Nashville...the city of music...Thanksgiving and Christmas....busy days!

Like I said in the last post, tis the season to be busy.....too busy to post.
The trip to Nashville with Mom was a blast....we caught 2 shows, one for the Rockettes at The Grand Old Opryand one at The Ryman with Diamond Rio and Charlie Daniels, at The Ryman Theatre.....wow that was awesome. The Gaylord was beautiful. We got in some good Christmas shopping and enjoyed the ride up and back. I like leisurly road trips...can't wait for that to be my life one day. It has been a long time since Mom and I have done a "girls trip" and we really had a good time. The evening we arrived was Gaylord's Lighting of the Tree event. They had lit Nativity scenes all around the grounds, and beautiful trees. There was singing by several folks and was a great start to a holiday trip.

Right outside our hotel room was this poinsettia tree....WOW!

We had neither one been to the Ryman Theatre (the original Grand Ole Opry) so we were anxious to see it.

We had dinner first at Big River Brewery then made our way to the theatre.

At the Ryman you sit on pews like in a church. The little gold plaque to the right of mom's shoulder is how you know where on the pew is your "seat", or rather butt space. A little odd, but it works.

It's an old beautiful building.

Little Jimmy Dickens is a legend here and will often MC a show.

It is a live radio show, so the announcer will do live commercials as well as announce performers.

Diamond Rio did their hit song One More Day....was awesome

And Charlie Daniels on that fiddle with that HUGE belt buckle was just amazing.

It was a wonderful evening.

NO trip to Nashville is complete without eating in a Jack Daniels restaurant, or visiting the place where's it's made....especially if Mom is with you!!

No pics were allowed during the Rockette show, but is was just spectacular, as you might imagine.

We had a terrific time.....maybe a repeat next year!!!

Thanksgiving was the usual push/rush crowded and over-done. Somewhere along the way we lost the reason behind getting together at Thanksgiving ...whcih should be about family and friends....and we began to focus on the food and the exactness of the presentation....and as always, some enjoy, while others of us bust our buns to make it all happen. Is a long and tiring week....for some of us. It's nice to visit with those that come onto town, but we just don't get a lot of that.....and so, another year is done. Perhaps one year we can go on a cruise or some outing and just enjoy each other...with little or no work. Sounds lovely.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas it was a busy time. Much shopping and wrapping and watching of Hallmark Christmas movies.....just love those flicks.  Then all of a sudden it was THE BIG DAY.....Christmas was here.....except, we had to celebrate the day after. Our family is growing so much we have several that have in-laws they need to split time with....so FLEXIBILTY is the word of the season!!! We attended candlelight service on Christmas Eve which was wonderful, then hit WH for our traditional after church dinner. On Christmas Day we visited at sister Kelley's for a bit and saw the kids...then headed to Deb's for some cards and hanging out. It was a slooooooooooooooow day, but ok. Then on the 26th, it was like Ground Hog Day....it was Chritsmas all over again. It started out with a 2.5 hr power outage, but once we got past that we were good to go. We opened gifts and ate snacks for hours....with 3 babies that were all 7mths or less and one 2yr old it was a busy day...and we had a blast.
It turned very cold, so the fire was blazing all day....then our day ended with a prime rib dinner....yum-o!!!  Most thankfully, years ago we switched our Christmas day to easier cooking.. We have snacks hot and cold during the day..then steak/potato/salad dinner...not much work but REALLY tastey!! Gives us lots more time to just be with each other....that's what it's all about anyway!!!

So....all that's left for 2012 is New Year's....and for me, that will be very quiet. I will likely be in ATL with my sisters and run for FL soon there after.....
I hope you have each had a wonderful holiday season...and a great 2012.....
I'm looking forward to 2013 and the BIG RV show in Tampa.....maybe I'll really find something awesome.

Safe travels everyone....until next year!!!

Buy one.....Get one free!!!!....BOGO!!!

The weekend after my birthday, I was able to go to Savannah to visit my niece Brittany and her family....which grew by 2 on Sept 25....with twin boys!!! I doubt the hospital let her pay for one and get one free...but maybe!!! They were so sweet and tiny...big brother Quinton loved to touch them...we really had to watch him...at all of 2 yrs old he is not exactly gentle.

Meet Jase Reagan and Camden DeWitt Carter....born  Sept 25, 2012

Big brother Quinton was easy to watch when he slept with them...he just loved them a little toooo much!!

I rode from ATL to SAV with my friend Linda in her RV....that was a blast and my first time to actually be on the road with her. I've stayed in the rig many times, but we've never actually gone "down" the road together. I LOVE IT!!! Wish I was ready to go full-time on the road...just not time yet.

It was a good visit, I stayed with Britt and family for 4 nights. We fed/changed/rocked every 3-4 hrs and watched them sleep in between....what a sched.....exhausting, but Britt was doing a great job, bless her. I bet all she asks Santa for is 2 days of SLEEP. I flew back to ATL and back to cube world.

The next weekend I actually went home to FL...was so nice to be home a few days.

This coming weekend my Mom and I are heading to Nashville...to catch a few shows and enjoy staying at The Gaylord....stay tuned....more to come on that!!

And...it's holiday gear-up time....this is the time of year you barely have time to sleep and work for all the to-do's you have/need to get done....Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is right around the corner!!

Happy shopping!!

Happy 51st birthday.........

Thurs ....Oct 11

Or as my sister put it...I am now 50-something...YUCK!!! But that's ok it's just a number.
I needed a Disney fix in a bad way...so off to EPCOT I headed for the Food and Wine Festival.....woohoo what a blast.
First we went to a Blue Man show on Thurs nite....that is an amazing almost 2hrs of color, sound and activity. Was not like anything I'd ever seen before...it was truly amazing. Everyone should go once. We went to the show that was on Universal's City Walk....so after the show we had a wonderful time walking around City Walk. There is a HUGE...Hard Rock Cafe there and a terrific Margarittaville....it was not crowded at all, so it was really nice to just stroll. We ended up having dessert at Bubba Gumps's....dinner had been an Landry's Seafood.....so this was perfect.
It was getting late and was time to head to the hotel.....I had to work a 1/2 day the next day and then off to EPCOT.....

Fri...Oct 12....Happy Birthday to me!!

I was up early to work and it was a gorgeous day. About noon I logged off and we were ready to head to Disney....I just love the Food and Wine Festival.....you get to try so many cool things. We took our time and hit many kiosk for samplings. And I had to get my first bag of Werther's popcorn...Very tastey!! Once we were full for the moment we ventured over to Future World side to get in Turtle Talk with Crush and ride a few rides.....crowds were not bad and with very short wait times. Except for Soarin'.....it was a 60min wait, so we decided to skip it since we've done it so many times....that was fine. Crush was wonderful and we were off to try out Coke around the world....some are pretty ok...some are NOT...but still fun to do. Then it was time to head back to Food and Wine. Once again we went slow and had a nice evening. Still the crowds were down so we really enjoyed it. We happened upon a concert by Smash Mouth...had never heard of them, but they play "classic rock"...otherwise known as oldies....so we knew many of the songs.....we really enjoyed that. Then it was time to explore a new area....Italy. They have really expanded this area and it was nice. Now it was time to stake out a spot for Illuminations.....so we stood in this one place by a railing for about 45min....but it was worth it.....they have the best fireworks show.
Totally whooped and with aching feet was time to head to the hotel. It had been a wonderful birthday!!!

 Joseph and I at EPCOT.....thanks for the passes .....and we're so glad you came and spent time with us.

Saturday was Magic Kingdom day.........it was totally crowded but we still had fun. We were told about the new area....seems Toon Town is gone and the new area will be a circus type atmosphere. It is very cute for little kids...they even have a water fountain play area now....those kids were having a ball...it was rather warm. I was wishing I had extra clothes...getting wet lookd very inviting!!
Then we went over to the area that has Belle's Castle (it is a facade but still cool....nothing like Cinderella's Castle) and theer was a Belle ride....and coming soon a 7 Dwarf ride and Little Mermaid ride. There is a new table service restaurant Be Our Guest, and a new quick service...Gaston's Tavern that serves a very good pork shank that we had for lunch...yum....sure beats the normal hotdog hamburger stuff.  Then we headed back to Main St to get a good spot for the 3p parade.....it was very good but rather short only about 15-20min. Then we headed over to ride Space Mtn...the wait was about 45min, but at least it was in A/C!!! Love that roller coaster.....then a quick hotdog and headed home. Another wonderful day and a terrific birthday weekend.
                                       
                                                        Belle's Castle

A view down Main Street....love all the fall decorations.

Thanks Denny and Joseph for the Disney trip!! 

And thanks Mom for starting off my birthday weekend on Wed, with my favorite pork and sauerkraut dinner and a chocolate cake for dessert. YUM-O!!! and I will enjoy my massage certificates very soon.

Now back to cube-world and reality...so I can go again!!!

Fall is in the air.....time for a trip to the North Ga Mountains

October is a great month....not to mention my birthday month....but the colors and crisp air, it's just great. As luck would have it my friend Linda was at a campground near Cleveland, GA...so off I went. I always like staying in the RV with her when I can. We have such a ball. I decided to drive up on Thurs after work and work from there on Fri....well, traffic up Ga 400 surprised me and after about 3hrs I finally arrived. Her friend Bobbie has ownership in this campground and Linda is able to rent a space from another owner....it's really cool. This is a campground for folks that are fulltimer's or almost fulltimer's. You can park your RV in a space and then build a "park model" (much like a single wide mobile home) or a "cabin" (400sq ft space) next to it. By adding either one of these you greatly increase your living space. The park model has a bedroom/bath/eat-in kitchen/small living room....where the cabin's have a loft for sleeping, a kitchen/bath/living space and a large porch for enteratining. I was amazed at what could be done with 400 sq ft. To see what I'm talking about here is their website.... Paradise Campground... http://www.pvc4u.net/
It is really neat for a home-base. And these folks have a ball. Almost everyone has a golf cart for riding around and for mobile "happy hour".....oh yes, they do believe in happy hour!!!
Linda and Bobbie had cooked dinner on Thurs nite, it was wonderful. Friday nite we went into Cleveland to a drugstore with a soda shop in it for dinner.....delish!!
Saturday we drove to Helen for the festival, but since it was raining we moved on rather quickly. Then we drove over the mountain to meet another friend for lunch. By this time the rain had stopped and it was a wonderful day. After lunch we did some pumpkin shopping and stopped by another small festival....it was a wonderul slow Saturday. When we got back we met a real estate gal that showed Linda several properties for sale....we were amazed at some of the cabins...folks got very creative with such a small space. There is a creek that runs through the property and she'd like to be on the creek....but no decision yet...we'll see.

We'd had such a large lunch, we didn't want much for dinner....so we thought happy hour snacks would be good enough. Well...at our 2nd stop we were invited to stay for dinner. A wonderful crock-pot of sausage/onions/peppers and potato salad....that was just perfect. We had brought snacks to share and we stayed until dark....then home to bed for a terrific nights sleep. My bed in the RV is an air mattress sofa bed. To avoid the weight of a real mattress, the couch makes into a huge bed, but it is an air-mattress....it is kinda like "dial your own...sleep number" bed.....harder, more air.....softer, less air...I love it and always sleep well.
We mover VERY slow onSunday morning...Linda cooked us breakfast and Bobbie showed up to see if we were still alive. We all visited for a bit and decided to go visit a local winery and have lunch. There are several around but Bobbi picked Frogtown.... http://www.frogtownwine.com/
It was wonderful....the view was delightful and the wine was yummy. I added a fruit and cheese tray and was very happy. We made one more quick stop at a petting zoo to buy 2 more pumpkins and headed home. This is not your normal zoo... they have small animals and across the street  bigger ones like zebra....see for yourself... http://www.northgeorgiazoo.com/  I think one day I shall return to play with the animals, no time today.
Back at the campground it was time for me to pack up and head south. It was a bit rainy and cool, so was a bit easier to leave. However, I could have happily sat in the RV visiting and drinking wine all day!!

Thanks Linda for another wonderful weekend and a peek into my hopeful future!! Bobbie, it was a pleasure to fianlly meet you...I'm sure we will meet up again....happy trails ladies!!

Ahhhh....the palm trees and the smell of the ocean...you can't beat it!!!

Is always fun to go, and always good to get back home.
After working 3 days in ATL, I made it home Wed night. Was good to see palms, although AZ has awesome, it was good to smell and see the ocean.
Will go to the Saturday downtown market today and maybe check-out the new Trader Joe's...if not too busy, has only been open a week.
As I laid in bed this morning I looked over at my little lime green "bucket"!! A cute little thing I decorated several years ago and put many slips of paper in of things I wanted to do....My Bucket List.
I decided it was time to see how many I've done.....actually about 1/2!
So I suppose I either have to create more....or move on to the great beyond soon....isn't that the purpose of a bucket list...get it all done, then go to heaven!!! I think I will just add more....not ready to meet my makeer just yet...but one day!
Here are the things I've done from my bucket:
Take a Ceramic Wheel Class
Eat at a Paula Deen Restaurant
Take a hot air balloon ride
See the Tuscan Wine Country in Italy
See Paris
Take a cooking class
A Saturday road trip no-where....very impromptu
Take a Yoga class.....
Wow....I've done many things...and didn't really realize it. You see, my bucket list had easy and less expensive things as well as more costly things......if you don't have a bucket list, I really advise making one. It's loads of fun to just write down things you want to do one day. You can add to them, as I will do, and it's great fun to go back through and see all the things you have done.

So there is your task for today....have fun!!!!

I'm off to ride my bike, do a little marketing and plop on the beach!!!

Lazy Saturday's are the BEST!!!!

The ghost town of ....Jerome

After I worked 5hrs we had a History Tour sched to start at noon. We were there in plenty of time...it was only about a 20min ride. We headed for the Mile High City built on the mountain....

                                 Can you see the J in the mountain right above this small winery?

We were the only ones on the tour...so instead of our 1.5hrs...we got a bonus 30min, a 2hr tour.We got in a van and were driven around town. Jerome was a BIG mining town back in the 1890's. Copper/Ore/Gold and Silver....they were all there. This brought in the wealthy to invest and the laborers to just make a living...jobs were hard back then.

This shaft used to take workers down to work

There are a few structures left that were original, and a few walls left from buildings...but that's about it. Fires destroyed much....and there was "voluntary destruction" once most of the mining was done. This was done so that taxes did not have to be paid on buildings/homes anymore....you see, if the roof is gone you don't have to pay taxes, so people were paid to come and destroy the homes...that's one way to avoid taxes!!

One old street with some of the old things left behind....

The tour guide, Rick, told us about the many hands that have owned the mining and the different things that happened during each "rein". With mining came men....and generally single....so then came saloons and prostitutes....and there is where much of the story and mystery lies. The head Madam was the richest woman around. When fires broke out, she used to yell out....save my house and you will have "credit" here!!! So, save the grocery store....or save your "recreation"....hummm!!! Part of the miners pay was a once a week visit to her house....they used to line up on the side walk in a line and wait their turn.....her ladies were busy!!!  The first JC Penney's in AZ was in Jerome and the 2nd...the 1st one burnt. Jerome is built literally on the side of a mountain....a mile high. ...Thus the name of the restaurant

So some things did slide off the mountain....the jail for example slid down....and part of it is still where it landed. The rich lived highest up...cause back then...there were only "slop jars" tossed out the windows doors each day....thus the saying "shit rolls downhill".....so if u could not buy higher up....too bad for you. Then outhouses came....and finally plumbing. When plumbing came they just added a bath onto an existing structure....like adding a room....kind of cool.
It was at one time one of the 3 largest cities in AZ...now it is one of the 5 smallest...population 444. There is some mining still, but not much. It is said that the ghosts of many of the folks that were prominent here still "visit". They do ghost tours at night and carry this "ghost finder" meter things with them....we opted to pass on that. The hotels have caught things on their security cameras and it does make one wonder.

 We had lunch a Quencie's....great Southwest/MEX.....the pork was wonderful...as was the open faced hamburger and the FF with their "special" sauce and cheese....that did it for us for the day!!!!

We left Jerome and headed to Montezuma Castle....a beautiful Cliff Dwelling from long ago. The Indians lived in them years ago. They were very clever...they built interior ladders to go between the levels, and used mud/clay to create walls. Very smart.

Then it was time to see more scenery....a drive thru Red Rock Canyon and then home. We got a great look at the Cathedral Rock while in the Canyon...and it was approaching sunset, so the colors were terrific.

Back "home" for a nice swim and a little pre-packing.....have to head to PHX tomorrow via Prescott and whatever else we find.....

Stay tuned we aren't done yet!!!!

101 Omlets......OMG..and Oak Creek Canyon!!!

Well...after working a few hours this morning...it was time to go explore and get something to eat. We'd been told by more than one person about The Coffee Pot (named after a rock that looks like a coffee pot)...so we had to go. YEP...they have 101 omlet choices....and much more. I opted for the patty melt, was not feling like eggs and it was great. Then we were off to explore. Had heard much about Rt 89A and Oak Creek Canyon....so we drove through the tiny tourist main street of Sedona and out the other end on 89A.....the longer we drove the more breathtaking it was. I've been on lots of mountain roads, but not like this. LOTS of curves and canyon views you would not believe. Took about 30min to get to the other end and the top of the canyon 6000 elevation.....amazing views. Looking back down I took a picture that shows 3 curves in one picture.....wow!!

At the top...what a view

There were some native Indians selling things at the park at the top. I asked the Ranger about them, he said they were real and had real items for sale....didn't buy anything, but I wondered. We drove back down and back into Sedona....I could do that drive again.....was truly awesome.
Now we were off to find The Chapel of the Holy Cross built in April 1956. On the way we found a neat outdoor shop with tons of what I call "yard art".....and other cool stuff. Stopped there and looked for some time and finally bought a few gifts...(can't tell what those were)...and moved on. We followed the easy signs to the Chapel which was only a few more miles. It is actually built on a hill in a neighborhood, I bet they love getting all that traffic but they had to know before they moved in!! It's not very busy out here so we got a closer parking spot and walked the ramp up the the chapel. The view was amazing. It is tiny and very serene.the front wall is all glass and it is a bit of an A frame. a few pews and candles for lighting...is Cathloic..and a bowl of Holy water. I bought a small pamphlet about the history....which is pretty simple, we took some pics and we were off. Marguerite Brunswig Staude built this after seeing the construction of The Empire State Building and thinking that at a certain angle she could see a cross....this inspired the entire building. It is much smaller than origianlly hoped, but is still very nice. There are no services there anymore but it is a great place to sit for a bit.

Built right into the rocks....beautiful and very peaceful

 The Chapel of The Holy Cross...built in 1956 by Maguerite Staude....she had been inspired by the Empire State Building...

The inside shot got dark, but you can see...it was gorgeous.

It was time to go find Montezuma's Well and Castle. We had spent much time riding the canyon so it was pushing 5p by now. We found the entrance to the Well but it closed at 5p and it was 510p...so have to do that another day. It is suppose to be about cliff dwellers....so should be interesting.
So we did a little more exploring of some unknown roads and headed "home". They rent movies here for $3/nite....cheap and big selection....so got 2 movies and vegged. We have been going steady.....so was nice to have an early nite. Since brunch was huge, just had a few snacks and popcorn for dinner.....hummmm, another nice day amongst the great Red Rocks.
Tomorrow is Jerome.....old mining town.....now known for it's ghost population...we'll see!!!

Up...Up and Away!!!!

We floated at about 615a as the sun was rising!! A hot air balloon ride has been on my bucket list for some time....and now I can check that off!!! We decided to go with Northern Lights Balloons  http://www.northernlightballoon.com/ ......they have smaller baskets and we thought that would be nicer.
NOW getting up at 430AM was a kick...but it was worth it!! Our condo is actually in Cornville...about 15min south of Sedona so we had to drive to town and meet them in a parking lot at 530AM....we were early and so were they, so we headed for the launch site. There were 6 in our basket, pilot made 7....it was tight but was ok. It didn't take our pilot and helper but about 15-20 min to have the balloon attached tot he basket and blown up. They first used a fan that had a small engine on it...then they began to use the burners. The balloon is 80'....and was a gorgeous green and yellow. We were all in the basket and off in no time. Northern Lights had 5 baskets going up today and the others were still on the ground when we left. You go early so it is not hot yet and because the winds are not too strong.

These pics show them getting the balloon blown up...it went really fast........

We loaded up and had a quick lift off

Balloon #2 was not far behind us!

And then we just floated along, across this beautiful area....as our pilot pointed out things, and controlled us with the burners.

 These shadow pictures were so cool.................that's us against the mountain!!!

We just floated up so easily and quickly...it was just so smooth. Wish all my flying was that easy!!! Then we floated/flew across the Coconino National Forest. It was wonderful. I'm out of adjectives to use to describe this trip!!! It was so quiet until he pulled the handle on the burners to keep us floating. We saw a few deer and rabbits....but mostly the mountains. And from a vantage point I've never had before.....very enjoyable and serene. Our pilot, Doug has been flying for 38yrs.....so I felt just fine. We would go up and then he'd let us float down...one time we even scratched across a tree top!!! And before you knew it....our time was up and it was time to land. We had been warned we would get at least an hour, but if the winds kicked up and we could not get to the normal landing spot we may go for a while.....well....the winds were ok, so we landed..bummer!! We were all told to brace for landing...but it was sooooo good. We barely bumped the ground.

After the landing, the dis-assemble was quick, and it was back on the trailer in no time.

Then our Crew Chief, Matt grabbed us and skidded along with us until we stopped which was not very far. I can tell ya I've had some MD88 landings that were not that nice!! then we all climbed out. They folded up the balloon, detached it from the basket and put it in the "envelope" and put the basket back on the trailer with the balloon and off we all went to meet up with the others.
4 balloons were back....#5 had a tougher time landing but finally got there. Then we had the traditional champagne toast. You see this tradition started way back with the French and it is still done. We also had strawberries and cream and a pastry.....a lovely morning. All that and it was only 830am.
Now the only thing I needed was a bathroom!!!! We were delivered back to our car and we bogeyed for the potty inside the grocery store. What a cool way to start the day.....can't top that one!!

We have been here 3 nites and had not really seen Sedona yet....so we drive thru the town and around just a little and headed for "home".....tired was hitting and I needed to work a bit. We might be lazy the rest of the day...but it was surely a terrific morning!
Tomorrow, we will likely visit Jerome.....the ghost town........we'll see!!!