---

October 29, 2009
Surprise! Today we left New Orleans heading for Destin Florida. On the way we passed through Mississippi…and here is the surprise…Mississippi has some of the most beautiful cost line that we’ve ever seen! I had no idea!! White sandy beaches, palm trees…I thought I was in Florida…wait until you see the pictures! We bought sandwiches and stopped at a rest stop to eat…and that’s where Professor Kennedy gave his impromptu discussion on…of all things…birds. While we were eating, a couple of black birds were hopping around, hoping for a little snack, no doubt. One of us wondered aloud what kind of birds they were. That’s when John spoke up and said “They’re Tennessee Warblers”. We said “really?!!! (We were in Alabama)And he said “Oh yeah…they’re indigenous to this area”. We didn’t believe him so he continued “they’re called “Warblers” because they wobble when they walk.” He really said this!! We asked weren’t they called warblers because of the sounds they made? He emphatically said “No…they wobble when they walk, not unlike the Louisiana Warbler that also wobble when they walk”! We said “Thank You Daktari” and got back into the car!!! Later Bill told us that he had asked one of the workers at the rest stop what kind of birds they were…he answered “Black”!!!
We arrived in Destin at about 5pm, poached the internet from a local hotel, and found rooms for $60.00 on Hotel.com. When we got to our hotel, they told us we had been upgraded to ocean side rooms! Sweet!
Today’s Road Lesson: John Kennedy doesn’t know squat about birds!

---