To the Beach!

My brother, being himself and all, found a good deal on a hotel on the Gulf Coast in Florida. People haven't been travelling there because they think the beaches are covered in oil. Little do they know that Destin, Florida (pretty close to one of my nephew's birthplace, by the way) is still as beautiful as ever, with it's white sandy beaches and crystal clear water. Luckily for us, this made it easier to get a good rate on some rooms.

On the drive down, this crazy girl told her mom she wanted "something comfy". Apparently her blanket was just the ticket. "Can you just put it on my head, mommy? Thanks!" Hee hee, love her!

She L.O.V.E.S. the beach! Just check out her happy little face.

Here he was saying "Bea!" (Beach). He's so stinkin' cute!

Four of my favorite people

Sunset

Here's the same beach the next day.

"Sandcastles in the sand"

When wet, we thought the sand looked like the sugar at the bottom of your Wheaties bowl. (When the sand was wet...not when we were wet. In fact, we thought the same thing when we were dry.)

Okay, it was all fun and games at the beach until I got attacked by a crab. Then my brother kept kicking sand at my feet all day to freak me out. I forgave him later when he rescued us from this jellyfish. I still get the heebie jeebies just thinking about my wildlife encounters that day.

Speaking of wildlife encounters... we decided to take a dolphin cruise. After my whale watching tour a few years ago (throwing up numerous times over the side of a boat with tons of tourists watching is NOT my idea of a good time), I've been a little afraid to attempt something like this. And this time it was a 2-hour tour rather than a 1-hour tour (as long as it's not a 3-hour tour!), but after stopping at the Piggly Wiggly (okay, it was really a Winn-Dixie...I just like to say Piggly Wiggly because none of our stores have nearly that cool of a name) for some dramamine, I was willing to give it a try. Well, it was a much better experience this time. :)

We saw several dolphins jumping out of the water and playing in the wake of the boat. Most of my photos of them turned out a lot like this...

Do you think my next career should be "wildlife photographer"? I'm awesome huh? Actually, if you blow up the photo you really can see a dolphin under the water there.

Captain Larry was pretty cool. I like his hair. He had a first mate, also pictured here. I think his name was Dave? Either way, I'm going to call him Dave for the rest of my life. For those observant readers, you might notice that Dave is serving complimentary beer that they have on tap there on the boat. They had complimentary wine, soda, and water too. If only Captain Larry had a Diet Mt. Dew tap instead. That'd be awesome.

If you sing "come here dolphin, come here dolphin" it helps...just an FYI.

Captain Larry let her drive the boat...she was a natural.

I LOVE this picture of these two! And, bonus, now I will always remember the random guy in the yellow shirt and white hat from my dolphin sight seeing tour.

After our boat trip we went to Fudpuckers for dinner. My friend Jason used to work here, so it was nice to see his "old stomping grounds" if you will (and frankly, even if you won't). There is writing on every possible surface of the restaurant. Most people just sign their names, but some people like to be more informative in their permissible graffiti activities.

On our way across Alabama and Florida, we tried to stop for photos of all the best signs. There was one we missed that said, "Family in town? Rent a wheelchair!" Um?? Okay!

This was, however, my VERY favorite from the whole entire trip!

This one caused us all to say, "did that really just say that?" Nice.

This one is actually in the town my brother works in...

And apparently Florida is way better than every other state because unlike the other 49...

I had so much fun spending time with my family and seeing their new home. A big thanks to them for letting me visit and making it such a great Thanksgiving!

Sweet Home Alabama

I flew to Alabama to visit my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew for Thanksgiving.

My awesome sister-in-law picked me up at the airport. We stopped to get me some lunch and got lost (well, as lost as you can get with a GPS anyway) in this little neighborhood. It was like jumping into a page of "To Kill A Mockingbird". Seriously...super cool.

I was really glad to see the kids, and was happy that they were glad to see me!

Let me just say that Alabama is a BEAUTIFUL state!

They showed me around town. Here is a photo of me and my niece with the Tennessee River behind us and their city across the river.

And here is a photo of my family in front of the river. Good lookin' group of people aren't they?? Four of my most favorite people of all time!

We went to the mall to see Santa arrive on a firetruck. Here is a classic photo of some Alabamians. It's hard to tell from their backs, but easily 70% of them are wearing Alabama or Auburn clothing (the UofU/BYU rivalry cannot hold a candle to the Alabama/Auburn rivalry...and a good chunk of people's wardrobes here are Alabama or Auburn clothing...depending on their preference). I suppose you can see all the crimson and know that Alabama is well supported at this gathering. :)

Just an interesting side note about University of Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium from Wikipedia... "In 2008, the visitors' locker room was officially named 'The Fail Room' after alumnus and donor James M. Fail. Fail commented, 'Earlier this year, when I saw the visitors' locker room as a potential naming right, I figured it was the most appropriate opportunity I would ever have to use my name.'"

I also found it odd to be waiting for Santa, outside, in a t-shirt and capris. Crazy!

Isn't she sooooooo cute?? I just love her!

He's here!

Following Santa's arrival...we went to Big Bob Gibson's for some real Southern BBQ. Oh my...that was good! If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it!

Do you ever feel like you need a little extra help? Perhaps you can visit this body shop. Just pull up, honk four times, and he'll come out and pray with you about whatever you need. Then you can be on your way...just like that. Drive-thru prayer...oh so convenient!

They did not want you to be unclear about whether this school was built before or after the birth of Jesus. I was thankful because I was confused about that prior to reading the sign.

We went to see Harry Potter and I LOVED the Christmas tree at this super nice outdoor mall. It also had the biggest Barnes and Noble I have ever seen! I resisted the temptation to go in though..are you proud?

The next day, my brother took me to a Tennessee Titans game in Nashville. It was my first NFL game. I wish I had taken some pictures of all the new friends we made. There was "beardguy", "the coach", "homeless guy selling popcorn by the handful from a garbage bag covered in goo following the game", "crazy lady with a remarkable set of lungs", and "banana pudding guy". Oh how I miss those guys. We parked at a small minor-league baseball stadium across town and took a shuttle to the game (because it cost $75 to park at LP field...yeesh!). That was kinda cool because they shut down the roads in downtown to be used only by shuttles and pedestrians so this way we could see all the sights of Nashville.

Here's my brother with downtown Nashville in the background.

They did a Veterans Tribute because it was their first home game following Veterans Day.

Here's a view of the stadium from our upper bowl seats (thankfully, neither of us plunged to our death).

With a tied score of my lucky number 16 at the end of the game, we went into overtime. Unfortunately, the Redskins scored a field goal and won the game 19 to 16. On the bright side, this did please "beardguy" and "the coach". "Crazy lady with a remarkable set of lungs", on the other hand, was rather disappointed. Apparently her incessant screaming and rapping of her empty beer bottle on the rail did not ensure a win for the Titans. Who would have guessed?

You may have to click on this photo to enlarge it for the full effect. This is a double billboard on the way to Tennessee that we stopped to take a photo of on our way home. I think it speaks for itself.

Check back soon for more Southern signs and Juli's adventures in the South.

#1 - Check!

Gee, I'm doing really well with this years list!

Now, not only did I sing Sweet Home Alabama whilst in Alabama as prescribed on my list...but I watched the movie there as well! Go me!

Interesting side notes...

We happened to drive through Butler County, Alabama (the area the movie was centered around) on our way to Florida.

Fun fact... Greenville, Alabama (the town in the movie) was originally named Buttville, Alabama. I kid you not.

The real highlight of Butler county for me has to be Georgiana, Alabama. I for one will not be visiting the "Hank Williams Boyhood Home and Museum" because it would require me to leave my locked vehicle in this population 1,737 town.