Alabama - Day 4

Following breakfast at the Lodge, many of us hung out and caught up on the past year until lunch time. Our group was scheduled for a 1:15 tour of Cathedral Caverns State Park, so we caravaned over there. This was not my first limestone cavern experience, but these caverns were huge and incredible. It's a little more than a half mile into the caves, and then you walk back out.

Our Alabama cousins hosted an informal gathering in their home in the evening. It was nice to hang our and eat some pulled pork.

Alabama - Day 3

This morning we had time to visit the Alabama Constitution Village. It's a reconstructed village in downtown Huntsville that has costumed docents who explain how Alabama went about drafting their constitution and became a state in 1819. We arrived just as they were opening, and had the place to ourselves for a little while. The docents were wonderful. We enjoyed our visit.

Dad spinning the lathe wheel.

Our family reunion was scheduled to begin the next day, so we drove to Guntersville, and had lunch at Cafe 336, located inside Bakers on Main. It's a very small restaurant, and a wonderful woman and her granddaugher offered to let us share their table. We had a little visit about things to see and do in the area. They were very kind, and the sandwiches were yummy, too.

After lunch we continued on to Lake Guntersville State Park and checked into the Lodge. It is beautiful! The view of the lake is amazing. We settled in and then took a little drive around the park. State parks in Alabama are not like state parks in Oregon. This state park has a campground, the Lodge with a full restaurant and lounge, cabins, chalets and a golf course.

We met up with some of the cousins and had dinner at Top of the River, where we dined on catfish, hush puppies, steak and shrimp. Catfish is not something I normally eat, but when in the South.... :)

Alabama - Day 2

We spent most of the day ath te US Rocket and Space Center in Huntsville. It was the big thing we wanted to do during our short time and it was worth it.

There is so much more to the US Space Program history than I knew. And I think it's true of many people. In the 1950's and 1960's, the interest from the general public was so much greater than it is now. 

The center runs Space Camp, so there were tons of kids running around. They have a really cool hand on robotics exhibit. I loved the robots. They were very cool. 

The Saturn V Rocket Hall was amazing. According to one of the volunteers, there were 15 Saturn V rockets built. Thirteen were launched, and the one in the hall would have been if the program had not run out of money. 

We also saw an Apollo 12 moon rock and lots of other cool stuff. 

After leaving the Rocket Center, we headed into downtown Huntsville. We checked out the Harrison Brothers Hardware Store. It's been in business since 1897, and is now run by the Huntsville Historical Association. It's a cool old building, and they still use the 108 year old cash register.

For dinner we found a local pub, Below the Radar. The Cobb salad was really good. And the Back Forty Beer Company in Gadsden makes and awesome Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale.

Alabama - Day 1

We left Portland this morning at 6, which means we were up at 2:30 to catch the 4 am airport shuttle. Our flight to Houston was on time, and the hopper to Birmingham was running a bit behind. That all being said, we caught a tailwind and made really good time.

From Birmingham we drove the rental car north to Huntsville. It was cheaper to fly into Birmingham, and the drive was a nice transition from flying to hotel. With the two hour time difference, our body clocks are so off. We weren't really hungry for dinner until around 7, and we probably will head for bed around 10. Of course, we ate way too much, but the food at Rosie's Mexican Cantina was good! And we're pretty picky about our Mexican food.

The next few days will be busy, but I'm looking forward to seeing the cousins and exploring a new state.

Birthday Girl

We celebrated this one's birthday with a trip to the county fair and a family dinner the next day. We were a few days late.

In honor of her birthday, the family has acquired two new members of the menagerie: Johnny and JohnJohn.

Have marionberries.....

make marionberry crumble. I thought about a pie, but I wasn't in the mood to make pie crust, so I pulled out the old apple crumble recipe, cut the cinnimon and substituted the berries. It was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself.

Hot Summer - pt 2

The heat wave continues. Today this is what I read on the thermometer. I am really, really tired of this heat.