Tour de South Part 5: Mobile and Pensacola

We left Andalusia on Monday (April 14) and drove to Mobile. Andalusia was my last area on my mission, and Semmes (a Mobile suburb) was my very first area. I was in Semmes for six months, and while I was there, my companions and I lived in a trailer on the property of the ward mission leader and his family (the Shoemakers). It was awesome! My companions and I spent a lot of time at the Shoemaker's home, so it was the mandatory stop while visiting Semmes. Brother and Sister Shoemaker have turned their large property into a learning farm for school groups. It was so wonderful to see the Shoemakers again. Sister Shoemaker took us for a tour of the farm on her golf cart. 

 And we got the VIP treatment--up close and personal with the animals

 Lil Sebastian! 

 This is the site of the trailer that we lived in. So many good times and sad times in that trailer. I was a little sad that it wasn't there anymore. I'm standing where the front door would have been.

 Our favorite animal was Larry. He is a wild turkey that was raised from an egg by Sister Shoemaker, so he is the tamest, funniest bird I've ever met. He was constantly showing off by puffing up and drumming at us. And he would angle his feathers to make sure that we always saw his good side. 

 Michael got his face painted

 And he got to throw a spear and shoot a bow and arrow. And learn about Tee-pees. 

 So back to Larry: he followed us around wherever we went, but it was too hard for him to stay puffed up AND keep up with us, so he would deflate when we weren't looking. Anytime we stopped to look at him, he'd puff back up. I took this picture over my shoulder.

 And as soon as I stopped, this is what he did:

 I was glad that Michael got to do something fun while I got to see one of my favorite mission families. (And Rachel got to take a nap while we toured the farm). I can't get over how grown-up their daughter is.

This is what she looked like when I left:

 

And now, seven years later:

 I just wished that their son was there. (He was out with his grandma). 

The next day, we hit up my other tourist spot: the Bragg-Mitchell Home. Coming back from Zone Conferences, we would drive past the beautiful Antebellum homes in Mobile, and I just wanted to go inside one. So, I found one and made everyone tour it. I enjoyed it; Michael was super bored. After the tour, we got Michael to take a picture for us (because I knew he would just make a ridiculous face in it anyway). 

 And then I tried to take one with Michael and Rachel: 

 And then, there was a Zombie Apocalypse:

 After the home tour, we headed to the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship and Memorial Park in Mobile Bay. The boys really loved this stop.(I liked it too, for the record.) It was one of our favorite stops.

 In addition to the Battleship, we got to see the U.S.S. Drum, a submarine

 And go into an Aircraft hanger to see cool planes, including this Blackbird:

 And we had to run away from a B-52 Bomber:

 We stayed in our second hotel in Mobile. We stayed downtown, which was pretty fun. But, our kids went to bed around 8 p.m., and we all slept in the same room. So, how did we work that, you ask. Well, I'll tell you. We put Rachel in her pack and play on the opposite end of the room from the bathroom area and tried to block her pack n play from view so she couldn't see us. In Mobile, that meant next to the bed Michael was sleeping in and making a wall of pillows between the two of them. To get Michael to go to sleep, we tucked him in and then hung out in the bathroom area. We'd pull in the extra chairs, plug in the laptop, and watch our shows until we were ready for bed. Oh, and we turned on white noise apps up REALLY loud.

 After two nights in Mobile, it was time to head East again.Rachel like pushing the luggage cart:

 We took the scenic route to Panama City Beach. We tried to see the Mobile Lighthouse. Turns out, it is not currently in the bay. Oh well, we got to see a part of the bay I've never seen before, which was cool. We also stopped at Lamberts, "home of the throwed rolls". We saw a billboard for it in Mobile, and it triggered a memory. Since they advertised throwed rolls, we HAD to check it out. It was pretty awesome. If you're ever in Foley, Alabama, go! But bring a LARGE appetite because they want to make sure you're full. And yes, they have servers throwing rolls at whoever asks for them.

 After lunch, we drove the rest of the way to Pensacola and onto the Navy base to see the Pensacola Lighthouse:

 

And on our way off the base, we stopped at the National Naval Aviation Museum to go to the bathroom. We wished that we would have known about how cool the museum was so we could have budgeted more time to check it out. We only meant to run in, but we ended up staying for a half hour or so. They had a whole kids play area, which was awesome. Oh, and I'm pretty sure it was free. 

I loved this little mini-air craft carrier. Museums always get bonus points when they have fun things for kids.

 They had several models of aircraft carriers, so I asked around to see if they had one of the U.S.S. Ranger, the aircraft carrier my dad was on. They told me that they had the bell from the Ranger, so on our way back to the car, we stopped to get a picture of it. I was really excited. But, turns out, my dad's Ranger wasn't the first Ranger. This is the bell from the World War II Ranger. Still cool, but not as exciting.

 And we saw One Eyed Willey's hot dog stand on our way out of town.

 I wished that we would have had more time to at least drive through my area in Pensacola. I wanted to show Brian UWF campus at least.  But, I was only their for two months, so it wasn't a big enough deal to go see it. I wanted to see the lighthouse when I was serving there, so that was the mandatory stop for Pensacola. And the Beach.

We drove on Highway 98 so we could see all those little beach towns along the way. We made it to Panama City Beach around 7 Wednesday evening--just in time to see the sun setting on the waters of the gulf.

Tour de South Part 4: Andalusia

I drove us out of Tennessee and into Alabama. The second I saw the Alabama state line welcome sign, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. It felt a lot like coming home. When I got my mission call back in 2006, I had my car loaded, ready to move back to Idaho after finishing up my junior year at BYU. I had actually moved out of my apartment the day before, but my roommates kindly let me stick around to get my call letter, since it hadn't come yet. So, I opened the big white envelope, read my call letter to my parents via two different cell phones on speaker, and then hopped into my car to drive the four hours home. I knew nothing else about my mission except "Florida Tallahassee Mission." And I was a little disappointed. When I got home, I looked at the map and discovered that Alabama was included in my mission, and that's when I got excited. My first area was in Alabama, and so was my last. And I will always love it.

By the time we rolled into our hotel in Andalusia, it was after 10. We unloaded, set up the pack and play, laid a blanket and pillow on the floor for Michael (since they couldn't change our room to one with two queens), frantically tried to finalize my talk, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, after getting ready and trying to leave in plenty of time to get to church, we ended up getting lost. I was so embarrassed! I couldn't remember where things were! As Brian laughed at me, I justified myself by saying that it had been six and a half years, and I was only there for 11 weeks. Google led us the wrong way. Finally, we figured it out, and it started coming back to me, but we were five or ten minutes late. Oops! The branch president, who had heard we were coming, had asked us to speak, and he was getting nervous about our tardiness.

In front of lots of familiar faces, and quite a few unfamiliar ones, I gave my first talk from a smart phone, and got to speak with Brian for the first time since we got married. (We stunned everyone by telling them that we've been in our ward for almost three years, and we still have not been asked to speak, despite telling every member of the bishopric that we both enjoy public speaking. When you attend a branch that tiny and you end up speaking once a month, it's hard to imagine being in a ward so big that you can be there that long and not ever being asked to speak).

I didn't mean to, but I ended up missing Sunday School and Relief Society because I got caught in the hall talking to people. After church, the branch had a baptism, and then a luncheon, which gave me time to catch up with so many amazing people.

 After church, and right before the luncheon, this amazing lady walked in the door. I had the chance to teach her, and it is a miracle that she let us! She had heard so many false things about our church, and she didn't want to have anything to do with us when we showed up at her house. But, she grudgingly gave us a chance, and then she let us teach her and her family. She got baptized after I went home, and because of a series of rough events, she isn't coming to the branch anymore. BUT, she came to see me. And we got her to stay for lunch. And it was SO good to see her!

 I also got to see these amazing sisters. These two ladies are the ones who drove me to transfer spots on my last day in the field. They took such good care of me while I was there, and I miss them again already.

 This amazing woman fed us on Thanksgiving. It was a legendary feast, and I crave it every November. She is an amazing cook--and, thanks to too much radiation treatment to kill her cancer, her taste buds make everything taste like vomit. But, that doesn't stop her from cooking and finding enjoyment out of watching everyone else eat her fabulous creations.

I couldn't believe how much the kids there had grown! I just love Andalusia!

After church, we went to Opp, Alabama and toured Lake Opp. The Ball family, who took us there, were surprised that we never went there as missionaries. Well, it's a lake, so that's probably a big reason why. Plus, we never heard about it. Focused on other things :) But, it was awesome seeing it as a returned missionary.

 Michael was in HEAVEN! 

 Rachel loved it too. 

 I gave up trying to keep him out of the water. It was just too much for him. 

 After walking around the lake, we went back to the Ball home, and once again, Brother and Sister Ball cooked us a fabulous dinner. Rachel loved Noah. She thought he was super awesome. Either that or she just loved the tablet he was playing on.

I still can't get over how much their kids have grown, and it was a little strange being there without their older boys, who are currently serving missions. I really just can't say enough about how much I love the people in Andalusia/Opp. *sigh*

All too soon, we had to head back to our hotel, sleep, wake up, check out, and hit the road again. Next stop: Mobile, Alabama.

Tour de South Part 3: Tennessee

As I mentioned in the last post, we arrived in Tennessee late Wednesday, April 9. We spent 2.5 relaxing, not-long-enough days with Ben and Jenny (and Tyler and Tucker, of course!) Ben took Thursday off work to hang out with us. On Thursday, Brian and Ben took our new car to get it's brakes fixed, and while the dealership was working on that, we went for a caravaning driving tour of parts of Nashville, including the Nashville Temple. 

I was surprised how small it is. The stake center next door looks bigger, but it is still beautiful. 

 At this point in the trip, she still liked holding a hand while walking around. By the time we went home, she was over holding anyone's hand while she was walking.

After the driving tour, and after picking up the car, we ate dinner at a fabulous Mexican Restaurant.

 And then we checked out Winstead Hill, a Civil War site for the Battle of Franklin.

 And Michael would not take a nice picture for me.

 This hill overlooks Franklin. Side note: It was interesting to read the signs describing the battle. They talked about the Confederate's great cause. I'd never heard it described that way.

 On Friday, we had another relaxing morning with Jenny and the kids. Ben went into work, but Tyler skipped school to play with Michael!

 Michael and Tyler played more alongside each other than with each other. They are both just used to playing by themselves! Jenny and I were laughing about it.

 But Rachel and Tucker had fun together--well, as much as a couple of toddlers can, anyway. Tucker is the cousin that is closest in age to Rachel on both sides of the family. I hope they get to be good friends.

On Friday afternoon, Brian, Rachel,  and I headed into Nashville with Rachel. The plan was to see a little bit of downtown Nashville, and then meet Ben at his work so he could take Rachel home with him so we could go to the Grand Ole Opry. Along the way, we saw this RIDICULOUS statue alongside the road. It was one from a website about random roadside attractions that Greg had told us about a few days before. In fact, this was a statue that we had read about while still in Georgia, and there it was on the way to Nashville. So we had to turn around and try to go find it. This is as close as we got:

 But when we drove by again, I took a picture out the window:

 It's a statue of the first leader of the Klu Klux Klan. And he looks like he is wearing a dress. Apparently, it has caused a lot of controversy, but the owner of the land is absolutely adamant about it staying where it is. This one's for you Greg!

We drove down Broadway with our windows down so that we could hear all the live music playing, but parking seemed like it would be a mess, so we didn't walk the streets at all. But, we did go to the Parthenon

 After the Parthenon, we met up with Ben, handed Rachel over to him, and headed out to find the Opry. We ate dinner in the mall across the street and then headed to the show.

 The Opry was a lot of fun. We saw John Conlee, Jesse McReynolds, The Whites (who sing "Keep on the Sunny Side" in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?), Elizabeth Cook, Balsam Range, Jim Ed Brown, Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash), Sundy Best, Jeannie Seely, Mark Wills, and BJ Thomas. My regret about our Nashville excursion is that we didn't try harder to make it over the Opryland Hotel.

Saturday morning, there was a little more relaxing,

 I took some family pictures for Ben and Jenny (which meant I got to see more of Downtown Franklin)

And then Brian and I packed up all our stuff. After getting everything loaded, we headed out to watch Tyler play a little flag football, took a picture with the whole crew, 

 And said goodbye to Jenny, Tucker and Tyler. Then, we went to this AMAZING hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant with Ben, and went  to see the Carnton Plantation

 and Cemetery (we didn't do a tour of the house since we were already running late)

We bid farewell to Ben, got in the car, and headed South, wishing, once again, that we had more time to spend with these fabulous people. Thanks for having us, Ben and Jenny! We can't wait to see you again. Miss you tons already!