Christmas 2013

At this time of year, it is all about children. It is the Child.   And, yes, we all  become children this time of year.

Eric, Kari and Elizabeth

Nathan and Cailyn. Jane 6,  Jensen 4, and Grayson 2



Christmas tree hunting with Cassie, Grace (9), Claire (2) and the Aune gkids.

Grayson "reading"  to Elizabeth

Janie the builder

Kari. Eric and Elizabeth Christmas 2013

 

 Christmas dinner with Bill, Patty, Eric and Kari. 

M L King

Ben and I had visited this site  when we came to look at Georgia Tech in 1993.  It was meaningful then and more meaningful now.  A special place.  A special leader.

The interior of  the Ebenezer Church 

outside

The tomb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

A few more days with Ben and Penny

We arrived at B and P's Atlanta home mid eve Saturday after the long drive from Destin and the two stops.

On Sunday morning we set off for the Georgia mountains and a "Leavenworth" style German village.  Helen does not have the charm of Leavenworth but it was alive with fall color and festive shops and eateries.  That eve, we watched B and P play a doubles tennis match in their local league.  Monday morning, with both of them at work, we left the house at noon and visited the ML King Memorial before catching our plane at 6 p.m.

Ben and Penny's Atlanta home

Ben, feeding the animals, 2 dogs, four cats.

In the backyard with their dogs.

Out in front of their home with Charlie and Louie.

Penny in her craft room making jewelry.

Their degrees behind symbols of industry.

We gather in Helen, a German village in the Georgia Mountains

Georgia mountains, the head waters of the Chattahoochee Rivet.

It was a busy 18 days but it was so fulfilling and enjoyable.  B and P are such great hosts and they allow Barb and me to have flexibility to travel and see the local sites.  But the family time was the best part of the trip.  Barb and I are so blessed with good health and the resources to take on these adventures.  But our greatest blessings are our children and having quality experiences with them on a regular basis.  Yes, God is good to us.  Thank you, God!

A Place of Horror and a Man Dedicated to Peace

We packed up and left early Saturday morning as we knew we had a long drive ahead of us, we planned to make two extensive stops, and we, on a time zone change, would lose an hour. 

Our first stop was Plains Georgia, the birth place and current home of President Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy's boyhood home.

We toured his boyhood farm where Jimmy worked in the fields tending to his daddy's peanut and other crops.  The demonstrations, complete with Jimmy's narration, told of his many toils in the field including his first experience of plowing with a mule.

Peanut fields

The family shower.  A pipe to a bucket with holes in it.

Cotton fields

The blacksmith shed where a smith was working that day.  Jimmy's father is said to have enjoyed forging the farm's tools.

We then drove into the village of Plains which is very small.

Plains railroad station which was campaign headquarters.

Main street Plains, and that's about it.

The Carter Museum in Plains is Jimmy's old high school and includes many contributions from his classmates and other townspeople.

We than drove on to Andersonville just 20 miles away.  This is the site of the famous Confederate prison where up to 45,000 Union soldiers were held as prisoners of war.  Over 14,000 of those prisoners died in captivity most due to disease brought about by the wretched conditions of confinement and lack of food and medical care.  The prison was a stockade around an open field in which the prisoners built crude tents to shelter themselves from the intense sun and heat of the south's summer.  The field sloped down to a little creek which was supposed to serve as a source of freshwater on the upper side and a sewer on the lower edges of the creek.  However, the stream's capacity could not serve the needs of the thousands of soldiers who ended up confined there and conditions quickly deteriorated into a situation where over a hundred soldiers died per day, near the end of the prison's history.

The monument to all prisoners of war.

A replica of the stockage showing the "deadline" where prisoners would be shot if they entered that area.

Typical of the crude tents constructed for relief from the hot sun.

The area showing the slope to the creek, the edge of the stockade, the deadline posts marked in white.

The nearby cemetery.  Trenches were dug and soldiers were laid shoulder to shoulder.  Fortunately records were kept of locations and Clara Barton and others worked to place the grave markers after the war's end.

 

A bipolar day.  A tribute to a man of peace and a tribute to those that did not survive the horrors of war.

Last Day on the Emerald Coast

It rained Friday so Barb and I drove west to Pensacola.  The old historic town there has been restored, and on visiting there, we walked right into their annual folk art festival.  We did take a tour of some of the early 1800 buildings but spent most of the time touring the art booths, listening to live music, and/or eating their local dishes.

Listening to live music and eating seafood gumbo.

Our tour guide of the historic buildings.  A local college student.

Destin II

Well I blew it.  We've been so lucky with our condo exchanges, we finally hit on one that does not meet our expectations.  It is spacious.  It is circa 1960.  The unit and the area are clean and safe.  It is near the water, has a pool and spa and that's about it.  Our unit overlooks a parking lot.  Barb has been so good about it. She so loves the water.  Each morning we get up "to leave the condo" to find a view of the water and the terrific environs here.  Next time, we will have a view of the ocean!

Destin is a great place.  The food, people, activities, beautiful beaches and weather have been fantastic.  The temps have been in the mid 80's and for the first time today, clouds came in to hide the sun.  We hit the beach a bit, then went out to view a kite board display. It is "off season" here, post summer but before the "snowbirds" come.  The many attractions are so accessible and no crowds.   Fun.  Tonight is Halloween.  Again, we've had far more treats than tricks.  Fun

Dinner on a local wharf.

Sunset from our table there.

A dolphin played in the current there.

Clouds come in.  Still comfortable to sit and read on the beach.  Oh, the fresh air.

The wind came up.  We visited a Kite Sailing event.

Some of the participants sail 20 feet into the air.

As they leave land, the achieve incredible speeds.

Fun.  Again we feel blessed to experience this part of God's creation.

Destin

In 2008, as we headed west in our RV out of Florida, we peered out the driver side windows across turquoise water bordered by the whitest sand that we'd ever seen.   At that time we were on a schedule to meet Nathan, Cailyn and Jane in AZ.  We had no time to stop.  We noted, "One day we have to come back here and stay."  It took 5 years, but we are back sans the RV.

We decided to extend the visit to B and P a week, but spend that week here at Destin using out time share points.  Our expectations so far have been fulfilled to the fullest.  The beaches are the main draw.  But the community is also top notch.

This area of Florida is a unique geological formation.  The sand is a product of the Appalachian quartz, washed down the rivers and accumulated here for millions of years.  It is bright white, cool even in the heat of day, it squeaks as you walk on it, and has the consistency of  corn starch.  The Gulf, now, is so clean and the beaches are free of debris and vegetative material.   This week, temps in the low 80's complement the beautiful land and seascape.

Destin may be a frequent destination.

Life is a beach

And a swim in almost 80 degree water

Lunch on the pier

Back for a swim.

And watch a local fishing tournament.

 

Aunt Esther

We were in the area so we took a 300 mile detour on our way to Florida to visit her dad's only surviving sister.  Aunt Esther at 79, vivacious, resourceful, energetic, and a risk taker ( she drove from South Dakota to Jackson MS alone to catch up and marry her true love) and one of Barb's favorite aunts (actually she reminds me of Barb,) has lived in Jackson since 1951.  She has visited Oregon a few times, has been to our house once, and we have now visited her twice in Jackson.  She is a wealth of knowledge of family history, continues to bring up new family stories, and helped Barb to connect with her family (second cousins) in Bergen Norway.