Lazy Days of Summer

                         

Lazy days of summer!  Without a doubt it has been one of the hottest summers I can remember.  The humidity has been high almost every day which makes it seem all the more hot when you step outside.  It is hard to get motivated to do much of anything except stay inside where it is cool.  We don’t like staying inside!!

Earlier this week it felt like there was a tiny (very tiny) bit of fall in the air.  In actuality it was the absence of humidity I was celebrating.  Whatever it was it sure did feel great!!  It is amazing how a little cool air just lifts your spirits and gives you more energy.

              

Our dogs have even lost their energy….well, what little they had to begin with.  Eat, sleep, go outside and start all over again.  Needless to say we are all looking forward to FALL!!

              

              

We have a trip planned next week!!!  YAY!!  Mike and I will be traveling down to Cedar Key, Florida, that is pending Tropical Storm Irene.  This is a neat little island nestled among many small keys on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  A quiet piece of “old” Florida.  There are several wildlife refuges in the area among many state parks and reserves.  We hope to do some birding and photography and REST!!  After staying put and going through all the medical issues it will feel great to explore again.  We are excited!!

                     

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Auburn University

                  

Yesterday afternoon Mike and I decided to take a short trip over to Auburn, Alabama.  When you think of Auburn, Alabama you just naturally think Auburn University.  In fact the city of Auburn is mainly the campus itself.

                  

Auburn was founded in 1856 as a male college.  It wasn’t until 1872 that it became the first land grant- college in the south and was called Agriculture and Mechanical College of Alabama.  It was also once referred to as Alabama Polytechnic Institute and wasn’t known as Auburn University until 1960.

                 

The last enrollment number (that I could find) was for the fall of 2010 of 25,078 students.  There are 140 degrees offered with 13 different schools and colleges for undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.  It is quite large and in this part of the country….quite well known. 

When you go there you immediately are met with the orange and blue colors and very large paw prints on the roads and store fronts.  You know immediately you are in “Tiger Country.” 

                   

It was a beautiful day with an every so very faint feel of fall in the air.  Maybe that was just the absence of humidity I was feeling but whatever it was it felt great!!  There were many folks just taking in the campus “feel” and of course there were the students that will call this awesome place their home for at least 4 years, some may be on the five year plan.

We quickly found one of favorites places to eat….The Mellow Mushroom.  The wait was almost 30 minutes….must be a favorite of the students as well.  In any case, the wait was worth it.  The pizza was great and the atmosphere very “War Eagle!”  We walk around enjoying the day and took a few pictures.  One of the pictures we took was of Jordan-Hare Stadium where the Auburn Tiger football team went on to win the National Championship for 2010!  WAR EAGLE!!!!

                   

                   

We had a great day and it was fun seeing parts of the campus and eating at The Mellow Mushroom.

It Arrived Today…

 

                                       

It arrived today!!!  It what….. you might ask??  It is the special “Canadian Prize Pack!!”  Today, when Mike went to the mailbox, he saw the brown package mailed to us from Doug and Sue of Big Dawg and Freeway.  I might add that this is a first for us.  This is the first time we have ever received a package from Canadian friends. 

If you remember, the other day Sue wrote on her blog celebrating the 3,000th commenter and that happened to be us.  We honestly just got lucky because Sue gets lots of comments on her blog every day.  She has a great blog and if you haven’t visited you should.  Sue is a great writer and has a way with the camera as well.  They are working toward full-timing, but in the meantime, they have purchased a wonderful “Little Dawg” camper to enjoy the great outdoors!!

                

                

Back to the package!!  We quickly took a picture (for the blog of course) and rapidly opened our prize.  What did we find???  Sue had chosen a fantastic Canadian cooking apron to wear whenever we are grilling out or cooking in.  Along with this she sent us

            

Canadian napkins….”eh” and a Canadian water bottle cover.  All with the Canadian symbol!!!  We will remember our special Canadian friends each time we use our prize items.

                              

Sue thank you so much for being such a fun blogger!!  We are delighted that we were the lucky winners of the “Canadian Prize Pack” and better than that, we have wonderful special Canadian friends such as you and Doug along with Tucker and Oliver too!!

THANK YOU!!!!

Doug Dubrouillet

                       

I sat down with my computer ready to read blogs and make comments to my friends.  The first blog I came to was Al’s of The Bayfield Bunch, and his heading said it all……Fellow RV Blogger Doug Dubrouillet Passed Away Today.  Needless to say my reading and commenting got sidetracked.  Instead, I went on a trip down memory lane.  We had read and followed Doug and JoAnn (Living Our Dream) for several years but it was the winter of 2010 at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama that we finally got to meet this special couple.  They came to our motor home for an afternoon gathering of friends….Norm and Linda Payne, Don and Gloria Martin and of course Doug and JoAnn. 

         

         

         

We all talked and enjoyed the afternoon as good friends would do.  Later in the evening we would venture to Big Daddy’s Grill for some yummy seafood with fellow Rvers Glenn and Sylvia Avery and of course Doug and JoAnn. 

           

They didn’t stay long at Rainbow but we would see them again in April at FDR State Park and Callaway Gardens.

           

Once again we enjoyed spending time with this very special couple and of course their famous Standard Poodle….Filmore.  We got together for dinner at each other’s rigs and spent a little time cooling off and eating a snack at Callaway in between walking the azalea trails.  It was a beautiful spring and the azaleas put on a fantastic show for us all. 

       

        Yes, we enjoyed meeting this fine couple but more than that we enjoyed watching them live their dream and live their dream they did!!  Never allowing the enemy (cancer) to take their desire to experience and enjoy this wonderful country and its amazing people.   Tonight Doug is at rest, no longer in pain but he has left us all with the challenge to live each day, embrace it and follow your dreams.

"Follow your dream today. Not next year."      Doug Dubrouillet

Dead Pine Tree, and We are the Winners

 

                               

About six months ago, unbeknown to us, lightning struck a very tall pine tree (about 125’) on our property. This tree was on the side yard….thank goodness! We hated to ask anybody to cut this tree down in this horrible heat wave but dead trees just don’t like to wait. So this morning, very early, the tree company showed up to take it down. In order to do this deed the electric company had to disconnect the electrical wires along with the cable lines going to the house. So for about two hours we were without power. I would complain but I stood outside and watched these men do their job and realized how much hotter they were than me. Heat index was 105 by the time they were through cutting and cleaning up.  Even with a “Because the tree was dead….very dead…. taking it down was a little tricky. The main man could not climb the tree so each limb had to be tied and dropped.

                

                                      

              

 As luck would have it they hit a few of the bushes below the tree so now we have a very ugly hole! Oh well, it will grow back and the tree could have caused lots of damage if left to fall on its own.

              

              

Yesterday, Sue, from Big Dawg and Freeway, contacted me to check out their latest blog entry. I always read her blog….love Sue’s writing and views!! So being a little more curious than usual I jumped right over and found out that she had hit a monumental point in her blogging…..her 3000^th comment and guess who that was???? You got it right…it was me!! I am very honored to be that 3000 person to leave a comment on her fantastic blog. We have been following Sue and Doug’s blog for quite a long time and have enjoyed getting to know them (along with Tucker of course). It still amazes me how close you become to fellow bloggers. Mike and I are proud to call them our friends and hope one day to meet in person. We will sit down and begin talking as if we have known each other for years. That is just the way it is with fellow Rv’ers and bloggers.

I read on Sue’s blog today that she has mailed a special 3000^th comment “Canadian Prize Pack” to us and we are excited to see what Sue has sent our way. We will let you know as soon as it arrives. Wow! Feels just like Christmas!!

Just Good to be Here

 

                            

                                      McCosh Grist Mill taken February 2011

Gerri and I had heard of about an old grist mill in Alabama and decided we wanted to go see it.  It was built near the turn of the 19th century by slaves and in 1976 was added to the National Register of Historic Places  in November 21, 1976.  So I Googled the location and we set out on a day trip adventure.  We drove about 30 miles out in the “country” as the smooth pavement we were on turned into a rough pavement.  A few miles further it turned to gravel.  We started wondering hmmm, where the heck is this taking us.  Soon the gravel turned into a single lane dirt/mud road surrounded on both sides by trees and no trespassing signs..  NOW we were a little concerned…is this the way, did we get lost, and even, how safe is this?

             

About the time we were thinking of turning around??, a car came up behind us.  I stopped and asked them where the grist mill was and they said just up ahead, so we let them in front of us and we followed.  What the heck am I doing, we are out in the middle of NOWHERE following 2 young guys drinking beer and we don’t know anything about them.

Well, we got there to find the old mill had burned to the ground a few months ago and all was that left was a few rock frames.  

We got out of the car and did some exploring while the 2 young guys got out and jumped into the large creek and went swimming.  After we explored for a while and took some pics of the area,

                          

                         

                         

we eased our way to the car and started our way out.  As we were leaving, two truck loads of young guys veered off the mud road to get past us.  Being a friendly sorta fellow, I waved as they passed, but they didn’t seem to appreciate our being there.  I guess there was a swimming party to be had, after all, it is very hot out.

I can honestly say, we were glad to see the paved road again and be back in civilization.  We did enjoy the exploration and seeing the area where the old mill was.  I guess we both had thoughts about the movie “Deliverance”….just no banjo picking.

Country Roads

             

It was just one of those Sunday afternoons.  You know the kind, the weather was just right.  It has been unbearably HOT lately but today….not so much.  The temps were only in the mid 80s but the best part was the humidity was almost nonexistent.  A really beautiful day.  So after church we decided to take a drive in the country armed with our camera….just in case.

           

                     

           

           

We drove about 10 miles south on highway 219  and just picked a nice looking country road to turn down.  From there we just drove slowly enjoying the sunshine and beautiful country scenery.

           

           

 We would see another road and turn down it and so on until we really had NO idea where we were.  Awww, lost in the Georgia countryside on a beautiful day!! 

           

I hope you enjoyed your Sunday as much as we did!!

           

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. ~Confucius