Up and Down the Winding Road on Sapphire Mountain

In these parts, there are two kind of speeds, slow, and slower.  The locals naturally are the ones driving these roads slowly in anticipation of the next curve.  The ones that are going even slower are the tourists like you and me.

On this day, I was the appointed driver.  I was instructed to roll as slow as possible so that my passengers could take in all the scenery, and they would be at the ready for any Kodak opportunity that would pass by.

Our first stop was at Fairfield lake.  During season this lake is full of activity, including swimming, canoeing, and paddle boats.  The water was so clear you could see the reflections of the trees off the water:

In one curve, was a small give shop and restaurant that didn't  open until late afternoon.  As I pulled into the lot, the bridge in the next curve caught my eye.  In a small opening between the trees there seemed to be something that might be of interest.  As I pulled closer, we noticed that the road ahead was a private drive.  We all thought, what the hell, they can put the cuffs on us when we return.  This is what was around the bend of that private drive:

Toxaway Falls

We made a few inquiries for other stops on our journey today.  One stop recommended was Whitewater Falls.  The drive was short, along the many curves, and winding roads.   The location for the falls was within one of the national parks, and this one allowed hiking and overnight camping.  The trail to the falls was only a half mile, with a scenic vista along the way.  The sight was worth the walk as you can see from these photos:

Whitewater Falls

These pictures do not do the views justice.  We also posted a video of the falls on Facebook.                     

We ended our day with a dusk ride to the top of Cold Mountain.  We were in search for wilderness critters like turkeys, deer or bears.  The waitress made the suggestion during our lunch break.  We made it to the dead end top of Cold Mountain with not one critter sighting on the way.  Not feeling defeated, we made our way back down retracing our route in hopes of maybe seeing something.  Apparently seeing was not what Mother Nature had in mind.  Five miles from our weekend home we passed through the recently sprayed smell of skunk!  Two miles later, we spotted one of these striped critters crossing the road.

We could not wait to return to the safety of out wine, beer and bourbon, along with a.slow burning fire!  Now settling in with the anticipation of tomorrow's adventure!

Sapphire Mountain Here We Come

Never been much of a mountain guy.  Growing up, these kinda excursions didn't exist.  Beach bumming was easy to pick up, just some sand, surf, umbrella, chair, and a cooler bag of frozen margaritas and you are all set!

The mountains of North Carolina, now this is a whole nother ball game.  The umbrella and chair get left behind.  No shorts, tshirts or flippers this trip!  Had a sample last fall with a quickie to the tourist trap mecca of Gatlinburg with the offspring and girly friends.  At least I'm in the company of the spousal unit and some fellow beach nuts, so I won't go ape crazy by my lonesome!

Beaching is easy.  Just get in the car and go!  This mountain thang is a whole different kind of adventure.  Coming from central Mississippi, it becomes quite an adventure.  First thang is to load up the GPS with a destination.   This in itself is quite a challenge when using the spousal unit's new smartazz car.  You can't just use your normal southern drawn out voice when speaking to Dora the Explorer.  Like any woman, Dora has a mind of her own!

We headed east to Atlanta.  I'm used to the traffic, no biggie.  I figured that Dora would take the I385 loop around  Metro Atlanta.  Nope!  Straight shot on I20 then I75/I85.  It was around noon, but traffic in this town never slows.  I was tempted to take the commuter lane, but ole Dora was in charge.  Got to scratching my head once we were on I85 north bound.  Made no sense to me.  Heading north to first go through South Carolina to get to North Carolina.    But hey, Dora was in charge, and if I screw up, she doesn't mine, she just says "recalculating" in the nicest tone of voice.

But poor Dora.  This trip she was to be out done by directions written on a piece of paper.  The Spousal unit has a folder full of info, and it was full of turns and twists that poor ole Dora could hardly keep up with.

The exit off I85 could confound the average first timer.  It was a combination exit and rest area combined.  All the 18 wheelers pulled on the side of the road added to the confusion.  Once we got on State 11 we are off and running on the highways and byways of the rural of the Carolinas.

After a while, we got a look at our potential destination.  The sky was quite overcast, but in the distance, we could see what looked like either more clouds, or maybe it was the mountain tops of our destination.   It was only a matter of time before we would know for sure!

As we made our way, the four lanes turned into two lanes.  The straight paths began to get more windy. Up we would go, then down we went.  It was almost like a slow motion roller coaster in the comfort of our smartazz car.  Around one curve, there were a bunch of fellas on the side of the road, in hunter orange caps leaning on their pickups chewing the fat about today's hunt.  Two curves later, there was a covey of game warden trucks parked in a cluster.  I wanted to yell "they're two curves back!" But that's just not kosher in hunting country!  We quickly noticed we had no cell service, and around the next curve there was another member of the orange hat society, talking on a short wave radio.  If this is Carolina moonshine country I could see why!

Finally, a significant road sign ahead, "now entering the great State of North Carolina ".  How and why they chose that spot for the border beats the hell out of me.  Mountains on one side, Gulley on the other, and nothing but curvy roads behind and in front of us!  Destination less than an hour away!

One thing became very clear to me.  Back home, we have trees that go through the seasons of change, with a bit of color at the end.  Those trees are in the minor leagues!  As I was driving, I almost felt the urge on this cloudy day to put my sunglasses on.  The foliage hanging from the trees and road brush were almost literally on fire!  The brightest reds, oranges, and yellows that you can imagine were lighting up our two lane windy pathway.  So THIS is what it's all about!  This ain't  the beach, nope, it's a fall color wonderland!

Finally, another road sighting!  Saphire Mountain community!  So close!  Even saw the Wyndham Sapphire resort on the right, a possible return destination.  We knew we were close.  The road is now steeper, the speed is much slower and the smartazz car is using all kinda gears on some of these climbs.  We notice all the houses from the roadside.  The front doors are road level, but the rest of the houses are hanging off the side of these mountain!

We are now on roads that are less traveled.  The falling leaves far out number the cars that can blow them to the side of the road.  This is what we came for.  Destination has been reached!  Multi-storied four bedroom "house" that I consider a castle, stuck on the side of this mountain!  You walk through the front door, and in front of you is an open floor plan with this amazing view.  Dorothy, we ain't in Kansas anymore!

We unloaded our supplies and luggage and immediately began taking in the views!  The night was capped off with a roaring fire, a beautiful full moon peeking over the mountain top, and lots of stories, aided by wine, beer, and bourbon.

Can't wait for what the morning brings!

Tailgating is a Wonderful Thang

Each home date on Football Saturday is a unique tailgating experience week in and week out.  Today's  experience was no exception.

Our crew is quite a collection of souls, all joined together for the common purpose of tailgating, Grove style.  Some are from the Jackson metro area.  Others are from the Gulf Coast, Vicksburg and a few other Mississippi communities.  But, we have others that come each home game from Birmingham, and some from as far away as Kansas!  Today,  one guy and his wife made their annual trek down from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin.  This group of folks all have one thing in common, their love for their university and their team called the Rebels.  We unofficially call ourselves the HYDR 38 Tailgating Crew!

Our table is always overflowing with quite a variety of food galore!  Many a stranger from a visiting team has stopped by with an inquiry and left with a full stomach, leaving with a passing comment of  "wait til the boys back home hear about this!"

Texas A&M was here for the first time since joining the SEC.  We saw quite a few Texas tags on the way.  The Grove dress color for the day was navy blue.  The flow of fans into the Grove was a stream of blue, as suggested for the day, mixed with a hint of maroon  from the visitors from east Texas.

The fashion police was on duty, at the corner of Grove Loop and University Avenue.   We were not to be disappointed.   We had out chairs all lined up, several dad's among us.  The dresses were indeed blue.  The dresses were indeed short.  The dresses were indeed sheer.  Commando was the word of the day.  Some of the dads were on hand to see it for the first time.  Within minutes they all were in agreement, they had heard about it, but had to be here to see it them selves.  Each with a teenage daughter, and all commented, "not on my watch!"  I just chuckled and said, "well you will be living up here and watching her walk out the front door each morning!"  One word responses : "yep".

It more than the dresses.  Eyes became trained to catch the oncoming herd, searching out that unsuspecting soul with the thin Wallyworld bag in hand.  Alert!  Alert!   Will the Popo see it too?!  And yes they do!  The looks on these folks, young and old, is priceless!  We begin to add commentary to the looks they are giving!  The best one was from an elderly TSUN statesman, "you are not serious.  Do you realize the size of the checks I write to the University every year?"  Popo "yes we do, and thank you very much!"

The funniest one, the guy is cool, calm, collected, following the crowd past the Popo station.  Someone suggested that he might want to cover it up, he does, but it's too late!  Busted!

The biggest haul came early.  A pickup truck, just in from east Texas, pulls up to the corner,  two guys dressed in maroon jump out, and they quickly stack up six cases of brew in the grass next to the sidewalk.  The early bird Popo walks up and thanks them for the early delivery.  He then instructs them to carry all six cases over to the red trash can and begin popping and pouring!

The funniest transport was a red radio flyer wagon.  No handle.  Dude had rigged up a net to use to pull it along, with the wagon swaying back and forth as he walked and pulled.  In the wagon was a mint green $400 Yeti full of beverages and ice.  The dude can afforder the cooler and contents, but has this jack leg wagon contraption???

Our neighbors, year in and year out at this spot are a group from Eupora.  They are the snooty kind.  They pay to have their tents, tables, and chairs at the ready each game, but only come to a few.  Some weeks back the elder statement of the group made a comment that our tents, chairs, and guests were much too close to their setup.  We subsequently made arrangements to have "some space" in between.  Well, on this day, a new tent has arrived,  setup in "their" green space.  The dude was overheard saying "this will not do at all.  Wait till I talk to our tent setup guy!"  Good luck with that!  I looked over on his table and saw this nice, new shiny red soft sided cooler bag.  On the side was a logo, "University of Mississippi Loyalty Foundation ".  I'm guessing this new bag cost this old fart $10,000 or more!  Hobby Lobby big boy!

I saved the best for last.  The spousal unit got an email early in the week, from a guy from Chicago, who we met six years ago in the Grove.  He still had her business card.  He was coming down for this game, and remembered how much fun he had on his last visit.  The spousal unit gave him directions on how to find our group, and gave him a refresher course of "Grove Etiquette", i.e. beer containers, etc....  the guy shows up, with eight of his buddies from a variety of northern countries.  They all flew into Memphis, rented two cars, and had rented an Oxford house for the weekend.  None of these guys had any ties to the school, but a niece from Texas was a freshman.  It was all about experiencing the Grove and SEC football!  They, as instructed, had their beer in several Styrofoam coolers, with loose fitting tops.  One guy was holding his a bit too tight, and as he walked up the top popped up.  Busted!  The insuing conversation with the local Popo was hilarious!

It seems that each week there is a new story to tell, but it all starts with friends and fellowship of the HYDR 38 tailgating crew!  Hobby Lobby!  A few more games left, stay tuned!

Dawg Day Afternoon

I got to wondering how this day was gonna end early this morning.  While primping this morning, I got word that one of my favorite eateries in the Destin area closed one of their locations, my favorite one!

First stop out of the gate was Donut Palace, the home of the Vietnamese apple fritter.  I walk in and folks are seven deep.  The fritter rack is looking mighty thin.  Finally, I'm  next in line, but there is only one fritter left.  Figured I'd give it to the spousal unit and get me something else.  Wouldn't you know it, that fella in front of me just ordered it as the last item to put into his bag!

Having to settle for something else, I told the cute little owner that if she found that guy lying out in her parking lot, it was over that last fritter!  Cinnamon roll had to do.  :-(.

No tailgating this trip since the man cub skipped town to go to Georgia with the MSU disc golf team.  We decided to do the park and shuttle ride to the stadium.  We are on the bus, ready to go when some woman yelled "STOP!"  A woman dressed in LA Tech  blue jumps off the bus and is running to her car.  Apparently she had accidently bumped her keys in her pocket and the Suv hatch done popped open!  Don't those women for Monroe carry purses anymore???

Stopped at the concession stand and picked up two large drinks and three jumbo dogs.  Total came to $29, for hot dogs!  At least they weren't those Carolina Pride thang that were so awful two years ago!

Before we knew it, my Dawgs were down to their dogs by 0-14.  Things weren't looking too good for the home bullies at that point.  Fortunately we took the lead before halftime with the help of a blocked punt.

Half time was special, with freshman maid Stevie Flynt, escorted by her lead dad on one arm and her lead dog on the other.  She was absolutely beautiful in her royal blue dress!

I've been working on the little woman that sits next to me and she never says anythang.  When she stands up and I'm sitting down, we both are eye to eye!  After working on her the first half she finally  looked over at me and said "Your friends that were in your seats last game must not get out much.  You have chair cushioned back seats and they sat on the bleacher two seats down till they were asked to move!"  I just about fell off my seat!  What an ice breaker!

The little feller sitting in front of me wasn't too happy that his dad came back with only one bottle of water.  Sharing was not what he had in mind.  I could not resist and told him the secret about back washing and not having to share.  Dad cracked up and Mom gave me that look!

The boiled peanut guy came by and I couldn't resist.  Took one bite, and no heat, just plain mushy peanuts!  What's up with that???

The gal behind us tends to clang her bell at ear level.  Today I brought ear plugs, which is kinda cheating, but the spousal unit was gonna go deaf.  For a minute there, I thought I had lost my clapper when I couldn't hear it go clang!  Ear plugs will be making return visits!

I'm not too sure how these young gals behind.me are being raised.  Several of them did not know how to properly hold their bells during the pause.  It sounded like a bunch of cows hanging out at the hay bale.  Clang, clang, clang.....

Since the man cub will be working the black tent setup next game, I passed my tickets off to kinfolk.  I told my fellow bleacher buddies to keep an eye out for them and to remind them that I always  buy everybody a drink and popcorn at halftime!  Surprise!  Surprise!  Lol!

Dawgs won big.  The return shuttle ride was quick and easy and we were home before we knew it.  We actually got home too early, while listening to the Alabama vs TAM on the radio.  Got the TV turned on and there was Burne and Garwy on CBS.  Almost went back to the car.  Almost!

With a split household, next weekend is gonna be interesting in Oxford.  TSUN beat Alabama, who beat TAM today.  And da shark bears lost to Memphis!  Crazy days in the SEC west!

Stevie Ray

I've  got a special little friend that I've  watched grow up from a little bitty pup to a sweet, beautiful young woman.  She is special in so many ways, but the one that means so much to me is that she just wants to be like you and me.  Stevie has never been like you or me, because she takes being like you and me to a whole different level.  My friend Stevie has been blind since birth.

I met Stevie through our travels on the soccer field.  She was the little sister of one of the team mates.  When she would meet you for the first time, she would want to feel your face.  Through her hands she would immediately know what you looked like.  She would then ask you if you had a cell phone.  She would cuddle it, just like she did your face, making you wonder if you and your phone had been cataloged in her head together!

As she got older, and spent more time with her family at the soccer fields, one day she asked her dad, Mike, "daddy, why can't I play soccer too?"  Well, Mike being the parent that he is, took that question to heart.  It almost broke him, until he discovered a small program called "Top Soccer".

 Mike brought Top Soccer to Mississippi.  It was a soccer program for children of all disabilities.  He got people like My good friend Tommy Wolf involved.  Tommy pulled me in.  Best investment of my time I ever made!

Stevie was able to play soccer with the assistance of a guide, and a soccer ball with a bell inside.  That ball was the most magical thing I had ever seen.  It opened the eyes of so many kids and parents alike!  I kept a watchful eye while I was assisting the kids with down syndrome.  After the sessions were over, the parents of all these special kids were begging for more!

Stevie went through out school trying to be a normal kid.  She attended the same schools as her brothers.  Stevie in no way could ever be just a normal kid.  Her drive to get there sent her over the top.  She was given a talent for music and playing the piano.

As a senior, she spent time in New York, learning how to me more independent.   In this past year she got a life partner in her guide dog, named Nala Belle.

This summer Stevie went off to college at MSU, becoming a pledge of her mother's soriety.  Not only did the soriety take in Stevie on bid day, but Nala Belle was made a sister too!

My friend Stevie!

Nala Belle

As you can see, Stevie has never been a normal anything.  Tomorrow, at MSU's homecoming, Stevie will be a freshman maid.  I'll be in the stands cheering her on with a smile on my face and my cowbell clanging away.  #HailStevieRay!

Stevie on the far left!

New Route to NOLA

For years our trips to NOLA have always been down that awful stretch of highway called Interstate 55.  With the construction around Byrum, its almost like taking your life in your hands with the narrow lands and no where to go for an emergency stop if you are in the inside lane.

The spousal unit and I have made several trips back and forth to Picayune related to her business.  Picayune is south of Hattiesburg on Interstate 59 and is less than an hour from NOLA.  We go through Puckett then Mendenhall to get to Highway 49, then to Hattiesburg, before heading south on Interstate 59.

I have a deep hatred for Highway 49 south of Hattiesburg, with a close encounter with death by highway still etched in the back of my mind.  The best part of this new route is the town of Picayune!  Picayune is the home to Paul's Bakery and two butcher shops that make their own sausages.

At part of this trip, I was gonna deliver two of  ice chest cooler boxes to a friend girl of mine that is married to a preacher down there.  With a little time to kill, I planned to stop at a local butcher shop to place an order that I would pick up later in the day.  Much to my surprise, the  shop was closed!  Damn!  Double damn!  They have the best chicken apple sausage and hot sausage I've ever eaten.  The owner was recovering from surgery and would be closed for a couple more weeks.

This sign on the door almost brought me to tears.  I had visions of his sausage in my red beans for the upcoming Alabama vs MSU game.  I was gonna get some treats for my dad's birthday gift.  What a way to let the air out of my balloon!  Well, at least the     owner was gonna live to stuff another sausage!       

I get up with my friend, the wife of the local Methodist preacher, at Dockside Cafe.  They catch theirown shrimp and crabs that are sold in the restaurant .  Soon the preacher joined us at the counter.  After we sampled a few of the dishes of the day, we put in our order.  Turns out the owner is one of their flock.  She said lunch was on the house!  Well,  I ain't  exactly the preacher looking type, and my friend said this was the first time this has happened!  My guess is the almighty had just laid a blessing in us that we were grateful to receive!  Even got a sample of bread pudding  out of the deal!

Lunch was now history, and now time to.deliver the two cooler boxes to the preacher's house.  During lunch I commented on how fast this woman could talk, compared to yours truly.  Turns out she drives even faster!  It seemed like only minutes had passed and before I knew it, the spousal unit was buzzing me to come get her.  Chauffeur duty calls!

After picking her up, we went looking for another butcher shop, just up the road a bit.  The GPS led us to a supermarket parking lot, WTH???  Surely a place called Nick's can't be that hard to find!  That's  what I get for using the Yeller Pages app to find the directions!  As we retraced our way back to the interstate, there was Nick's,  two blocks back!

Nick's  is an old fashioned butchershop  with any kinda meat you would want.  We were on a sausage mission.  Nick and his Dad run the place.  There was no chicken apple sausage today, but come back next week!  One conversation topic led to another and before we knew it, the old man was feeding us samples of everything in the meat case!    The spousal unit and I had our first ever taste of Hogshead cheese!

Soon, the place was full of other customers.  Believe it or not, they were all there for the Hogshead cheese!  Since the other butchershop was closed for an illness, this was the only place in town!  As we were waiting our order to be finished, a boy and his momma were in a debate over a biscuit vs a croissant.   Really???

The spousal unit and I joined in on the debate and explained the differences in the two to the momma.
The momma said "they're the same thang".  Son said "no they ain't! "  the spousal unit and I chimed in and explained the difference.   She didn't know nuthin about baking since she spent most of her helping the daddy in their body shop business next door!  The boy was wanting to make a Sammi with a croissant with Hogshead cheese and a piece of boudin!   You gotta love these people!

Next stop before heading home was Paul'Smith bakery.  We had canollis on the brain since.our last visit.  They have every imaginable dessert inside multiple display cases.  One fella picked up the.last king on the shelf.  He was on.his.way back to Laurel, having just left NOLA.

You can tell a lot about the local clientele by the signage on the.wall.  in this case it was posted at the register:

I just about fell out on the.floor when reading it!  While this wasn't the highlight of the day it was a good explanation point!  Few hours later we were pulling into our driveway.

Hoping next trip I eventually end up in NOLA, with a side stop in Picayune,  of course!

Beaching, It's All About the Prep!

Yep, beaching season for me was over a little over a month ago.  But that's not the end, it's only the beginning for the planning of the next one!  For me, anyway!

We do our thing using our timeshare.  It's not for everyone.  It begins with planning a year in advance.  Picking the place is easy, and we pretty much know where we will be staying.  Looking at the calendar a year in advance is the hard part with a work schedule that already includes a lot of travel.  So far, all the reservations are on the books, with one to go in early September.  Just waiting for the window of opportunity in the world of reservations to open up!

With all the salt in the surf and sand, the beach toys take a beating.  Already got new chairs in the garage.  Not just any chairs by the way.  These are built to handle my big azz!  These usually last about three years with all the beach trips we make.

The umbrella of choice is the Sports-brella.  It's light, folds up compactly with a collapsible pole and UV protection built in.  I usually get two years usage out of these, so I'm always looking for a bargain!

Our favorite drink of choice is of course the frozen margarita.  My niece and nephew scored a Rita machine 50% off and sent me this pic.  I've still got a spare, just in case of a disaster!

 One cannot do as much beaching as we do without replacing some basic required beaching personal items like flippers, swimmy suits, and.of course hats!  Me and my buddy Clarence have a watchful eye out beginning the first of August.

I've already scored some replacement Reef  flippers for $9.  Some beaching caps for $8, and suits on Clarence for $10.

One item I picked up this summer is a small travel sized router box for the internet.  Some buildings have walls so thick that they only provide a wired ether net plug.  This little box works great for WiFi phone access, put not recommended for more than one laptop connection at a time.

Always a shopper, I'm  currently on the.prowl for a new beach cart, on sale, of course!                               

First Fall Ball Game in the Fall in the Grove with a Chill

Well, game time for this weekend was announced for 11:00 with a forecast of a chill in the air all day long at Grove Central.  The forecast was right on, in the lower 60's.

The spousal unit was dedicated to baby sitting duty, so it was me going solo to a rebellion game.  First time ever!

First stop, Shipley donuts!  Parking lot was at capacity, with a line at the front door.  All the glazed were gone, over 2,500 sold announced the manager.  All of a sudden, one of the cash registers went dead!  No power at all.  Line is now backing up into the parking lot!  Turns out the power cord had been previously patched with electrical tape, and a wiggle here and a twist there and it was running once again!  Fire Hazzard for sure!

I made my way down Lamar to turn on University Ave.  It was now 8:00 a.m.  Abners Chicken had a tent set up in their parking lot with hot boxes full of fried chicken tenders waiting for pickup.  After the game, those tenders couldn't  be too tender, now being over seven hours old!

My arrival time to the Grove was well after the appointed hour of 8.  The Grove again, was a literal ghost town, but the traffic jam did not materalize like it did on the first game day.

Apparently these social birds were ready this time.  A lot more red and blue wagons were visible.  You could tell that they had not practiced because the wagons were way overloaded to save trips back and forth.

To my surprise, not one unsuspecting passerby got busted for open beer, not one!  The weather messed up the bird watching too!  Short skirts and sheer tops were far and few between.  Guess it was a mixed blessing since the spousal unit was absent.

You could tell that the crowd was going to be slim just from the walk to the stadium.  No big crowds to dodge at all.  With the mild  temperatures I'm  sure concession sales were at an all time low.  Too cool to  break a sweat, but no where low enough for coffee or hot chocolate.

Pregame included entertainment by the junior Rebelettes.  They looked like a big ole bowl of popcorn going off when they began their cheer!

Game got out of hand quick.  One fan commented that it felt like a spring game.  Sparse crowd, laid back, and not much noise after the first hotty toddy!
As expected, the student section cleared out early, leavimg a cluster of Frat pledges still in their navy blazers!  Laquin Treadwell added some excitement with a one handed touchdown catch.  Before we knew it, the game was over.

The students did not disappoint. I passed several under the influence on the way to the parking lot. Hopefully, the Square will be in full swing by sun down.  Then, all bets are off!

Grandbaby Nephew Sitting

The spousal unit's  niece needed a pinch hitter baby sitter this weekend.  Her schedule was jam packed with homecoming activities at Ole Miss and the baby daddy was out of town and the Granny had to work.

It's was Great Aunt LaNelle to the rescue!  Got here mid afternoon and baby ACE was bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for some hugging and kissing and rocking till he fell asleep.  The spousal unit was in heaven.

Then all hell breaks loose!  The critter wakes up!  Fussing!  Oh crap, haven't done this in over 20 years!  She got him changed, got him fed, a bit more hugging, and rocking, then set him down for him to play.

Baby momma arrived to pitch some relief.  After a bath, he was momma fed then put down for the night.  Then at 2 a.m., here we go again!  Changed, fed, then down fast asleep.  OK time for a nap.

About 5:30 this morning baby ACE'S alarm clock went off.  I'm  a fairly light sleeper so I heard him.  Spousal unit wasn't budging!  A few more whimpers and still no movement.  A little nudge by yours truly, and off she went!

Aunt LaNelle has duty til mid afternoon, all by her lonesome.  I'll be her substitute tailgating and gaming for her at TSUN.  I'm  figuring both will be down for a nap during the day.

The Ole gal ain't what she used to be!  This is a good test run for when her turn comes to be Queen Granny.  I got a feeling I know who will be sleeping the whole ride home tonight!

The best part, I hear, about grand parenthood, is at the end of the day, you can send the critters home!  Our turn is coming.  After the last 18 hours, I think I'm in no hurry to speed up the timeline, but a few more practice runs, here and there, would be ok!

New Phone

I've had a Samsung galaxy 4 for some time.  Occasionally I would have to reboot it because it would give me the message "cannot read sim card". This gets a bit frustrating, and I had already replaced it with another.

The phone only had 16 gig of memory and space for updates had become an issue.  I remember when 16 gig was the world!

Contract now up,  time for something else.  got a Samsung note 4 via the internet, mostly because it was free.  Out of the box, I gave it a full charge.  Now it's time to transfer all my crapola!

The bluetooth transfer process is the absolute bomb!  It took about eight minutes.  The the fun started.  It remembered all my apps, I just had to initiate the download on some of my apps.  The only thing that didn't transfer over was my appointments.  An hour later, all done.

This is a slightly bigger phone which is ok.  Lots of fatfinger typing errors with the keyboad.  May have  to go to voice promt typing!

Can't wait to try some of other features.  As you can guess, not a fan of iPhones!   But hey!  My parents still have a flip phone!

Grandparent Mode

We're not grandparents yet, and by no  means do we want to rush it.  We used this latest roadie trip as a practice run.  The Spousal unit's youngest sister is already there, being 40 with two babies under the age of four.   Da niece just dropped a little one, so we know our turn for grandparenting is just around the corner.

The sister and her youngins will be heading on their first outing to Mouseville next fall with us in tow, so we have to be battle hardened to be able to hang.  This weekend the spousal unit gets to baby sit the grandbaby nephew as a pinch hitter!

The first step was making a trip to Orlando a two day event instead of a one day killer.  We have done this before and it makes arrival day much more pleasant.

The trip included a side trip back north to Gainesville to watch the Rebellion get blowed out of the swamp!   We opted to meet up with some friends at an off site parking lot and take the shuttle into the campus.  Great move on our part!  Met some new friends that call themselves Gators  and saved ourselves from a long walk to and from the Swamp.   We were dropped off at the corner of the stadium and then afterwards were back on the interstate headed south in no time!

At the mouse kingdom, we got in a practice run of "trick or treat" coming away with a sack full of candy.  It was so much fun saying "trick or treat" to the attendants in my "Darth Vader" voice!

The test run on all the "young one approved" rides was awesome!  Poking fun at parents with wee ones was a killer!  I got my reality check after taking a seat on the bench after Space Mountain.   This ole cowboy is officially retired to the chuck wagon with no more attempts at riding the bull!

At Universal Studios I learned to have a watchful eye.  You never know when a munchkin will pull back his Harry Potter cape and pull out his magic wand!  Butterbeer is a definite life saver for any age, especially the frozen one.  Instant brain freeze if sipped too quickly.

After my Space Mountain  adventure, spotting a well placed seat to sit and wait came with ease.  The time passed very quickly after making up a little game.  I would point my eyes to the ground.  I would spot a pair of odd looking shoes going by and tried to imagine what the rest of the person looked like.  The tattoed ankle peeps were easy.   The feet of foreigners were a much bigger challenge with their odd choices of clothing.  The one thing that struck me time and time again was "what the hell do these people do for a living to pay the price of admission to these amusement parks!?"

One trick every newbie parent must learn.is to not give in to the munchkins desires to have every toy early in the day.  One must dicipline themselves to wait much later in the day.  Don't get caught carrying a ball, rifle, or broomstick all day long!

We learned that meal time would definitely be the gathering time for recapping the day.  I have my Landry Select Dining card at the ready for the first available seating for those tired and hungry mini mees!

The one trick I haven't mastered is avoiding the enviable blister or two, or three, or four. I have concluded that will only happen if we opt to rent and electric chariot!  That will require multiple practice runs to avoid running over tots or bumping over the unsuspecting adult!

As much as I hate doing it, flying my be in our future.  Never liked the cattle effect  or quickly learning the ins and outs of an unfamiliar car rental.  Of course the worst option is being delegated to the back seat!

The worst part, at any age, is saving up the energy for the trip home.  Gonna have to dicipline myself to commit to a two day trip home, with a stopover at, you guessed it, the beach!

Universal Studios in Grand Parent Mode

In the early years of amusement park hopping, this ole dawg and his spousal unit could run with the best of them.  These days, we are having to slow it down a bit.  These bodies don't cooperate like they used to.

The knees are the first thing to go.  Some rides have multiple stair cases and they are a killer on these bodies that we once considered bionic.   And my stomach,  once considered cast iron, now can only handle the simplest of rides.

The new fangled twister coasters have been off the radar screen for quite some time.  The biggest disappointment was not being able to fit in the Harry Potter ride a few years ago.

But, fear not.  I've been able to entertain myself in other ways.   Bobbing and weaving thru security check lines is a new past time of mine. Even with my size, I'm getting pretty good at it!

We made our way to the back of the park to the Harry Potter section.  Along the way, we saw Scoobie Doo, and Shaggy.  The dog costume was tall, but the guy playing Shaggy looked seven feet tall!  Next up, was Marilyn Monroe and her escort.  That gal looked awful good for being 85 years old!

It was now time to check out the new Harry Potter experiences.  It cracks me up to know people will pay $150 for admission to stand in line for an hour, anticipating a five minute ride!  After a good look around, it was time to board the Hogwarts Express!

The train ride requires a "park to park" ticket for the journey to the other Univeral park.  If you didn't purchase this kind of ticket, there is a booth for you to purchase an upgrade.  Each ticket is tied to a finger scan to insure that multi-day tickets aren't being shared among several individuals.

There are lots of stairs to master to reach the loading stations, but there is also a service elevator for your convenience.  We made it to our loading corral, along with several otheer families,  including this English family.

The train conductor assigns you to your cabin.  We took our seats, with only two remaining.  The English family walks in, needing three seats, and announces in their serious English tongues "well, one of you fine families are in the wrong cabin.  The conductor told us cabin B, and you are in cabin B, so one of you must leave!"  We all looked up at this "witch" like, really???

The conductor arrives to save the day, "sorry ma'm, this happens all the time, please just step into the next cabin,  as there is plenty of room.  In a huff, she and her husband made their way to the next cabin.  Their little boy, about age 5 lingered, then pointed his finger at us, and shamed us with "you know, this was to be our cabin, and like my mum said, one of you must leave!"  We all chuckled and agreed that he was a definite mini-me!

After visiting the other side, and a ride or two, we headed back to the train station for the trip back to the other side.  The station attendant reminded us to have our park tickets and finger ready for the scanner.  At this point I asked "do we need a Visa"?  The attendant replied "no, but we do take American Express!"  Everybody got a good laugh out of that one.

We once again reached our boarding station with two other families.  One included an older special needs son.  The son was sitting in a wheel chair, trying to get his Dad's attention.  He was not being successful.  All of a sudden, he reached over to his Dad, and literally grabbed him by his balls!  The Dad quickly recovered.  I'm  about to die!, looking at the spousal unit,  wondering, surely she.saw it too!  Yep!  And we are about to board the train with this guy??

The ride was uneventful til the end.  Then the "special" adult announced "don't  want to get.off, ride again".  He repeated this several times.  Once the doors opened, we were out of there lickity split!

The spousal unit got to feed her roller coaster habit, and I got to do my people watching thing.   I thought for a moment that I must be on a Star Wars set, with all the different hair colors, strange clothing, and body piercing and tattoos! Then, very quickly.i was brought back to the wizard world by the sight of all the.kids and adults in wizard robes and each of them waving their newly acquired $60 wand!  These were special wands that interacted with magic stations found throughout the park!

To me, the best treat in the park is the "butterbeer " a butterscotch flavored icee.  I get an immediate brain freeze every time!

For you coaster fans, the incredible Hulk coaster was down for repairs. It was literally down.  Sections were being replaced.

Another noteworthy item, the Beetlejuice show is scheduled to be replaced next year by "fast and furious".  The survey guy that told me this, would not disclose what type of attraction that would.be.

We have been here countless times over the years, and it never gets old.  We get excited to see the new stuff, and are saddened to learn what has been replaced, like Jaws!    But one thing that is certain is there will alsways be change, so we deal with it.

Can't wait for the next trip.  Bring it on!

unofficial Florida Sun Pass Expert!

After this morning's one hour phone call to activate a Florida Sun Pass, I can now say that I am a foreign resident, unofficial expert.

We had the cheapie sticker on the old Chevy Traverse.  I figured why let it go to waste, so I peeled it off the Chevy  Traverse and used packing tape to secure it to the smartazz Acura for the trip south.  I figured it wasn't the proper thang to do, but WTH, who is gonna know!?

 I figured we would buy a new portable version on the trip and toss the old mini once we activated the new transponder.  During a spousal unit rest stop, we.pulled over at the first Florida welcome center and picked up the new transponder

We broke up the trip down.into two days, stopping in Destin for overnight.  We still had not activated the new transponder.

We made it to Orlando just fine,  spending the next day at Disney, then planned to hit the road back north on Saturday for the Ole is vs FL football game in Gainesville.  The packing tape that  i used on the old mini transponder was coming apart in the wind.

Now time to activate the new one.  Easier said than done!    Tried to activate the new one using the spousal unit's laptop,  no go, not recognizing the transponder number.  Tried two smartazz phones, same problem.  Even tried an Apple, Orange and Pear and still no go!  Office not open until Monday.

This morning I make the call.  On hold for 20 mimutes, then finally an operater.  I explained my situation.  Lady looks it up, "transponder already active" she says.  Buy we haven't activated it!

Lady says, "well its active, and there are already charges on it from the Mid Bay Bridge at Destin." WTH???  Seems the radar picked up the new one, still in the wrapper!  "Sorry sir, you cannot add this active transponder to an existing accout."  Whoa!  I paid $20 for this thang!  "The only thing you can do is open a new account".  Okay.....

We go thru the process over the phone. "Sir, why do you have two cars with the same tag number?"  Answer:  we traded cars and swapped the old tag to the new car.  Personalized plate, you can do that in Mississippi!

"Sir, you messed this all up (said in Spanglish) but  i fix it for you!  I close the old account and deleted the Traverse.  I opened you a new account and added the Acura.  You need to pull the mini and throw it away.  I refund the balance on the old account to your wife."  "The mini sticker only goes on one car, you messed it up!"  Answer:  yes ma'm I did.  "You throw away the mini sticker right away!"  Me:  will do!  You are wonderful!  Thank you very much!

Lady then says "you let your wife do it from now on
  She no mess it up!"  YES MA'M!!!!

So, if you buy a Florida Sun Pass transponder, let your wife handle it, because you wikl just mess it up!
.

Disney Springs

If you haven't been to Downtown Disney in a while, you won't recognize it when you return.  Downtown has been renamed "Disney Springs".  Lots of new construction done and more ongoing,  all for the good!

The huge parking lots that went on forever that would stress you out looking for an open parking lot are being replaced with huge parking garages.  The roads a tree full of overhead crosswalks for the safety of pedestrian foot traffic.


The completed parking garage is five stories tall.  Each level has tall ceilings,  and are brightly illuminated.   Their are electronic devices that tell you how many spaces are available on each floor and better yet, devices that tell you how many spaces are available on each row.  The open slots have a green light to guide you to them.  Escalators and elevators are at the ready to get you to the shopping and dining experiences.

Pleasure island is all but gine, replaced with new shopping and dining establishments.  One restaurant has a ramp for the cars that are also boats, which I'm guessing are accessible by guests staying in on property hotels with water ferry access.

They have also installed a landing the completed the loop from Rainforest Cafe, so there is no longer a "dead end".

We found a new ship where  Disney has partnered with outside vendors that have put the Disney stamp on their products, companies like Dooney Burke, and Vera Bradley.

Disney is definitely taking steps in the right direction with their updates.  Unfortunately for the tired and weary, it's going to require you to walk even more, which isn't a bad thing.

I'm a member of the Landry Select Dining club.  They had posted a $25 dining credit to my account which expires in October.  We used our card to go.to the front of the line for a table, eliminating the one hour wait time.  We were seated within 10 minutes at Trexx.  We also used the $25 credit against the bill.  The funniest thing, you can visit this restaurant 100 times and no see it all.  I spotted a duck hanging front the ceiling, and the duck had an arrow sticking out of its butt.  The waitress has been working there for over a year and had not.spotted it!

We finished our visit with a stop at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory for our favorite, the hot fudge sundae!  We will be back for another before our departure!

I'm sure there is much more to discover in this reinvented market place, but our feet and toes were telling us to save it for another day.

If you haven't figured it out, yep, we love this place!  Thanks Walt!

Cry Wolf!

I've been watching a Wolf cub grow up into a young man cub for quite a few years.  I met this boy along side his Dad, Tommy Wolf, quite a few moons ago on the soccer fields of Rankin County.  If you didn't know Tommy back then, you would, within five minutes, love him or hate him.  He was that kinds guy.  Me, I'm a lover, not a fighter!

Tommy left us way too early in his young adult life.  He did leave us a reminder of him through his three sons and beautiful wife Patty.  The one legacy I'm  fondest of is his middle child Conner.  One look at his killer smile and you see Tommy in him!

Conner and his brothers stepped up to fill the shoes that Tommy left at the back door.  One passion Conner had early was kitchen duty.  For him, food prep came easy.  It was quick to see that this young man had the talent in his bones to be able to carry a message through the plate of food.

Patty has never gone hungry with Conner near the kitchen. She has been able to nurture his passion by providing him access to the ingredients only trained Chefs appreciate.   Anybody can cook, but to be able to bring out the true flavors in a dish with Suttle herbal hints is a God given Talent.

Conner followed up on his food passion by first working with Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal.  He then went off to the W for some initial kitchen skills training, followed up with a move to Miami for formal training at the Le Cordon Bleu.

Conner graduated this week from LeCordon Bleu, and he has been practicing his skills at Local 463, Caet, and Walkers Drive-in.  I have not yet been by to catch him in action, but all three locations are now on my hit list.

If you are in any of these fine establishments, give him a shout out!  And yell "tater bomb!"  For his Dad Tommy!

A Day at the Swamp!

Today was game day Saturday down in Gainesville Fl.  It was the spousal unit's Rebels against the Gators in the Swamp.  Since we were already in Florida on a family vaca in Orlando, and why not!

Placed an order for BBQ with Smokey  Bones for a road trip.  I put six pounds of hot Q in my little Yeti for the ride.  I got behind some Gator fans and we were in Gainesville in no time.  During the trip we crept up on an ambulance.  Something caught my eye.  There was a gas grill mounted on the back of that thing.  As we got closer we were able to get a closer look.  That ambulance was all decked out in blue and orange.  It was the wildest tailgating setup I've seen in a long time!

We met up with friend Jackie and company in the shuttle bus parking lot.  Made friends real quick with some Gators all camped out with a huge bus with ESPN playing.  They shared the tube and some Gator juice and we came to play with cheese straws and that six pounds of Q!  That Meat was still smoking when I lifted the lid!

The shuttle ride dropped us off at the corner of the stadium.  During the walk through we met the nicest fans.  Welcome to the Swamp was heard more than once.  Hey, I know Hotty Toddy was another!  Being an Ole dawg with a rebellion hat on, I weren't too sure what to make of all that!

The stadium was an awesome place to visit.  One the way to our seats we made a quick rest room stop.  Just as I was about to enter the men's room, a lady made a wrong turn, and in she went!  I yelled "Hey!  Wrong turn!"  As she quickly made a 180 degree turn, a gator fan tossed some paper towels her way and yelled "off sides! 5 yard pemalty!"  The whole restroom erupted in laughter, Gator fans and Rebel fans alike!

Our seats were slap dab in the middle of the Gator student section.  These students get their tickets in a lottery and you could tell a bunch were sold resale just like mine.  That, or I was sitting beside a bunch of Grey haired freshmen!

One fan with three kids had moused up and dyed the hair of both boys, who were of a different skin color.  Jokingly, I asked if they were born with their hair like that?  The mom replied "no, they were adopted! "  we had a bigger laugh once she figured all that out!

An older lady next to the spousal unit tapped her on the shoulder to warn us of the students behind us.  She said "keep an eye on that young lady.  She's quite drunk and she might vomit on you, and we can't have that happening to such nice guests as you!"

Before kickoff, they honored a military family with guest seats.  The soldier recorded a message to the from Afghanistan.   Suddenly he ran onto the field as a surprise to his family!  They also honored a wounded warrior, and the flag was at half mast to honor recent tragedies.  It was an awesome sight to behold.

After both teams had entered the playing field, a significant number of players from both teams went to one knee in the same endzone for a moment of prayer!

The game didn't play out in favor of the Spousal unit's Rebels and later I heard that the same fate fell upon my Bulldawgs.  But hey, that's college football.

We made our way back to the shuttle buses.   We were back in the shuttle.parking lot in no time and we're back at our Orlando Condo in record time.  Love a Gator convoy when I can find one!

This Old Disney Pro is Slipping

Damn!  The aging process is catching up with me! Twenty four hours haven't passed and I've already had several slip ups!  Thank goodness the spousal unit and I have gone into "grand parent mode" early!

We had just left Steak & Shake, headed back to the condo to pic up the sleepy head first born.  On the way I just happened to ask his girly friend if she had her ticket to Disney Not So Scarey Halloween on her, just in case we couldn't wake up sleepy head by phone.  She said "what ticket"?  Whoops!  Communication is the key!  "I thought you were buying that ticket?"  Major rut row!  This is a limited supply ticket event! Quick check with smartazz phone, and I was able to buy two more!  Will call ticket window here we come! Whew!  This Pops just saved face!

Being an old pro, I'm  supposed to know my way around.  We have always stayed "off property", ride to parks is easy, just follow the signs.  This trip we are on property at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, our timeshare.  Big six tower complex.  Nice!  We pull out of the complex and hit the "on property" roads.  Problem!  Very few signs marking the way.  We end up at the contemporary  resort, having missed the turn to the road to the gate where you pay your $17 to park.  No problem, only 15 minute delay.

We get to the ticket window to pick up the two extra tickets at the "will call" window.  The ticket window lady hands me two plastic passes.  My other two tickets are paper tickets I printed off the internet.  She said I had to convert those to the plastic cards for the magnetic readers to pick up the information.  Technology has just passed this old-timer big time!  No more paper?!!!

We are in the park having a great time.  Hitting all the rides that will be shut down after 7 p.m. during the Halloween event.  We have just eaten.  Now headed for Space Mountain.   This coaster, no problem, since no flips.  I start out "wooo!"  Screaming with every turn!  Then it hits me!  I'm not that young guy anymore!  Voice is now silent!  I've just gone into survival mode!  I can make it to the end!  Whew!  Ride over!  Spousal unit is laughing away at me and the look on my face!

So, it's now official!  Its time to pass the title of "tour director" on to the next generation.   It breaks my heart to have reached this stage of life.  It's like I have been the lead lion all this time and now I have been defeated.  Father time has been good to me up till now.

But, there is still hope for this old battle veteran.  I'm  the only one of this pride that is up and moving!  There is still hope for me afterall!

On to the next adventure!