28 hour vacation with the red heads

When we decided to take all the grandbabies on a mini vacation, I had already planned to play doubles early Wednesday morning. So, Mark dropped me off, ran errands and picked up the kids. We left Moultrie around 10;00 and got to Big Grannies around 11:15. We ate lunch with Mom and cousins and Glenn and Lynn. The kids went out to play on the fort playground. The weather was pleasant for the first time in months, So, Mom and I sat and talked and watched the kids play, and swing and play fetch with Zeke, which help Olivia to stop saying. "no dog, don't bite." Zeke is a good dog and is good with little ones. Then we went inside a let the kids make their own parfaits out of three kinds of pudding and crushed cookies and whipped peanut butter and cool whip. Each child created their own dessert by layering favorite flavors and topping with cool whip and then showing them off to Mark before eating. Even Olivia had to show off her special dessert made of vanilla pudding. We left Mom's around 2;30 and headed toward the beach with sleeping kids in the back seat. The first beach we came to was Bald Point in a state park. It took Olivia a little time to get in the water. Soon, she was counting 1,2 go, and running in to make a splash, splash. Next we headed to Alligator point, with better a beach and better waves and no drop off. Riley could go a long way and still be waist deep. Olivia grabbed my hand, said cmon and pointed at Riley which meant, come on, lets go out there where Riley is. I was very surprised when she would go shoulder high and spit and sputter when the waves came, but kept going. She learn to holler,"big wave" so that we could help her jump over the waves. We had a great beach trip and headed to the Best Western. It had a great little pool, great breakfast, and a court yard with a dolphin fountain that Olivia loved. Mark went and got supper for a picnic in the gazebo. The kids and I headed to the pool. Olivia started out slow, sitting on the top step, while Becca and Riley swam. They are swimming so well that I did not have to worry about them. By the time granddaddy got back, Olivia was jumping to me from the side of the pool and splashing her big cousins. Mark really enjoyed swimming with the kids. We got back to room and took hot baths and change and ate supper outside. Olivia enjoyed being able to walk from table to fountain to room and back to table splashing every puddle along the way, Becca is such a good big sister and big cousin. She was a great helper. Riley makes Olivia laugh. They are a joy. Back in the room Olivia eats chips with Granddaddy. Lights out. Early morning breakfast and a good morning swim. Mark, Becca and Riley taught Olivia to blow bubbles in the water. Soon, she was blowing bubbles and kicking feet. She is a fast learning and will be swimming soon. We packed bags, checked out, and headed to Tallahassee Museum. The kids saw, the red caboose that I saw when I was a kid, and the old school house. We visited the plantation house and the slave house , the farm, the commissary, the local wild animal zoo and the farm animals. Then went to the hands-on science and nature exhibit, and the play ground. We were hot and tired, so, we had a picnic in the car on the way home. Becca and Olivia slept on the way home and we made it back to Moultrie by 2;00, making it a 28 hour vacation. We dropped Olivia off in her car seat still asleep. I wonder if she woke up at home and thought that she she dreamed the whole day away. We enjoyed it so much that we plan to do it again. We often tell Becca and Riley that there is nothing that they can do to make us stop loving them, but if they were not so well behaved, we would not take them off like we do. They make us want to be with them as often as possible.

Sweet water Tennessee

We got an e-mail from our new associate in Sweet water Tennessee. I thought that we had an interesting weekend, with a rainy yard sale and weddings and kids and grandchildren. But her weekend top us by far. She started the note by saying business started out really well, until they heard the loud speaker say for every one to exit the building. It seems, some one plugged in a frayed wire and the flames reached 12 foot high on the other side of the in-door flea market. Jan said that she ignored it, until her son came and got her and told her it was time to get out. The managers of the market did a remarkable job and they were able to open back up the next day. Soon after the doors opened a man had a heart attack right by the main entrance and they had to call an ambulance. Later a vendor, two booths down from ours, had a shop lifter who pulled a knife and was taken down by store manager Brain. The police came and took him away. Every thing was calm for a while, when they suddenly felt the building shake. Apparently, a car ran into the building next to our booth. She said that sells were great between incidents and they could not wait for us to come back. I can not wait either....I think.

Let's sale some stuff

We are having a yard sale. My sister and brother in law are coming for a last visit before moving to Ecuador and will help us sell. We will be selling vintage glass like Fenton, Westmorland, and Carnival from Ohio and Tennessee and Kentucky. We will also be selling a lot of stuff from the antique store that we bought out last month. We will have Five dollar tables in the front yard. Riley will be selling stuff off our one dollar table and Becca will be sell our jewelry. We took a load to Ochlocknee to be sold at L&L Auction Friday night. We will have Jan selling stuff for us at a flea market in Spring Water Tennessee and Drew took a load to sell in Savannah. Maybe, if every one does a good job, we will be able to go on another shopping trip. After all, as we all know, we love to travel.

Olivia's sleeping game

Went to early church and them had kids over for big lunch. Miss Olivia in her 2 year old wisdom decided a great way to get attention was to pretend sleep. That is not an unusual for little ones that want to be carried into house from car and snuggle a little longer. But Olivia, being Clint's daughter, with his stubborn streak, lasted almost an hour with her eyes closed. A little smile came one her face when she realized how much attention she was getting. She walked in her sleep with her hands up in the air for Uncle Drew to lead her around. She gave hugs and kisses and cuddled in my arms with her eyes shut. She even kept her eyes closed when Becca and Riley came. She kept her eyes closed while she drank milk and ate lunch. She just smiled sweetly with her eyes closed. She finnaly opened her eyes when the cousins got her into the play room. She had accomplished what she wanted. She had all of her adults trying everthing to get her to open her eyes. She enjoyed her game and I think that she won.

35 years ago today

Today is our Anniversary. We talked about it last week, while we were traveling around Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky (etc). I told Mark that I wanted to spend time at the house and see the kids and grand kids. We had a very unsuccessful yard sale this weekend, because of rain. We will try again next week. Drew came home for the Jetter Wedding. He is really enjoying being with his friends for this joyous celebration. Carrie and Phillip; Clint and Anna are at the Adcock-Hall wedding. The rain has stopped and the weather should be perfect for these two weddings. My prayer is that both weddings go well. But, more important than that, my hope is that these young couples having a long and wonderful marriage full of love and happiness. We are home with our grandkids and will have the kids over for lunch after church tomorrow. Of course, our Sara will not be here, she and David are climbing Kilimojora and should reach the summit this week. I am blessed to be married to my best friend for life. I hope that we have many more years to love each other and our families and to travel and enjoy every day that God gives us.

yard sale

Yard sale at 2945 Kendallwood church road. Friday 15th, and Saturday 16th from 8 a.m. until. We have over 100 pieces of Fenton, depression glass ,Murano glass, cookie jars, cast iron, vases, old tools, green boopie glasses, pitchers, pictures, misc items and a whole long table of $1.00 stuff from an antique store going out of business. Come see what we found in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Georgia.

You know that you are a traveler of a certain age when...

You know that you are a traveler of a certain age when, you wake up and do not know which way to go to find the bathroom. You do now where your glasses are or where your medicine is that you have to take first thing in the morning. You do know what town you are in or even what state. You do not know where you going that day or what you are going to do and do not even care. You do not know where you will sleep tonight. You do not know what time it is because you do not know what time zone you are in. You do not know what you will have for breakfast until you go and check out the breakfast bar. You do know know who you will meet or where you will go today or what you will see that day. But you are ready for whatever adventure finds you. You are not sure when you walk outside what kind of weather you will face, if the van will crank or if you will have a flat tire. What ever comes your way , you just take it and deal with it and keep going. You make plans. but if they do not work out, you change plans and just go with the flow. If you want the comforts of home, then just stay home. But, if you are ready for an adventure and a new challenge to face every day, then get up and go where ever the road takes and trust God to lead and take care of you every day. Have a wonderful day.

We are home

We had a flat tire. We hit major traffic jam. Our van broke down, turning 4 hours in Kentucky into four days. We ran out of clean clothes. We ran out money so many times that the Atm rejected our card. We broke our gps and almost ran out of medicine. We ate very little for breakfast and lunch, sometimes skipping lunch, because we were shopping. We worked 25 hours unpacking, pricing and repacking boxes of stuff. We almost hit 2 turkeys crossing the road, I know, it sound like a bad joke. We smelled several dead skunks on the road.............And we had the time of our life. We saw unbelievable nature. God's beautiful world spread out before us. We saw rolling hills and huge mountains and lakes and rivers and streams. We went over mountains and through mountains and over bridges and under train tracks. We saw horses galloping in the fields and through water. Small creatures that scurried away so fast that we could not tell what they were, maybe ground hogs or hedge hogs. We saw deer and birds and cows and alpaca, goats and sheep. We had picnics, grilled out, had gourmet microwave feast in hotels. We walked and hiked and swam and did water aerobics and shopped a lot. We met a lot of really nice people, helped a few and talked (imagine that ,I found someone to talk to). I read my bible and two books, texted Carrie crazy pictures and talked to Mom on the phone.. We had business meetings in the pool and talked about our kids and grandbabies. We planned future trips and found a great place to set up for the world's longest yard sale. We talked about our past, present and future. We spent a lot of time together. We prayed, listen to christian radio,and country and soft rock and a lot of sermons on T.V. We looked for Hotels, exits, parks,yard sales, thrift stores, antique malls and auctions. We crossed the Ohio river several times and followed it. We fell more in love with each other, with God, and with people. People that may be different, but who are basically good and kind and willing to help fellow travelers....We love traveling

broke down in Kentucky

The van has been acting up all week and finally died between Corbin and London in Kentucky. We were able to limp it to a weigh station for a safe place to pull off the interstate. AAA was called and then we took a walk around the station while we waited for the wrecker. He took us to a repair shop. While we were waiting we took another walk and ran into a Yard sale and bought 2 sterling silver rings and a bracelet and a book for me to read. We spent the time waiting in a local hotel pricing a van full of merchandise. We loaded and priced and reloaded the van in 25 hours and that includes 6 hours of sleep. Then we swam and relaxed. they decided that we had to go a Dodge dealership. they could not get to it for 2 or 3 days, so, we rented a car and drove to hwy 127 to look for a place to set up for the world longest yard sale. We had given up on doing that in Tennessee because the hotels triple prices during that time. We found a lady with one of those barn-store with plenty of out door shelters and a R,V, that we can rent for her for the week. It is going to cost us a little over 100 dollars to stay and set up. That is less than one night in the cheapest hotel that week. The we found a hotel and ate and shopped and swam. We decided to shop antique stores and head to Indianna. So, we cross the Ohio river one more time. We went through beautiful country side, spent one more night on the road and went to an Antique auction and bought some Moreno glass. We got up early , drove back to Corbin, got our van back and headed south. The full van is fuller. We hope to make the next 500 miles with out any events

Sherman's home town

We were at a yard sale in Mansfield. They noticed our accent, imagine that, and asked us where we were from. We get that a lot when we travel. It is a great conversation started. When we told her that we were from Georgia, she said that she hated to tell us who was born in her home town..Sherman. I told her that would not be going to his museum, but I would not hold it against her town. I am so glad that we are now a United country with more in common than differences. I love the U.S.A.

scenic byway

We finished the Ohio Antique show and headed toward Tennessee on interstate. We made it through Cincinnati and into Kentucky on Highway 75. We were making good time and then we ran in to a major traffic jam. According to the radio it was caused by over 30 wrecks,stopping tracking on 75 from both directions. So, we got off at the next exit and used the gps a to go through the beautiful scenic Kentucky byway. We went through horse country where we saw horses playing in the field. They were running through a water hole made by the rain. We came over a hill and on the right, we saw was a castle. I stopped and took a picture and then we found the rolling hills that made me fall in love with Kentucky. Some times it just pays to take the scenic route even if it takes longer.

typical work day

A typical work day....Get up early and either take a long walk or swim in the hotel pool. Go eat breakfast, load up van and go to work. That means, either going to a flea market or a thrift store or an antique mall. I read my bible while Mark drives. For lunch, we eat a sandwich at a park or in the van. Then we look for places to shop like yards sales, while we are looking for our next hotel. We check in to a hotel and I cook a hotel supper from our food box. Then we go for a walk or swim in a pool and do water aerobics. Then Mark researches the next day on the computer, while I get things ready for tomorrow and read and write in my journal. Travels Treasurers... the treasure is the travel, meeting people, seeing new places and being together.

July 4th at lake

We started the day with a flat tire and worked hard at the Auction that was 4 auctions in one. When we finished work, we decided to go to Lake Erie, which was 60 miles away. I put my feet in the water, picked up a few rocks and ate an ice cream. Then we went over to a fishing pier and watched some men and a little boy fish. They offered us fish, we declined and thanked them and walked over to the restaurant. We ate walleye, and perch, While sitting out side, watching the boats, and feeling the breeze. I got chill bumps on July 4th. Then, we drove to our hotel and swam in an indoor pool until bed time.

Mark helps others

We spent 3 hours and 45 minutes in an antique store in Raven Ohio. Mark took the right side and I took the left side as we walked down the aisles. We would call each other when we saw something we liked and wanted to buy. We both had a basket that we kept filling up and taking to the counter for the ladies to wrap and put in boxes. Vendors and store owners would call us over to their booths promising us a discount. Mark went out to the van to get our tax Id number just as a lady was trying to come into the door. Of course, Mark stopped and helped her bring all of her stuff into the mall. Later, the lady told me that she had just stopped and closed her eyes because realized that she could not do it all by herself. Mark became her God wink, a little help at just the right time meant a lot to her. I can not tell you how many time I look up and find Mark helping others. Maybe you can bless some one today.

Flat tire

What do you do when you get a flat tire in Ohio. #1 Call AAA #2 swim and get in the hot tub while you wait #3 Go to Walmart to fix tire #4 shop while we wait #5 Go to auction at 10:00 A.M. Mark drove over 500 miles and I drove the last 30 miles and drove into a yard by a barn for a yard sale a got a 4 inch iron rod in the tire. Once again God took care of us. We could have been out in the country or had a blow out instead of being in the Holiday Inn parking lot.

Traveling to Tennessee and beyond

We love the rolling hills of Tennessee. Around every corner, a little blessing, a gift from a loving God ..James 1:17. We take turns telling each other to look at that, and that is gorgeous and wow and other intelligent things like that. We have gone over bridges and under RR trestles and beside babbling brooks and water falls. We love the churches and the barns and the fields and the farms and the wild flowers. I am surrounded by Christmas trees. The cow, the sheep, the Alpacas, the deer, the goats , the horses are around every curve. There a lot of curves and roller coaster hill that make you lose your stomach and make you hope that the road is still there when you reach the peak and start to go down. We listened to praise and worship songs and gospel and hear three sermons, one that was so Patriotic that I want to order it for my Veterans. I am studying the Gospels and am in Matthew reading the Sermon on the Mount as I drive through the mountains. We do not like to miss church on Sundays, but we are trying to get north. We travel through Virginia and west Virginia and make it all the way to Ohio. Not bad for a Sunday drive.

4 auctions in one building

Went to an Auction in Ohio and was surprised at all the cars. When we got inside there was an auction in every corner of the room. You could but coins, or Fenton or furniture or box lots, old tools, old dolls, linen and all kind of things. We had to get two numbers so that we could both bid at the same time. A good time was had by all. We love Ohio