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Published: September 17th 2011
Kim has wanted to come down since before we moved. She had seen pictures, heard stories and really hoped to see our new home in Alabama. But when I retired, Kim got a new job (still with the government and in WV) at about the same time and had been working hard to learn new skills. She and Trish are best of friends as well as mother and daughter so it's been hard on both. Then add to the mix, Kris (Kim's significant other) started back to school for advanced degree and is just getting his Healing Arts Center going, so it was going to be hard for him as well.
Finally, after a lot of, well--whining--from mother, Kim found a long weekend when she could get reasonably priced plane tickets and she made plans to fly to Alabama. We were really excited!! Yes, we did a lot of last minute cleaning, putting away, straightening up, and other things normally reserved for the visit from a mother or mother-in-law. But Kim flew in on Aug 31 and we drove up to Huntsville to pick her up. It was our first visit to the airport and it was an easy and
pretty drive up 4 lane roads and around the city to the airport. Her flight was on time and it was no time before we had her gathered up and on the road. Since she had left early in the morning, we drove to a Greek restaurant we knew and had a light Greek lunch before getting to Crossville.
Kim started laughing when we turned down the road to the house; "You live on a
dirt road!". Trish and I cracked up; we had said just a few days earlier, "Kim is going to laugh at us for living on a dirt road." Yep, we know our daughter. Kim was amazed at the house. She said it was much bigger in person than it appeared in pictures. She also liked seeing the cows in the fields, hearing the roosters, and admiring the open space. After poking in corners, looking at things remembered and things forgotten, we sat and talked for a long time and then Kim decided to take a short nap. It was good to have our little girl home.
The next day we told Kim we had a job for her. We had left the last
room to decorate. It is a small closet-like room that is off the guest room and we wanted to turn it into a play room for grandkids. Kim was excited about that and we went up, hauled out the furniture and boxes, cleaned and got ready to put in the flooring. There had been plywood down but we decided to make it more attractive by putting large rubber tiles on the floor. I had a number of packages and Kim arranged them in a colorful manner to make it fun for little people. We spent late morning and early afternoon and it got warm. So after lunch, we changed and headed over to Guntersville State Park to the beach. Surprise! It was September 1 and we were the only ones there. We had a whole beach to ourselves. We floated, swam, relaxed and just had a great time. The cost was $3 per car, so that was a real deal.
Friday we had a full day planned. Kim had heard about the Little River Canyon and wanted to see it and the countryside. So early in the morning (well, not real early, for those who know mother and daughter's
Home of Alabama
Fort Payne is home to the county music legend--Alabama. Cousins and friends, 3 of the group still lives in the area and have performed benefits and solos around the area.sleep patterns) we started out for the mouth of the canyon. We drove over Lookout Mountain and to the canyon mouth. After touring the picnic grounds, we headed up a road to the park perimeter trail. The road says NOT for RVs, motorcycles, or large trucks. OMG!! I had the Toyota Echo and was in FIRST gear all the way up. It was one of the steepest roads I've ever seen. Once at the top, the road was wilder than a roller coaster--up, down, sharp turn, whoopsie bump, steep up--a really wild ride where I rarely got above 25 MPH. We stopped at several vantage points to see the canyon below and admired the view. As mentioned in a previous blog, this is the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi. At points, as you look across at the rock outcroppings, you would think you were out west. It is a truly awesome view and magnificent eco-system right in our back yard.
We didn't travel the whole (or is it hole) rim, but called our realtor, Chelsea Carrier, and headed towards Mentone to meet her for lunch. She and Kim had a mutual background in equine science and management and
Kim "hanging with the band"
In downtown Ft. Payne, there are large bronze statues of the band with large plaques detailing their accomplishments. we thought they would enjoy meeting. Kim wanted to go to Big Jim's Bama Q in Hammondville because she had heard us rave about the pork and fried pickles and most of all, the huge pieces of cake for dessert. We met in the parking lot and all went in for lunch. Kim was not disappointed! Delicious fried pickles, pork barbecue, onion rings, and then 4 layer chocolate cake for dessert. We go two pieces, 4 forks and share around. Chelsea had to get back to work, so she left and we drove into Mentone to see the town and give Kim a flavor of Lookout Mountain. We browsed in the little shops, then headed for home, coming off the mountain into Fort Payne, where we made a brief stop.
The country group Alabama started in Fort Payne and has a small plaza dedicated to the group as well as a huge fan museum. We only took time at the plaza where Kim read plaques to all their accomplishments and marvel at the 4 huge bronze statues of the band members. Several of the group still live in the area and have donated time and money to various projects
Lake Guntersville campground
This picture was from the Park lodge looking down on the campground below. The tornadoes of April 27 devastated the area and the campground is still closed. It is not expected to reopen until next year. All the electrical and water lines have to be relaid and the trees are still being cut and hauled out of there. in the community, including helping to raise money for the victims of the April tornadoes.
Following this stop, we headed south on Route 11, between Lookout Mountain to the east and Sand Mountain (where we live) to the west. Route 11 is a beautiful US highway with farms and small towns along the way. It has special significance for our family since Kim was born in PA and lived just miles from Rt 11, we then moved to Adams, NY and lived a block from Rt 11 and the kids crossed it when they walked to school. Kim now lives in WV, just a block from Rt 11. It was fun to see another part of this US highway.
After a brief nap and cleanup at home, we headed out to Guntersville State Park lodge for the Friday night seafood buffet. They have marvelous food and the buffet is always good. We had a seafood bisque and there was wild rice, cheese grits, and hot yeast rolls to go with the baked tilapia with crabmeat stuffing, fried oysters and clam strips, catfish, and breaded shrimp, both butterflied and popcorn. We ate our fill and Kim went and got
Sunset over Lake Guntersville
During dinner at the lodge, we went out to the balcony and got this shot of sunset over Lake Guntersville. The lake with the islands reminds us of a cross between the Lakes Region of NH and the Thousand Islands of upstate NY. pictures of the lake in the evening from the balcony high above the beach and campground. It was a good meal and a fun day for all.
The rest of Kim's visit was a blur of visiting, Kim studying for a class, checking out local places close to home and where we shop, and just having fun having her there. On the last day, Sunday, we finished off the grandkids room and set up the table and chairs, put out toys, checked out the books, and cleaned it up so when Josh and Jen finally come with Drew, he will have a room of his own to play in.
All too soon we had to get ready to get Kim back to Huntsville for her 7AM flight back to Washington. We went to bed early on Sunday night and got up to pouring rain on Monday, packed the car and took off. We made it in plenty of time, but her flight ended up being delayed over 8 hours due to equipment malfunction and the need to get a tech crew in from Atlanta to fix it. Kim didn't get home until after 8 PM, then had to
Grandkids play room
Rubber tiles down, toys cleaned and set out, books arranged on a shelf, great view of the fields. Yep, we're ready for the grandson to come and visit....soon please. get up and head to work the next day. We were sorry her last memory of Alabama will be so negative, but were so glad she came and could see where we live and why we are so excited about our new home and surroundings.
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grt grnd dad
non-member comment
thanks for the clear and complete narration. we felt as if we were there watching you all. the canyon looks like parks Kim took us to see outsiide Morgantown. dad