Fun Weekend

We had a great weekend! On Saturday we drove to Knoxville so I could introduce Al to my friend Tim and his family. Tim's son, Nathan is going to ask his girlfriend to marry him, so Al brought a briefcase full of rings for him to look at. Sue and Yonna came with Al and it was great to see them. We all met at the Macaroni Grill for lunch - yummo! Nathan picked a gorgeous 1.5 carat ring - lucky girl! The waitress was so cute. When she learned that Al lives near Chattanooga and saw all the beautiful rings he had, she said "my boyfriend lives in Chattanooga"! All the girls were wooing. After lunch we went shopping. A new store called Forever 21 had just opened in the West Town Mall, so the place was packed! Poor Jim was so patient while we hit all the stores!

Here is Malisha on the way home looking tired from all the shopping. As soon as she got in the car, the hair goes back and relaxation with a book began. I swear you seldom see her without a book. This youngin loves reading more than anyone I know!

After church on Sunday Malisha and I were invited to a Thirty One (click on link to see their cute stuff) party at my sweet little friend Katelyn's home. They just built a new house and oh my gosh - I slobbered all over my car when I pulled into the driveway. When we got home, I told Jim I had found our house plans when we build.

Michael

I thought the death of Michael Jackson was very sad. He was still so young and had three children to raise. I know there have been a lot of bad publicity about him over the years, but I hate to think that a man so talented and giving would do the things he was accused. Nothing ever came of any of the alligations, so I choose to believe in the good of people.
Anyway, I too was a Michael Jackson fan 20-some years ago. I use to dance to all his songs and would stop anything I was doing to watch the Thriller video on MTV. I won free tickets on WQUT to the Victory Tour in Knoxville in 1984. I was so excited!! I truly loved every minute of his show - especially his famous moon walk. He put on a fantastic concert!

I still have two of his albums - but of course nothing to play them on.

I also have my ticket stub. I pray for comfort to his children and family and that he is at peace with God.

Happy July 4th

We have had a very busy and fun week off from work. We've had cookouts, gone swimming, took a trip to Charleston and I had to go to class - we were having a test I could not miss. Then we invited friends over for dinner and finally we celebrated the fourth at the lake with Toni and Leonard. Here is cute little Jennifer and her dad Don.

Of course my sweet friend Breeze always makes everything fun!

Wilson being the typical teenager - texting. His poor little mom couldn't come, but we sure missed her!
The kids had a great time fishing.
What a precious family!
Jennifer, Aly and Fabio We had a great time at the lake. There were over 50 people at the cookout and everyone brought tons of delicious food!
Happy July 4th!

Trip to Charleston South Carolina

While I'm in college and taking summer classes, I don't have a lot of time to take a vacation. Jim and I decided to take a short trip to Charleston. We have never been and have always heard what a beautiful town it is. We had reservations at the beautiful and historic Mills House Hotel. When we got there our room had been upgraded to the Executive Edition, 7th floor - we were on the top floor! Your room card had to be used to even access this floor. I loved the canopy and padded headboard - very comfortable. These are not my favorite colors - but I liked the look.
These next few photos show the grounds around our hotel. Here is the beautiful courtyard.

Side of the hotel - where the pool is.
View from our room. We could see the ocean.

Another look from our room.

Our first day in there we wanted to walk around and see as much of Charleston as possible. The first thing I noticed were all the beautiful flowers, window boxes and wrought iron.

Waterfront Park - there was a huge fountain where kids love to come and play.

Another fountain. There was a lady in her wedding gown posing for pictures in front of this fountain. You can see the ocean in the background.

P.S. Please don't look at my hair in these photos - the humidty in SC is not hairstyle friendly. Most of the time I pushed it behind my ears.

There were tons of sailboats in the harbor.

We walked through Market Place and did a little shopping.

Photos of some of the beautiful buildings.

The famous Rainbow Row - all of the houses are painted in pastel colors.

More of the beautiful architectural beauties.

I liked the way this tree limb was shaped. In the park at the Battery.

After our walking tour we ate at the famous Hymans Seafood. We sat at the same table that Oprah & Neal Armstrong sat at.Eli Hyman (4th generation owner) came to our table to thank and welcome us. I asked him about getting the recipe for the Sweet Potato Souffle. He introduced me to a guy that had just printed a recipe book which included the recipe. The books were going on sale the very next day, so I had to have one! The food was delicious!

The next day we had breakfast in our room - another treat of the Executive Edition floor. We took a buggy ride and toured the city. It was hot and humid, but the breeze felt nice and we got to hear a lot of Charleston history. In the Red Barn waiting on the carriage. The balls are to keep birds from nesting in the barn. This home was owned by the guy who started Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. Piggly Wiggly was the first true self-service grocery store. It was founded on September 6, 1916, in Memphis, Tennessee by Clarence Saunders. Notice the pigs at the entrance of the house.

I thought all the colors on this house was unique.

Buggy ride Cooper River Bridge was open to traffic in 2005.

We drove to Patriots Point to tour the USS Yorktown.

The USS Clamagore - this submarine was huge!

Photo of some of the planes on the flight deck.

Picture looking back at Charleston from the top of the USS Yorktown. You can see how hazy it was. Even though it was hot - there was a nice breeze everywhere we went.

Look how big this submarine is. Once you got inside, it felt tiny and cramped.

Photo of the USS Laffey and a Coast Guard ship. The Laffey was commissioned February 8, 1944, it supported the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. Late that summer, Laffey transferred to the Pacific Theater to join the US offensive against Japan. While operating off Okinawa on April 16, 1945, Laffey was attacked by 22 Japanese bombers and kamikaze (suicide) aircraft. Five kamikazes and three bombs struck her and two bombs scored near misses to kill 31 and wound 71 of the 336 man crew. Laffey shot down 11 of the attacking aircraft and saved the damaged ship. Laffey’s heroic crew earned her the nickname: “The Ship That Would Not Die.” Laffey was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and earned five battle stars for service during World War II.

Jim at the wheel.

Move over - let a woman drive this ship! :)

Prayer bench inside the Yorktown Museum.

I like what this says...

Sitting in one of the fighter planes. There is barely room for one person. I could not imagine flying one of these, you have absolutely no protection.

These beds are not on the Executive Edition floor. I can't even begin to imagine what our men and women of the military give to keep us safe.

A missle inside the ship. Jim was pointing out all the different electronic parts of it.

Inside the Clamagore submarine. Look how every inch was utilized. Guess you can't be in the navy and have claustrophobia.

Just imagine the brilliant minds that design and build these.

The Vietnam memorial was not as elaborate as the other two. It was such a nasty horrible war and the men and women who fought in it received little to no respect - especially from their own country. This is a hole dug in the ground with sand bags around it to protect and shelter the men during battle.

One of the boats that rode up and down the river looking for soldiers. I think I would want to be on the big ship or even in the cramped submarine.

Back to our beautiful hotel to change and go for a quick dip in the pool.

This photo is out of order - another pretty home. Wouldn't you love to sit on these front porches and drink a glass of ice cold tea.

Now some cooling off in the pool.

I want a pool with this type of ironwork around it.

More of the surroundings at the pool.

Then off to dinner at Barbadoes in our hotel. We read the reviews on line and saw that Barbadoes was one of the top places to eat in Charleston. I had Seared Atlantic Salmon with crab & corn Fondue, asparagus, baby carrots and tempura onions. Jim had Chicken Fontina which was a breast of chicken stuffed with sundried tomatoes, spinach, fontina cheese and creamy grits. OMG - I could go back now just to eat here!

After dinner we strolled through town and believe it or not - even after our huge meal - we stopped for ice cream. Hey we were on "Vacation"!

The next morning after another great breakfast in our room, we toured some of the beautiful historical churches. They are just amazing! This is St. Michaels - it's pretty right?

But just look at the inside - breath taking!