Best Western Carlton Suites Birmingham

Hello to everyone I think will want to know what I'm doing in Europe! I love you all! And I hope this blog is interesting. I'm bringing a computer with me so I will be able to write entries often, I hope. Don't worry, all my entries aren't going to be emailed to you like this one. I just emailed this one so that you guys could know about the blog and decide for yourself if you want to keep up with it.

So there's about a week ...

... see something new. And almost every morning I am disappointed. I see the same spread, regardless of hotel brand. There's the selection of dry cereal. Often only two kinds, and usually that's one of the following: Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes, or Fruit Loops. Next to this is the instant oatmeal, usually plain, occasionally someone will spice it up with a variety pack, but not often. This is followed by the bin of carbs ...

We had a one night stop over in Moody. We passed Talladega raceway on the way there but as it was a longer drive we didn't stop off along the way. We also got held up in our first traffic jam. A truck had gone off the interstate and crashed. Delayed us by about 40 minutes. The Super 8 wasn't the worst or the best motel but we both slept well after dinner at Cracker Barrell.

As most of you know I have been sick since my last blog and yesterday was pretty much a write off. I arrived in Birmingham at 11.45am after taking a 4 hour ride on a Amtrak train. The train ride was quite comfortable. I was able to get two seats to myself and there is a lot more leg room on a train than an airplane. The taxi driver had never heard of the hotel I was staying at and couldn't find it on his GPS. Luckily I had the additionally information that it was off a certain ...

A few days ago we realized that the day we leave, marked in our brains as Memorial Day, comes a week earlier than we'd been thinking. Oops. At least we saw the light soon enough so we won't miss the flight. (Memorial Day this early in May feels very odd.) This trip is no big deal but will serve well as a test travel blog. Something to play with between meetings and meals.

... inside the camper, a pair of camp chairs, our walking sticks, a few guidebooks, and some basic kitchen supplies (electric teakettle, French press and Melitta one-cupper for his coffee, Mountain Research pot and lid). We'll take basics like tea, coffee, peanut butter and other sandwich-makings, and then pick up fresh fruit and vegetables at farmers' markets and ...

... GUESS WHO WON...ME, YEAH!! THE NEXT MORNING WE ATE BREAKFAST. THEN WE CHECKED OUT AND HEADED TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS. BESIDES SEEING ALL OF THE PLANTS AND SOME WILD LIFE WE, ALSO, TOOK ONE OF THE TRAILS. THE GARDENS WERE VERY PRETTY. WHAT I LIKED THE MOST THERE WAS THIS HUGH ALOE PLANT. THEN
WE HEADED ON HOME. ANOTHER WONDERFUL SHORT TRIP FOR TWO SENIORS! THANKS, FATHER!

Here we are in Alabama, the birthplace of Marty. She found a map at the visitors center that actually shows the town where she was born. Yesterday was good. After the trip down the Natches we had a drive on I-20 with a lot of trucks. Why don't they put all that freight on the train? We are planning a stop on Huntsville to visit Martys cousin and to see the old family home; then on to Chattanooga.

We rode with a local rider on the beautiful backroads of Alabama. we stopped in a town called Blountsville and met the local people at their fall festival- what a hoot. we looked at the old farm equipment and car show. one half of the town was in the parade that we participated in and the other half watched the parade. during the parade, I was run over by one of my co-riders and fell in front of the whole town on Main Street- we ...

I arrived back home on a delayed but enjoyable flight right in time for Thanksgiving. I was so excited to get on the plane from Atlanta to Birmingham. When I saw "my city" come into view in the small portal from which I looked out, I actually teared up. I had a whole fountain of ...