In My Mind I'm Gone To Carolina

I am back from the South. I thought I would post some pictures and some reflections about the trip.



When last I left this blog, we were in Atlanta. The following morning we headed north for the Blue Ridge Parkway. It began to get very rainy and there was a big detour. So we abandoned the parkway in favor of an easier route to the Outer Banks.



On the way, we stopped in a small little town called, Hickory for dinner. I was driving and got a bit disoriented and ran a red light.

Jen thought this little mishap MUST go into the blog.

The following day, as Jen was getting on the freeway, SHE ran a red light. Now we're even.



Anyway, we drove into North Carolina to Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane. We then drove on to see Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and stopped along the way to admire the Carolina shoreline. I had been wanting to see the Hatteras lighthouse for a long time. My friend, Yoshi, wrote a song about it. That was 27 years ago. Now I know what he was singing about.

We continued south to Brookgreen Gardens. This is a beautiful garden that was a part of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington's estate. This garden has beautiful sculptures and a wildlife area.

Here in So. Cal we also have the Huntington Library.

We headed south to Hilton Head where we stayed for a week. We took a Gullah Heritage Trail Tour. I found the Gullah language to be very interesting.

During the week, we took a side trip to Charleston where we saw Fort Sumter. This was the site of the beginning of the Civil War.

The next day, we went into Savannah and toured the Owens-Thomas House. We went on a Ghost Tour that evening. I love a good ghost story!

We loved Savannah so much, we went back the next day and had lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant. I can't tell you how good the food was. Not to mention the sweet tea.

Drinking this tea brought me back to my childhood. My Grandma Williams made the best sweet tea around.

I had never been to a Plantation, so we went back up to Charleston and went to the Magnolia Plantation where I took these pictures. It was really beautiful there.

We then drove back to Atlanta and stopped at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library before our flight back home.

Back to the grind on Tuesday. Sigh.

Atlanta

Jen and I made it to Atlanta yesterday without any major problems. We landed early in the afternoon so we had time to head over to The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

It was a very exciting journey on the Metro (yes, Jen is the queen of Metro trains). We had to walk about 6 blocks from the train station to the memorial.

The MLK Jr. Memorial includes a few museums, his birth home, the first integrated firehouse, The Ebenezer Baptist Church where he and his father preached and, of course, his tomb.

As we going back to the train station, we met a man named Ben. He told us if we were to head back the way we had come. "You'd be walking through the worst housing projects in Atlanta. And, while you're at it, you ladies had better put away your cameras."

Ben then began giving us his own walking tour through the streets of Atlanta.

Sure, he smelled like alcohol and spoke with a slight slur.
Sure, I was a bit apprehensive. And, I got more nervous when he told us he used to be "murderer for the military." But, that was "a long time ago during Vietnam." Now, he wants to be an x-ray tech.

I am ashamed at myself for my fears.

Ben turned out to be a very nice man and got us safely back to the train station. And during Ben's tour, we got to see parts of Atlanta we would have never seen on our own. We got to see "The Peacock" where Gladys Knight and The Pips used to play many years ago.

How great is that?

Shoes

Where have I seen these shoes before???

Oh yeah, I remember now....

Nathan

Last evening, I went to the birthday party of my friend Flora's son, Nathan. Nathan just turned two.

Why would a single, childless 40 something woman want to write a post about a two year olds birthday party?

Because Nathan is very special.

Last year, he was diagnosed with a serious illness. Through the efforts of some pretty amazing doctors and nurses and the love and support of family and friends, prayers were answered. Nay-Nay has fully recovered. He is once again, a happy, healthy, rambunctious little boy.

I just wanted to share the highlights of his evening:

That's Amy, thinking about sticking her finger in the cake.

Big Brother Brian with his Grandma.

More moms and their "babies."

Lydia just before she spilled that Mojito on my camera.

My "ex-boyfriend" Fred relaxing.

John T watching the kids. Always the supervisor!

Jovana, Adrian and Flora. This also marked the debut of Adrian's Mohawk haircut.

Lydia and Gladys. This picture was published with the approval of Gladys herself.

The Mohawk, Chris and Jen.

I found the best way to have a pomegranate martini is from a plastic choo choo train.

Daddy Jon, Flora, Brian and Nathan.

More pictures of Nathan. Thanks to Amy for holding on to him!

Away he goes! Happy Birthday Nay-Nay. And may you have many, many more.

My Godfrey

These pictures of Godfrey were taken by a friend.

Isn't he cute?

Well, I think he is. Thanks for the pictures, Ryan! You can see more of Ryan's photography here.

Golf

Last week, I went to my first golf lesson. I signed up through an extention course with a friend from work. In our first lesson, we learned the fine art of putting.


Katie, as it turned out, is a good putter. Mark, the instructor, oohhh'd and ahhhh'd through the entire hour. He marveled at how quickly Katie was picking up the sport.


"Nice putting Katie. Good for you." Mark said. "Wow, Katie, you have a nice stroke!"


He did not have many nice things to say about my golfing technique. I apparently suck at putting.
He was looking at me as if I was having a stroke.


At any rate, tonight was supposed to be our second lesson. Mark had to cancel as he was down with the flu. Katie was especially disappointed because she had a great new golfing outfit to try out.


But, my "ex-boyfriend", Fred saved the day!


Fred took Katie and I out to Brookside golf course and gave us a driving lesson.
A "driving lesson" is golf talk for taking us out there and letting us hit the ball as hard as we could.


I think the pictures of Fred and Katie tell the story (and don't forget to oohh and aahh over the golf outfit):








"This is called a golf club. You hold it like this."








"You swing it like this. You
think you want to try it now?"


















"Let me show you how it's done.
Keep your left elbow straight and bend your right
one. And, whatever you do, keep your
head down."







"No, no. I said bend those
knees. And keep your
shoulders back."

"You'll get the hang of it. By the way, did I mention that's a lovely golf outfit?"

Easter Bunny 2007

My favorite easter bunny and his mommy.

Pinocchio George

"I support British Prime Minister Tony Blair's efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis."
-Pinocchio George

"Diplomatic resolution." Uh huh. Right. Click here to watch a clip on youtube.

Read about the Gulf of Tonkin.

Watch this clip of former Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara from the movie "The Fog of War."

And it's on to Iran we go...