Rome 2025

We decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary by going to Italy! It was difficult to figure out timing because I was worried about leaving my parents for an extended trip, but I decided that October would be a good time - not just because it gave me more time to figure out how to handle their care, but also because I'd read that crowds in Italy were not quite as heavy during this month. Cheryl Elmore met with us in January and we settled on a schedule - Rome, then Florence, and then the Naples area. Thankfully, she booked all the air and train travel for us because Jacob and the Hunters spent a day trying to navigate all of that for their trip, so I was glad to not have to worry about that. And as it turned out, both my parents and Randall and I moved right before October so somehow the timing worked out well. 

We drove to Atlanta on Saturday, October 4, after packing all of our Europe essentials and clothes. We left our car at the Parking Spot and got to the gate in what felt like record time. It was not bad at all to get checked in internationally. When we got on the plane, I ended up taking the middle seat even though it wasn't mine, and the lady who had it said "it's fine, I like the aisle anyway" in an Italian accent. We were on our way for our great Italian adventure. I wish I could say that I slept, but it may have been an hour of sleep only; but I listened to podcasts, read a book (Dorothy Sayers), and watched a movie called "Nonnas." Randall slept longer than I did but not more than a couple of hours. We landed at 7 AM in Rome! The air felt different! But the customs process was easy and we were able to make our way to the driver without any trouble. 

Our first interaction with an Italian went fine, and we realized that they all spoke English pretty well, although I had to concentrate. "Grazie," "buongiorno," "buona sera," and "scusi" became part of my native language. Our driver took us to our hotel, the Hotel Duca d'Alba, but we had no Euros for a tip. Still, we put our luggage away, and walked out of our hotel and immediately saw the Colosseum. Wow! It was a great central location. We decided to walk through the central part of Rome and passed the Trevi Fountain. Again, wow! So beautiful yet so many people. I decided to pull out the Rick Steves guided tour. He took us first to the Campo de' Fiori to start with where we saw a statue of Giordano Bruno who'd been burned alive for heresy. But we also sat down to eat at 11 - we were drawn in by a guy outside, which is a common practice in Rome. I wanted to try a pizza, but it was so disappointing! Too much cheese and soggy. And Randall asked if they had "tap to pay" which the waiter interpreted as "Tip?" so that required a bit of translation. After we ate, Rick walked us through "Palazzos," "Piazzas," the Pantheon, getting coffee at Tazza D'Oro, back to Trevi, and finally to the Spanish Steps. We were exhausted at the end! We went back to the hotel to get checked in and lay down for a bit. After being up all night before, I had to rest. But we got up after an hour and decided to go to Benso 215 close by on Via Cavour. It was SO much better than lunch. We were seated downstairs, and Randall got spaghetti and meatballs, while I got the Rigatoni Alla'matriciana with red house wine. We had tiramisu for dessert, and I was happy. We slept well that night. 

The second day dawned bright and early - we had a trip to the Colosseum planned with a guided tour.  I ran all over trying to identify the meeting point; it seemed like all other tours had guides there early, but ours was right before our meeting time of 9 AM. But finally she came and she took us around the area and told us the poor of Rome stayed close by and were on the top floors of the surrounding buildings, and even washed clothes with urine to bleach them. She then took us to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, where I imagined all of the ancients, including Paul, having philosophy debates. Finally, we went to the Colosseum - another group joining us - but it was a crush. Our guide said it seemed like there were a lot of school tours that day. In my opinion, there were a lot of adult tours, actually.  We had  time to walk inside and see the arena where so many people - including Christians - were killed or mauled by animals. The wooden floor had deteriorated and you could see the tunnels below. There was an "elevator" for the animals, sample stadium seating where wealthy people sat, and open standing areas at the top for the poorer people. I wonder what they would think of all of us touring and seeing this place? After the Colosseum, we found somewhere to get Euros and then walked to an area close by where there were many restaurants. Another guy drew us in. But their tendency is to seat you, take your order, and ignore you until you were ready for more food or a check. Here, I had cacio d' pepe, and Randall had chicken alfredo. I ate every bit of it, it was so simple and good. We were also learning that they charge for "still water" and some places had a cover charge. So we often opted instead for wine and coke - which required ice, of course. After lunch, I took Randall to Mamertine Prison where supposedly Paul and Peter were imprisoned. The audio tour didn't work, and the room downstairs was confining but a bit underwhelming. We walked more past the Musei Capitolini and the Piazza del Campidoglio, and then the Ascensori Panoramici. We finally stopped again for gelato! I had the pistachio and Randall had strawberry (fragolo) and vanilla. It was delicious. Randall spied a restaurant next door, so we ended up going back there for dinner - it was called Ai Tre Scalini. We sat at the bar for a bit, and I had an aperol spritz. It was so good and fun to watch the bartender and the dishwashers. It seemed as if many Asian Indians worked in the dishwasher role in Rome. We were able to sit outside, but I do not even remember what I had to eat here!

Day 3 dawned bright, but we woke up a bit late for our 8 AM tour, so we took a taxi to the Vatican, thankfully I had a Freenow app that got us a good one, because the driver corrected me on the meeting location and took us to the right place. It was an interesting side street but clearly lots of people were there waiting for tours. Gabby was our guide, and frankly she was a fast talker and I had to concentrate even harder to know what she was saying. She navigated us through a lot of traffic and crowds to get into the Vatican museum. This place was overwhelming. So much art, gathered there by so many popes. No longer a practice because of cost, the popes would build more spaces and hire artists to create statues, sculptures, paintings, tapestries, even the architecture of the buildings themselves was a statement. I cannot say more than what my pictures contain, because it was too much to take in. We then walked to the Sistine Chapel and spent 10 minutes staring at it. It was meaningful to be in there and imagine Michelangelo doing it for four years, but it was 10 minutes of my life. Will I be forever impacted? No. But was the creation beautiful? Yes. It was crazy how many scenes were in the fresco. I studied as much as I could, distracted by people and policeman. This is what I should have studied beforehand: Link. After that, we were dropped off at St. Peter's Basilica and told to walk around on our own. Guess we didn't pay for the full tour! The best part there, in addition to the views in the church, was getting to see the Pieta. We left the area - where they seemed to be getting ready for the Pope's address the next day - and stopped by an All Brothers cafe close by. It broke the rules of having pictures on the menu, but it was much better pizza than what we had the first day! It was a Capriciossa pizza. We took a bus afterward to go to Trestevere using our Citymapper app. We walked the area and followed Rick Steves again by going to churches, walking the streets, and exploring a piazza there. I ended up shopping at a little store and got a dress which I wore to our dinner reservation at Taverna Trilussa. We met Kathy and Katie Poore! I was so excited to see a friendly face. Katie and I got carbonara, which we both declared was the best we would ever have in our lives. And we just had a chance to catch up and enjoy one another. The waitress was a bit snooty - she reacted visibly when we asked her to split checks - but clearly they can command the clientele they want, so what can you do? We took a taxi back to our hotel with Katie and Kathy and went to sleep after that long day.

The last day in Rome, we awoke with no tours planned for the day. However, we got a train to the Villa Borghese area to see if we could get last minute tickets. I stopped by a Ferrari shop and got a pic, too. Walking around, we kind of felt like we were in left field because we seemed to be walking on a street. We finally got to the Villa Borghese and after waiting 30 min, I realized tickets were not going to happen. We left after touring the gift shop and went to walk through town to the Spanish steps, where we ended up at the top. The views of the city were beautiful up there and we stayed for a few minutes looking down. We really just wanted to experience Rome that day so we just walked and looked around. We got a panini at Pane & Salame, along with a caprese appetizer, and then walked by the Pantheon again. To see it, rebuilt in the first century by Agrippa, it just causes you to reflect that the history of the world is vast and long. Yet, it's still a blink of the eye to the Lord. We then took a bus to the Jewish Ghetto area and followed one more Rick Steves tour. We saw where Jews in WWII were rounded up, but we didn't get to go in any of the museums which seemed to be closed. There were brass nameplates on the street with the names of Italian Jews who were sent to concentration camps. We also stopped at a grocery on a side street where Randall asked for seedless white grapes. The lady said, "Si!" and asked if we wanted "Bianca or Vera grapes?" Randall looked confused (which he told me later meant he wondered why she was asking after he told her), and I stepped in and asked for "bianca" and she bagged them up and sent us on our way. Unfortunately they were seeded but they were still delicious :) After this, we took a very crowded bus to the Palazzo Lateranense which is a beautiful building surrounded by people who wanted a tour - again, many nuns. But my real goal was to see the Scala Santa steps, which was across the street. Not too long of a line, but we both decided we would go on our knees up the wooden steps. These wooden steps encased marble steps that are rumored to be the steps Jesus took when he went to see Pontius Pilate. Quite moving, and prayerful. We were often delayed by some who seemed to pray on each step, but we got to the top and still felt reverent about the experience. We decided to walk back to our hotel - about a 30 minute walk - to avoid another crowded bus ride. After getting cleaned up and dressed, we went to a little restaurant we passed earlier, and Randall got salmon while I got a shrimp scampi. It wasn't the best I'd had, but it was still good. 

The trip to Rome was filled with history, lots of pasta, and crowds, but it was a lovely place to visit and I loved it. 

Charleston, SC 2024

We planned our trip with the help of Cheryl Elmore, and we reviewed many different sites to get ready for this trip. We left on Wednesday after work to drive to Atlanta and stay at Jeff and Tani's. Of course, we had to stop at Buc-ee's to get something to eat, so that helped us drive all the way with limited stops. 

We left early the next morning, around 6 AM, to avoid Atlanta traffic and get outta town! We drove through Augusta and drove by the Nationals, just to see where the Masters were played. Following that, we headed straight to South Carolina. We went to Cypress Gardens in Monck's Corner right around lunch time and stopped to see the location. This is where scenes from "the Notebook" was filmed, amongst other things like "Outer Banks" and "The Patriot." We walked around and signed up for a tour around the swamp, but had to wait an hour for it. In the meantime, we walked through the Butterfly Garden and the petting zoo. The petting zoo had a peacock walking around along with birds, snakes, tortoises, and other animals that I didn't want to just meet outside of its cage. We walked around a path that took us around part of the swamp and got some good pictures. The swamp tour was nice, and I was struck by how knowledgeable our tour guide was. We learned about cypress routes, how variable the depth of the swamp was, the Swamp Fox, and also saw a couple of small alligators. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, even if it was hot!

We drove on to Charleston and got to our AirBnB. I have to admit I thought it might be more like a hotel, because of its name: the Jonathan Jasper Wright Inn. Regardless, the upper suite we had was nice and had plenty of room for us. We got ready and decided to walk to the Darling Oyster Bar. It was a good 20 min walk, but it was clear that Charleston was a walkable city. There were a lot of colorful homes that looked old, and also new buildings as well. We could tell that the AirBnB was on the outskirts of downtown and we were heading to the heart of it. The Darling Oyster Bar was nice! Randall got fried shrimp and I decided to try the baked oysters (one of each type) and the Creole Shrimp. While I certainly liked the oysters, the Creole Shrimp was amazing. Randall pronounced his fried shrimp, "okay, I've had better." We struck up a conversation with the couple next to us. The man worked at the Citadel and his girlfriend was from Pennsylvania. They were really nice and told me that there wasn't really too many safety issues walking around downtown Charleston. He had a "flag" shirt on, very patriotic!

After that, we went to the Music Room, where we had tickets for one act of the Charleston Jazz Festival, which happened to be that weekend. We were going to see "The Southern Pines." The leader of the band was a professor at the University of South Carolina. She put this group together and had lots of influences, but the singer is a Grammy award winning musician. We heard some of their stuff on YouTube, but it was even better in person. We had a table and a great view of the group, and it was a fun way to start our trip! We also talked with another couple from the area whose child went to school in Huntsville, I think. The mom was a board member for the Jazz Festival, and the dad told us about his experience with the recent solar eclipse and showed us some great pictures from their spot in Pennsylvania. I learned that many people in Charleston were really friendly! We walked back to our AirBnB and went straight to bed.

The next morning was our 9th anniversary! We got ready early and headed to Liberty Square, where the Spirit of Charleston would take us to Fort Sumter. It was a beautiful morning and we got the second spot in line after taking some pictures. We got a spot on the boat near the back, but thankfully Randall didn't get sick. I sat next to a gentleman who was in the military and whose wife looked like she might have cancer. Regardless, they were world-class travelers and were taking time to see sights domestically after having spent their earlier retirement going places internationally. He said they were in the "Slow-go" part of the "go-go,  slow-go, no-go" years.

The tour guide, part of the Parks department, was excellent. She gave us the history in the Civil War about what led to Fort Sumter being such a pivotal place. She told us how the Union general retreated at the start of it, on April 4, 1861, and then arrived back at the end of the war on the same date, in 1865. Lincoln was assassinated two days later, so the news of Fort Sumter was overshadowed by what happened at the Ford theater. She told us not to think of Fort Sumter as just an old pile of bricks, but rather a living place with many casualties that played such an important role in the history of our nation. The boat ride took about 30 minutes, and we could see yachts in the area due to the regatta that was happening that weekend. Fort Sumter was an interesting place, and we could walk all around. But I had a chance to participate in the raising of the American flag that morning. The flag had the same number of stars that existed on the flag at the start of the Civil War. I felt it was really special and honored the soldiers that fought and died during the war - not just one side, but all US soldiers (at least now). We saw the hull of a ship, plenty of armory, and even bricks with the fingerprints of enslaved children. Really humbling and historical. On our trip back, I met another couple that were super interesting from Las Vegas. They were originally from San Diego, but were living their best lives traveling after she cared for her mother for years. She said they were going to Boston in the spring, and Italy also! I was totally jealous. 

After we did that, we went back downtown and decided to stop and eat. We walked and found a neat little cafe called Harken. The line was out the door, and it took about 20 minutes to get to the front. The food, however was excellent! I got the green goddess salad and a bowl of soup, and Randall got the daily sandwich. After lunch, we walked towards town. On the way there, we stopped at a booth where a guy told us he could get us into attractions free. After some back and forth, it turned out we already had tickets to everything, so he said he would give us cash if we sat through an hour presentation. He postponed our carriage ride and we decided to do it, for whatever reason! The guy that did the presentation had a very low voice and I had a hard time paying attention. Essentially, they were selling their travel services for an initial fee of $6000, and then $200 a year afterward (or something like that). Randall and I walked out with $160 in hand and were happy to be done. 

We hit upon the Charleston City Market. Although this would normally interest me - I like a good flea market - I didn't feel like going through and perusing more than 10 minutes; maybe Randall felt the same, and we decided to head towards the Carriage tour (Old Charleston Carriage Tours). We did have to wait a bit, but just stayed close by and I went to a few stores while Randall investigated his phone. But the tour with Star and Mason the horse started on time at 4 and was excellent! She gave us a good historical tour, taking us by Rainbow Row, the Pineapple fountain, and many historical buildings in the area. We saw cobblestone streets, the Battery, a few churches, and even the oldest pub in Charleston! After we finished the tour, we made our way back to Queen Street and stopped at Buxton Books. Then, we went to a wonderful dinner at Poogan's Porch. I tried the She-crab soup along with the BBQ Mahi Mahi, while Randall tried the Sweet-tea glazed salmon. We really enjoyed it, and Randall even tried the apple cobbler dessert. We drove a bit afterward and tried to get a picture at the Pineapple fountain, although it was dark. It was a (mostly) fun anniversary day!

For our last full day in Charleston, I started the morning off with a run, and cancelled both our lunch and dinner plans. Then we drove a bit out of town to Magnolia Plantation. It turns out that the original plantation house had burnt to the ground after the civil war, but that this house had started out as John Grimke Drayton's sparse residence, but his daughter Julia added on to it after she married into wealth. She maintained and developed the gardens he started; this plantation was originally for rice, and the swamps were perfect for the cultivation, although terrible for the quality of life for the enslaved men and women. The property was pretty, and we had a train ride with someone who told us all about the area, and then a house tour from a lady who was a former teacher. She was really excellent at telling a story. This was a common theme for our whole trip! We left at lunch and went to the No Bull Burger Bar, which seemed to have only one waitress, but she did her job well. I got the "Hellfire" burger while Randall got the "Plain Bull." 

We spent the afternoon walking downtown Charleston, and had to stop several times because we were so tired. We stopped and rested near the Battery and just people watched. We also got sorbets at a little gelato place. It was pretty hot that afternoon, so we decided to head back to our place. We needed showers and more rest! But we also decided to order pizza from a little place called D'Allesandro's and it was SO good! We took a couple of pieces home with us the next day. 

Overall, a great trip, and I would totally go back. :)

NYC 2021

Wow! I never thought we would be in NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but when the Million Dollar Band was invited in 2019 to go for the 2020 parade, I thought it might be a fun opportunity.  Jacob was in the band and was excited! But then....2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Jacob had a really tough year with online school, but had a nice surprise when Macy's invited the band back for the 2021 parade. This began our journey too. 

On November 22, 2021, we set off on our adventure! We had a direct flight from Birmingham, and after getting my parents safely on their plane to Chicago, we were NYC-bound. We landed at LaGuardia around 4 pm, and after getting bags, headed towards the Uber area so we could meet our driver, Oumarou. He deftly handled the NYC area and took us to our hotel, the Moxy at Times Square on 36th Street in Manhattan.

The room was a shoebox, somehow managing to fit a queen-size bed, a twin-size loft, and a nice-sized bathroom in it. There were pegs all along one well which held a luggage rack, a chair, and a small table where you could sit and eat! But it was comfortable and clean, and that's what mattered. 

We immediately set out to get to a dinner reservation at Havana, a Cuban restaurant that was close by. It really wasn't busy, which was great, and they immediately "carded" us - "Can I see your vaccination card?" Not something we were used to! Randall ordered the shrimp appetizer called Gambas Al Ajillo and I ordered the Ropa Vieja, which was basically a brisket and rice. Neither was amazing, but it filled us up and we headed off to Rockefeller Center. On the way, we got a Metro card just in case. We also stopped at Bryant Park and looked at the shops and the skating rink. I thought about skating, but Randall said we didn't need to break our ankle, which was probably wise, but sad. We were heading to go to Top of the Rock to see the city. And see it we did! We were able to go out and get a full view of Manhattan: the Empire State Building, Brooklyn, On the way back to our hotel I realized we would be walking a LOT! We walked about 20 blocks that night. 

The next morning, Jacob joined us. We decided to go to the Intrepid Air & Space Museum, but had to wait for him to get his breakfast at Hard Rock. So we first got bagels at Liberty Bagel. I got an everything Bagel with 1/2 Avocado Cream Cheese and 1/2 Jalapeno Cream Cheese. Randall got a bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese AND a bagel with Blueberry Cream Cheese. Sadly he didn't like either one of them! However, I loved min. We headed out and then walked around Times Square, saw the Good Morning America area, and met Jacob at his hotel. We walked towards the Hudson Yards area, where the museum was, and enjoyed looking at the brownstones, people watching, and the different stores along the way, even though it was a cold morning. We were first in line at the Intrepid. It was such a great place to visit! We boarded the aircraft carrier, got to see a lot of Navy fighter jets, and walked around the carrier and learned about the history of the Intrepid over the course of its lifetime. She fought in WWII, served in the Cold War and Vietnam, and then was used to recover NASA shuttles in the 60s.  She served as the FBI ops center after 9/11, also. In addition, we had a chance to walk through the space shuttle Enterprise, and also the submarine called Growler. The Growler is the only guided missile sub open to the public. The whole museum was so well done and we enjoyed it thoroughly. 

We headed back to Times Square to grab some lunch and get ready for the Rockettes show at 2. We had a time trying to find the right food truck - I wasn't starving after the bagels and we knew we had food coming later that night. We ended up at a Barrio food truck right next to Radio City Music Hall. It took a while to get our two tacos so we missed getting to see the Crimsonettes perform on stage. Also, we again had the same reaction - I enjoyed my taco, but Randall did not. This might have been a theme...

Radio City Music Hall near the Rockefeller Center near 50th St is a beautiful art deco building. My friend Rita told me there was a nautical theme in the decorations - she went on the tour. Finding our seats was a bit confusing, and we encountered the militant nature of the ushers that are in NYC. But after settling in, we had a great time - the show puts you in the Christmas spirit for sure. The Rockettes' dancing was incredible - they had several scenes in it. And, surprisingly, there was a nativity scene and scripture quoted during the show. We loved it. 

We headed out and went towards Grand Central Station on 42nd St. We were able to admire the interior concourse and learn about it from a tour that Rita sent me: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/grand-central-terminal/. We went to the market at the back of the terminal, learned about Jackie O's involvement, and also realized they removed a lot of seating in the basement food area because of Covid. But we did have a chance to go to the Whispering Gallery and try it out. So cool that the arches in the gallery allow you to hear someone whispering in the corner! We then went to the NYC public library, not too far away. Randall took the time to sit while I went into the free Polonsky exhibit to see the Treasures there. This building  was built in the 1890s in an ornate style and is flanked by two iconic lions at the front. It was incorporated into the library system by a large donation from Andrew Carnegie. The exhibit I went to had several important literary artifacts, but the building itself is just gorgeous. After leaving there, we headed towards Birdland to hear some Jazz. This is a jazz club that has been around since 1949, although in a different location, with jazz greats such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. We heard Ken Peplowski and his trio. Definitely an offbeat group, but it was nice to sit and listen to music and have a good meal. That ended Tuesday!

Wednesday morning dawned sunny and cold again. We decided to take the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to the Financial District. We discovered that most of the people that work for this company were from other countries. The ride there was thankfully warm in the bus, but several folks had to sit in the top area without a heater. Also, the "tour" itself was not that great; it was a recorded tour that you could listen to on some terrible headphones. We left the bus near the Brooklyn Bridge area and walked first towards the Charging Bull. This is a pretty famous statue in the Financial district. We also saw the church where Alexander Hamilton was buried. We walked past the New York Stock Exchange and was surprised at how much construction was going on that really prevented you from seeing the building in its glory. I also took a picture with the "Fearless Girl" in front of the NYSE. She used to be next to the Charging Bull but they moved her for some reason. We were super cold that morning but we decided to make the trek to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was busy on that bridge! Apparently it's a 2-hour walk but we walked for 15 minutes and turned back. It's a wooden bridge and I could feel everyone on it. 

We headed towards the 9/11 memorial but made a stop at the Stage Door Deli. That was a great meal, actually! We were cold and ready to eat so it was nice to be able to do just that. Afterward, we walked towards the memorial. We saw the Oculus and the World Trade Center but didn't take time to look closely at it. We knew we wanted to see the memorial. The museum was not open, so we had to settle for the experience of feeling grief and remembrance and peace. It seemed to me to be a bit holy because there is a reverence you feel knowing so many people died on that site. We saw a number of people rush to someone that may have passed out. We weren't sure. Regardless, we stayed for a while and looked at both buildings' memorials. 

We then walked towards the Staten Island Ferry. There were a lot of people heading in the direction of the departing ferry, and everyone seemed in a hurry. But no need to fear because the boat held everyone. We got an exterior seat on the Statue of Liberty side and were able to sit down. But who can sit in the presence of greatness. I stood up as people crowded in front of us to get a good view of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. I thought of the many people that came the same way that first landed on these shores. Did they know how hard they would work, or how they would shape a country? Did they know the land of the free and the home of the brave would face two world wars and many internal struggles? Of course they didn't. They were looking for hope, and they saw it in this statue. After we passed, we went into the heated area as we prepared for the return trip, which was uneventful. These ferry captains knew exactly how to get the boat into the right spot. 

After leaving the Ferry, we decided to ride back on the Hop-on Hop off bus which seemed to take a while to get back to us. We climbed back on and realized the headphones weren't working. The industrious bus driver decided to stop at a few different places on the way back and narrate for us about where George Washington would have a pint, amongst other examples. He was pretty funny. It did take a while to get back to the right location so we could get to our dinner reservation at Carmine's at 4:45. Overall, the bus was a pretty slow way to see NYC and I wouldn't go on it again. But we made it to the restaurant and were seated upstairs next to a grandmother and granddaughter from Mississippi. They were celebrating the granddaughter's 16th birthday (even though she was 17). We soon realized we should have just shared a meal with them. The portions at Carmine's were HUMONGOUS. We got garlic bread and spaghetti and meatballs, and maybe ate 1/8th of it. Between our two tables, I'm sure they threw out at least 8 meals. C'est la vie. Finally we made our way to the Majestic to see Phantom of the Opera! It was so good. I realized the ushers and theater staff in general were very rules-based and stern. I suppose they have to be - everyone crowds in from many countries and no one knows what to do. But we enjoyed ourselves and the production. 

Thursday dawned too soon. I was ready to go around 5:45 and went and got some coffee at the Dunkin Donuts. I saw some Macy's parade workers and got excited! But we didn't leave the hotel until about 6:20. We walked hurriedly towards Times Square, trying to find the right spot. I was hesitant as usual about getting aggressive and missed a spot, but then Randall spotted a mailbox that had an empty space on front of it. We took it quickly, although we surprised someone next to us. Thankfully she was very kind and let us crowd in next to her. We were very close to Grand Central Terminal and saw may groups of people go by with suitcases. Our neighbors on our left were from Texas and Connecticut. One of the ladies had a daughter in an all-girls marching band. About 8:15, we had neighbors on our right that had hired people to hold spots for them with chairs. That cost them $300 but they felt it was well worth it. They seemed to be South Asian, and they were from Texas and had a daughter in a dancing group called Spirit of America. It's easy to be chatty with people that you spend 2-4 hours in the freezing cold with, and so we did, along with a lot of people watching (many policy officers and parade staff). Finally, at 9 am, the parade was underway! I got a few updates from Rita who was closer to the start. We began seeing the turkey around 9:40 am, and had a great view from our front spot. It was such a cool thing to be at this parade which I've watched on TV for so many years. We saw some great floats, lots of good performances, and even saw celebrities - Steve from Blues Clues, Andy Grammer, Girls5Eva, Kelly Rowland, Kristin Chenowith, and Darren Criss - who I'm convinced said Happy Thanksgiving to ME. But the best part was seeing the Million Dollar Band do their thing and do it WELL. We heard them play Tusk and the Fight Song on the streets of New York. Roll Tide!

After going back to the hotel and getting a shower, we decided to walk and go to Central Park. Randall found a pizza place and we split one together. We also walked the whole way. Central Park is a surprisingly green part of the heart of NYC. I tried to find some fun spots in it where movies were filmed - the area where Avengers was, where Enchanted and Home Alone were, and just the views that seemed so familiar from so many TV shows. We did take some time to sit and just enjoy the better weather because it warmed up that afternoon. There were a lot of people doing the same thing, so we left after a while so I could see the Plaza. What a beautiful hotel. No visitors allowed, and the exterior was under construction. But what I could see was amazing. I imagined Eloise getting out of her apartment and commanding her nanny to get gifts - because right around the corner was 5th Avenue! We went through and did lots of window gazing - I think Bergdorf Goodman had the best. But we walked by many ritzy places, and Randall even saw a fake Donald Trump in front of Trump Tower there. Lots of shopping - Tiffany's, Saks, etc - and some beautiful hotels and churches in the area. We also walked through Rockefeller Center and saw the unlit tree! 

Finally, we headed to our pickup location for Thanksgiving dinner with the band. We went to Liberty House, in New Jersey, to have a "traditional" (quotes mine) Thanksgiving meal with them. We were able to see Jacob and also invited Jayden and her friend Daniel to join our table. We shared it with some nice people from Illinois who had a senior in the band. The food was brought out in courses - stuffing and cranberry sauce first, green beans and yams next, the turkey and ham last. It was not the best Thanksgiving meal, but we were glad to see Jacob. We left that night and went back to the hotel. 

The next morning we headed straight to the airport early by boarding the subway with our luggage. It was not too hard to do! This saved us $50, since that was an Uber ride. We spent all day traveling (strangely delayed by someone getting ill on our plane to Atlanta) and waited on my parents that evening. But our memories were full, our experiences were fun, and we were happy for a week doing something totally different than we were used to. What a great trip. 

Nashville April 2019

Early anniversary trip to Nashville! We left early Thursday after moving my parents' old couches to the curb. Because, you know, I have changed my life to visit my parents a couple times a week now! We left after I decided to leave my laptop. Because, well, I'm a workaholic.

After a 3 hour drive, we stopped in Franklin. I had been checking out BBQ places, and found a place called Hogwood BBQ that looked like it had good reviews. It was great but ended up being a chain, of course. Trust Yelp to not designate that info. I got spicy cheesy grits and also a Colorado sandwich while Randall got a pulled pork sandwich. Afterward, I wanted to drive to downtown Franklin and look around. I drove us by Landmark Books, which is the bookseller that the book "The Bridge" was based on. This book is by Karen Kingsbury who writes Christian fiction - but if you read one, you pretty much have your plot. Regardless, I have read several and had some appreciation of her. So we stopped in and looked around, and I chatted with the man at the front. He proudly declared that he and his wife were the inspiration for the couple, but the book was nothing like his real life. He said the "Ted McGinley" character was based on him. We talked shop a bit and Karen had been in the shop recently, signing books. Apparently she lives in Brentwood and stops in quite a bit. So, of course I had to get one of those books. Next we walked around downtown for a while and I showed Randall all of the places we went to when I had been there for a girls' trip. We found a book by Ben and Erin Napier, who we had watched the night before. Randall was busy trying to figure out who shopped at all of the "high-priced" boutiques. Ha. We drove to a little park by a nice stream, took a few pics, and stopped at French's Boots. I tried to get Randall to buy some boots but he didn't take me up on it. Instead, I bought shoes. Of course.

We started making our way to downtown, but drove lazily through several high-priced neighboorhoods, even Cheekwood. We also went to Kroger to get waters and snacks which allowed us to get to the apartment right on time (4 pm). 5003 Georgia Avenue was an older house but it was in great shape. Nancy had all of the amenities you could ever want! It was a cute place and in West Nashville, which I learned was in an up-and-coming area. We got settled in and decided to eat at Hattie B's Hot Chicken. I got "HOT" while Randall got the not-hot Southern flavor. For some reason I got greens, which are not my favorite, and I also forgot how much fried food makes me crazy. But I limited the heat by taking off the skin. Randall seemed to enjoy his. We also got peach cobbler! We stopped at Nations Bar and Grill, but the fried food made me a bit queasy. So, we decided to walk around that evening. We saw a church that was converted to a bar. Sadly, they had a freaky picture of "The Last Supper" which I thought was in poor taste. Lots of people walking, lots of fun places to visit. I even took a picture by a giant Scrabble board! But after that, we stayed in and watched "Remember the Titans." Classic movie.

The next morning, after a satisfying cinnamon roll, we left for a 10:30 appt with Kaysie from "Experiencing Nashville" travel. We walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land and met her at Ernest Tubb's Record Shop. She gave us a very thorough tour around downtown. We stayed in Legends Corner for a while to look at all of the memorabilia. We past many of the honky tonks, Bridgestone Arena, and the GooGoo Cluster shop and walked to the Country Music Hall of Fame and looked at all of the stars there. I don't think she took much of a breath that whole time. We were with a couple from Michigan and another from Wales. They were as amazed at her volubility as I was, I think.

After that we went to Ole Red. I was determined to get in one of the honky tonks for lunch, and we decided on Blake Shelton's place. No wait, yay! And a table right by the band. We saw a girl named Sophia Bollman who was a great singer. She even tried to get me sing but I was aghast and shook my head. We had some interesting tater tots covered with cheese curds and pork. Pork would be a theme on this trip. We also got to dance a bit there. After we ate, we did some more walking, picked up some sweets and Savannah's Candy Kitchen, but then left for the Opry area to see what they had there. Parking: $14. Thankfully we found free parking at the Opry Mills mall but we had to walk a lot to get to the Gaylord hotel. I knew from Kaysie's lecture that the Gaylords were very rich and had saved the Ryman from extinction. Their hotel was like an island. Randall and I walked all over that thing, but we really didn't do much there. We decided to walk to the mall to see what we could find to eat before our nighttime Opry show. Of course, we went all the way to the end of the mall and went to Rainforest Cafe'. Randall had never been there but we split a delicious lemon chicken sandwich and some sweet potato fries. The waitress said it was her first day!

We finally "moseyed" to the Grand Ole Opry. I was wearing my cowboy boots and was pretty proud of them. However, they weren't quite as comfortable to walk in as my sneakers. We took pictures and went to the gift shop. Our visit wasn't long and soon we were in the theater. Nobody was super famous but it was fun to see the radio-style format. There were four segments broken up with different hosts and different singers. There was even a comedian (Dusty Slay). We were on the first floor in a back row seat, which really wasn't bad. We both agreed it was a fun night!

The next day, we decided to go to the Frothy Monkey for breakfast. Randall got a very large biscuit and gravy and I got a bagel with egg and feta. It was so filling! It was a bit rainy but we still decided to do another day in downtown that day. First we stopped by the Nashville Farmers Market. I tasted some great basil pesto, met two French women, a woman who sold sprouts, and walked past several people that I would have bought from - but I had no way of keeping things cold. Afterward we drove through Music Row. We also stopped by and looked at the Parthenon and Vanderbilt. Finally we went to the city, and parked in the wrong building! Oh well. C'est la vie. We spent time at Jason Aldean's restaurant and listened to Stevenson Everett. He was really good, and we stayed more than two hours. Randall even got him to play Dixieland Delight. We left there and then walked over the pedestrian bridge and got some good views of the river and where they would hold the NFL draft. We also went to the Wildhorse Saloon and watched a bunch of teenagers learn how to line dance. That was not the memory I had of that place! But Randall and I got to have our second dance there. We left there and headed to the Ryman for our second show. John Crist, a comedian who lives in Nashville, headlined the show along with two other comedians. Randall had never heard of this guy but I had from Facebook videos. One word: hilarious. It was the best thing. We didn't even spend money on souvenirs! The facility was small, but beautiful. John's jokes about Christian girls, Christian growing up, and just being real with Christians was so great.

We left there and decided to try to go to a honky tonk. We ended up at the Stage on Broadway and listened to Conner Sweet. He was a local boy with a great voice. One thing about Nashville, everyone had a great voice. We actually found a table on the balcony and perched there for a while. It was 5 o clock, and it was already getting raunchy. People were definitely drunk, so we just decided to listen to music. Randall knew it wasn't his scene but was a good sport. We left after a couple of hours and headed to Acme Feed N Seed. We got some delicious shrimp and grits and more sweet potato fries (verdict: Jason Aldean's was better). After getting the food, which was on the bottom floor with a really loud folk band, we headed upstairs and found a couch to sit on. Back story: the Nashville Predators had a playoff game THAT NIGHT (two blocks away) and everyone was watching it. So we got to watch the game winning goal with a bunch of Preds fans! Sort of. I distracted Randall from watching it, telling him he needed new shoes. We stayed for a while longer and then headed back towards the parking area. We made pit stop at Ernest Tubb's record shop, looked at Loretta Lynn memorabilia, and decided to head home. Randall pretended to be surprised that we were doing that, but I had enough of the drunk crazies. Especially since I had not been drinking. Ha ha. Parking: $25.

We got up and watched the Masters, and I scoped out the area to see where we could go to church because it was raining again. I finally settled on Immanuel Church. This is Ray Ortlund's Acts 29 plant and we enjoyed it, but it was long and we were ready to go. His sermon was on my favorite verse from Romans 8. It was a good message to hear. We headed back but had one more stop: Big Bob's BBQ in Decatur. Although the waitress and hostess seemed tense there (Sunday church crowd), the food was great.

New Orleans Starts Year 3, April 2017

For our second anniversary, hubs and I decided to do something within driving distance, but a place we hadn't been before. I'm convinced it was the National WWII Museum that was the deciding factor, but I'm sure he had other reasons for going.

When we first got there, we decided to visit Randall's stepmom's granddaughter's resturant (what a connection). Unfortunately, we missed her so decided to eat at a little place down the street called the Red Dog Diner. It was a delicious start to the weekend. We also stopped at Lafayette Cemetary and looked at many above-ground graves. It was right across the street from Commander's Palace which I'd been to years before, but I remember so little.

Afterward, it was time to check in to our hotel! We stayed at the Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast on St Charles Ave. Joe and BeBe, the propietors, made us feel very welcome and also let us know that they were offering perks we couldn't get at the big chains. Which was very true...we got free parking, a warm cookie at check-in, a complimentary breakfast every morning, and free waters we could take with us on our adventures. We also got to stay in a house with 13-foot ceilings and beautiful antique furniture. The only drawback was that it was on the 3rd floor.

When Joe checked us in, he gave us detailed instructions on how to lock and unlock the front door, how the curfew worked after 10 pm (tiptoeing on the stairs), how to turn away people who wanted to get in the front door, how to keep the a/c from running all the time, and how to avoid letting water from the bathtub get into the floor below us. Ha! He was hilarious. He also gave us several recommendations on places to eat in a dry, monotonish sort of voice. But kindly, as well.

We embarked on our first evening by boarding a streetcar which was conveniently outside of our B&B. It wasn't long before we arrived in downtown New Orleans, and we walked several blocks to get to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's location. We were slightly late, but still managed to get in line for the first show. In front of us was a group of high school students from Canada who had apparently been to a cooking class. I thought that was interesting because all around us were people who were trying their best to get wasted. The students seemed oblivious. Still, after we got in, all of the crazy people dimmed to showcase the band. They were really, really good. Unfortunately we stood for the show, but that allowed me to *dance*. We were privileged to watch a 45 min show and left, feeling quite jazzy.

We went to catch a tour on a carriage. I had tried to reserve a private carriage but it turned out that guide couldn't make it, so we joined a group tour around the area. She took us out of the main area and showed us residential areas in the French Quarter, as well as haunted houses, and lots of places we could explore the next day. I think the best part was watching our guide navigate the streets with a horse, and working around the cars. After we left, we went to eat at a little outdoor eatery called the Market Cafe and listened to more jazz. Then we went back to the B&B.

The next day, we caught the street car early and went immediately to Cafe Du Monde. It was a great time of day although the menu was a bit confusing. The cafe au lait and beignets were amazing. We left there (early still) and began looking around the Market areas, as well as the French Quarter. Many shops were still closed, but we were able to see neat little gift shops, a weapons store, an art museum, and many specialty stores. We spent most of the morning just walking around the area, getting a Christmas ornament, sampling pralines, walking down Pirate Alley, reading all of the historical signs, and just taking in everything. I decided to stop at Central Grocery and get an original muffaletta, but what would Randall eat? He decided to go to FlamBo Burgers, which in all honesty may have been better than my sandwich! We then went and listened to a jazz band in Jackson Square for a while. So fun. But hot! We made our way to the US Mint and got some A/C. We tried to see as much as we could, but how can you see it all? We decided to take a barge to Algiers Point for the afternoon, and got a chance to see some different NOLA scenery. We also stopped at the Carousel Bar and Lounge in the Hotel Monteleone. Afterward, we did go back to the B&B, pretty much from exhaustion. I made a reservation at Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar that evening, and got the BBQ shrimp which Joe had raved about. Little did I realize how much work it would take to get the heads off the shrimp, lol.

On our last full day, we spent most of it at the National WWII Museum. It would take a journal to talk about everything there was to see. From Hitler's propaganda, to experiencing soldier's lives' firsthand, to seeing actual planes, it had everything. The main part of the museum was understanding how the war waged from a time line standpoint on both the European and the Asian fronts. It was incredibly realistic with movies, pictures, and many, many artifacts. But I will admit one of my favorite things was the "Beyond All Boundaries" movie. Narrated by Tom Hanks, it was a quick rendition of the war's impact on our nation. We stayed at the museum until 2 pm that day, and decided to walk through the Art District to get back to our streetcar. Beautiful paintings! We went back to get ready for our dinner at Mr B's, which was incredibly delicious. We met a couple from England at the bar, which was fun since my daughter was there at the time. And I got my first Sazerac drink there!

On our last day, we decided to spend the morning at Audubon Park and drive around Loyola/Tulane. We got a good walk in and even saw Mel and Pat's sister-in-law and niece there! We finally ended the trip by going to the restaurant of Kristi, Randall's cousin. I had a great meal there and she even joined us for a bit and comped our meal.

On to year 3...

San Mateo, December 2015

We decided to visit San Mateo since Kavitha had gone to Chicago during the summer to help care for my dad after he had a cardiac triple bypass surgery in July. The hard part was working out the timing. The Hancock girls decided to go to Tupelo for Thanksgiving, so we had the Gilliam family to the house at the same time. Kristen had planned a trip to Mexico in December, so we had limited time to get a trip in! We decided to go to California right before Christmas.

We got there on Friday night after a long day of travel (stopover in Las Vegas where Melody and I played a dollar in slots). We had a narrow escape from problems when a fine lady from Southwest magically rescued the tickets I had apparently NOT purchased for Melody and Kristen. We had to move our flights a little later, but we made it to Oakland and rented a car for the 40 min drive to San Mateo. Melody and Kristen stayed in Devika's room and Randall and I stayed downstairs where Pokey held fort.

The next day, we just visited in the morning with them but we later took a ride out to the Foster City area while Kavitha stayed at the house waiting for Madhu and Riya. We had lunch at Jack's Prime Burger and Shakes for lunch. We walked around and took pics (of course). Afterward, we went to Kavitha's friend to have threading done, and Madhu and Riya met us there with Devika. We also went to the grocery store and took pictures with Santa!

The next day, we met Kavitha's friend Becki Hughes to get pictures made. Unfortunately, Riya ran a low fever so we made it quick. We stopped by Stanford on the way back and had lunch at the Palo Alto Creamery downtown. We tried to find Mark Zuckerburg but didn't spend a lot of time looking for him. However, we walked around the downtown Palo Alto area and wondered how much you had to spend to live there! That evening, we exchanged presents and had a great time.

While this was all going on, Randall had been trying to get things fixed at Kavitha's house. He replaced her showerhead, replaced the door knob in the kitchen, and a few other things. So during this visit, we made a few stops at Lowes and Home Depot, also. :)

On Monday, we did a tour of the area. We stopped at Apple Headquarters, Intel, and had lunch at In N Out Burger. We also did a tour of Levi's Stadium and spent a lot of time learning about the 49ers. This was not Randall's team, but it was pretty cool being at the place the Super Bowl was going to be hosted in about a month. It was a bit rainy, but we still got to go out on the field, sit in the stands, and visit the locker rooms. Unfortunately, the rain kept on so we didn't get to visit Google Headquarters.

The next day, we stayed close to the house and just played with Devika and Riya. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed being together. We also went to San Carlos and toured the street that had the amazing Christmas lights. It was so great! We stopped for yogurt on the way home.

We had an early departure the next day but what a great time with family, and also for Kristen and Melody to get to know Randall a little better. I was so grateful!

Randall: Cool and rainy so no Golden Gate.

Ft. Payne/Mentone, August 2015

After Kristen came back from Mexico, we had a couple of weeks together to visit before she moved into the dorm for her first semester of college. When Melody went to college, I did pretty well in letting her do her thing. It was easy then...Kristen was playing volleyball in her freshman year at TCHS, and we were busy. However, when Kristen started college, my day-to-day "mothering" was limited. Randall knew this would not be easy, so he planned a weekend getaway for us. He didn't give me many details other than to plan for a weekend away. I tried to gather clues in what I needed to pack, but all I knew was that I might need a swimsuit.

So, after we got Kristen in her dorm, we drove. We went for a couple of hours and finally took an exit near Ft. Payne. We took an extremely circuitous route and finally ended up driving into a cow pasture. I was puzzled. It was dark, there was farmland all around, where were we going? We finally stopped at a little cabin called the Rooster's Rest. It was a one-room cabin with a bathroom. It had a kitchen, a TV, a little table to eat at, a sleeping area, and a front porch. It was so sweet!

http://www.cabinrentalsmentonealabama.com/roostersrest.html

We awoke the next morning and explored the little town of Mentone. Artists were everywhere, and we went into an art gallery and talked for a while with a lady that had lived in France for many years but came back home to retire. We walked through a little village that reminded me of the Moundville cabin area, and I bought soap for my friend David who was dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and Randall explored the wood carvers shop. We went canoeing and even hiked a bit to some beautiful falls. The weather was hot, but not too bad. We also went to downtown Ft. Payne where they had a car show and we roamed the streets, just exploring the area. Lots of cute antique stores and even an old record store!

After cleaning up, we went to the Wildflower Cafe for dinner. It was a very nice restaurant. I think I had the Shrimp Scampi, while Randall had a steak. This is all guesswork, because Randall and I don't remember! Ha. We actually sat in a little hallway but it was still quaint. A musician started playing halfway through dinner, so we had a little ambience.

http://mentonewildflower.com/

The next morning, we had a short devotional. We went to the Little River Canyon and took pictures near the falls. We also went to a museum where we learned that Randy Owen from Alabama has done a lot to preserve the area (we try to get a little education on these trips). After doing that, we headed home. It was a fun getaway weekend for both of us!

Randall: Wildflower restaurant was cool with good food.