Goodbye House, Goodbye Hair

And we're off!
Well, actually, we're still in Montgomery. Baby steps here. Moving out of the house, into temporary lodging. Alabama isn't quite ready to let us go yet.

To celebrate the beginning of our summer travels, and to keep things quick & easy at the beach, I decided to chop off the hair once again.

One year without haircuts coming to an end.

July 2014

 June 2015

Thank you for moving out with me today.
Until next time,
Nadine

Look Out, Chattanooga!

The movers crated up all of our stuff on Thursday. With nothing left to do in the "getting ready for the movers" department - and nothing left to sit on - we decided to head north for another baseball adventure.

First things first though. A lunch stop at the Terminal Brewery in Chattanooga revealed joys like Oregano-Lamb-Tzatziki burgers & a homage to the city of Einbeck, birthplace of the "bock" beer and just a few miles from where I grew up!

The Chattanooga Lookouts (AA for the Twins) were playing the Jacksonville Suns (AA for the Marlins) on what had to be the hottest & most humid day of the season yet. 

Luckily, the mountain ridges provided a beautiful, luscious backdrop and the green helped make things seem cooler. Almost. The Red Sox hat didn't hurt either.

After a couple of nights on air mattresses, the bed in our hotel room felt like a cloud. The next morning found us well rested and ready for the Tennessee Aquarium! 

A whole exhibit dedicated to turtles!! 

And jelly fish!

Sharks, Rays, and Tuna...oh my!!

The Butterfly Exhibit was nothing to shake a stick at either.

Last, but not least, orchids!

(This may or may not be an orchid.) 

Thank you for traveling with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

In Birmingham they love the Gov'nor...and the Roman God Vulcan

Our most recent trip found us in Birmingham. It was a weekend dedicated to various sporting events, a brewery tour, and the exploration of a 50-ton iron statue.

On our first night in town, we went to see the Birmingham Barons who were taking on the Jacksonville Suns. Here is a quick summary of the game, written by Pat:

Despite a recklessly-played game in which the Barons allowed two runs on passed balls, had two runners caught stealing, one picked-off at first base, and one thrown out trying to tag up and go to 2nd base on a routine fly ball, the Barons still took a 5-3 lead into the 9th inning.  That lead promptly vanished over the left-field wall on a 2-run homer by Suns outfielder Matt Juengel. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and everyone anticipating extra innings, the Barons got 3 consecutive singles - the game-winner by first baseman Danny Hayes - to plate the winning run! 

A walk-off win is always such an invigorating experience. How to celebrate? It's really easy in Birmingham, because Regions Field is right across from The Good People brewery, which is open until midnight on Saturdays. So across the the street we went. For the first time ever I actually enjoyed a gose-style beer, which I had ordered on the recommendation of a fellow bar patron, who said "The Bearded Lady" (name of beer) was like a Blue Moon, only better. It wasn't like a Blue Moon at all. But it was still delicious.

On Sunday we finally got to visit Vulcan, the world's largest cast iron statue, residing in Birmingham since the 1930's.
A picture is worth more than 1000 words, so here we go: 3000+ words coming right up.

The view from the top is spectacular as well:

We explored the museum a bit. It featured an old-fashioned "company store", in use during mining operations in Birmingham.

Watch out, Popeye! 

Sunday evening we got to watch a friend's ice hockey team, the Birmingham Bash, play - and win- the championship game. He was the goalie and pretty much saved the day! 

Thank you for travelling with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Killing Two Mockingbirds with One Stone

The end is near, so we decided it was high time to drive to the Literary Capital of Alabama: Monroeville.
Spawning not one, but two literary greats, Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote, the town had been on our radar for a while.
The museum is housed in the old courthouse, whose design was the model for the courtroom setting in the film "To Kill a Mockingbird."

The museum is awesome! I mean, where else can you actually go into an old courtroom, touch everything, sit everywhere, take pictures, and have the whole room to yourself? In Monroeville on a Friday afternoon. That's where!

 Order in the Court!!

 Contemplative Juror

The town of Monroeville stages a theatrical version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" every year, with the local townspeople as the actors.  The photo above shows part of the set design behind the courthouse.

Where else to eat lunch after that, than Radley's Fountain Grille?! 

(Insert photo, which we forgot to take. I guess we'll have to come back.) 

Thanks for living history with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

From St. Petersburg with Love

While I've always wanted to visit (and still do) the Russian St. Petersburg, one week off wasn't really conducive to traveling across continents. So we opted for the warm & sunny St. Pete instead.

Less travel time, less passport hassle, more parrots, more baseball. 

 We stayed at the Hollander Hotel. The patio was perfect for writing postcards, watching the afternoon storm, and having a drink!

 The locals seem to have a love-hate relationship with The Pier. Once a destination full of restaurants, shops, and an aquarium, it was officially closed to the public in May of 2013 to be demolished. It didn't get demolished, there were plans to revamp it, those fell through. Now it just sits there. I actually quite enjoy the decrepit 70's look and wish someone would shoot a horror film there. 

One can always hope...

 Oh, did I mention we rented a gigantic truck? The Beetle could have parked on the bed. It was a bit intimidating, but also cool to be up so high. 

 My favorite seabird: a pelican with a passion for mischief. He dive-bombed the seagulls, making them scatter into the 4 winds. 

 The Dali Museum

"The only difference between myself and a Madman is the fact that I am not mad."

 St. Pete at night

 St. Pete during the day

Thank you for spring breaking with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Spring has sprung

Spring has arrived in Montgomery! Once again, our backyard is a hub of activity.

Flowers are a-blooming...

Birds are a-chirping...

Bees are a-buzzing...

Meanwhile, Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal are trying to find the perfect spot for a nest,

while the robin squares off with the lawn art.

Psst...he's behind you! 

Thank you for gardening with me today! 

Until next time,

Nadine