Rainy Fun in Nashville

                A while ago, 3 months to be exact,

        (I know. I know.   But who ever said blogposts 
            and calendars must be perfectly aligned? 
                           Who, I ask you?)

        we coordinated a July 4 vacation with our New Jersey "kids". 
 Our Alaska girl did the planning, thanks to the internet and her expertise, and traveled vicariously through us.

We each drove approximately 850 miles to meet in the middle. This happened to be Nashville, Tennessee.
Known for having the 4th best firework display in the USA.

****************

The first night we stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Bill Clinton's presidential library is in this city

and we especially like visiting presidential libraries.

You can learn A LOT about not just the president,

but the culture and world issues of that era.

And sit in the presidential chair around the cabinet's

personalized table.  

*Note that his chair is a bit taller than the others.

Just in case you wondered who was in charge.

We were so excited to connect in Nashville-

and we did so at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It was raining.  Hard.  Soggy puddles hard.

And whether the holiday weekend or the wet weather,

EVERYONE wanted to go there.  

The lines to get in went on forever.

Hillary and Drew arrived before us and did the waiting.

By the time we got there, they had our tickets in hand

and we just waltzed right in.  Nice, huh?

The sunshine you see here is fleeting.

We had a few moments (literally) at the famous

Grand Ole Opry when we needed sunblock.
(Doesn't our rock star son-in-law look like he just belongs 
in front of that famous music hall??
The smiling fan with him thinks so!)

99% of our holiday weekend was spent under

one of these big umbrellas.

This heroic man saved the day for us by running

quite a ways to the car in the sudden downpour

to retrieve said umbrellas 
(which we had not thought to carry) 
while we waited in Andrew Jackson's home, 
all dry and cozy.

(After all, Hill and Drew HAD waited on the line the day before.  Only fair...)

Once we opened these big umbrellas,

we realized that slave cabins had doorways much

narrower and it took quick twists and ducks to get in and out of them without getting drenched.

Look closely and you can see the torrential rains.

Good thing the audio tour headsets were waterproof.

(At least I hope they were!)

Thank you to marketing that provided us

such great umbrellas.  All 4 came from the trunk of the Texas car, I might add.  The state that NEVER has any rain!

Getting soaked isn't fun,

but drying off in a cozy coffee house is!

Warm cocoa was yummy

and this extra artistic flair made it even better.

We spent hours there--drying out,

playing cards, laughing and eating.

And photographing smiling strangers, apparently.

We have so many memories of that weekend.
Adjoining rooms and consequent silliness prevailed.

4th of July night continued to rain.
We coerced the manager of our hotel to let us "borrow" a random room on an upper floor that overlooked the Titan's stadium, where the firework display was.  The Nashville symphony had recorded its synchronized concert (Violins don't do well in heavy rain.  Neither do musicians, for that matter.)
so we turned on the radio and oohed and ahhed
appropriately. 
Then happily (and dryly), 
we took the elevator back to our rooms.  
How easy was that!?

Grandma Days in the Summer Sun

Our dear Alaska family decided it was time to

visit Texas in the summertime for a change.

Despite the long flight, they arrived

all bright and shiny.

(Well, maybe Mama wasn't all that bright...

and the shine was from sweating after

holding a wiggling 9-month old on her

lap for hours upon hours.)

But, the point is, they ARRIVED!!

And we filled the days to the brim!

Walks through the neighborhood...

examining the beauty of the fallen

crepe myrtle blossoms that colored our

lawns in bright colors...

and shopping!

Abigail tossed many random items into the cart

(color mattered, not sizes)

and Ethan grabbed onto a pair of ladies'

bikini panties in a leopard pattern and held on tight...

Entertainment was provided by funny cousins 

who colored, played and swam together.

Uncle Jonathan brought lots of laughs
and a good deal of nonsense, as well.

Cousins multiplied fun to the 10th degree.

Having all 4 of them in one place 

did this Grandma's heart good.

We had to find ways to stay cool on those hot summer days.  

Ice cream worked wonders!

As did the little pool out under the trees 

in the backyard.

And bigger pools at Uncle Jonathan's

and Great Grammie's.

Pools and summer days just go hand-in-hand.
Our little Alaskan babies went home
with some definite tans, despite sunblock.

But those same busy summer days

made little people tuckered out.

And big people, too.

Learning to Beat the Heat (and Fears)

Summer days are marching along.

Having been much farther north for the past 4 summers,

I had not particularly relished the thought of that

relentless Texas sun pushing the temperatures into triple digits

nor those days of blue skies with the occasional cloud teasing us 

with the promise of rain that rarely falls.

However, we have been filling days with fun trips, little adventures,

 and plenty of pool time.  

These pleasant activities have made the hot, sunny days much more bearable. 

One big part of this summer has been 

the painting of the house.

Jack committed to this task with full awareness that there was a deadline--

a new roof had been scheduled.

The painting of the house had to be completed 

by that date!

His plan was to get up all bright and bushy-tailed and be at it by 6:30 AM, work a few hours and end for each day way before the heat rolled in.

Somehow that planned early hour came just TOO early and our volunteer painter was dipping his brush 

much later than planned. 

He had to carry two rags in his back pocket-

one for the paint drips and one for the sweat drips. 

A note of importance, this volunteer painter

REALLY dislikes heights.

REALLY.

Yet he overcame this fear and trepidation and crawled up and down the 35 foot ladder, paint can in his trembling hand.

All the way to the very top boards!

I played an integral role during these times--

I stood on the bottom rung of the ladder,

putting my weight and stability into my job!

I'm happy to report the house was completely painted,

two coats at least, in time for the installation our great new roof.  All is well. 

And safe.

Fears have been battled and beaten.

(Drum roll, please.)

*************************

We've had some sweet visits from some of our favorite 

little people, too.  

I'll bet you didn't know that Ritz crackers could substitute for vanilla wafers (in a pinch) 
to make edible sunflowers.

And teaching a willing granddaughter how to pin a pattern meant this Grandma can sew matching dresses for her and her favorite doll.  Twins, you say?

Thanks to a willing neighbor who stores lots of great stuff in her garage, 

I borrowed some of that stuff.

Whistling happily as I scrubbed each piece down,

I anticipated a visit from some other favorite people.

Can you guess who is coming?

The answer will appear soon....

Starting the Day--TexMex style

During our road trips we plan to stay at motels that offer

continental breakfasts.

They are so convenient and it's easy to get on the road to continue driving.  We don't want to spend time ordering and lingering over a meal when there are still miles ahead of us.

We've recently learned that things as

simple as  continental breakfasts are regional.

Who knew???

I always select the yogurt, fruit and bagels.

That's my idea of a perfect breakfast.

It is pretty much available ANYWHERE in the USA.

In San Antonio the colorful Mexican flair was everywhere.

(The Spurs were in the championship playoffs and 

t-shirts like this one abounded.)

This breakfast included warm and delicious choices.

In these warmers we discovered 

 scrambled eggs, sausage and refried beans.

Salsa and cheese were served alongside.

Warm tortillas invited us to customize our breakfast burritos.

Ole!

Jack's breakfasts always bring a smile if waffles are included.

He waits patiently on long lines for his turn at the

"make-it-yourself" waffle irons.

This one personalized its waffles in a special way.

Mexican flair or not, we are still in TEXAS!!

Thanks, San Antonio, for a great anniversary celebration.

San Antonio

 I wrote about our little trip to San Antonio

for our anniversary a couple of blogposts ago.

We hadn't been away from home in quite a while

and these carefree days were good for us!

We checked out the Alamo, of course.

We spent most of the time roaming the paths 

around the Riverwalk.

Many cities have underground malls and transportation,

but the Riverwalk here is unique in that, although it is below San Antonio's streets and buildings, it is open to them.

Most intersections above have stairways down to the underground world and its canal.

Shops, music and restaurants line the walks on both sides.

No cars or trucks, just the wide tourist boats.

It's darker, cooler and a bit musty down there.

A relief from the heat of the city street above.

While meandering on the Riverwalk

or eating at an outside cafe,

we noticed details of the buildings above us 

on the bustling city streets.

But, when walking the sidewalks above, we aren't even aware of the water world below us.

A strange phenomena.

(Oh, by the way, this building is the hospital 

where Carol Burnet was born. 

We heard the tour guide announce that on one of the many riverboats 

that continually sailed by us.)

 We paused to watch this wee duckling try to copy its mama and tuck its little head into the downy wing.

It was sitting a bit too near the edge of the water, though,

and almost toppled in at one point.

My heart jumped at this perilous wobble until Jack reminded me that it WAS a duckling, after all, and falling into water would not be fatal.  

Oh.  Right.  I KNEW that. 

There is just something fun and light about being in a place filled with tourists.

Even though we were only a couple of hours away from home, we were absorbed into the world of vacationers,

smiling easily and disregarding schedules.

 We met people from all over the world.

A couple from Ireland took our picture.

It was GOOD to be in San Antonio.

A lovely city, indeed.

Where to End...?

It has been 5 weeks.

If I had had any blog followers,

by now they would have lost interest and

most likely walked away, 

bored and disinterested from lack of writing.

I should call it quits.

After all, this whole thing began with my trips

to Alaska as I shared the uniqueness of that land

with friends down here in the "Lower 48".

Thus the name Kathleen chose for the blog:

"Northern Adventures".

I haven't been that far north in almost a year.

My life isn't particularly adventurous anymore.

But still...

This silly, mundane blog does something for me.

Maybe not for YOU.

I get that.

But, deliberating on the best syntax for a sentence

or searching for the perfect adjective

or questioning the position of a comma...

those things challenge me.

And, when I settle on what and how to write,

that satisfies me.

Besides, when I see something a bit funny,

or charming, or out of the ordinary---

I want to take a picture and share it on here.

I don't have a theme anymore.

There's no real reason to even take time to edit pictures and design captions.

But, I'm not quite ready to end this blog.

I should rename it, though...

"Random Musings"

"Wandering Aimlessly Though a Mind"

"Thought Detours"

"Forks in the Road"

Whatever it is called or whether anyone

even takes a moment to read it,

I've just decided to keep adding to this blog.

For a while longer, anyway.

Why?

Because I like doing it.

And, between the hot Texas summer days of cleaning, washing dishes,
 refilling the birdbath 

and life's everyday responsibilities,

I've had some fun.

Been some places.

Taken some pictures.

And I'd like to share them.

Welcome back, readers.

Get ready for some unpredictable ideas.
These were seen along the highway:

 Poor Woody spends his days at quite a different

kind of rodeo-hanging on for all he's worth,

not to a bull, but this truck tire!

 I'm normally not an early morning kind of person

and prefer taking pictures of sunsets,

but we headed out early on a trip a few weeks ago

and watched the sky lighten and the sun show up.

Texas' big skies make these moments really showy.

This was on a tiny Mini Cooper near us.
When gazing out the passenger window of our car for hours and hours of a road trip, I certainly welcome drivers with a sense of humor!

Random, right?

I warned you.

Hope I didn't chase you away for good!

A Moment of Magic

We had an anniversary the other day.

The years have added up for us 

since that wedding day in June long ago.

But alas, the celebrations have been few.

For many years something prevented us from even being together on the date.

It began the year our youngest was born.

 I was in the hospital for that 9th anniversary.

Then Jack spent many years at camp in Massachusetts

while I remained at home in New York.

More recently I have been in Alaska while he was in Texas.

And so had become our habit not to celebrate...

Until this year!

*********************

We planned to make up for these historic lacks and went to

San Antonio for a getaway celebration.

The night of our anniversary was magical!

Oh- not the sparkly, take-your-breath-away kind of stage magic 

that involves flames and drum rolls.

Rather an evening of quiet "specialness"...

It began high up in the tower restaurant at the grounds of the former World's Fair.

 The view from our window table was

wonderful and we watched the evening sky dim...

(rather breathtaking...)

And the lights of the city begin to glow.

In one hour the rotating restaurant had gone 360 degrees

 so we viewed all of San Antonio and its surroundings.

At least once!

(quite sparkling...)

There was a small, tented note lying on linen tablecloth that read "VIP"

but we didn't pay it much mind as we selected from the many choices on the menu.

Then one of us noticed the name on the top of said menu.

It was personalized!  This was OUR menu.

We are the "Davis Party".

Wow.

(Drum roll, please)

And for the final touch of magic,

a copy of our menu was lying by the candle,

rolled up with a ribbon.  To keep as a souvenir.

The great food was accompanied by countless smiles,

sighs and comfortable conversation 

that comes from years of being married.   

We were in no rush to leave.

You know, as I ponder the evening--it was the sparkling,

breathtaking kind of magic, after all!

B is for Bountiful.....

Not so long ago I celebrated yet another birthday.

Oh, dear.  How they DO accumulate...

But this one was well planned by Jonathan and Kelly. We had such fun. 

There was a theme to the day.

(For the record, I like themes!)

It ended up being rather a phonetic celebration.

How so?

Why,

B is for Birthday.

and

 B is for Bowling.

B is for Bowling Watchers and Cheerleaders.

B is for Balloons.

And a darling Boy.

B is for Borrowed Grandchildren

who make Breakfast in Bed for Grandma.

And just what do 2 children who cannot cook or use sharp tools prepare for such a special birthday meal?

Why, carrots, an apple, glass of water in a pretty cup,

and an orange.  Naturally.

My instructions were to use the sharp knife to cut the orange into sections without looking!

After all, it WAS a surprise!

(Fortunately, B was for Bloodless, too.)

 A bit later, we had a tea party.

We baked especially for the occasion.

B is for Bread.

Fresh, warm and just out of the oven.

Yummy!
(Ahem--definitely NOT Bummy!)

B is for Best. Card. Ever.

Not just for the art and message,

but the age of 51 is way off!!!

Way to go, Gigi!

(Please note the Birthday Bonnet.)

B is for Bathroom mirror poetry.

This message lingers long after the fun days ended.

I really do enjoy birthdays like this one.

B is for Berry Sweet!!