"GUMBO TALES........MISSISSIPPI HOSPITALITY

The past two weeks took us to the Florida Panhandle and southern Mississippi! Cousin Eugene, our tour guide for the week, took us to Mobile Alabama to tour the battleship USS Alabama. He explained that it was the sixtieth ship built in its class - a BB60-South Dakota class battleship. She was launched in Feb. of 1942 and served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during W.W.II. She received nine battle stars and was nicknamed the "Lucky A" because she had zero casualties! We didn't have time to visit the USS Drum Submarine. It was launched May l2th, l941 and was the first Gato Class Submarine. It was the set design of all American fleet submarines.The USS Drum was the very first submarine to enter WWII arriving in Pearl Harbor April l, l942. It had earned l2 battle stars and  had sank l5 Japanese Battleships. So wished that we would have had enough time that day, but so much to learn on the USS Alabama! Thanks tour guide!!

As I boarded this magnificent battleship, I sensed that it had a life of its own! We climbed up ladder like stairs between levels. I felt the heartbeat and haunting silence of this now laid to rest ship. You could feel the presence of the sailors, officers, and Marines also who had been transported. The steel had encased the energy of its days in action......from the boiler room, engine room, war room to the officer and crew quarters, sick bay and dining/kitchen. Thank you to all who had served on this ship!!!  

The Alabama was a refuge for eighteen ship museum employees during Katrina. The hurricane caused four million dollars worth of damage to the ship!

St Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida, our location for seven days, was located near the Indian Pass Raw Bar. This oyster bar has been in the same family for four generations and the current owner plays the spoons in the band on the front porch. We have learned that repeat visits to the same coffee shops and bars embeds us into the culture a bit more.  The tables were plastic, the drinks self serve and the beer opener was on a post. The food was simply WOW!  A mix of locals and snowbirds... even from Canada... hang out on the front porch laughing, drinking, listening to music and having one darn good time! Those Canadians....what  great people to be neighbors with!! We have met several on our travels and have always come away feeling like we just communicated with people who are so kind, so humble, and so generous of spirit! They even gave us a big Canadian hug and gave us a blessing for a safe journey!!! Our blessings and well wishes to our new Canadian friends!!!

One of the special items on every menu is Gumbo. This should help to explain just exactly what it is!
Gumbo as described in Wikipedia is a stew or soup, probably originating in South Louisiana during the l8th Century; typically consists of a strongly flavored stock, meat, or shellfish, a thickener, and vegetables including celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used: the African vegetable okra, the Choctaw spice file' powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves) or roux the French base made of flour and fat. Dish likely derived its name from either the Bantu word for okra (ki ngombo) or the Choctaw word for file' (kombo). Culinary practices from the French, Spanish, German, West African, Choctaw, Alabama Indian, and Cherokee. Gumbo is the official cuisine of the state of Louisiana.  Ty had gumbo one evening and I don't touch it!!!  All I can say for it is that Ty has bad Gumbo Breath for 24 hours after having it!! But he really enjoys it and that's what counts, I guess.


People -  Ty's cousin, Eugene, and wife Yuko, were the ultimate south Mississippi tour guides and hosts!!  He picked us up almost daily where Silver was parked. We toured several historical sites including the Jefferson Davis estate, the President of the Confederate States. It was named  "Beauvoir" meaning beautiful view as it sat back from the gulf in Biloxi. We saw the mix of remaining damage and new building since Hurricane Katrina. The news seemed to constantly be on New Orleans during Katrina, however, this area was slammed and huge areas destroyed.  There are giant trees here and several were either taken down or had their tops ripped off by the winds.  An artist from Fla. volunteered his time and carved several of the tree trunks into marine life pieces of art, making something positive out of the destruction! Beautiful!!

Eugene has dealt with a muscle disease since childhood, but worked all his life and still does everything on his own, even with somewhat crippled hands. Stomach cancer was his last battle and he has moved on from that too! What an inspiring, warm, fun, do anything for ya, Southern gentleman.  I am so proud he is my cousin!  He and his wife Yuko have been a huge part of raising their grandson Corey who lost his mother several years ago. What a beautiful family!!!

Our mothers' last name was Williams so we had fun saying, "we were the Williams brothers and we are here to "tear up" Mississippi!"     We love you Eugene, Yuko, and Corey!

A side trip took us to Hank Aaron's boyhood home in Mobile, the Biloxi lighthouse, and to a harbor to see the shrimp boats, now largely operated by Vietnamese families.  There are a few shots of a couple of hikes and a small town evening- Mardi Gras parade. We also visited the Viet Nam Memorial; this memorial also highlighted special heroes from different branches of service since WWI. What stories of men who served so that we are able to cherish our freedom today in this wonderful country!

Thoughts by Janet...Battleship/One's Life

Win some, lose some
Battles, deployments, missions
Full speed ahead
Stand firm
Blood,sweat, and tears
Adapt and overcome
Hit the deck
Stay the course
Bite the bullet
Final orders, final act
Then rest at the dock!

Thoughts by Ty   Ty has hit his head so many times on the cabinet doors, he is thoughtless!

Funny: Left over from Fla.: On our canoe trip in the Everglades, we stopped mid trip for some lunch. I said, "What if the alligators smell our lunch?" Ty said, "I don't think they like granola bars!" I replied, "What if they have changed their lifestyle?" I thought it was so funny at the time, the canoe was rocking! ooh NO!!!

Silver and us will be heading to New Orleans next!!!

At One With The Wild

The last three weeks have taken us on a canoe and bicycle trip into the wild, a remote beach, and a water park at Disney! One of our stays was spent for the first time in a National Forest!

The canoe trip began at the head waters at a river at Wikiwa State Park that was formed by a natural spring. We canoed on the pristine, shallow waters which allowed us to view plant and fish life and a variety of lily pads floating on the surface! The bank was a living theater of turtles and alligators basking in the sun as families. A 12 inch Piliated Woodpecker was slamming his beak into the tree bark, a wild and crazy performance at the reported rate of l2,000 a day! We spent two beautiful hours paddling in a world of our own!

Since we were close to Orlando, we decided to be kids for a day and go to Disney World! That sounds "Goofy", but we had the time of our lives! It was low season so there were very few people floating down the Lazy River with us. Ty talked Janet into climbing l00 stairs to take four wild rides! One was down a water slide while laying on a rubber toboggan on our abdomens. She thought she was literally being flushed down a toilet! Another was a catastrophic kind of ride called the Double Dipper, on a raft at a high speed together and we gracefully flipped upside down in the pool at the end! We didn't encounter any other Boomers in their 60s on the rides all day except for the Lazy River. Crazy, maybe; living yes!?????

We spent one night with Silver parked in our first National Forest 20 miles off of the highway. Huge pine trees sat far apart as did the campsites! We were one of four campers in the entire forest. The exploding display of stars and the silence was captivating. "Nature speaking once again to us!" We were in the mood for a BLT of all places with reports of Black Bear sightings. We had Silver so sealed up trying to keep the smell of fried bacon from the bears that we set off both the smoke and CO2 detectors! So much for nature's silence; especially for the other campers! Oops!

Ty took a 3 hour bike trip through several ecosystems one day. Bikers would call it a single-track trail through sand, pine needles, over roots, and rocks while passing through the dry forest of large leaf pines, two swampy bogs, and a controlled burn area. Adding to the thrill was the inability to see around the next corner of the narrow trail because of the density of the vegetation. Kicking up the speed also adds to the thrill! Crazy or living on the edge?????? The scariest moment was seeing several large animals 200 yards away scattering through the forest. He found out later that they were really large turkeys, standing 3 ft. tall! One of his top two single-track bike rides!

We are currently at St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park that juts out into the Gulf of the Panhandle, dubbed the "Forgotten Coast". Because we have moved north, the temperature is 70 instead of 80,so there are only a few other boomer couples on the beach which is barren for miles in both directions......bluish green water!

Interesting people: Janet met an interesting lady in a book tent at a flee market. They were talking about the books and candles she had for sale. The books were $l.00 each. She said to Janet, "All I need in life are my books, nice candles, and a good bag." I love purses! On the way out, she said, "You have a safe trip and a good life now!" Janet said, "God Bless!"

Ty met a fellow who told of his past job as a hunting/fishing/kayaking guide around Colorado and Utah. At one time, he backpacked into the Alaska wilderness for three months, surviving on berries, nuts, kelp, and roots, with no human contact or electronic devices. Imagine his stories!

Each campground has a host couple who are volunteers, so they get to camp at no charge, but have jobs such as cleaning the bathrooms and other jobs such as greeting people. This 80 year old host told us that he cleans the restrooms at 3 a.m., so they were never closed during the day. Arising at l:30 a.m. was not new to him, since he had been a milkman for l8 years. He serenaded Janet singing at her request, "My Wild Irish Rose"! What a character!

Thoughts by Janet:  Connection.   We have both been mesmerized by the magnificent spiderwebs, intricately woven throughout the Everglades and coastline. I started to think about how connections are so vital in our lives. I began to reflect back ten years ago when I had a couple of experiences that impacted my life. Jenna certainly did after having been at ground zero several days after 9/11. She went with a research team of the Sociology Dept at CU. After she came back, we both transcribed verbal interviews, reactions and actions of some of the people who had witnessed this day in our country's history. I transcribed 100 pages  myself and the stories have been permanently itched in my mind and soul. A few months late,r I was watching a documentary on the comparison of religions in the world. It ended with a very profound conclusion. It spoke of 9/11, the day some people would choose to jump from windows and the fact that many chose to hold another person's hand. The simple conclusion - the importance of a connection with other human beings no matter what their beliefs.  During this journey, I have seen the importance for a connection with God's creation and nature in our lives.....to experience it, touch it, feel it, to draw from the natural energy that is given off  by the pine cones, spiders, orchids, grasses, wind, sky, and the sunsets.....Are we here to weave our own web with others and also nature?  Our connection to a deeper source?

Thoughts by Ty - The Moon      While walking back from the shower, I happened to notice the brilliant moon, extra bright, due to the absence of artificial light pollution. For the first time, it occurred to me that every single human that ever walked this planet has gazed at this moon! From early cavemen standing in the night with a torch to today's teen with a Smart Phone. I tried to picture millions of moonlit faces that had ever gazed upwards and felt a connection to each of them. Powerful...... Are there other objects that bind us all together????

We are seeing so much wildlife that we decided to keep a listing:
turtle, alligator, scrub jay, snake, eagle, heron, egret, osprey, ahinga, wild turkey, fox-squirrel, armadillo, raccoon, bee hive, stingray, beetle, spider,