhaps out of order here in the photo tour ~ but above is the front of the house ... there was a note in the brochure that the area close to the house was intentionally bare of grass, flowers and shrubs in order to see snakes that may be there!  UGH

Above is the living room (aka front room, parlor) ... below is the dining room ... aren't they just so simple ... I love the simplicity of it all.

Next, above is the "breakfast room" and below is .... "Jimmy Carter slept here!  Yes, his plain, simple rather sparse bedroom ... at the back of the house, across the hall from the kitchen (is that where every son's room should be ... across from the kitchen and back door?!?!)

Above is Jimmy's parents room.

Below is the Carter Commissary ~ I had no idea but they sold the fruits of their labor .. pecans, produce and various other needs of the times ... foolishly I did not take a photo of the price list ~ DAH what was I not thinking here!  As the brochure says "The store adjacent to the Carter home had various rural necessities available for sale: canned goods, coffee, lamp wicks, kerosene, soap, lard, tobacco, overalls, shoes, flour, sugar, cornmeal, castor oil, and homemade syrup.  Earl Carter also sold hams, pork shoulders, and sausage which had cured int he smokehouse.  Farm workers and neighbors could buy their goods on credit and settle their bill on payday, which was Saturday."

Inside the commissary - above to the left of the entrance, below to the right of the entrance.

Above, the barn and the front garden - which was being tilled while we were there.  Below, a pasture to the left (west I believe) of the house.  There were sheep grazing about.

Below is the "Maranatha Baptist Church" where the President still teaches a Sunday School class every week (no even that did not make me want to go into a church)

Okay, historical Plains, GA tour is officially over.  Hope someone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Below was outside a gas station (NO not Billy Carter's service station museum) and convenience store - seemed like a photo op to me!

Below is "downtown" Plains.  No we didn't do any souvenir shop, no cafe, noting - just a photo op.  I did however, miss a photo of the train station in Plains where President Carter's campaign began.

Here we have the history and example of a bottle tree.  I just LOVE it ~ Sister Candy shouldn't you have one in the garden off the master suite?  I do have a prize for you to perhaps put out there, but a bottle tree would be so much more colorful .... this is an example of why I miss the yard at Crescent Street - perhaps a very small reason to miss it ... I sure don't miss shoveling etc.... but the mowing and 1/4 of the raking were great exercise .... but........  Anyway, I thought this is lovely.

Thus, I shall conclude this plain tour of Plains.  By the way ... these photos were taken with the new camera - do you notice any difference in quality??

They are on their way

Robins robins robins everywhere here ~ word is they are on their way north!

This is not a robin ~ she is Tracey ~ I heard someone call her by name last night at the restaurant we were at so I inquired as to her spelling - same as mine.  Usually Tracey is without the "e" or with an "ie" rarely is it "ey".  Tracey is from NY and is a chef at the other restaurant in town.

Below is Sir's latest pillow ~ he is such a goof isn't he.  That is a ball that Lynda (from the Keys Elks Lodge) found and gave to him.

That's it for now .... not such a very exciting post this time.

A princess and some random things

This was a photo (from a video) that Bethie's dad (Roy) took when Princess Paige came home and Master Snoopy was apparently quite curious!  The Snoopster is reported to be very very good with Paige... yeah Snoopy - good boy!

Above is a shot (thank you Betty) of the quilt I made for Paige - Rick did not want to know if the baby was a boy or a girl so trying to create a quilt in a 38' motorhome without him knowing if it was a blue quilt or a pink quilt was quite an accomplishment!

And here - is she so cute or what!  Check out the hat - it says "baby Whelan" ... where did that come from guys?

Before we left to head to NH we took a bike ride to Fleming Island (is that right Paul?) to Whitey's Fish Camp.  Whiteys is a place we always go to when we're in the area - just a fun place on a river.  An good ride in a time frame that allows for Arlo's needs as well as ours!  I'm not sure what the correct definition of a "fish camp" is but there are quite a few of them in these parts!

Above is a photo from one of the outside decks (this one is where the boats tie up) looking back at the restaurant.  The photo below is looking at a different deck behind the bikes.

Just more shots outside Whitey's.  There is also and "RV Park" there but I didn't take any shots of it ... it's nothing spectacular!

And finally - Arlo's pillow one particular day here at Paul's.

We'll be leaving here the end of the week and heading to the FMCA rally in Perry, GA for a week ~ we are going in a few days before the official opening because I am volunteering.  After that to SC then to NC to Connorland!