July 9, 2016

It has been about 2 months since my last post.  So much has happened during that time that it will take a couple of posts just to get caught up again.  I will try to do this over the next two or three days.
First --- the Alaska Cruise.
We flew from Birmingham to Seattle on the 26th of May.  Once there we met up with Chuck and Mary Jane Wood, and then took a shuttle to the Embassy Suites which we called home for two nights. We spent the 27th going to the Space Needle and Pike's Fish Market.

I used the digital zoom on the camera to take this picture of the cruise ship.

I don't think Amy was enjoying the height.

I had read about this place in the book 

Fish!: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results 

so this was high on my list of things to see in Seattle.

The next morning we boarded the ship and for the next 7 days it was our home.  Great food, good friends, very restful and did I mention COLD!   We left Alabama temperatures in the 90's and expected temps of mid 60's. Instead the temp was mid 40's.  Just a little cold for the shorts and short-sleeve shirts I had taken.  There were a lot of others on the ship that had not planned on the cold.  They were probably from the south also.

View from our stateroom balcony looking over Seattle.

Amy "enjoying" the balcony.

Our first stop was Juneau

Eagles were everywhere.

We rode the tram to the top of the mountain to do some hiking.

View from inside the tram, about half way up the mountain.

Mary Jane and Chuck

Amazing views along the path we hiked.

Of course Amy was always in front.  My excuse was I lagged back to take pictures.

Carvings in the trees.

Tram ride coming back down.

Back on board the ship and sailing again.

Our next stop was Skagway.

Beautiful snow covered mountains everywhere.  We hiked this trail system.

Just part of the uphill climb on this hike.

Of course note who is leading and who is bringing up the rear.

View from the trail overlooking the cruise ship.

We did not hike the 3 additional miles around the lake.

Next we sailed in Glacier Bay.

Next stop was Ketchikan.  Cold and rainy.

This boat was once on the "Deadliest Catch". Now it has been converted to a tourist attraction to teach people about the crab fishing industry.  The ships skipper was one of the speakers onboard our cruise ship. Very interesting. 

Front view of our cruise ship.

Our last stop.

Then back to Seattle.

Our ship docked about 8:00 am on June 4th.  We pre-shipped all our luggage so we would not have to carry it around the airport.  Our flight out of Seattle was not until 10:30 pm which meant we spent the whole day at the airport.  We arrived in Houston at 2:00 am and had a four hour wait before flying to Birmingham.  Stepping out of the airport we knew we were back in Alabama, high humidity and mid 90's temperature.  Finally home at 12:00 pm on June 5th.  All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  I would highly recommend this cruise and the Crown Princess on the Princess Cruise Line (featured on The Love Boat)

May 14, 2016

Amy and I just spent 2 nights camping at Vogel State Park with Jason, Shelley and Brooks.  We had a really great time.  Enjoyed everything except traffic delays just getting to the park.  Atlanta traffic during rush hour and road construction made a 3 hour drive into almost 6 hours to get there.  Vogel State Park is located in north Georgia at the base of Blood Mountain.  Blood Mountain is the tallest mountain in Georgia on the Appalachian Trail. Several pictures of the park are given below.

Park entrance.

Amy looking over the lake.

Ducks went wild when Brooks went into the water to play with them.

Great view of the mountains from the far side of the lake.

Great view of the falls below the lake.  All of us.  Brooks would not pose for the camera.

This one is slightly different from the one above.

This is the name of the trail around the lake.

Managed to get our campsite setup before dark.

Of course eating is always important.

Great location for tents.

Brooks was the most well behaved of all of us.

Okay, this is not a great view, but our campsite location.

On Friday we ate breakfast and prepared for hiking up Blood Mountain.  The name comes from a war with the Cherokee Indians.  Legend has it that the fighting was so severe that the streams flowed red with blood.  Therefore the name Blood Mountain.

Jason and I posed for a selfie before the hike.

No trip to the Appalachian Trail would be complete without a stop at Mountain Crossing. 

Amy and Shelley

The store is located at Neel Gap.

Our hike started out on the Byron Reece Trail.  Seven tenths of a mile in we turned right on the Appalachian Trail.  This approach trail was rated strenuous due the climb in elevation.  

Lots of steps up. 

About a 1200 foot increase in elevation over .7 miles.

The approach trail intersects with the Freeman Trail, which goes around the mountain instead of over the top.

Of course we choose the AT trail (white blaze marked) at this intersection.

When I needed a rest, I took a picture.

These two were taken during a rest stop.

As you can see I was quickly lagging behind.

Amy taking a break.  Me too, that's the reason for the picture.

There were even some rock scrambles near the top.

Views near the top were awesome.

I think I like this one best.  Taken from the top near the shelter.

I threw this one in to prove that I made it to the top of Blood Mountain.

     Of course we went down the same path we went up.  Turned out that was a great day hike.  We met several through hikers along the way.  One young man was from Scottsboro and another from Birmingham, and many others.  One day hiker was from Blairsville, a town close by.  Of course some people passed me going up and then passed me again on their way down before I got to the top.  I might add this included my own family.  Beautiful park, beautiful views, lots of steps up and then lots of steps down, but well worth the effort.  I would totally recommend this for anyone who loves the outdoors, loves to hike and loves to get away from it all.

Just as a side note, the knees did fine and the wrist held up with the hiking poles.  We are looking forward to our next adventure --- Alaska here we come!

April 22, 2016

     Here is my latest part-time project.

     Where to start?  First, mom is doing good.  Lewis is recovering from outpatient back surgery he had on Wednesday. Hopefully the surgery will relieve some pain.  We are planning on visiting them this coming week.  There is just one setback to that.  I was asked to come back to work, so I am now working part time.  It is an ideal situation.  I work a couple of hours a day and am off on Friday, of course to day is Friday and I have been on the phone all morning dealing with school stuff.  My wife thinks I'm nuts and she is probably right.  Okay she is right.
     We had tentatively planned to go camping this weekend, but it was supposed to rain, so we put it off till next weekend.  To be in a tent while it is raining is not the ideal situation for a first time camper like my wife.  Maybe next weekend will be good weather.
     I finally got my garden planted for this year.  I set out 10 tomato plants.  Five different types of plants, but I know that come picking time I will not remember which kind is which.  I planted 2 kinds of squash and 2 kinds of butterpeas.  Also planted a couple of rows of rattlesnake beans, speckled butterbeans, purplehull peas, and lima beans.  And cucumbers, of course.  I used some of the seeds I had left over from last year.  I'll know in a couple of weeks if they were still good.  If not, I will just replant those rows.
     The water in the swimming pool is about 70 degrees now and after next week it should be just right for swimming.  I got a little mad yesterday, when I discovered that the first thing to use my pool this year was a snake.  Even though he was small I treated him like he was a 6 foot cottonmouth and chopped off his head.  I should have taken a picture so I could post it, but I didn't have my phone or camera.  I'm sure there will be another one soon, it just goes with living in the woods.

March 29, 2016

     First let me update the progress on my wrist.  I have been through six weeks of physical therapy, and met all the goals that the therapist set for me.  Most of the swelling is gone, but there are times that I have swelling in my fingers.  I now know more about what the doctor was trying to do.  The wrist bone at the base of the thumb and the bone next to it had separated due to a torn ligament.  Surgery was necessary to try to fix the problem.  The doctor had told me that the surgery may not be successful.  The plan was to use a tendon from my arm to graft and hold the bones back in place.  About 20% of this type of surgery fails.  In my case, the gap between the bones was closed considerably, but there is still a small separation in one spot.  Also, the wrist area is slow to heal thus the continued swelling.  I am not sure what the next step is and my next appointment is not until June.  It could be that another surgery may be required to fuse the bones together.  Only time will tell.  The doctor said I could begin light work with the wrist, of course I did not tell him that I had already moved and stacked 100 concrete blocks a few days before my appointment.  I only lifted them into the front end loader and used the tractor to move them.  I did ask about using a tiller for my garden, and was told specifically not to use the tiller.  I have one on my tractor, so I still can get my garden planted this year.  I plan to plant next week.

     Amy and I have been traveling a little bit.  We visited the grand-kids in Virginia for a week, and just got back from a weekend at Jason's.  He gave his wife a new puppy, a golden lab, and of course we had to go see it in person.  It is the cutest puppy you have ever seen.
     We have an exciting trip planned.  We have booked a cruise to Alaska.  We are going with some old friends that live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Chuck and Mary Jane Wood.  We use to vacation with them in the 1980's some.  We are really looking forward to this trip.  Everything is already taken care of for this trip and we will have a couple of days to see Seattle before the ship sails.  Can't wait!


     Being laid up with my wrist has given me plenty of time to work on my "latest hardest puzzle ever".  That is the picture below.  2000 pieces.

     I have my next two puzzles already picked out.  I started one while visiting Katy but did not finish it.  It is a panoramic view of the Auburn Stadium.  Katy had wanted to glue it and frame it, but since it was not finished by the time we left I brought it home to finish.  I tried to take it apart in sections so I would not have to do the whole puzzle over from scratch.

     Last post we were expecting my brother Lewis and his wife Deon to come visit us and Mom.  Mom's trip to rehab delayed that.  Mom is back home now and doing well, but Lewis has been back in the hospital a couple of times, then he had a fall last week and broke some bones in his spine.  He hopes that the doctor will cement the cracks and relieve the pain he is in.  We plan to go visit them some time next week since he will not be coming to Talladega any time soon.

      Amy and I also plan to use our new camping equipment soon and camp at a state park in either Alabama or Georgia.  With the weather changing it is time to get outdoors.  Until next time....