Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile, AL

The 65 acre Garden Estate is in full bloom with Camellias in the Winter, Azaleas in the Spring, Roses in the Summer, Chrysanthemums in Autumn and Magic Christmas in Lights during the holiday season.



Merry Christmas to All! The following photos were taken as David and I went on a walking tour of Bellingrath Gardens. The photos don't do the Gardens true justice. This was the most elaborate Christmas Lighting we have ever seen.



We have met some very nice families at the church we are attending. Shane and Lisa Clark lead a small group which we are planning on getting involved in after the New Year. They invited us to join them for this tour.



This Estate garden is located on the Isle aux Oies River, with a conservatory, nature walk, water features, and several themed gardens. The gardens first opened in 1932 for seasonal tours, free to the public. But by 1934 there was such an overwhelming response the Bellingraths decided to have it open year around. There is now a fee to tour this garden.



Some of the displays are set up around the Mirror Lake, like the Train, Swans and Alligators. In the Alligator photo, notice the pot in the middle. It is "A Crab Boiling Pot". Crab Boils are a big thing down here. We haven't been to one yet.





I'll blog more photos of the Gardens in a few days. These are just a teaser.
You can go to this link www.bellingrath.org to learn more of the history behind Bellingrath Gardens and it's owners.

Arriving in the Gulf

On December the tenth we arrived at our destination, the Lakeview RV Resort. I use the word Resort loosely. We do have a nice pull through concrete pad to park on. This elevated a lot of stress between me and David when it came time to level the rig. There are two parts to the park. On our side are the newer rigs all on concrete pads and roads. The other side have older models on gravel. That is where the Katrina relief contractors live and it's not very nice. This park has a lot of potential. One real drawback is the location. It is what we consider out in the country. We have no cell service here and have to drive about ten minutes to town to get a signal. We won't be staying here after January 3rd.

We will be moving to the "Majestic Oaks RV Park" in the heart of Biloxi. It is gorgeous.




As we were setting up I asked David to drive to the gulf. He wasn't very receptive to the idea. He really didn't feel like driving anymore ( seven minutes). So I just told him I'd drive my self down because I was going to see the Gulf. He conceded and we drove down and got our first view of the Gulf of Mexico. As I looked out over the massive water horizon, I couldn't help but be in Awe of Gods Creation. It is beautiful. It wasn't a real clear day but I couldn't see where the water ended and the sky began. We walked along the Pristine Sugar White Sandy Beach and still couldn't believe we were actually here.



We have taken the opportunity to drive up and down the coast at least every other day since we arrived. I can't seem to get enough of the view. We found these fishing boats in a cove.


Here are a few photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It wiped out almost every business and high rise condo along the shore line. One picture was taken from the truck as we were going over the new bridge. You can see the old bridge in the back ground. All that's left are the pilings. The photo's of the buildings are of High Rise Condo's. I especially like the photo of the Boat "S.S. Hurricane Camille" It is sitting just north of the highway by the coast.





Be watching for my blog on the Bellingrath Gardens.

Miss Ethel, our cat

As we continued traveling to Saucier, MS we spent a few nights in Canton, MS. During our stay we went to the "Annual City of Lights" in the City Square.










The weather was "unseasonably" warm. The temperature was 75 degrees. Which was 20 degrees above normal. :-)
Weeeee "thoroughly" enjoyed it.





I haven't said anything about traveling with our cat....Miss Ethel. Needless to say it has been "quite an experience". The first day of travel to Hannibal wasn't too bad for me because she rode with David in her carrier in the truck. I followed in our car.

Let me tell you... when we left Hannibal after Thanksgiving it wasn't quite as enjoyable. She meowed for four hours almost non stop. At first David wouldn't let her out of the carrier but after 3 hours of the crying we let her out. That didn't help. She was just able to roam and MEOW!!!!

Every travel day was like this. I was ready to ride in the 5th wheel while David drove but he wouldn't let me. He wasn't sure if it was legal to do that. Every state has it's own regulations on riding in a tow vehicle.

We went so far as to buy a spray and sprayed her carrier with it. It was suppose to help "calm" her down. It didn't work. After listening to her for an hour, David finally said we would let her ride in the 5th wheel. We figured she would just sleep. So we road in peace and quiet for about one and half hours. We pulled over to see how she was doing and she was really making a horrible cat screaming noise. So David got her and she didn't even fight him when he put her in her carrier. We got back in the truck with her and she didn't make a sound the rest of the trip. I think she was so glad to be with us she wasn't about to make any noise.

Now that we are settled she is doing just fine and so am I. I think David was just able to tune her out. You know how men can do that. We're all glad to be settled in the same place for a while.

Cash's 1st Thanksgiving and Christmas

Those of you who have been blogging longer than I have please be patient with me. I'm blogging our trip a little out of order.

This morning David figured out how to get photo's into my blogs. I love this man! He's really handy to have around.

Let's go back a week or two to Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Hannibal, MO. My brother lives in the country and always has Thanksgiving in his huge (heated) garage. Chad, Hannah and Cash traveled to Hannibal with my niece and her family from Auburn, Il. There were four adults, three children and a HUGE Golden Lab, in a mini van.

Cash is now ten months old. During their stay in Hannibal we were able to have a early Christmas with my parents. As most children, Cash enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes more than the play telephone he got from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Oltman. It was really nice to be able to spend the holiday with our families.

We will pull out of the Memphis area Thursday Dec. 7th. I will catch up on my blogging once we get to Saucier, MS. Which will be on Dec. 10th. This is where we plan on spending the winter.

Memphis, TN

David and I pulled into Perryville, Mo. at 2:00 PM on Monday, Nov. 26. We really don't like to travel more than two hundred miles on traveling days. We made it through St. Louis with out any problems. We know we will be going through large cities but are not real comfortable with it. Six or eight lanes of traffic are a little daunting at times. David only closed his eyes a few times and he was driving.

On Thursday we drove to Memphis, TN. and stayed there for a week.While there we had the opportunity to spent time with Dan, Jenny Taylor and their two boys, Mason and Griffin. This family will start a year long RV Trip touring the US, home schooling their boys in March of 2008. They use Christian Curriculum.

On Friday they were studying about castles. They let me help them built castels out of rice crispy treats. The best part was getting to eat them when we were done. In the photos are me, Mason, Griffin and Jenny.

We took the trolley to do some site seeing on Saturday, Dec. 1st. It was 65 degrees. (We are loving this!)

Day one of retirement Nov. 17, 2007

Dave and I left Keokuk, IA. on November 17, 2007, pulling our Outback 5th Wheel into retirement. We have been dreaming about Full-time RVing for seven years. The Dream has come true. We sold our home and most of the contents. We purchased a 7 X 16' enclosed trailer to store what we couldn't fit into our new home.

The photo was taken at a gas station just inside the Missouri State line. Dave always pulls in there to take a walk around the 5th wheel to make sure all the lights are working and tires are still up. "Here we go"!

Close call number one. I was following David in our car, that we were giving to Chad at Thanksgiving in Hannibal. We were less than ten miles from Keokuk and some crazy driver passed me and went on to pass David with a car coming from the other direction. Crazy driver ran the other car clean off the road and cut so close in front of David that I just knew I was fixing to see my husband get killed right in front of me.

Close call number two. About two miles down the road a huge farm tractor was traveling on the right shoulder of the road. David moved over a little to the left to avoid him. The driver of the tractor proceeded to cut right across in front of David to turn left into his farm. At this point I wasn't even sure we were going to make it to Wayland, MO. to catch Highway 61 going south.

We made it to Hannibal and camped at Injun Joe Camp Ground for eight days. We spent that week visiting family and friends. Both our families think we are crazy for what we are doing and maybe we are.

It's November 27th and we are in Perryville, Mo. first leg of the journey. Our plans are to leave here on Thursday and go to Memphis, TN. and visit friends there that will be starting their own travels, with their two boys, in March of 2008. If you like you can go to this web page and find out what they will be doing. www.driventoeducate.com

That's about all for now. We are looking forward to warm weather. Watch for our new adventures.