Monday, April 20, 2015
Biscayne National Park
The same day we went to the Everglades we also went to Biscayne National Park. It is mostly in the water accessible by boat, but the Visitor's Center had a lot of great things to look at, and the walk along the wharf was very pretty.
April 15 Gators and Much More
We went to Everglades National Park, entering at Homestead. I learned so much, and saw forests that were unlike anything I'd ever seen. So different from the Pacific Northwest. At the Royal Palm Vistors Center, we saw many American Alligators as well as wading birds, Cypress trees in the water, and walked the Gumbo Limbo trail. It was amazing.
April 13th and 14th Orlando and The Keys
We spent most of the day at Universal Studios. Then we drove to Florida City. It is one of the last cities before you drive to the Keys. The next day we drove to the middle of Marathon, and turned back. Jerry didn't want to drive as far as Key West, about 50 more miles down south. It was beautiful!! We stopped at John Penninman State Park on Key Largo and learned all about Coral, Coral Reefs, Keys and marine life here.
Blues Brothers Show
This is for my kids. We went to see the Blues Brother's show at Universal,. It was outside on a corner where there was a Mardi Gras park. A woman in a pink waitress's uniform started it off. Soon the brothers arrived in their police car, and took the stage. The whole time, Dad was dancing. He really got into it. You would have died. It was super funny.
April 11th Applebee's Misery
Yesterday at Applebee's I had a burger. I didn't eat dinner. When I woke up this morning my first thought was, "I'm supposed to feel good when I wake up." Then I realized I felt bad in a way I'd never felt before. I just knew it was wrong. I felt a little queasy, and my head hurt a bit, so I decided it was from the headache and I needed to eat a little bit. We finished up, packed up and headed out on the road to Orlando, for our stay there with Bluegreen Getaways at The Fountains. Thank you Applebee's, I now know what it is like to have food poisoning.(Revenge of the 12 minute meal!)
When we got to Orlando that late afternoon, I crawled up on the bed and stayed there. It was so comfy, and there was a throw to cover myself with. I managed through the orientation meeting the next day.I was too ill to go to church. Luckily, I was over it enough to enjoy Universal Studios on Monday.
My Favorite Bed!
Jerry Drinks Butter Beer
Gringotts
The Weasley's solution to my problem.
My Favorite Bed!
Jerry Drinks Butter Beer GringottsApril 10th Montgomery Craziness
We left Tupelo, Mississippi and drove to Montgomery, Alabama to see Jerry's 1st Cousin, once removed, Estrellis Lynette Schwertfeger Hood. The family calls her Trellis, but she goes by Lynette. Her father, is Jerry's Grandfather William Swertfeger's brother. He didn't change the last name spelling the way William did, so he was Edgar Schwertfeger. She is Alice's first cousin.
Anyway, we had met her several years ago when she came to visit Alice. She was so bubbly, sweet and generous, we felt like we had known her all our life. When we got to her apartment, her friend Benny and her "adopted grandson", Jason were there. They were very friendly and we all had a good visit. Then we went to lunch. They wanted to go to Applebee's. They said it was their favorite place. The whole time Jason is chatting away with us, and he is also one of those people that you can make an instant bond with. He takes care of elderly for a living, and makes the most beautiful jewelry I've ever seen. Lynette had rings on every finger. Benny had about 8 teeth, and has been her friend most of her life. It was fun to see the bond they have. Benny lives in the apartment complex across the street and they are both retirement places.
The reason they wanted to go to lunch at Applebee's was because they have a special menu that if you order from it, they have to deliver it in 12 minutes or it is free. They said, "We haven't paid for our meals here in a long time." Applebee's even provides a little timer when you place your order. Sure enough, we all ordered from that menu and 15 minutes later it came out of the kitchen. They laughed! They know the manager by name. They said he probably tells the kitchen to get busy when they walk in. Anyway, at first I was embarrassed. Then I realized that just as Jason said, "She is a hoot and a holler." It was all in fun. Like a game. After all, Applebee's makes the claim and provides the timer, right? They are on fixed income and every little bit helps. So our lunch cost $4.
Lynette is a member of the area's Gospel Music Writer's Association and has 2 awards as songwriter of the year. After lunch, we were driving around so she could show us some sights and she said she had one that she just wrote that she couldn't stop singing. I asked to hear it and she sang it for us in the car. "Me and Jesus, we're going in glory, Everywhere, all around the world,.", etc. It was a peppy one. Her voice is low and perfect. I loved it! After our drive, we went back to her place and she got a folder out and sat and sang about 8 songs for us. We looked at pictures for awhile and then we had worn her out. We said our goodbyes and promised to see her again sometime.
This is part of the Natchez Trace in Alabama.
To the right, is Jerry and Lynette. She took us to see Hank Williams' grave. Very important to her!
Hank Williams' grave.
After this we drove on to Dothan, Alabama for the night,
Anyway, we had met her several years ago when she came to visit Alice. She was so bubbly, sweet and generous, we felt like we had known her all our life. When we got to her apartment, her friend Benny and her "adopted grandson", Jason were there. They were very friendly and we all had a good visit. Then we went to lunch. They wanted to go to Applebee's. They said it was their favorite place. The whole time Jason is chatting away with us, and he is also one of those people that you can make an instant bond with. He takes care of elderly for a living, and makes the most beautiful jewelry I've ever seen. Lynette had rings on every finger. Benny had about 8 teeth, and has been her friend most of her life. It was fun to see the bond they have. Benny lives in the apartment complex across the street and they are both retirement places.
The reason they wanted to go to lunch at Applebee's was because they have a special menu that if you order from it, they have to deliver it in 12 minutes or it is free. They said, "We haven't paid for our meals here in a long time." Applebee's even provides a little timer when you place your order. Sure enough, we all ordered from that menu and 15 minutes later it came out of the kitchen. They laughed! They know the manager by name. They said he probably tells the kitchen to get busy when they walk in. Anyway, at first I was embarrassed. Then I realized that just as Jason said, "She is a hoot and a holler." It was all in fun. Like a game. After all, Applebee's makes the claim and provides the timer, right? They are on fixed income and every little bit helps. So our lunch cost $4.
Lynette is a member of the area's Gospel Music Writer's Association and has 2 awards as songwriter of the year. After lunch, we were driving around so she could show us some sights and she said she had one that she just wrote that she couldn't stop singing. I asked to hear it and she sang it for us in the car. "Me and Jesus, we're going in glory, Everywhere, all around the world,.", etc. It was a peppy one. Her voice is low and perfect. I loved it! After our drive, we went back to her place and she got a folder out and sat and sang about 8 songs for us. We looked at pictures for awhile and then we had worn her out. We said our goodbyes and promised to see her again sometime.
This is part of the Natchez Trace in Alabama.
To the right, is Jerry and Lynette. She took us to see Hank Williams' grave. Very important to her!
After this we drove on to Dothan, Alabama for the night,
April 9th Left For Florida
We visited with Alice this morning and left her comfortable. We drove south and stopped at Mammoth Springs. I've never seen such a large amount of water moving from underground. It was very beautiful. There were plenty of turtles sunning themselves on the banks, as well as swimming in the water. We walked around it and went on our way. Our goal for today was Tupelo, Mississippi. I've never been in the deep south, but have always wanted to see it. It is very green, and warm. There were lots of thunderstorms today, but we drove between two fronts all day and didn't see any rain. The Red Bud trees are also very beautiful, like the one in the background here. All along our drive we saw them here and there, standing out wherever they were.
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