Helicopter, Car & Boat...Nashville, TN to Gulf Shores, AL...

It was time for an adventure. Our 51st anniversary happens on February 13th. We like to make a little trip about that time each year to celebrate... especially to somewhere warm. However, with Covid-19, I was feeling very concerned about doing this. The numbers had risen greatly after Christmas and New Year's. We talked of places and Claude seemed to favor Florida. I had a bucket list item to see Avery Island in Louisiana where they make Tabasco sauce. I researched places along the Gulf Coast and we landed on something we both felt good about and a way to do it that was as safe as staying at home. This Blog post will be from my notes of our trip. 

We left Sadieville Thursday morning, January 28th. We had ice and then snow during the night. Not a lot of snow. The concerning thing was a healthy layer of ice. It crunched under my feet as I walked out the driveway to get a picture before we left. We had mail to leave at the post office in Sadieville. The Eagle Bend and Sadieville streets clearly had been worked on. Hwy 32 was an absolute mess. It was like nothing was done. We drove through Georgetown to get a biscuit for breakfast and then out the other side to get to I-64. The scene was eerily beautiful. All the low places with little creeks or streams were full of fog and it was out onto the fields from there. When we got to Frankfort, the trees were laden with ice with snow on top. This is always beautiful. The roads were in good shape for the rest of the journey. 

I made reservations to take a helicopter flight over Nashville. We have been to Nashville several times. So looking at it from the sky seemed like a good idea. I reserved us a flight and we were looking forward to it. Then I received a phone call saying the flight I picked out was not one they could do that day due to some issue with flight patterns. For a little more I could take a different flight. The first flight I booked was to take us over an old abandoned prison that was used to film part of the Green Mile. The new flight would take us over downtown Nashville. With all set in order, I received an eMail that I needed to print my itinerary. The eMail didn't have anything to print. I received a second eMail and printed their version of a ticket. 

The day before we left, I received an eMail telling me to pick up our vouchers at a resort by Wyndham. They suggested I be there four hours before our flight time. Well, that wasn't happening as we were driving to Nashville (3 1/2 hours) that morning. We went to the Wyndham property and I went into the lobby where one would check in if one were staying there. They directed me to what was probably the clubhouse a little further into the property. I went into this second building and spoke with Yakeema. She was a cheerful soul and I explained I was there to pick up my flight voucher for our helicopter ride. This is where she informed me for the first time that I needed to listen to a 90 minute presentation...Good Grief. For that we would receive a $100 gift card. We had time with no where to go so I told her we would listen. I explained this was a 51st  anniversary trip to which Yakeema said she would help us celebrate by adding $50 more dollars to this gift card. I was pointed back to the first building I entered and Claude and I drove there and parked while explained what was happening. 

We donned our masks and went in for this presentation. I must say the people were very friendly and polite. The program they were suggesting we purchase was an excellent deal. We were not going to purchase it though. I was watching my cellphone for time and we had 30 minutes to get to the helicopter flight. When planning the trip, I checked timing for travel to the helicopter flight. I knew it was 20 minutes.  I told them we needed to finish so we could get to the flight. They assured me it was only 10 minutes and we had plenty of time. Off to view their high end rooms at this resort we went. Back to the table to discuss with the manager. A little more pressure. We politely refused. A little more pressure. I looked the manager in the eye and picked up the two pieces of paper with two offers for us to sign. I held them up and said to the manager, "Look, this is NOT going to happen. We need our vouchers so we can take our flight." That ended that. 

As we left, we went back to the check-in desk and were given our voucher which was what I had printed at home. I looked at the lady and said, "We were to received a gift card for $150..." She quickly produced one. If we had known all this salesmanship was going to happen, we might have come prepared to listen and deal. We only came for a helicopter flight which I booked with no mention of it being attached to this sales pitch. My first hint this flight was a hook to get you to listen to a spiel was when Yakeema mentioned it. We left and made it to the helicopter right just in time. Ugh!!

Brook was our helicopter pilot. He was sitting in the waiting room and was surprised we were on time. It seems he has to wait for late people a lot! He told us that a tornado came across Nashville a few years back and completely demolished their hanger and offices. We would get in his personal car and go to where he had his helicopter parked. Brook was a very nice man and we greatly enjoyed his company for this flight. As it turns out, we would fly right over the abandoned prison. Go figure. We would see the prison, an old rock quarry, a tower with an elderly gentleman painted on it (Brook said this was an actual man from that neighborhood and was painted to bring the generations together), the Parthenon, the Cumberland River that flows through Nashville, Ft. Negley and a huge water reservoir container. We really enjoyed seeing Nashville from the air. 

Next on our agenda was to find the Parthenon. Nashville is a Sister City with Athens, Greece. For Tennessee's Centennial, they constructed a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Greece complete with Athena, the Greek goddess for whom Athens gets its name. They made an huge park with several large buildings. The park is still there. The buildings are mostly gone. You can see the park area in the helicopter picture above. We found the Parthenon and walked around and through it. First we found a spot across the pond and took this picture. 

Then we drove around to a parking lot on the side of the Parthenon and parked there. We started at the west end. Claude is in the red jacket and it was freezing cold. 

The West pediment depicts the contest between Athena and Poseidon to determine who will become Patron of Athens. Athena won. More about this later.

On the grounds of the park is a monument to John Thomas. He was president of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition which resulted in securing this park for Nashville. 

When standing in front of the John Thomas monument, if you look to your right you see the stadium for Vanderbilt. 

After taking pictures of the west end, we walked between the columns of the building to get to the east end of the Parthenon. On the basement level is an entrance to the museum. We would buy tickets and visit the museum. It contained photos with explanations about the Tennessee Centennial Exposition as well as artwork of various artists. 

After viewing these things we climbed a flight of stairs to visit Athena. This is one very big chickmaiden. She has a statue of Nike in her right hand. The Nike statue alone is over six feet tall. This gives you a feel for how tall Athena is. Athena is covered in gold. 

The back of this floor contains a room with life size replicas of the figures on the east and west pediments of the Parthenon. These were used to make the figures you see on the outside of the Parthenon. 

The East End Pediment represents the birth of Athena. She sprang forth as a full grown warrior from the head of her father, Zeus. Nike, the goddess of victory, is placing a wreath on Athena's helmet, commemorating Greece's real-time defeat of the Persians. This made the Parthenon an offering of thanks to their Patron, Athena. 

Across the room is the West End Pediment representing the contest between Athena and her uncle, Poseidon, to determine who would be the Patron of Athens. Each deity offered the city a gift. Poseidon struck the rock with his trident and salt-water came out signifying a powerful navy and sea trade. Athena struck the rock with her spear and an olive tree sprang up signifying olives, wood and oil. The citizens found Athena's gift more valuable and voted her the Patron. 

This is a 1/10th size model of the crane used by the Greeks to make the Parthenon. Archeological evidence indicates the existence and use of use of temporary structures like this crane to build superstructures in Greece back to the 5th Century BCE. 

Time to find dinner. When we visited Natchez, Mississippi some years ago, we found a restaurant and ate there. We really enjoyed that meal. The restaurant was Cock of the Walk. A few years ago while attending a Goldwing rally at the Opryland Hotel, we learned Nashville also had a Cock of the Walk restaurant. We took some of our friends there for a meal and again enjoyed our experience. It just made while in Nashville to visit Cock of the Walk again.

You eat your meal from a tin pie pan. You drink from a tin cup. I am remembering glass pint canning jars before. The food is mostly fried. I will post the front and the back of their menu. It will explain why the name Cock of the Walk. 

After dinner we hopped on the Briley Parkway and followed it to I-65 South. I had a hotel on the south side of Nashville so we could leave easily the next morning for Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Friday, January 29th, we left the Holiday Inn south of Nashville. As we showered to get ready, I had a revelation. I did not pack my curling iron. Ugh!! There was a CVS Pharmacy in the shopping center next to the hotel. However, after blow drying my air, I opted to not purchase another curling iron and just go natural for the rest of our trip. 

I also noticed how nicely housekeeping folded our washcloths. Presentation is everything. However, I took this picture and assured our family I would not be doing this for them when they stayed at our home!

We had about 7 hours of driving this day. As we entered Alabama, we passed the first rest area. The decoration for this rest area was a rocket!

Further down I-65 we crossed the Tennessee River. Very pretty. 

Lunch was had at a Burger King drive thru. We also scored gas for $1.99 per gallon. Sweet.

At 3:30pm EST about mile marker 84 on I-64 near Castleberry, Alabama, a car pulled into the left lane in front of Claude. A rock flew out from under their car and left a nice cracked place on my windshield. Another Ugh!! 

At 3:40pm EST we started getting loud alerts on our cell phones. They were an Amber Alert. 

I loved the fact that my USB drive was playing all the old songs Claude and I love. As we drove, it would come to a particular favorite and we would sing along. Great fun.

We arrived at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Gulf Shores, Alabama about 5pm. We were given Room 509 to be our home-away-from-home for the next three nights. We had the gift card which was an American Express gift card. I tried to use it to pay for the room and their system couldn't accept it. I was concerned when I realized the gift card was American Express. The best credit card for travel is a Visa followed by MasterCard. Our room had a nice balcony with a view over the Gulf of Mexico. It was night and we were able to see the moon rising in the sky. 

I just want to remember that the beds in the room were exceptionally high. Claude suggested we buy me a ladder to get into bed!! They were comfortable but there were concerns about falling as one gets out of bed in the middle of the night. 

Claude wanted Mexican for dinner. I asked the front desk clerk if there was a Mexican restaurant anywhere nearby. She told us of one and we headed in that direction. It was not opening until February. Fortunately, there was what appeared to be a dive of a place in the same shopping center area. We opted to try it. The food was good and they accepted that American Express gift card. Thank you Mexico Lindo.

The entertaining part of the evening came later as I watched Claude try to learn how to use the television. I never really understood why it was so difficult but it had some system to it that made it difficult for the big guy. It did keep him entertained till time for sleep.

Riding the Roller Coaster of Life...

Monday, January 18, 2021 Claude said to me, "Did you put a letter out for your father?" I responded in the affirmative. Claude quietly said, "You know it is Martin Luther King's birthday and there will be no mail service?" Oops. I completely forgot about it being a holiday. I had prepared two packages to take to the post office in the morning. Clearly that would not happen either. 

Monday would also find me driving on my own. This has not happened a lot and it now feels a little strange to be behind the wheel. I have a friend, Velvett, who had cancer. I drove her to her radiation appointments. Now she goes to see her doctor in Frankfort, Kentucky every six months. She usually calls to see if I can drive her there. It gives us a chance to visit again. We were both concerned about that this time because of the virus. She is very compromised because of all the chemo and radiation she had to deal with her cancer. This makes her extremely high risk. We both wore our masks the entire time. I did not go into her doctor's office but waited in my car for her, and we didn't give each other our usual parting hug. It was good to catch up with a dear friend.  

After finishing with Velvett, I took Papa his treat bag and filled the birdfeeder. Then stopped at Wendy's to get dinner for Claude and me. I spent my evening crocheting.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 Claude and I spent our morning doing something different. We both really enjoy two trivia games: Jeopardy and The Chase. I pulled out our 1981 version of Trivial Pursuit and we split the deck of cards with questions and answers on them. We took turns asking each other a question and trying to guess the answer. We didn't use the board or play to win. We just played to exercise our brains a bit. It was great fun. As we played the game, we came across questions that would lead us to say one of kids could really help us with that answer. The light went on and I recorded some of these questions and their answers and started posting one each day to our family Facebook page. At the end of each day I post the answer to that question. Gives us little chance to play as a family. The question for Tuesday was in the History category: What color was Judas Iscariot's hair? (Answer: Red)

While we played Trivial Pursuit, I did the laundry. 

I learned that Claude had downloaded to his Kindle a book he thought was by Dan Brown about the Templars. It was time for me to learn how to do the Family version so we could share that book. I love Dan Brown books. In the evening I researched, or tried to research, how to do this. I couldn't keep my Kindle on-line to do this. Ugh!! I gave up and determined I would work on my laptop to see about this feature and filled my evening with crocheting.

Katelyn had her ultrasound and it was confirmed she is having a little boy in June. He will be named Joel. 

Tuesday evening we finished watching the Northern Exposure series. Season 6 was not as good to us as Season 1-5. Joel Fleischman's character left the show during Season 6. His last episode is one of my favorites. A doctor is incorporated into the plot with his wife after Joel leaves. They are interesting characters. The final episode was not one of my favorites. I told Claude as we watched these that the final episode with Joel should have been the last one. Northern Exposure ended with a song sung by Iris DeMent entitled "Our Town". Perfect song to end this show. They showed all the characters going back to their homes. It felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends. I will post the words to this song below. The link to a YouTube of it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9IUj1mDENg. Very touching. I am now loaning all my DVD's of Northern Exposure to Andie, our daughter. They grew up with their mother loving this show and they each had favorite characters or episodes they loved. 

And you know the sun's settin' fast,

And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.

Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,

But hold on to your lover,

'Cause your heart's bound to die.

Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.

Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,

Goodnight.Up the street beside that red neon light,

That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night.

He was the tender and I ordered a beer,

It's been forty years and I'm still sitting here.

But you know the sun's settin' fast,

And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.

Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,

But hold on to your lover,

'Cause your heart's bound to die.

Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.

Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,

Goodnight.It's here I had my babies and I had my first kiss.

I've walked down Main Street in the cold morning mist.

Over there is where I bought my first car.

It turned over once but then it never went far.

And I can see the sun's settin' fast,

And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.

Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,

But hold on to your lover,

'Cause your heart's bound to die.

Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.

Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,

Goodnight.I buried my Mama and I buried my Pa.

They sleep up the street beside that pretty brick wall.

I bring them flowers about every day,

but I just gotta cry when I think what they'd say.If they could see how the sun's settin' fast,

And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.

Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,

But hold on to your lover,

'Cause your heart's bound to die.

Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.

Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,

Goodnight.

Now I sit on the porch and watch the lightning-bugs fly.

But I can't see too good, I got tears in my eyes.

I'm leaving tomorrow but I don't wanna go.

I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul.But I can see the sun's settin' fast,

And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.

Well, go on, I gotta kiss you goodbye,

But I'll hold to my lover,

'Cause my heart's 'bout to die.

Go on now and say goodbye to my town, to my town.

I can see the sun has gone down on my town, on my town,

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 was Inauguration Day. Claude went to Lexington to do his errands. I stayed home and curled up on our sofa and watched this Inauguration. I felt it was a piece of the history of the United States that I wanted to see. Such upheaval our country is in. Such a good country but we are way off track, divided, and in a bad way. After the siege of the Capitol a few weeks ago, security was at an all time level in Washington, DC. It looked like other countries that are under military rule, not like my beloved United States of America. Having lived in Maryland for 20 years while Claude worked in Washington, DC, I have a tender place in my heart for the city and those hallowed buildings there. In addition, because of Covid-19, everyone was wearing masks. I told Velvett on Monday that I never knew I would live in a time where seeing people in a mask was not a cause for alarm in the United States. Because of social distancing, the audience was fewer in number by a huge margin. I took these pictures off the Internet so I could write to Papa about the Inauguration and keep him a little up-to-date on current events. This is Joe Biden our new President and Kamala Harris our new Vice President. The second picture is Joe Biden being sworn in as President with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, holding the Bible for him. 

I can't tell you how many times I have walked down the Mall in Washington, DC or we have driven down it. It was strictly cordoned off with temporary walls and military personnel. But on the grass were hundreds of flags of the United States. There was a good breeze and they were gorgeous blowing in the breeze. So I also sent these two pictures of those flags for Papa to enjoy.

After the swearing in, three of the former Presidents, Obama, Bush and Clinton, joined Pres. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at Arlington Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Again, I felt tears well up in my eyes as they showed the motorcade driving familiar streets to Arlington Cemetery and then to see these past and current Presidents and their wives standing there with the Old Guard. So moving. 

Then I quit watching and headed to the basement to accomplish some of the things I needed to do that day. Claude came home with groceries and I helped him put them away. We would spend our evening watching the Great Courses that I purchased for us. We have four of these courses. They are Founding Fathers, Mediterranean Cooking, Hebrew in the Bible, and Spanish. We watched the first lesson in each of these courses. I purchased the DVD version. We will watch them again and again to get them in our heads. We will not write in the workbooks but will use the workbooks and write in spiral notebooks instead. There are no tests. There are no grades. This is simply to get a few more wrinkles in our brains (as my mother used to say when we learned something new). 

Wednesday's Trivial Pursuit questions was in the category of Science & Nature. I assured everyone they had a 50/50 chance of getting this questions right. The question: Do mosquitoes have teeth? (Answer: yes)

Thursday, January 21, 2021 I started my day making brownies. Lots and lots of brownies. Our congregation provides one meal each month to The Gathering Place in Georgetown. This is a men's shelter. I volunteered to bring 50 brownies. They seemed to cook slowly. Then I had to let them cool before cutting and then cool again before putting them in individual snack bags. It was a nice things to do and it felt good to help others. It also provided my treat for Papa on Friday! 

While waiting on brownies to cook and cool, I finished reading my Simple Abundance Book. Oh how I enjoy this book. Reading it lifts my spirits and I feel good about how I have chosen to live my life. I feel again that Sarah Ban Breathnach is a friend. I reaffirm that the things I do for my family are gifts to them. This includes putting clean sheets on that bed when they come to visit. Even something that mundane is really a gift you give to those you love. When you think of that act as a gift, it truly makes the process of getting your 'work' done a joy, not a drudgery. I loved this thought at the end of the book "Never forget that all you have is all you need." Learn to be content and recognize the blessings you have in life instead of the constant yearning to get more and compare yourself to the have's so that you feel like a have not. I have traveled to countries where people live with dirt floors and no electricity and they are happy. Sarah is not saying to not strive to improve your life. She is saying recognize what you have and what a blessing it is to have that. And, Sarah uses this book to help us find our 'authentic self'. Not the face you put on for others, not the person who doesn't speak up because others dominate, but the person you really are at your core. You will love that person when you know them. They are real. This was such a good read for me at this time with the virus keeping us indoors and away from others as much as possible. I close the book feeling good about myself and where I am at in this life of mine. 

Once those brownies were all done and I had made a treat bag to take to Papa on Friday, I headed to my sewing room to accomplish a couple of tasks. I applied for a continuation of Medicaid for Papa. And I contacted service for my Kindle via Amazon chat. I could not get my Kindle to keep the Internet going. This ended up with me resetting my Kindle to factory settings and then having to reload everything again. It would take me until Friday morning to get this completed. While doing this I realized the book Claude purchased was not a book by Dan Brown but a book by Dan Jones entitle The Templars. I now have that on my Kindle and will enjoy reading it. I find the Templars fascinating.

Katelyn posted this picture of Raelyn having her upcoming birthday recognized at school. She is a cutie. Her birthday would be Friday. She does not go to school on Friday so they celebrated on Thursday.

Thursday's Facebook Trivial Pursuit Question for our family was from the Science & Nature category: What crackers were named for a U.S. doctor who promoted them to combat alcoholism? (Answer: Graham)

On Thursday our Andie, who teaches first grade, was given the first dose of the vaccine. 

Friday, January 22, 2021 would be an out and about day. I got up and worked on the downloads I needed to do with my Kindle. Then we left to get the brownies to The Gathering Place by 11:15. After that we walked at Moss Park. It was very cold for this walk. Usually 40 degrees is our cut off for walking. The temperature this morning was in the 30's. We did it though. Then we went to the nursing home and left a treat bag for Papa and filled his birdfeeder. He was sitting on the edge of his bed eating his lunch. I had to wave my hands so it made shadows to get his attention. He can't hear me knocking on the window. He looked up and grinned really big. Then he looked to his side where the treat bag was laying and said, "Thank you!" It did me good to see him looking that good, glasses on, enjoying his lunch, and aware enough to remember a treat bag was left for him. I took a picture of him and sent it to my family. I could also tell them he had received the second dose of the vaccine against Covid-19. 

Now Claude and I would head to Louisville. We were going to try a new restaurant, Taco Luchador. Luchador is Spanish for 'wrestler'. There are wrestler masks all over the store. Andie told us about this place. Well, maybe it was one like the one we chose to go to. There are several locations. We ordered chips and pico de gallo for an appetizer. Then we ordered three tacos to share so we could get a feel for their food. We ordered a veggie taco, a fish taco and an Asada taco which is grilled steak. The second picture is of masks that are worn by the wrestlers. The tacos were all good. We drove back to Georgetown and got an ice cream treat for dessert. 

This day was Raelyn's birthday. I posted this on Facebook for her 5th birthday. "Score!! Raelyn turns 5 years old today. Happy Birthday young Lady. We Love Ya Bunches!!"

Friday's Trivial Pursuit Facebook challenge was this question in the Arts & Literature category is: What was the Japanese word for 'divine win'? (Answer: Kamikaze)

Saturday, January 23, 2021 our 51st anniversary is coming up soon. We usually make a little trip. With the corona virus out there, one has to pause and consider if one should go or of one should stay at home. My impression was we traveled a lot in 2020 and we stayed healthy. That was a huge blessing. Now I felt strongly we should not make this trip. Claude really wanted to go. We went back and forth in our conversations. We picked possible places we would like to travel to and still feel we were being safe. Claude wanted somewhere warm. That wasn't as important to me but I didn't want to be in snow either. Saturday we talked about it one last time and then decided a route we might drive that would afford us some measure of safety from others. Saturday I spent the rest of my day researching, starting a grid of the trip and beginning to make arrangements.

There is a thing going around now. Bernie Sanders is a U.S. Senator who has run for president twice now. Some lady made him a pair of mittens. He sat alone in a folding chair wearing these mittens during the Inauguration. Someone got a picture of him sitting there bundled up in his coat with his mittens on his hands in his lap. This picture has 'gone viral'. People are superimposing Bernie in all kids of pictures. I received this picture from our daughter, Andie. We always take a picture on the stair of whoever is in our home of Christmas morning. This year we posed like we were on a roller coaster. Very symbolic of getting through 2020. Andie used that picture and added Bernie. So this is clearly my favorite of Bernie Sanders. Andie also posted one of him coming down a slide feet first and made comment in her role as a first grade teacher that proper slide etiquette was being observed by Bernie Sanders. There was even one where Sheldon from Big Bang Theory is complaining to Leonard that Bernie is sitting in his spot on the couch. Hysterical. I also loved the one at Hogwarts where Professor McGonagall is placing the sorting hat on Bernie Sanders head. Every Harry Potter fan will find that one amusing. 

Then I found a post on Facebook from my dentist office. Dr. Mark King is the dentist who fixed my gum and did my implant surgery. His office posted this on Facebook. I heartily agree with their statement, "Bernie knows where to go to get the best treatment."

Saturday's Trivial Pursuit question was in the category of Science & Nature: How many letters appear with the numbers 2 thru 9 on the old rotary dial telephone? Hint: Looking at your cellphone number pad will not help. (Answer: 24 letters)

Sunday, January 24, 2021 we enjoyed Sacrament Meeting via Zoom followed by Gospel study at home. When I cleaned our my music, I found a couple of books for children with Primary songs in them. I sent a text to Katie to see if she would like that music. She did want it. She plays the piano and teaches her kids to play. Sunday Katie came by on her way home for Church and picked up the books. The most fun thing was she rang our new Ring doorbell. It worked!! Claude and I were both over the moon about that. Katie could hear our rejoicing and was laughing with us when we opened the door. We don't get many visitors anyway. With the pandemic absolutely no one comes to our door. So, it was great to share some music I was finished with to a home that will really use it AND it was great to hear that doorbell ring.

Sunday afternoon I spent working on trip research. Sunday evening we watched television and we worked on our various craft projects.

Sunday's Trivial Pursuit question was one I called a truly irreverent Trivial Pursuit question for a Sabbath morning. The category was History: Whose first presidential order was: "Let's get this goddamn thing airborne"? (Answer: Lyndon Johnson)

Monday, January 25, 2021 was a rainy, rainy day. As in...it rained solid for 24 hours. At one point I heard rolls of thunder that shook the house a bit. I haven't heard thunder like that in a long time. Monday is also the day I take a treat bag to Papa. Claude drove in that pouring rain on I-75 to get us to Georgetown. I shall tell you now that we did not take I-75 in the rain home, Claude opted for Hwy 25. Even it had rain coming off the hill on one side of the road and flooding across the road. It was still better that dealing with 50,000,000 truckers spraying water in a downpour in heavy traffic on the Interstate. 

While in Georgetown we drove through Sonic and got a burger for dinner. Pulled into the old Kroger parking lot and enjoyed a nice meal. We were going to pull up under Sonic's covered parking and place our order there. I suggested we do the drive thru so the worker didn't have to go out in the rain. Claude obliged my request. Funny thing. We placed our order and they said, move forward to Stop 2 and we will bring your order out!! Goodness. We tried to be kind to them. We were both happy to get home where it was warm and we were safe. I just love being home. 

Monday's Trivial Pursuit question was in the category of Science & Nature: What's the hog's largest living relative? (Answer: Hippotamus)

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 we actually had a little sunshine today. Not a ton but a little was nice. It is laundry day and all those kinds of chores day. No big events this day.

I feel grateful today. Grateful for a good husband. Grateful for having all the things we need in this life and a lot of the wants. Grateful for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ and the Gift of the Holy Ghost in my life all the time. Grateful for the Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. It touches every aspect of my life. So much to be grateful for in uncertain times. This is what I focus on when all the silliness of a pandemic wears on me. Gratitude is a marvelous source of comfort and strength.

Tuesday's Trivial Pursuit question was in the category of Geography: What is the Red Cross called in Arab countries? (Red Crescent)