Friday, December 14, 2007
Merry Christmas to all my Friends
Monday, November 5, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
We are home!!! 6 Days and 11 States later!!
Cades Cove in the Smoky's
Whew!! We are home sweet home again!! I think Kelly left off with us leaving the ocean!! I fell in LOVE with the ocean!! I just loved it!! I want to live there!! I was so sad to leave on Tuesday morning ....We have pictures of the sunrise coming over the horizon and it is beautiful!
We left the beach and drove through Alabama and near Birmingham we had a rock hit the windshield and it caused a rock ding and a small 6 inch crack, we spent about 45 minutes with the rent a car place and got things taken care of and were on are way but not before seeing the iron man statue on top of the mountain with the bare bottom!! On up to a corner of Georgia then into Tennessee and on to the foot hills of the Great Smoky's !!
We went back to Pigeon Forge and took Nancy to the big Christmas shop they have there!! She loved it!! Me too!! I took off with her and the girls lost me!! They asked the clerks have you seen a little lady with a walker go by with another lady!!! Yes they said..... They found their Mom!! It wasn't to much later another lady at the store said I lost my Mother too! Great Store!!
We went to another nature drive in the Smoky's, and drove the 11 miles around the mountains at Cades Cove.... It was just beautiful but I told the girls, lets go... I want to see the Smoky's.. and they said...MOM, what do you think these are?? I meant the views from the tops that you see in all of the stories about the smoky mountains.
After a late lunch we headed up to the Great Smoky Mountain park and the mountains were breath taking!!! it was awesome!
On top of one of them it was almost a mile high and that is when we had to get Nancy portable oxygen out !! We have some good pictures from there!! We continued to drive and drive in these mountains Karen had decided to take the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway and we were going to Ashville NC but it was getting dark and Karen saw a sign that looked like we could get off the top of the mountains and she was right!! YEAH... the mountain were awesome but after 3 hours of driving through them it was good to see civilization again!! We were very glad that we turned off that curvy, twisty road! Yeah for interstates!!
About a 1/4 mile later and we were on a freeway and stopped in Wayesville NC and then we headed out for Nashville , it was 1:00 AM when we pulled in to our motel and were we ever glad to see a bed!!
Karen took us by the old Ryman's grand ole opery house and down the streets were they record all the country songs.
We took off for home going though Tenn, KY, IL, and into ST. Louis and on to I-70 on to home
Kelly had made CD's that went with all our travels and we sang away part of the trip at the top of our lungs having so much fun!!
My highlight of the trip was seeing the ocean for the first time!! We had a wonderful time and I thank Karen for including us in her plans for a great vacation!!
For Miss Arnold's class we started out in Missouri, into AR,TN,MS,AL. over to LA,back to MS AL, into FL. then up through AL, GA,TN, leaving TN, KY. IL. and MO. Karen can give Miss Arnold all of the highways and towns if you want them.
I've decided I would love to retire to the beach! My son said, but mom you already retired..
I know.. BUT I want to move there!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Then we went Cape San Blas. This was amazing. You could see the water on either side of you. We drove down to another nature reserve. There was camping sites available and we drove around to check everything out. The farther we drove into the cape the more it look tropical and almost like a jungle! We drove down to the beach and Karen and Kelly put on there swimwear and ran over to the beach. They said it was gorgeous. The water was crystal clear, calm and the was shallow enough to walk way out into the ocean.
By the time we got back it was pouring down rain! We went to a restaurant called Sharky’s. It was right next door to our hotel. It had live music and really good food. Nancy and Grams went to the hotel and Karen and Kelly played on the beach. Little fish kept nipping at their feet and legs. Kelly go out of the water and searched for sea shells. After cleaning up they went shopping! After a big day like that we all crashed.
This morning we got up at five o’clock am and got all packed up. We have a nine hour drive ahead of us. We are were all a little sad about leaving the ocean, but are all very excited to see the smoky mountains. The weather was perfect as we left. The air was warm, but not oppresive and there was a refreshing sea beeze. Before, we left we stopped and watched sunrise over the ocean. Now, we are on our long journey north.
The Beach
Karen and I went down and played in the ocean. Karen had a big fish swim by her legs and totally geeked out on me. It was pretty funny, “A fish…Oh my gosh there’s a really big fish! It touched my legs…Kelly, there’s a fish!” I’m thinking…duh…it’s the Ocean…Mom and Nancy stayed up the deck and watched the ocean.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Ice Cream Shop
Saturday, September 1, 2007
To the beach...
Miss Arnold, Make sure your kids know that we drove from Memphis to Biloxi, Mississippi via Hattisburg, so that they can track our progress.
Thank you all for reading the post.
Carrie, my missionary daughter in Guadalajara, Mexico, asked for more details,
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so ... here ya go, Carrie. I, Karen am updating you... We rented a Hyundai, Entourage, which Kelly calls a floating sofa... and it does float, it drives like a Buick... each of us have our own leather captains seat, which helps with Nancy... and the back seat stows down into the floor, so we have plenty of space for everything.
In your honor, we stopped and shopped at a Wal-mart in Richland, Mississippi... Mom was cute... she said..oh cool, I'm traveling like Carrie (for those of you reading this who don't know, Carrie loves to stop at Wal-mart and does so ... on her way to and from Mexico)
Then we had a custard in a waffle cone that was AWESOME... so we've decided that this is officially a TOUR OF SOUTHERN DESERTS!!!
Then we headed on down, south, until we ran out of road at the gulf... Mom was really cute...and so amazed by the enormity of it. She said she will never forget the first sight of it as we rounded the corner. We brought the camping chairs and took a couple with us as she walked down to the edge of the water... She is saving dipping her toes into it until we get to Destin, but she was blown away by it all.
Now we are at the hotel and they are all asleep... even though it's only seven... we're "napping" tonight, so we will be fresh tomorrow... I wonder when I'll get to nap??? Since they napped as well while I was driving down here... oh well, good thing I've never needed much sleep.. I'm just happy to not be in the van!!
Tomorrow we are thinking of driving over to New Orleans to pick up some French Donuts, or Beignets.. see the desert theme here? and then we'll drive back through the gulf to our hotel on the beach.
Linda, You should see the devastation down here, even after two years in parts it looks like it happened yesterday...Makes me glad I'm down here spending money into their economy.
When Kelly gets time, I'll ask her to post the picts of Mom at the beach for the first time and some of the "hurricane" photos.
Catch you all later! I'm going to try to go catch a few winks myself...
Karen
Friday, August 31, 2007
Walking in Memphis
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Miss Arnold's Fourth Grade Class!!
Welcome Miss Arnold's fourth grade class!! I am so pleased that you all are going to be traveling with Grams, Nancy Karen and Kelly! This is going to be a fun trip and I am so glad you kids get to go along with us.
Even if it is just by pictures!! Karen and Kelly will be down loading picture when ever possible so you can follow us on your map that Miss Arnold has made for you on your desk. I hope each one you have a good time doing this and learn a little more about our great country!
One of the places will be the beautiful white beach!!
1 day left
Monday, August 27, 2007
3 Days and Counting
This is so pretty!! I can hardly wait to see the Smokies Mountain! I have always wanted to see the Smokies!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
4 Days and Counting
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
& then there were 6..
Seems like we've been waiting on this trip forever.. and now there just isn't enough time to get everything done. We did get all the medicine in for Nancy, so that's great! Karen say's that she is really "slammed" at work... everyone is piling up all the work that she won't be there to do the next week. oh.. well.. I told her it would be worth it!!
Think calm, "vacation-ie" thoughts....
Thursday, August 23, 2007
7 days and counting....
wow... one week and we'll be packing up... I can already taste all of the good food!
I'm really sure that this isn't on the recommended food list from the dr. but... I will be partaking of this. mmmm.... fried bread and powdered sugar... is there anything better?? We are all looking forward to this stop!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
8 DAYS AND COUNTING....
I Stole this fair and sqaure from Kelly's myspace blog. This really got me excited about the vacation!
Okay, I digress. We are all very excited. I think Nancy is more enamored with seeing Graceland, than with the beach. It's a toss up with Mom. She has never been to the beach, but she hasn't been to the Smokies either. Karen, has been dreaming of the beach for years and I'm really excited about all the photo opportunities. I'm sure I'll post them on myspace. Just a few more days and the adventure begins!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
9 Days and Counting........
Here is Tuesday morning already!! I am still working on my medicine and Nancy's!! Thinking of what we need to take and what we don't need!! I always take to much. But you know how that goes!!
Not only did Karen make this blog for me she came home one evening with two sacks of new clothes for me !! I didn't have any beach stuff at all. She got me some really snazzy looking outfits to wear, and I said " Karen, I can't wear these to the beach they would get all wet"!!
She said, "Mom this is what they are for"! For you to enjoy yourself down there"! I said," But they are to nice to wear to beach"! She said" MOM"!! I said "Oh"" Oh, Okay" So watch for pictures of Grams in her new beach wear!!
Karen and Kelly will be taking a lot of pictures and I know they will down load them on this site!!
Monday, August 20, 2007
10 days and counting.......
Thinking today about what we need to do! Get medicine for Nancy and me refilled.
I have called the oxygen place and they will have the concentrator ready a couple of days before we leave. I am still Praising God that the place where we get Nancy's oxygen has a small portable concentrator we can use at no cost!!
We have have a small oxygen tanks that she uses if she needs them in the daytime. The concentrator will be for the nighttime. This is when she needs the concentrator to make oxygen.
Like I said yesterday this could be hard if we let it be, but I am going try to be up beat and get all my ducks in row before we leave and then we will end up having such a good time!!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Tracking Dean...
Here is a current picture of Dean... the hurricane on track to make landfall in Mexico by Wednesday. We are praying that it lessens in strength, stays inland and dissipates!
'"Dean Preparing to Make Landfall on Jamaica
August 19, 2007 - 12:58 PM UTC (subtract 4 hours for EDT)Update 8:00pm EDT: Dean is still being maintained with maximum winds of 145 mph but his pressure is still creeping up and now at 930 mb. This weakening is likely indicative of his double eyewall structure and the influence of land as he grazes Jamaica. Dean is still expected to strengthen when he moves away from the island and is likely to reach Category 5 intensity at some point in the next two days. While Dean looks slightly less intense than before, he still is exhibiting amazing symmetry and is a powerful storm. Considering his proximity to land, I am surprised Dean has held up so well." -the stormtrack.com
Felix & Gabrielle --- are the next names to be used-- but so far so good.... it appears that they are in hiding, as I can't find any information on them... and that's a GOOD thing!!
11 Days and Counting
Karen came home last night with Suitcases for Nancy and me!! This sure does make the trip seem like it is real!!!
It is a little challenging getting ready with two of us being disabled!! But I am up for this!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
12 days and counting...
Wow!! Isn't this a neat new blog site!!! My daughter, Karen did this for me last night for a early Birthday gift!! She thought it would be fun to make a journal of our travels for Carrie my Missionary daughter in Guadalajara Mex. She will be able to follow our travels and see where we are every day or so........ and the rest of the family, and my friends and of course my blogging friends ,too!!
I am starting to really get excited about this trip!! Since I hurt myself I have not been able to travel much but we were able to go to Branson a few times and I love going down there!!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Count down to the TRIP!
In just a few days ... 13 to be exact! We will be leaving to go on vacation! Yeah!
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We will be stopping by Memphis...
...mmmm BBQ,
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