Merry Christmas from the Deep South!
We are enjoying the cooler weather after another hot summer. We are doing well, despite some age-related aches and pains. So far, we have avoided covid.
We would like to travel internationally to Israel or cruise the Nile. So far we have stayed within the USA with trips in March to Jekyll Island and Callaway Gardens. Both are in GA. In April we did a day trip to Fairburn, GA for the Renaissance Festival during the Highland Fling weekend. There were a lot of bagpipes and Celtic music. June was a busy travel month. We were in Rincon for Kristin’s birthday. The two older girls, Alexis and Keira, were getting ready for a week of Girl Scout camp. All seven of us dropped them off on Rose Dhu Island, which is in the southernmost area of Savannah. When that trip was completed, we had a little time to re-group before flying to Dulles in DC to spend time with Eric, Amber and the boys. We were able to celebrate the birthdays for Mike along with grandsons, Ethan and Alec, as well as Father’s Day for Mike and Eric. Eric and Amber sold their townhouse in April, just before interest rates started to spike. They moved to a lovely home in Chantilly, which is also in Fairfax County, VA.
Despite Hurricane Ian, we were able to do our long-planned trip to Amelia Island, FL – starting on October 2nd. The Amelia Island Resort closed for two days, September 29th and 30th, to be on the safe side. They didn’t get the hurricane rain and they never lost power. However, there was a lot of wind from Ian. Jacksonville, to the south, was not as lucky. They did get a lot of rain and street flooding. We called the resort on October 1st to see if there were hurricane-related problems and were relieved to hear that the resort was open. We had a wonderful time there. Our time started off cool and windy, but very quickly warmed up. We never saw a drop of rain, so the beach and pool time was enjoyable. We stopped in Warner Robins for the last night so that we could spend Friday afternoon and evening at the GA National Fair in nearby Perry. Livestock was heavily featured. We saw a lot of the draft horse competitions. When we checked out on Saturday morning, we spent a few hours at the Museum of Aviation adjacent to Robins AFB. It is the second largest aerospace museum of the US Air Force. There are five exhibit buildings and more than 85 historic aircraft on its 51 acre site. The main exhibit building has extensive coverage of WW II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. It shows numerous aspects of wartime personnel and GA’s role in the various war efforts. There is a wide range of aircraft including Bombers, Cargo Aircraft, Fighters, Helicopters, Missiles and Drones, Trainers and Special Aircraft. Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Mc Donnell Douglas, Sikorsky and Cessna are well represented. There are a number of lesser known companies that also have their equipment at the MOA. There is so much to see that we could have easily spent two or three days there.
We were on the road again in November. We had a certificate for a free night at a Marriott that was due to expire on November 30th. We went to Laurel, MS. I had wanted to go there for a few years because the HGTV show called Home Town is filmed there. The town had become run down when the lumber and Masonite industries declined. Even so, Laurel was filled with stately homes. Two people started restoring the old homes; the town also got funding to re-vitalize the downtown. With all of the TV exposure showcasing Laurel’s remarkable recovery, it has become a draw for tourists. We stayed in a lovely B & B, the Grandiflora. Right next door to it is the Lauren Rogers Museum, a surprisingly well curated museum for a small town. We did the walking tour of the historic district with a guide who had lived his entire life in Laurel. We also did the Home Town tour by golf cart. That went by many of the 75 restored homes and through the downtown with stops at two of the most well known businesses – the Scotsman and the Mercantile - which are owned by the stars of the Home Town show. The Grandiflora was a short walk to downtown so we walked to the shops and also to dinner each evening. We didn’t get back in the car until we checked out. The last night of the trip was spent (literally) in d’Iberville, MS which is just outside of Biloxi. We checked in at the Marriott and then headed to the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino for dinner and an evening in the casino. We had a long day in the car to get home. Biloxi/d’Iberville is 400 miles from Roswell.
On December 2nd we made a day trip to Cartersville, GA to tour the Savoy Automobile Museum. Cartersville is 40 miles NW of Roswell. The museum opened in early December of 2021. The museum is in one of three buildings on the 37 acre site. The museum building has four large galleries within 65,000 square feet. All of the cars have been beautifully restored. There are cars from the early 1900s to the present, including a replica of the locally well known Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech. We went there because there was a special event of muscle cars from the late 60s and early 70s. This included the “souped up” versions of the Baracuda, Charger, Chevelle, Mustang, Nova, Olds 442, and the Pontiac GTO, to name a few.. It took three hours for us to see all of the cars.
We will travel again over the holidays. We will be in Rincon for Christmas with Jim, Kristin and the grandgirls. After a day at home, we will fly to Dulles to spend New Year’s with Ethan, Amber and the boys. Maybe 2023 is the year I get to Kansas!! Then I can say that I have been to all 50 states.
I still do Silver Sneakers twice a week. Over the summer I decided to go to the gym an extra day to try a “Yoga for Beginners” class. I was surprised that about 75% of the yoga poses were easy for me to do; but the remainder of them are challenging for me like Cobra, Down Dog Split and Plank. With the cooler weather, I am back to walking in Horseshoe Bend. Once a week I meet with two friends to go walking; the rest of the time, I go out by myself.
“Old Faithful”, my 2000 Ford Explorer Ltd, turned 22 ½ on October 4th. It made it to 52,000 miles on October 18th. Mike and I celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary on May 11th. We just replaced our 42 year old concrete driveway with a hybrid model of six concrete squares outlined by brick. Our first choice was to have tumbled pavers. However, the available choices were not a great match to our brick home. The bigger problem was having to wait about six months to get the pavers installed – another casualty of covid and the lack of workers and supply chain issues. So we gave up on having the tumbled pavers in favor of concrete and bricks. The driveway is now complete. We are pleased with the new look.
We were happy that the Braves made it to the post season again. However, we are sad and disappointed that they didn’t get beyond the NLDS .
We hope that you are well. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
