whistling Dixie

At the Hattiesburg Elks Lodge ~ which is located in Dixie, MS, an area we fell in love with.  I once again, had a mental image of something that was so out of the realm of what the real picture is!  Trust me when I say this is a gorgeous area with beautiful green rolling hills ~ who knew?  Certainly not I.

Below is the view I started my day with while walking Sir at 7:00 each morning.

The Lodge is built on a 1400 acre parcel of land, of which 70 acres is the lake.  The photo above was taken just outside the coach, the three photos below were taken from the lodge looking out at the lake.

this is part of the "camping" area looking at it from the lodge

This (above and below) is the original lodge building on this property, which I believe was built in the 1930's.  The shot above was taken with the lake at my back and the shot below was taken from the other side of the building with the parking lot at my back.

It was springtime in full force with the wisteria smelling so lovely and in full, beautiful bloom as well as the forsythia.

There was lots of time for play, for man and beast.

Sadly, the lodge is only open on weekends for a few hours.  The property is very very busy with people fishing on the lake from their boats or turkey hunting way way way out on the property.  There is also an Elks youth camp as well as a horse camp on a different property down the road.  While we were there we went to a Lodge meeting and had the pleasure of meeting several very friendly members of this Lodge.

After we left Dixie we headed to Anderson, SC for one night, then on to Gaffney where we are at the moment awaiting our chassis maintenance, then over to NC to visit with Joshua, Trisha and Connor before we head to New England.

Stay tuned ....

caliente caliente caliente !!!!

Another thing we did while we were in LA was visit the Tabasco factory on Avery Island.  Their tour was disappointing to say the least, but it was a lovely place to visit.  The "tour" consisted of viewing a 10 or 15 minute video and walking down a hall beside windows overlooking the factory.  There was no tour "guide" except to tell you very briefly about the history of the company then start the film!  Being that we were there on a Saturday the factory wasn't working.  All in all the day amounted to a very nice ride on a lovely day ... not bad, but not what we expected!

I have absolutely no clue what the significance of this fish is to Tabasco, but he is indeed a colorful character so what the heck!  The background in the photo below shows the "country store" where one can purchase anything imaginable with a Tabasco logo on it as well as sample some interesting treats.  One of those treats was Tabasco ice cream and it really wasn't bad.  One of my favorite discoveries in the south this year was pickled okra and they had it in the store, mildly flavored with, of course, Tabasco - oh yummyness.

The critter below was in what they referred to as the "museum".  Again, I have absolutely no clue the significance of it to Tabasco, but an interesting critter it is!

I've loaded photos to do a post about the Lodge we stayed at in MS ~ hmmm it's 3:04 AM and I can't get to sleep (dah, I think it may have been the coffee at 8:00 pm not to mention the two iced coffees around 5:00 pm) so I might start the text for that post now as well!

Stay tuned ...

Let it Rayne rayne rayne

The Rayne of it would be Rayne, LA, which claims (and I have no clue why and can't seem to find the answer in any of my online research why) to be the "frog capital of the world" or some such thing.  Anyway, as you enter the town there is Jacques on the right hand side off the interstate just welcoming one and all

who visit his fair town - be it with two or four paws, he is a welcoming site for sure.

The town's other claim to fame is that they are the "Louisiana City of Murals" not to mention something about a place in Ripley's Believe It or Not about a cemetery going north to south rather than east to west (who the heck knew cemeteries should, or are normally planned, with that in mind!!!).  So who am I to negate any of it?

So who was the frog in the Beatrix Potter books?  I am sure that the frog in the mural second above is one from the B. Potter books.  Come on Joshua (not that HE reads the blog, but he had all the Beatrix Potter books on this neat little white plastic bookcase.  The collection was started the day he was born by my dear friend Candy L.)

  

Check out the beautiful snapdragons surrounding the frog statue ~ spring had certainly spring in Rayne!

We left Rayne umm, a week ago (I think) and went to a gorgeous Elks property in MS for three nights then headed on to AL where we are now, but leaving in the morning as we have routine chassis maintenance scheduled for next week in SC.

Stay tuned.

tis the season

Mardi Gras season of course!  Well it was until midnight Tuesday (that would be fat Tuesday).  

Of course we had to enjoy the festivities at a local establishment (well it was local when we were in Stafford, TX, but we left there on Wednesday ~ oops).  Rick collected a few beads during the evening ~ I did as well, but mine are still in the car.

Amongst the gems was this awesome one with a crawfish!

Among the other gems of the evening, King Richard made a new friend ~ didn't she do a fabulous job with her outfit?  In fact she was the only person truly dressed for the occasion in the place we were at (which by the way was called Ragin Cajun, and was outstandingly wonderful)

It's also crawfish season in these parts ~ oh yum yum yum, bring on the crawfish ettoufe and the fried tails ~ so delicious they are.  Rick doesn't particularly care for them, especially boiled, as below, I think it's the eyes and the amount of work involved to get a tiny bit of "meat" that gets him!

Spring has sprung in these Texas and Louisiana parts as well.  I spent a while at a local garden center before we left Texas.  After all I did need to get my double impatiens for my hanging baskets.  It's already become a pain in the posterior to bring them in at night because I'm afraid it will be too chilly at 40 degrees for them!

Since Sir was such a "good boy" while Rick was in New Hampshire we went to Petco ("where the pets go") and he got to choose a new toy.  He chose a squeaky duck and a squeaky crab.  The new crab (under his chin) got to meet the old lobster (that once was a squeaky lobster).

BUT, he feels compelled to hide the crab under his chinny chin chin for fear of theft!  Oh Sir Arlo you are a clown.

As I said we left Texas on Wednesday.  We are now in Duson, LA about ten miles west of Lafayette.  My intention for this stop was to enjoy some cajun and zydeco music and partake of some cajun food.  Come to find out there is no place in this tiny town to listen to local music (we have to travel into Lafayette or beyond), further, it comes to light that King Richard isn't a big fan of that particular genre for more the 20 or 30 minutes ~ oops!  

We will be leaving here on Sunday heading east to somewhere, I suspect, around Biloxi then northeast to be in Gaffney, SC for an appointment on the 25th.

Stay tuned.

Our heavy heavy hearts

This blog post was written by our daughter in law Beth (aka, Bethie, Bethalene, Sweetie, Mama Bee), married to Rick's son Patrick, parents of our precious Paigie Pie (aka Muffin).  Someday I hope I can understand why such things happen to such wonderful, loving parents as Pat and Beth ....

Our sweet Tatum Iria

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Bee

made by our nurse, Terri

her quilt that I have been taking with me to sleep, the shell that held the water for her baptism, her hat, a dress that was never worn, the toy they gave her, and a measuring tape showing her length

who would have thought such little feet could leave such deep prints?

I don’t yet have the words to talk about the last few days. I hope that someday soon I will. But, I will say this. I will forever treasure every moment of holding our Tatum in my arms. I love her so much, so fully, and it hurts to know that I can never hold her again. I am so grateful for her, for the way she made my heart grow even larger, even if it is now heavier with the grief. I carried her for only 21 weeks, but I will love her for the rest of my days.

“A Mother’s Love cannot be measured
by increments of time …an entire lifetime
of love can be squeezed into a few brief
miraculous moments when necessary….”

Needless to say, I will be making some tiny quilts to send to the hospital so others can have the comfort of a warm quilt made with much love for their baby.

Rick has been in NH since last Thursday while I've stayed in San Antonio where our niece Elisha and her friend Charyl came to spend their February vacation.  He was originally scheduled to return today but will not be returning to SA until Thursday night

Thank you Bethie for allowing me to post your  blog on my blog!

yeah but but but

I just "can't" do a blog post tonight ...

Yup, I'll try tomorrow (seriously) in the mean time enjoy this photo that I took at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio last week when Elisha, Charyl and I had a picnic there ...

as the saying goes, "stay tuned" ....

Open Mic and the Quilting Ladies

Yikes - I'm a slow blogger again.  We've traveled miles and stayed at two Texas state parks and are now back in San Antonio since my last post (well alright, I wasn't so bad, I did do the roadrunner post).

I think I'd mentioned that the "resort" we stayed at in San Benito (when we were close to South Padre Island) had lots and lots of activities and was a very social pleasant group of "winter Texans".  Well every Monday they have an open mic session from 1 - 3.  We loved it!!!

While the tunes are happening so are the quilting ladies ~ I loved that ... it was nice to be with a group of quilters and help them with their projects that day.  Seems they donate these quilts (queen size and crib size) to a local homeless shelter.  When supplies run low they raffle off a quilt to provide funds for more fabric etc.  

After we left there we headed to Falcon Lake State Park.  Well this is on the Great Texas Birding Trail.  As I've mentioned before, I think the only bird I can recognize is a cardinal and a robin, so what is that green beauty right in the center of the trees below?

  

Little did we know that Falcon Lake was the scene of a very nasty event last fall involving and American citizen jet skiing with his wife and a group of Mexican "pirates".  And to correct a misconception ~ Kimmy we don't hate Mexico, in fact Mexico has some beautiful areas and lots of history.  What we hate is the corruption, the "politics" and the inability of the "authorities" to get a handle on it and stop all the violence.  

So once we found out about the tragedy that happened on the lake (thanks Chester) I was fearful to even walk the dog!  The lake was beautiful to look at and the park was nice and quiet, but there was nothing, and I mean nothing in the area, no where to eat, no where to buy groceries, another of those very depressed areas so common lately!

After we left Falcon Lake we went to another lovely state park.  This was Lake Casa Blanca in Laredo.  Oh my what a find this was (Laredo, well not so much, but the park well WOW).  I must admit the state of Texas, in spite of some nickel and diming, does a marvelous job taking advantage of and marketing their natural beauty.  Another huge quiet space with nicely sized sites.

There was an air show while we were there and we got to watch it from the campground - it was like a private show!  Rick thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as the old military planes, one of which had crashed in Alaska several years ago.  The pilot and crew walked away and the plane was encrusted in ice for many years.  It was rediscovered in the 90's, I believe, and repaired etc and that particular plane was flying in the show!

There was this really neat old building at the park as well.  Rick asked one of the rangers and was told it was the "science center" at the park and has been out of use for about 30 years.  At least it can still be used for a photo op with the bikes.  I loved how the doors and exterior woodwork blends in with the blue sky so you wonder if you are looking through broken windows!

Check out the dog in the front of the pontoon boat below.  We were out on the bikes one day last week and stopped for fuel and saw this boat/dog at the gas station.  When we got back to the park that afternoon the boat had just come out of the water and we recognized it.  I asked the man if I could take some pictures of his dog (whom Rick and I named "Petey").  Well, as has happened often over the last few weeks, communication was an issue .... um how to put this and still be pc .... I thought the language in America was English, not the case in these parts, not the case.

As I said we are back in San Antonio for a week.  Our niece Elisha and her friend are arriving tonight!  They needed to escape the cold and snow of upstate New York .... and the San Antonio weather is going to cooperate!