“Gramma Bell, I want to see the sea and build a sandcastle!”

That’s a pretty big order for a Gramma to produce, so I guess it’s a good thing I’m staying near the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  I picked up Robyn and Avery at the Gulfport/Biloxi airport last night in the middle of a torrential downpour.  We made it back to the rig in the rain, had something to eat, and then Avery about passed out from exhaustion.  It had been a big, long day for a four year old.  Two different plane rides, and then a drive in the dark to Gramma’s house.

Both Avery and Emma are early risers, so we were off before 8:00 this morning to hike the rather soggy Dee’s Trail.  One of us was lucky enough not to get our shoes wet after the 2.5” of rain yesterday.

After going out to lunch with the rest of the volunteers for a shrimp po’boy (which was Robyn’s request), we headed for the Biloxi beaches so I could grant Avery her wish. 

                                                  I got to show her the sea, and her mother…

                                                        got to help her build a sandcastle. 

Avery is one of those children that really gets into her ‘work’.  She doesn’t care how down and dirty she gets.  My kind of girl!

When she was only 15 months old, her mother referred to her as a Relocation Specialist.  She would move dirt, rocks, sticks, etc., from one place to another without abandon.  She hasn’t given up that hobby.  There was a stiff chilly wind blowing, but Avery felt compelled to do her best to relocate as much sand as possible. 

We postponed our hotdog cookout until tomorrow hoping for less wind and warmer temperatures.  What a joy it was this evening to listen to the two of them taking a shower together in the RV.  And what a shock it was for them to step out of the shower into the chilly air whisking past them up and out the ceiling fan that is turned on during showers to help remove the moisture in the rig from the hot showers.  Ha, ha!

‘Emma the Gog’ is doing a pretty good job of behaving herself, and little Avery is doing a pretty good job of trying to tease her.  It’s about par for two four year olds…

                                                                               THE END!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Too busy for pictures today

This morning we had 34 young ladies from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation residential program show up for a tour of the refuge.  We had to use two vehicles for the crane tour, and do it twice.  These young ladies are struggling to straighten out their lives, and most had no experience with being ‘out in the wild’.  Honestly, to begin with, they couldn’t have cared less about the Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, but by the end of their visit they were quite animated about what they had seen.  The two groups I took out didn’t get to see any cranes due to circumstances involving the biologists and interns beyond my control.  I was able to take them to see the nesting bald eagles and other birds we encountered along the way, and it was rewarding to see them come out of their shells and get excited about the natural world.  It became evident that their lives have not been easy.

Their visit took close to three hours to accomplish, and afterwards Diana and I manned the Visitor’s Center and had 30+ more visitors today.  Lots of visitors makes the time go by quickly, so it was a good day.

When I got back to the rig, it was time to dump the tanks in preparation for my weekend visitors.  I’ve been having some problems with the water pressure in the rig.  It has been getting weaker and weaker.  Earlier this week I read on another blog about how they change out their water pressure regulator annually.  I decided to give that a try, and had ordered a new one on line on Monday.  Well, it arrived today and I did the switch out.  What a difference!  In all my years RVing and being on the road, I’ve not had this problem before until the last few months.

Of course, no job goes without a hitch it seems.  After I shut off the water, and loosened the hose to relieve the water pressure, a hole blew out in the side of the old regulator shooting a cold blast of water right into my crotch!   Whoowhee!  That sure made me jump up and take notice!  Why is it that these little chores never seem to go smoothly?  It definitely made me look like I had wet my pants.

The forecast for tomorrow’s tour before I pick up Robyn and Avery at the airport is for heavy rains and possible severe storms.  I’m hoping it all blows through so their flight won’t be delayed.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Getting ready for the birthday girl

Yesterday was Avery Jade’s fourth birthday.  She’s my oldest granddaughter, and she and her mother, Robyn, will be flying in to the Biloxi airport for a short visit with me this Saturday.

                               Robyn sent me this picture of the birthday girl and her birthday cake.

Robyn is quite talented when it comes to making fancy cakes.  She made this whole cake except for the Diego figure on the top.  (I’m not sure who Diego is, but I have recorded some Diego shows for Avery to watch while she visits.  Now if it was Grover or Big Bird, I’d be familiar with that. )  I just love the monkeys and the leopard.

Today was spent doing things a Grandma needs to do to get ready for a visit from the little birthday girl.  That included vacuuming out the back seat of the car to get rid of all of Emma’s shed hair, and putting in this new booster car seat.  It’s been over 30 years since I’ve needed to have a car seat!

Then there was the trip to the grocery store to make sure I had essentials like mini ice cream sandwiches, shaved ham lunch meat, and hot dogs for a cookout on one evening.  Last week I was able to get a supply of honey roasted pecans from the Pecan House.  I know those are some of Avery’s favorite things.  Including Emma, this is going to be a house of four women this weekend.  It will be fun having them for their first sleep over with Grandma.  Oh yeah, I also made sure I had a new tube of super bubbles!  I’m hoping ‘Emma the Gog’ will behave herself.

Tomorrow, 34 members of a women’s group are scheduled to come for a tour and activities, so I’m hoping we’ll find some cranes.

It promises to be another interesting day.  The big decision for tonight is to choose whether or not to vacuum the rig and suck up more dog hair.  Being the very experienced procrastinator that I am, I’m thinking that it would be better to do it tomorrow evening…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Battleship Park, Mobile, AL

After my raw oyster eating experience for lunch yesterday, NICKIE, Jim, and I drove over to Battleship Park to tour the Battleship USS Alabama and the Submarine USS Drum.

The amount of time we had available for this park was not enough to visit everything since I had to make it back to the refuge before dark.  I try to avoid driving after sunset these days.

The tours are self guided, and oh my gosh, there are a lot of stairs and steps involved with the battleship.  I believe there are 18 stories involved in going up and down to all the levels of the battleship. 

The amount of guns of all sizes made a real impression on me.  The USS Alabama served in WWII, and while I was climbing up and down this ship the music from the Victory at Sea TV program was playing in my head.  It was amazing to me how the ship operated, and what these men went through during the war.  It really gave me a new perspective to viewing war movies that I have seen in the past. 

Then there was the USS Drum, a submarine also serving in WWII.  What a stressful life that must have been.  The compact accommodations reminded me of my motorhome in a way, but at least I can move from room to room standing up straight.  When out to sea, these sailors didn’t have showers or a change of clothes for something like 40-58 days!  And how would you like sleeping with a torpedo?  I’ve always had a great respect for our men and women in the military, but yesterday brought the sacrifices that they make everyday more fully to my attention.

                            There were also many planes and tanks on display to be viewed in the park.

I just didn’t have enough time to take everything in.  Battleship Park is certainly worth a full day visitation in my estimation.  As for the cost, parking is $2.00, and the admission to tour the battleship, submarine, planes, and tanks is $10.00 for those 55 and older.  Well worth it in my opinion.

On the local front today, we found 22 cranes on the tour this morning.  Remember when I posted recently about ‘The Shed’ barbeque place featured on “Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives”?  Well, early last Sunday morning they had a fire, and much of it burned down.  I drove past it today on the crane tour, and it is a mess, but they are still up and running serving their Q from under a tent!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Another first in a lifetime experience for this Midwest gal

I was off shortly after 10:00 this morning to meet NICKIE and Jim for a tour of the USS Alabama in Mobile, AL.  It was about a 53 mile drive for me to get there.

We had decided to meet at the Original Oyster House for lunch before touring the big battleship.  I plugged the address into Jack in the Box (my GPS), and off I went.  Well, good old Jack took me on quite a journey which included driving right past the Oyster House.  When I could, I did a U turn, parked in the lot, and waited for my friends to arrive.

Since there was a bench just outside the entrance, I plunked myself down to wait.  Only problem was this bench was covered with rain water which I didn’t notice until I sat down!  I think my jeans absorbed about a gallon of water instantly.  Ugh!  After about 25 minutes, I gave Nickie a call to see what was up.  Turns out they were already upstairs in this very popular restaurant holding a table for us. 

The first thing Nickie and Jim asked was if I was going to order oysters.  I told them that I hadn’t been able to convince myself to do that yet.  Then I got up to take a picture of the view out of the surrounding windows.  That’s the Mobile skyline in the distance.

When I got back to the table, this was at my place.  They had ordered one raw oyster on the half shell for me to try.  The waiter gave me instructions on how to eat it, and made a special sauce with horseradish, ketchup, and another ingredient that I can’t remember at the table.  He also suggested I try my first raw oyster ever on a cracker.  The picture is blurry because I was a little nervous about doing this. 

                   He told me to dip the oyster in the sauce and then put it on the cracker…

and then shove the whole thing in my mouth.  I can’t believe I did it.  You know, it was very tasty!  This is one giant step forward for a gal from the meat and potatoes Midwest!  Wahoo!  What a shock it was to find I enjoyed this experience.  I suppose those of you who have grown up eating raw oysters can’t understand what a milestone this was for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of fried shrimp, crab claws, fries, and a wonderful cole slaw.  Thanks to Nickie and Jim, I had a memorable experience even before we went on to the battleship.  I’m thinking I’ll save the pictures of that excursion for tomorrow’s post.  What a fun time, and the adventure had just begun.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Winter?

It’s been pretty mild this year down in the south, but the last few days has reminded me that it really is winter.  I’ve left the water faucet dripping the last two nights so the hose wouldn’t freeze, but things are looking up.  I’ve had two relaxing days to catch up on chores, but haven’t spent too much time outside because of the chilly temperatures and strong northerly winds. 

Emma and I hiked up and down the entrance road several times today.  I was hanging around camp since my friends Diana and John would be arriving to settle in to volunteer here for a couple of months.

It has been a couple of years since the last time we volunteered together, but we’ve kept in touch and met along the way since then.  Some of you understand how that is.  When we meet again, we just take up the conversation where it last left off. 

Despite the little blast of winter, the mushrooms are still cropping up and these tiny blossoms are still doing their thing.  Spring is definitely on its way, and it seems that the large flocks of robins have thinned in the last couple of days.

                                      There are still plenty of holly berries available (Ilex Vomitoria). 

I’ve been thinking about replacing my present TV in the main part of the RV with a flat screen with HD capabilities.  Then I could upgrade to HD (free for life) on my DISH satellite.  That is something my oldest son thinks I ought to do.  I’m not so sure about needing that, but I do know my Visio flat screen that I had put in my old rig was a great improvement over the TV that came with the rig.  Well, John says he could help me accomplish this upgrade.  Since I know it’s not something I could do myself, I’m thrilled with that offer.  I get along with a little help from my friends…

Tomorrow I’m off to meet fellow bloggers and tour the US Alabama in Mobile.  Hopefully the forecasted rain will move through before we meet for lunch.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

I got skunked! :(

It was a bit nippy as I headed for the visitor's center.  Even fluffed up Mr. Mockingbird found himself a perch to catch the morning’s first rays.  We had a good sized 4-H group scheduled to visit the refuge this morning from Mobile, AL.  Eleven kids and adults showed up on time for the 8:00 tour, so Doug, the Volunteer Coordinator, took them out in the big van.  I remained behind in case any late stragglers arrived. 

Sure enough, about 45 minutes later, the leader and her four kids ranging in age from 3 to 15 showed up.  She informed me right off the bat that the reason they were late was because she had an argument with her oldest son, Max, this morning about taking along a jacket.  Ah yes, teenagers.  That’s the age group I like best.  So, as grumpy looking Max got into the mini-van, I asked him if he would sit in front with me and be in charge of opening and unlocking/locking the gates on our tour.  He immediately brightened, and turned out to be a delightful young man that was very interested in everything about our abbreviated tour.  I might also point out that he was very happy to have his jacket along as the winds were howling out of the north. 

Because of their late arrival, we only had time to go down one refuge road.  Because of that, I chose the road with the eagle’s nest so we’d get there before Doug’s group arrived.  Just as I put down my camera to put the car in gear, that adult eagle hopped to the edge of the nest and took off.  Its exit from the nest gave everyone a fantastic view of the size of the bird and how large its wingspan is.  It was going off hunting to feed those youngsters.

I then drove to the only place where we might have a chance at scoring some cranes.  There were 18 cranes in the field surrounding one of the release pens yesterday, but due to the high winds today we scored a big fat zero.    Little did I know that Doug and his tour were a short distance behind us, and he had told his group that if we had seen a large number of cranes today that they would attack me.  There is some good natured competition between tour leaders, and lately I had been breaking records and being called the crane whisperer.  Doug had nothing to worry about today.

More 4-H members arrived at the refuge as we returned from the tours.  A couple of us also helped with the education program for all the folks, and took them on a short hike in the savannah to show them the carnivorous plants.  After the group left, and there was a lull in other visitors, I stepped out back and found a nice little flock of palm warblers working the back lawn for insects.  This is the first time I’ve been able to get photos of this warbler.

It was a busy day, and after my busy week I’ll be happy to have tomorrow off to take care of laundry chores and maybe get Emma out for a good hike.  I’ll be leaving the water faucet running tonight as temps are supposed to get down into the upper 20’s tonight.  I also made sure that I’ve got plenty of water in the tank just in case.

                                                                                   THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy