More Rain Coming

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 85 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, heavy showers after sunset

Just when we thought the weather would be better for a few days, here comes the rain again. When I saw the forecast this evening, I mowed the yard because I think it will be several days before it's dry enough to mow again.

After my morning walk and breakfast, I decided to go to the library. I took the old computer and updated the anti-virus program, as well as installed all the Microsoft patches and fixes for the operating system. We haven't updated everything on the old computer since we have been here because the Internet access is so slow. When I use the library's wifi access, the connection routinely runs at about 400 kbs. That's much faster than what we have at the RV.

As a result of the slow economy, many businesses in this area have closed their doors. Among those closing were convenience stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and others. This past week, Bruno's, a grocery chain located in Alabama and parts of Florida, was sold for a low price to another chain. As a result of the sale, several of the Bruno's stores will be closed. The Bruno's chain includes Bruno's, Food Max, and Food World. There is a Food Max located a bout three miles from where we live that is closing, meaning that the only store near us will be the WalMart Mall. As much as we use WalMart, we still like to see other stores open and viable to provide competition. We can only hope that another chain will open the closed store again. There is also the matter of the people losing their jobs. We feel for them, and hope they find new jobs soon.

Since we don't have much going on today, I'm posting a picture we took when we were on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington in 2004. This is Crescent Lake, one of the prettiest lakes we have ever seen. Finding the lake was an unexpected bonus of our trip. It is located just off US 101, west of Port Angeles. In my opinion, it rates as beautiful as Lake Tahoe.

Did everyone notice that the price of postage stamps is being increased by two cents on Monday? I stopped by the post office in Northport this morning and picked up a few books before the price goes up. We should be good for stamps for the rest of this year.

When I went for my morning walk, there was a running event taking place. Even though the temperature was not that high, the humidity was high. The runners looked like they were suffering. I like walking, but running is not one the physical activities I like to do. Especially with the humidity we have here and seeing how the running made these people look like they were ready to pass out. I'll do my fast walk.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Tacoma, Washington: When Rails Meet Sails

Not all who wander are lost.

Good News For Terri

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 89 degrees, mostly sunny skies, breezy

Today's weather was so much better that what we have have seen this past week. It was great to see some sunshine for a change. A few more days like this will help dry things out.

In October of 2007, Terri was in a car accident where another driver in a truck crossed the center line and struck her car head-on. She was lucky to survive the collision, and has been slowly recovering from the injuries she suffered. Today, she found out that a swelling in her left shoulder area that arose recently was caused by the accident which resulted in severe bruising in that area. It still needs to be verified by another doctor, but it appears that the swelling is caused by old blood remaining from the bruising. Obviously, we were concerned about the swelling, and there may need to be surgery to correct the situation, but we feel better about it today.

After Terri called and told of the results of her doctor's visit, we wanted to relax a little from the tension of worrying about what was wrong. We decided to get and take a short ride in the country, which worked to perfection. By the time we were back at home, we felt better.

Our niece Gina and her husband Tim are moving from Texas to the Smoky Mountains to start a new business in the near future. Their new business is at www.smokymountaingrocery.com, and will be located in Maryville, Tennessee, if anyone is interested. We are excited for them and wish them success. We're also excited because this will give us another place to visit where family will be located.

One of Carolyn's favorite places we visited in 2004 was Lake Tahoe. We were staying near Carson City, Nevada when we went to Lake Tahoe. To get to the lake, we had to go across a mountain, which meant we went up the mountain, then down the mountain to get to the lake. There were days when it would be snowing on the mountain just across the road from where we were staying, so we had to be careful when we went to the lake. We had seen the lake in many pictures before we went there, but there's nothing like seeing something in person.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Haines City, Florida: The Heart Of Florida

Not all who wander are lost.

Dead Battery

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 87 degrees, cloudy in the morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon with light showers

We had more heavy showers last night after going to bed. The ground is getting soggy, the temperature and humidity are rising, and that means one thing: summer is just about here. We need to find a place that has cooler weather.

We didn't have much going on today. We visited Terri for a little while this morning, then took a short ride in the countryside. Late in the afternoon, Terri called and said her car wouldn't start. I went to where she was and found that the car battery was dead. I got the car started by jumping off the battery. Then we went to an auto parts store and had the battery tested. It tested bad, so a new one was bought and installed. That was it for excitement around here.

When we were in the Northwest in 2004, one of the places we visited was Mount St. Helens. The mountain is actually an active volcano that erupted in May of 1980. It was the most destructive volcanic eruption in US history, killing 57 people. It is well documented that the volcano was going to erupt, and most people left the area before the eruption. There were still people that refused to leave, however, and they suffered the consequences. Over 1300 feet was removed from the top of the mountain. After the eruption, the decision was made to allow nature to repair the damage. This picture was taken 24 years later, and it can be seen that the damage is being repaired, but slowly. It was a little intimidating to us to see the damage that occurred. We were able to get within about a mile of the current volcano, which had steam coming out of it. The intimidation came not from being that close, but from the vast amount of damage that occurred.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Elma, Washington: Gateway To Gray’s Harbor Since 1888

Not all who wander are lost.

More Tornado Warnings

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 65 degrees, high 75 degrees, cloudy with heavy rain, tornado warnings

Anyone that knows Carolyn very well knows how nervous she gets when bad weather is in the area. Today was not a good day for her, at least for the morning. The bad weather started earlier than usual, with tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings being the norm, rather than the unusual. About 0845 hours, a tornado warning was announced and the warning sirens sounded. The picture does not convey the scene that we saw. It was darker with no sun shining, and the heavy rain was just starting. We went down to the WalMart Mall until the worse bad weather passed through. I don't know that the store would have been much protection if a tornado had hit it, but it had to be safer than the RV. More bad weather was forecast for the afternoon, but it was not as bad as we thought it might be. We're ready for some dry weather.

After I brought Carolyn home, I had to go to Tuscaloosa to help Terri with a task that took most of the middle of the day. If everything goes well, that will be the last time we will see that particular task. Late in the afternoon, I took Carolyn to Chili's for supper. When you're dodging tornadoes and taking care of things for your daughter, it doesn't leave much time for anything else.

Alabama is considered to be in the Bible Belt, and this area typifies those beliefs. This statement is not meant to be critical of anyone's beliefs. This state is one of the few left that does not have a state lottery (unless one was enacted without me hearing about it). Again, this is not meant to be critical. When we drove up to Jasper last week, we were amazed at the number of bingo halls that are available for people to use. We saw approximately 25 bingo halls, at least 90% of them were open, and the ones open were all busy. This was before noontime. It appeared most of the bingo halls were associated with churches or charities. The question that came to me was what makes bingo okay, but other types of gambling, such as a lottery, not okay? Keep in mind that I do not gamble at all, but the idea that certain groups controlling an activity makes it right seems a little bit off to me.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Brenham, Texas: Baseball Capitol Of Texas

Not all who wander are lost.

Demopolis, Alabama

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 65 degrees, high 80 degrees, mostly cloudy to partly cloudy skies

We felt the urge to get out and see some countryside this morning, and decided to drive down to Demopolis, about 60 miles south of Coker. Why did we go to Demopolis? Because we could, and hadn't explored the area.

Our route led us through areas we had been through before, so we didn't tarry around in those areas. It is amazing to us how much vacant land we see in our travels, and we saw plenty of it today. Mostly wooded with large pastures spaced among the wooded sections, this is nice country. I think we saw more catfish ponds today than any other place we have been. I wonder if the catfish farming is a viable business?

Demopolis is an old town located where the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers join, and was originally settled in 1817 by French immigrants leaving France because of the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte. The first crops they grew were grapes and olives. Since the original settlers were from the French aristocracy, the settlement didn't fare well because they were not used to the rough and rugged conditions of early settler life. Most of the French people moved on, but the town eventually prospered. Today, it seems to be a prosperous town that is growing to the southwest side of town.

When we're in a new town, we always look for a courthouse to take pictures of. Unfortunately, the old courthouse is gone, but a nice little city park took it's place. The downtown area has been refurbished, and is very attractive. The picture below on the left is where the courthouse was located. The one on the right is of one of the streets. Both these pictures came from the city's website.



We found an Army COE park there that we drove through. It's a nice little park, with large RV spaces, hookups, walking trails, picnic areas, primitive camping, and boat ramps. We wouldn't mind staying there a few days.

By the time we arrived home, the wanderlust had abated, at least for today. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Demopolis, Alabama: Home Of Christmas On The River

Not all who wander are lost.

Library Visit

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 67 degrees, high 78 degrees, mostly cloudy skies

We had more showers overnight, but they didn't cause any problems as far as severe weather. No rain today, thank goodness. Isolated showers are forecast for the rest of the week, but I would be happy if it stayed dry.

After breakfast, I went to the library to return some books and videos and check out more. It is surprising how busy this library is every time I go there. One thing is certain: The libraries of today are a far cry from what we used ten years ago. Computer terminals, Internet access, dvds to check out, best selling books to check out, genealogy records to research, and other services that didn't exist not so long ago. Where we will be in the next ten years?

On my way home, I stopped and picked up a few groceries. We have found that as we get more senior (older), we eat less. As a result, we seem to be spending less money on food than in the past, even though prices are up.

I saw in the news that the stock market has erased the losses for the S&P 500 index for the year. Will that cause anyone to have more confidence in the stock market? There doesn't seem to be that much to be positive about coming from Wall Street or the government.

During our trip to the west coast in 2004, we spent some time near Crescent City, California, the northernmost town on the coast of California. We liked Northern California almost as much as Oregon. We saw many beautiful areas, and Crescent City was one of the nicest areas. The city has experienced 17 tsunamis since 1943, with the worse one occurring in 1964. At least 12 people were confirmed killed, more than 280 buildings were destroyed, and over 1000 cars and 25 large fishing vessels were destroyed. It is a funny feeling to be driving in an area that has signs posted about tsunamis warnings.

Here's a picture of the beach and ocean at Crescent City.



Here's a picture of the light house at Crescent City. The waves from the tsunami of 1964 knocked the glass out of the top windows.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Temple Terrace, Florida: A City For Living

Not all who wander are lost.

Flowers And Tow Boats

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 68 degrees, high 75 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, scattered showers

I knew I shouldn't have cleaned up the truck this past week. Rain, thunder, lightning, tornado watches and warnings, and more have been the normal course of the weather since that day, and there was more of the same today. For Carolyn's peace of mind, I guess I'll have to let the truck stay dirty from now on. I hope everyone knows I'm saying this with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Although, now that the truck is dirty, the weather has cleared up. Hmmmm? What's with that?


When I went for my walk this morning, I took some pictures of flowers and other things I see everyday. The picture above is of yellow honeysuckle. This next one is of primroses I found in a grassy area next to a ditch.











The two pictures below are flowers that I can't identify.

















The Black Warrior River is important to the economy of the area because of the freight that is moved on the river using barges and tow boats. Here's a picture of two typical tow boats used in this area.



In the afternoon, we took a ride to Sam's Club to pick up a few things we needed. Actually, I planned the trip for when the worse weather would be passing through the Coker area, so Carolyn would feel safer. Looks like my plan worked. One thing we picked up was a baked chicken for supper. Sam's chicken is umm, umm, good. I timed it to where I got a chicken coming right out of the oven.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Pasadena, Texas: Pasa get-down dena

Not all who wander are lost.