Vacation, Day 7, 10/27/2009, Part 1

The day has dawned! The day I join Milton and Kay again, along with their grandson Ian, for our trip to Talladega. So here we have photos of goings on at Aunt Baker and Uncle JL's before we got in her car for the ride to meet them at the Pelahatchie exit on I-20 East.

On the left, Raphael. On the right, Squirt, the turtle who joined the family when "Finding Nemo" had come out. See the Squirt toy in Raphael's box? That's where I got the name for him.


Ginger in her favorite spot on the back porch. My Daddy made that seat, and two more like it, from VW bucket seats attached to plastic milk crates.


Isn't their home lovely?


On the way out of town, we passed Puckett's hamburger joint--it wasn't open that early in the day.


Pretty countryside, from Aunt Baker's car.


My lunch, while we waited for their arrival in the parking lot of the truck stop.


Here they are! Kay's truck pulls the "toy hauler." You will not believe what is inside that we will eventually unload outside, then move a day later!

Vacation, Day 6, 10/26/2009, Part 3

Aunt Baker is my Daddy's baby sister. Since I can remember, she's been beyond special to me. For Mama, she's the sister she never had. Visiting with her and Uncle JL was a highlight of our vacation. Our plan was for Mama to stay there from 10/26 until I returned from Talladega and the NASCAR race a week later--we'd both continue to experience Southern hospitality at its best during the coming days.

Here's Aunt Baker, on the house phone.--she's got a cell phone and is on a family plan with us which allows us to talk daily. We're at their kitchen table, our usual spot for sitting, visiting with each other, sharing memories, a truly wonderful time together, just as we always experienced when there.


The delicious supper Aunt Baker prepared--chicken dumplings, green beans with potatoes, rolls, iced tea.


Meet Raphael, quite the old turtle, who has been with Aunt Baker since the days of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You see, back then she got three turtles, one for each grandson. They lived on the kitchen counter in a 9x13 glass baking dish. The other two met their demise at some point, I don't know when or how or what their names were. How did she know Raphael was the sole survivor? I'm not sure. But survive he did, graduating over the years to ever larger containers for his home.


When Aunt Baker gets him out of his home, he walks the linoleum and the carpet, often sitting in sunlight that hits the carpet inside the patio doors. I can't count the number of times I've come through the back door and been greeted by Raphael coming toward me. Or been followed down the hall to the bathroom. He goes right in and stops, waiting until I'm done, then follows me back into the kitchen. I always say, "Hi, Raphael" and "Raphael, you want to go to the bathroom with me?" One time, years ago, Aunt Baker had put a pair of one grandson's just-washed shoes into the dryer. Naturally, they clunked. I looked towards the dryer after a few minutes and saw Raphael in front it, looking up! I guess he wondered what all the commotion was.


Their other special, lovely pet is Ginger, the Golden Retriever.


Uncle JL had worked hard all day at the grocery store, so I didn't stick the camera in his face. You'll see him soon.

Vacation, Day 6, 10/26/2009, Part 2

On this particular Monday Mama and I planned to head for Puckett, to visit Aunt Baker and Uncle JL. After that good lunch and spending some time with those good friends, I stopped to take a few photos on the way south.

My absolute, all-time favorite independent bookstore in the whole, entire world is Lemuria Books upstairs in Banner Hall on I-55 North in Jackson. If you've been to Lemuria, you'll realize that I have not overdone the hyperbole.

I vividly remember my first time inside those shelf-lined walls that you can see through the doors and windows. At first content to merely stand in awe of their numbers, I slowly toured each nook and cranny, thinking, "Oh, my. look at all of these books I could get my hands on!"

Here, in fact, is a close-up of the hand holding an open book, the massive sculpture above the upstairs main door.

If you're looking for a specific book, be sure to contact Lemuria by phone or go click on the link I provided--at that link be sure to take a look at About and the FAQ for some great insight into the store, the staff, and the man behind it all, John. Back to your search for a particular book, the hey'll try really hard to find it for you and then will ship it to you, beautifully wrapped in brown paper. For me, it's a totally special way to get a desired book.

This is not a giant igloo. It's Jerry’s Catfish House on Highway 49 South near Florence, Mississippi. We didn't get to stop this time, but in the past we've enjoyed ourselves there.


Also near Florence, the white fences of The Piney Woods School.


We're getting close to Aunt Baker's and Uncle JL's!

Three Doors Down Cafe, A Fine Food and Drink Series, No. 1

In honor of all that eatin' we'll be doin' down South--see the lengthy paragraph below--this is the first in a series of fine food photos I've taken lately at Three Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and Hawthorne, in Southeast Portland. I took them right before I either ate or drank it all right up! I do want to point out that since the menu changes pretty often at 3DD, I might be sharing photos of food that is not currently on the menu. Suffice it to say that no matter what you order, you will be sufficiently satisfied. Are all those S-words superfluous? Yeah, but I don't care. As you well know, I'm a fan of going overboard to make a point.

Delicata squash, pancetta, green onion, chevre cheese risotto. I tell you what, if you needed some comfort food, you'd have been so pleased with your decision to dine on this hearty, smooth entree.


I had a glass of Gruner Veltliner, a white, that went very well with my entree.

The Lengthy Paragraph

First, let me explain that Mama and I are going on a two-week vacation, flying to New Orleans on Oct. 21, where we will be picked up by our BFF Kay. We're spending the night in the French Quarter, then heading to her home in Smithdale, Mississippi, where we will spend the night. On Friday we're going to have lunch at The Dinner Bell in McComb, Mississippi, with Kay and her husband Milton before heading to Jackson. We'll be with my brother Howard and his wife Vanessa--yippee!!--from Friday until Monday. They're the sweetest ever, concerned about Mama and the stairs to the upstairs guest bedroom and my allergies to cats, they're putting us up in a nearby Embassy Suites. Oh, I forgot. On Friday afternoon I have an appointment to tour Eudora Welty's house, a National Historic Landmark and one of the nation's most intact literary house museums, reflecting Welty's life there over seventy-six years. Saturday night we hope to gather with family and friends at Sal & Mookie's, a New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint in Jackson, Mississippi. On Monday we'll eat lunch at Hamil's Southern Cookin' and Bar B Que Buffet in Ridgeland, Mississippi, then we'll head to my Aunt Baker and Uncle JL's in Puckett, Mississippi--we'll eat mighty fine home-cookin' there, let me tell you! On Tuesday, Kay and Milton and their grandson Ian will pick me up on I-20, after Aunt Baker takes me to meet them at a service station, and we'll head to Talladega, Alabama, for NASCAR heaven at the Talladega Superspeedway for two races--on Halloween, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Mountain Dew 250 and on Nov.1, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Amp Energy 500. While we're camped out near in the speedway in Milton and Kay's RV, we'll eat Milton's grilled and fried good food--Kay'll probably cook some, too, 'cause she always does! Big time yummy! We're even going trick-or-treating around the campground on their golf cart--Kay's taking all sorts of decorations for it and the RV. I'll join Mama again at Aunt Baker and Uncle JL's on Monday at some time or other, depending on when we leave Talladega. Then on Tuesday Mama and I will go to spend the night at a hotel near the Jackson airport, resting up for our flight home on Nov. 4.

Whew!

All of that to say that I'm trying to put together some posts ahead of time--to save time, I'm discontinuing the daily dahlia, just for now. I don't know how many I'll get to complete nor do I know how much Internet I'll be around while we're on the trip. I do know that I will be taking photo after photo after photo.