IN FLORIDA, EATING OUT AND ENJOYING THE EASTER CELEBRATIONS!!

Our week began with cooler weather which disappointed our friend Mikki. She had planned that we would go for a cook-out in her back yard.  She finally gave up and cooked and served dinner in her home.  It did not matter to us as her Japanese cooking is always delicious!! 

She had invited another friend, William, so that Gary would have someone to visit with as well. We had a great time and three hours passed quickly!!  She is just one of my brother's wonderful neighbors who befriended Pearl and I, while we spent so much time in Pensacola. 
We will go out for lunch tomorrow so that she can see the motorhome.  That will be our final goodbyes until we meet again.

For Thursday evening, we impulsively called our friends, Lana and Howard, to go and dine at McGuire's Irish Pub.  We had put it off because we did not want to get caught there in the crowds for St. Patrick's Day.  At that, it was very crowded by time we left!!  It was a very unique pub and we really enjoyed their food and brought enough home for the next day as well. 

We asked our waiter how many dollar bills are on the walls and ceiling, to be told 1.2 million!!!
So we decided to leave our mark as well -

Before leaving we checked out the restrooms to find it questionable which room each of us should use!!

This was for women!

This was for men!

Thank you Lana and Howard for escorting us around and for the great fellowship.  We must keep in touch as we move on!!



 



Our plans for Good Friday included stopping at Olive Baptist Church for a Communion Service at noon.  They held it in the Prayer Garden which we had never known existed there on the grounds. 

Prayer Garden at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola FL

It was a beautiful location and quite large with several old live oaks.  Florida has a state law which prohibits removing any oaks.  It is a lovely difference from all of the palms.  I wonder if the garden is ever used for a wedding.

We found an opportunity to meet our pastor and the music director of the church and say goodbye.   It was good to share with them how much we have enjoyed this church for the past four months, though we were overwhelmed by it's size at first. 

It is sad to move on, but we will find others on down the road who are just as welcoming.  The Sunday School Classes are at the heart of it for us.  But the messages from the pulpit, very fulfilling and the music quite awesome!!

We got us an earlier than usual start on Saturday and went to Elberta, Alabama for their semi-annual German Sausage Festival.  It was just a large craft festival, but we went for the Sausage!!  And we were not disappointed!!  We even added an apple dumpling with ice cream to our menu!!

 

There were a couple bands entertaining, one with the usual German polkas, and another with folk music.  They were good and worth sitting in the shade to listen to.

 



Two of the Stumpfiddle Band members.

The Stumpfiddle players told us that they have been playing for these festivals twice a year for twenty years now.  So it must be a favorite of the locals.

The drive over there from Pensacola was enjoyable as the weather was WARM and VERY SUNNY.   It looks like others also found it enjoyable!!

Nothing like the bloomin' weeds along the highways!!

Actually they were very pretty blooming weeds!! Some of them would be very pretty in a flower bed.  But imagine that they could over power the bed!!

Take care and check back with us in a week.  We will pull out on Wednesday, headed for Natchez, Mississippi.  God Bless!!

MUSEUMS, ART, CARS, MUSIC and GOODBYES in PANHANDLE

We are still in Pensacola, but trying to see things that are just coming out in the newspaper or that we have not taken the time to see before now. 

 

Tonight we will be going to dinner at a neighbor's of Audrey's brother.  She has spent much time with both Pearl and Audrey while they were working on Claude's house, as well as while they were here when he was so sick.  She always wants to cook Japanese for us, though this is the first for Gary.  It was to be a cook out, however, the weather is not co-operating.  It is about twenty degrees colder than last week!!  Not as much fun.  I sat out reading on Sunday, before the wind got too strong, not realizing that it was sunny enough to get a sun burn.  But it was, and I did!!

 

We did go to an Art Show at Orange Beach, which is either the third or fourth such show that we have been to in this area.  We always enjoy them!!







After Gary had been to the Fairhope Art Show, we drove down through the Fairhope area to go back to Lambert's Cafe' in Foley for dinner and their famous "throwed" rolls.  We have not been disappointed there and always have two or three meals out of their menu choices.  Of course, that might be because of the extra sides that they are always coming around to the tables to offer!!  We hear that there is a sister restaurant in Branson, so plan to look that one up also.



Yes, Gary caught the roll and more after that!!



Another day was spent going to Mobile Alabama to check out the USS Alabama in dock as a museum.  Gary also went through the submarine in dry dock there also, after we went through the other museum building.

USS Alabama with Mobile skyline.

Entrance to an area used for groups staying over night, such as Scouts as indicated on the door.



Unknown tourist!!

This is a crippled Carnival Cruise ship that we could see as we pulled into the parking lot.  We could not get close to it though.  We think that it was the third such ship confined to port.


This past Saturday Gary went off to another car show at the Pensacola Fairground.  He just made it home before the rain. 

I was quite content to stay at home this time. 


We had plans to attend a music concert at Immanuel Baptist Church in neighboring Pace with another couple who are very into music.  We met Chris and Darryl at Olive Baptist where we attend each week.
 This is the Brown family with one son missing.  He was confined for the evening to their motorhome outside of the church with a fever of 102.5.  But they were awesome anyway!!  This is Momma and a son and daughter.  The son is 16, but I did not catch the age of the daughter.  However, she has studied cooking in France, as well as the many years of music including violin study.  She has done a cooking show in the Gaither's studio.  Maybe we will see it on TV one of these days.

 





I guess that we do not pick the correct seats for picture taking!!  It was difficult to get good pictures because of the extreme blonde hair and the lights directed on them.  I was glad to be able to keep these.  They also had a lead-in comedian before their show.  He does not travel with them, but proceeds many entertainers in shows.

 
He was funny, and so true to life with his anecdotes!!

I looked forward to Monday as the ladies in our SS Class had planned on lunch at Cheddars, where they treated me and we said our goodbyes. 

Chris (to my left), thank you for the Peach Crunch Desert recipe!!  I will be taking it to our dinner with Mikki this evening.  She will be surprised!!
Thank you all for your prayers over these past four months.  There is reason for you to continue praying for me, and I thank you for your faithfulness!!

This coming Sunday being Easter has a change in schedules at church and we might miss each other completely as there will not be any SS classes held.  There is a communion service on Friday in the Garden on the church grounds, a service on Saturday evening which they encourage the regulars to attend and two services on Sunday.  Those Sunday services will be full to over flowing, as we have been told.  Since the music is the same for all three services, we probably will go on Saturday evening to avoid the crowd of once a year attenders.  Shame on me!! 

Not sure what more we might do here, except a couple more restaurants that we want to try.  But we will be in Natchez soon and will share that with you all.  Take care and God Bless!!

CAJUN BOIL with PENSACOLA FRIENDS by RIVER in MISSISSIPPI



This past Saturday we drove with friends Lana and Howard across lower Alabama and across the state line into Mississippi for a Cajun Boil.  The party was hosted by another couple, Phil and Nikki,  from our Sunday School class, at their cottage on the Pascacoula River.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and wonderful for this kind of event!!  We really did not know what we were in for, but were looking forward to it very much.  I knew that we could not get into too much trouble since the ladies of the class were preparing salads and deserts.  Ashley who usually plans the events for the class, was thrilled that it did not cause her much work.  She loved it, and we know that it probably was more fun for her that way.

 

Hostess Nikki and Host Phil in grey and black sweatshirts

A few of the ladies cut to the chase and went right out to the water's edge.  While a few visited in the cottage.  I maintained that I could live on the deck!!

 

 

The pots are on to boil, but the food will be added after everyone arrives as it does not take too long to cook.  I think that Phil was cautious that it was not as spicy as some natives would cook it, for the benefit of all of us former northerners.  It was delicious!!  Although Gary nor I can attest anything about the clams or crabs!!  We had plenty of shrimp and sausage though!!   We certainly did not go away hungry.  In fact, we probably could go without eating clear into mid week!!



One of our teachers, Ruth, and her husband, Don, in the front seat.

After eating and relaxing, Phil took some of us who were interested, out in his boat for a trip down the river and into the back waters.  It was fun and though muddy, quite beautiful in the sun.

Though I only got a picture of this one, we had watched a couple sail boats pass by, many speed boats race by, and then were entertained by this group below.  I do believe that their entertainment was a little different than ours though.

 

There were many other homes and cottages along the river.  At one time during a hurricane the water rose in this river reaching the floor above in the cottage that we were visiting in.  It is hard to believe that it would get so deep here.

Hope that you enjoyed the pictures as much as we did attending the event!!  It was fun!!  Who knows, maybe we will get back through here at the correct time to attend another such event.  We have been so blessed to have made this class "home" while here in Pensacola!!  We would look forward to another visit here, but just might choose a little later in the season to miss the rain and cooler temperatures.

Stay with us and we will keep on giving you the events right up to our Movin' on date.  Hope that the weather for you northerners is getting warmer!!