May Road Trips and Other Adventures

This May our wandering took us to the countryside in Georgia, to a baseball game, on a road trip to Virginia, and around our own neighborhood.

Georgia road trip

Our first trip was to the Georgia countryside. On the way to our destination we discovered a new to us barbeque restaurant in Portal where we tried their pulled pork and fantastic spare ribs. We enjoyed our time in the country where the wildflowers were blooming and the trees were showing off their new green leaves. We fed carrots to my brothers donkeys, walked in the woods, and had a fun visit with our 12 year old granddaughter.

Celebrating Henry’s birthday at a Savannah Bananas game

The Savannah Bananas sell out every home game so when I had an opportunity to buy two tickets for a game on Henry’s birthday I jumped at the chance.

We saw the team owner Jesse Cole outside the stadium so of course we stopped to meet him. Henry shook his hand, he posed for a photo with us, and wished Henry a happy birthday. The Bananas play a different kind of baseball called Banana Ball. It has different rules than regular baseball and the night is filled with entertainment during and between the innings. We were laughing and entertained the entire night.

Around my Neighborhood

Flowers were blooming all around our neighborhood and in our own backyard. The header image is one of the gorgeous white blooms I captured one morning as I walked by the giant Magnolia tree in a neighbor’s yard.

In our backyard the Painted Buntings fed at my bird feeder almost every day. The resident lizard likes to hang out on the railing on our back deck.

Road Trip to Virginia

We traveled to Virginia to visit our daughter’s family for Memorial Day weekend. We spent the first night in a motel and had a nice visit with my cousin and his wife when we met them for lunch at a Cracker Barrel by the interstate before continuing on to our daughter’s house.

Being with our daughter and her family was the highlight of the trip. The weather was overcast, chilly and sometimes raining but we didn’t let the weather spoil our visit.

It was wonderful to see our Grandson who just finished his first year of college and our Granddaughter who just finished her junior year of high school. My daughter and I enjoyed a trip to the local farmer’s market where I picked up a frozen smoked trout to bring home and she brought home some beautiful fresh produce. Later that day we drove into the mountains, had lunch in the small town of Floyd, and took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Chateau Morrisette Winery.

Books

Our Book Club book for May was “The Measure” by Nikki Erlich. It was a very interesting and thought provoking story.

I also enjoyed reading “No Plan B”, the latest Jack Reacher book by Lee Child and “Still Life” by Louise Penney.

Shared with Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #250 – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

For this challenge Amy has asked us to share our cloudscapes over land, sea, or cities, or just clouds. For the header image I chose an image of cloud covered mountains as we were leaving Valdez, Alaska on last years Alaska cruise.

The rest of these images include storm clouds, rainbows, and clouds over the Mississippi River at sunrise.

Storm clouds and a water spout in the Atlantic Ocean
Stormy skies over the marsh
Early morning May clouds
Double Rainbow
Sunrise over the Mississippi River

Many thanks to Amy for challenging us to focus on Skyscapes and Cloudscapes. You can find her original post at Lens-Artists Challenge #250 – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #249 – Public Art

Alaska

Lighthouse attacked by Octopus, Valdez; Bear statue, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center; Moose, Talkeetna; Giant Chicken, Chicken; Totem, Ketchikan; Mural, Juneau; Mural, Seward; Memorial to the men and women who built the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Valdez

Ireland and Scotland

Highland Cow in the Scottish Highlands; Charlie Chaplin, Waterville, Ireland; Mural in Waterville, Ireland; Faith, Hope and Charity in Inverness, Scotland; Immigrant Statue, Cobh, Ireland; Star Wars in the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland; The Latin Quarter, Galway, Ireland; Mural in Glasgow, Scotland

Around the USA

Header image is Forsyth Park Fountain, Savannah, Geogia; Andy and Opie in Mount Airy, NC; Mark Twain in Hannibal, Missouri; Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin in Hannibal, Missouri; Tybee Island Pier, Georgia; Laurel and Hardy, Harlem, Georgia; Buddy Holly, Lubbock, Texas; Mississippi River Mural, Cape Girado, Missouri; Cadillac Ranch, Texas; Mermaids, Weeki Wachi Springs, Florida; Wyland Wall, Key West, Florida; Waving Girl, Savannah, Georgia

Many thanks to John for challenging us to focus on public art in all it’s forms and locations. You can find his original post at Lens-Artists Challenge #249 – Art in the Park (and other places)

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #248 – Mood

I chose a few photos that portray happy moods for Sophia’s challenge of Mood. In the first image I was celebrating my birthday at a restaurant at Disney World when the server surprised me with a Mickey Mouse cupcake after dinner. I was a happy birthday girl!

Our oldest granddaughter’s first birthday cake. I can still remember how happy she was when she saw the cake my daughter made for her.
I love a parade
A night out watching the Savannah Bananas game makes all the fans happy!

Many thanks to Sofia for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #248 – Mood