Huntsville, Decatur Al; Chattanooga, S.Pittsburg Tn.

Wed. What a busy day we went to the Huntsville Botanical Garden.  They were getting ready for the new theme Alice in Wonder Land.  The theme before was a giants so  the pictures are a mix.

                                                      They also had things done in medal.

                     There were many animals on display turtle, bull frog, snake, birds, and butterflies.

 We were very blessed to have the chance to release some of the butterflies.  We were thinking of Brighton for hours as he fluttered around.

                                          And yes their were lots and lots of flowers in bloom.

                                          They even had a large train track with a real train going around the track.

On our way to Decatur we stopped by Mooresville to see the old town.  Alot of the movie Huck Finn was taped here. Notice the old Church of Christ building in the lower right.

                           After we made it to Decatur we saw many Annebelle homes on the national reg.

 Here is the old bank one of two that was made with living quarters on the second floor. They were afraid of robbers so the banker by day was the security at night. bottom middle old train station.

 Shannon hooked us up with one of her college friends husband (Tommy Bloodworth) who worked at ULA United Launch Alliance.  This is the place where the rockets are made for the space program. Bottom right piece of the is a 14000 pound aluminum made to weigh 900 pounds from 1 inch to less than 3/4 inch a machine honeycombs the material. Tommy works on the second section that takes the payload into space.

Thur. We went to the Space and Rocket Center where believe it of not Tommy and his family were there. We are so glad that we went to the ULA first because as we looked at the rockets we know how they were put together.  We were amazed how much the army uses rockets and how much they had on display. Picture below top left is a simulator of a helicopter escorting a convoy(we did not do well).  The third top is what Tommy works on. The rest is things at the space center.

Sat. Jim and Nancy Hughes( friends from Linda's high school and we hadn't seen in over 25 yrs!). drove us to the National Cornbread Festival in S. Pittsburg Tn. Sponsored by Lodge cast iron skillets and Martha White flour. Top left is the stage where the cook off is done-town clock-our group at the factory- the ranges Jim works on at the  Five Star Range. 2nd row the iron and ovens to melt the iron-the material put in the ovens-molds used for the pans and dutch ovens-3rd row  mold for the sandblasting-the pans out of the mold-iron pelts used to get the sand off the pans after sandblasting. Bottom row going to be divided then washed-the pan after sandblasting, washed then sprayed with oil-last picture the packing and shipping. They only have tours for these two days of the year!We had such a great time with our friends catching up on everything.
 Top row I am talking to the DJ for the national ice cream eating contest-we are into it-I WON-talking to the person from Mayfield dairy farms. 2nd row Jim talking to DJ while I give address-lodge is also a big green egg sales-one of the many craft tables-some of the many music entertainment. 3rd row more entertainment-demonstrations-Linda and I playing some of the many instruments. Bottom row cooking chicken n dumplings-cooking apple pie- last picture one of the many murals in town.

Sun. Went to church then washed the rig. Back to church then Linda cooked salmon, mushrooms and spinach boy was it good. Mon. We drove into downtown Chattanooga. Top row Linda is standing with the pizza guy-I'm with William Shakespeare-old train station-looking down at a park from the longest pedestrian bridge in the world built in 1891. 2nd row crocked road- park- delta queen- house on the bluff. 3rd row some art- coolidge park next two- renaissance park 4th row We went on a 1895 Denzel Carousel for one dollar each. The local wood workers restored the carousel animals-third picture is a steel plated bull- last picture as we walked down the side walk they had dance steps you could learn.

 1st row we went to the Moon Pie General Store for moon pies(strawberry and coconut) and RC cola are made here-3rd picture we ate at the 212 market rest. a certified green rest. we had the best lobster bisque and bbq trout with grits and snow peas- a cupcake store (we refrained from having any, 2 weddings come up)2nd row we rode on the free electric buses- Chattanooga National Cemetery- one of many brewing works- snake outside our rig 3rd row church building-1915 city courthouse- 1893 old post office- unusual triangle building 4th row old building on the national registry.

Monday night we had a big storm with hail and top three pictures show what we woke up to on Tues. The wind blew the rain so hard that our awning is not working now. 2nd row after doing our laundry we went to a Little Debbie store.  They are made here but do not have a tour.  The old tractor trailer was neat to look at. Bottom row is what the inside of the store looked like.  The prices were very cheap.

Wed. We relax at the rig, took a couple walks , then to church.  When we got home we had tea then bed. It rain all day.

Last day working at Childhaven, Easter week-end, and Huntsville Al.

Thur. today was a great day although we took some of the fascia board down and found carpenter ants we got rid of the bad wood and got everything done on the house.  The girls finished the kitchen and it looks wonderful.  This has been a great sojourn that the 8 of us completed. Fri. We drove to Jen's in the picture below top left we are at a church near Jen's and they had things for the kids to make things before they had a egg hunt. Top Middle we ate lunch at Dairy Queen. Top right and middle row making Easter cupcakes. Bottom row colored eggs at Kari's, had dinner and the kids played duck duck goose.

 Sunday the girls made an Easter cake, we had monkey bread for breakfast, went to church, and egg hunt.

 In the afternoon we drove to Shannon's.  Al took Linda on a motorcycle ride then they took us out to Cheddars.

Mon. We moved to Huntsville, got set up at the campgrounds at the Space and Rocket Center, then went to old town. the first picture is some of the churches.

 We  then walked town square to the old Harrison Hardware, to the old bank to a park by the bank and a picture of a canal which they used to move cotton.

 We drove a few blocks and walked around where they have homes built early 1800's to early 1900's

                                     On our walk we saw many pretty flowers, trees and animals.

Tues. Mike and Kathleen (Sojourn friends) drove us up the mountain to Burritt Museum and Park.  Top left is his 1949 DeSoto, middle front of the house next four are some of the rooms and bottom left They had taken some of the old 1800 buildings in the county and displayed them to make a small village. Linda found some flowers, and they had several kinds of animals there.

2nd week at Childhaven Child Home

Thur. We had a great week below is the guys replacing the fascia boards on one of the homes.  I am painting the new wood we put up.

Fri. Linda and I drove downtown and visited some of the old buildings.  Below is the Sacred Heart church where one of the deacons told us about the stain glass, pipe organ, and other things about the church.  That night some of the sojourners that live here had us for dinner.  There home was over a hundred years old and there father went to the stone quarry and cut the stones for the house.

 Sat. We went out eat at a local bakery.  We had spinach quiche, and two different kinds of cinnamon rolls. We went to the Farmers market which did not have many vendors.  The only produce that can be sold is that which is grown local.

Pictures below are of our walking tour of the old Cullman. The house below is a replica of Col. Cullman's home.  We then visited the old train depot and some of the churches. We went to a furniture store where in years past the upper floor was the skating rink.

 Below is some of the variety of street signs the Amish, historical district then the reg. city street signs.

 Sat. night we went to the Old Cook Stove (Amish dinning) the food was great with many choices and homemade ice cream with the fixings.

                    The folks that work there sang us a couple songs.  There singing was wonderful.

                           Some of the decor is this wash machine and dairy farm milker milk can.

Sun. after church we went to All Steak for a lunch brunch. So much food and so little time.  We do not think we will be able to fit into our clothes for the two weddings coming up

Mon. It rained all night and day. The girls finished one of the secretary office and worked some more in the kitchen of the main building.  The guys put in a vanity in a bathroom and replaced 10 lower cabinets in the kitchen of one of the homes.  Tues. We woke up to 38 Degrees. After our bible study that I led we finished priming and putting up fascia boards on one of the homes. Wed. I thought Tues was cold 29 this morning when we woke up and 52 in the rig. Today the girls kept cleaning and reorganising the Kitchen in the main building. We started the fascia board on the next house.  The staff at Childhaven had a wonderful lunch for us picture below and our the group picture.

Cullman Al. and Childhaven Child Home

Thur. We got things ready and left for Cullman Al.  Where we will be doing our next sojourn. We ate at Stone Bridge Farms a place for weddings but is open on Tues nights and Thur. lunch and dinner. The place was large and many extras for the weddings.

        On Fri. we drove around Cullman and went to the covered bridge and buildings around it.

 Sat. We found out that Mackenzie was in a single elimination finals.  She pitched the first two games and they won both of them in fact the other teams did not score. The last game they payed they came in second and she is holding her trophy in the bottom picture

                                          Below is Chris's new lawn stuff for his new business.

Sun. We went to Church then the group went out to eat at Cracker Barrel. We had our sojourn meeting before Church it looks like we will have alot of work to do for the four couples.  Shannon sent us a video of Lilimarie getting baptized today (praise God). Mon. We started our sojourn at Childhaven Child Home. Linda and the rest of the ladies started painting one of the kitchens. Jim and I redid a planter in front of one of the home's and dug out the a place for the water to run off.  We ate at Five Guys for dinner. We have been getting phone calls from my Dad who is in Hawaii. Tues. and Wed. Linda and 3 other girls did more painting. Below putting doors back on after painting them.

 The guys did odd and ends at two of the homes.  We are doing a great job with the list of things they have for us to do.  One of the house parents asked for all of us for dinner.  We have been working out side and the food he has been cooking in the cooker all day smells wonderful.

Montgomery Al. and William Bankhead National Forest

Thur. We went to the student center and got Linda's phone working for her facebook stopped working and we had to reset it. Then we had to get Trend (security for my computer) We played cards with Jack and Sylvia. Fri. It rained all day and we just stayed home for the day and that night we played cards again. Sat we said good buy to Jack and Sylvia and we drove to Gunter Hill Core of Engineer campground where they have over 40 large RV sites on the water.  On the way home we drove to town again and saw some things we had not seen like the Civil Rights Memorial and Center.   They have a water fall with 40 activists who lost there lives from 1955 to 1968. When we got home I washed the truck and the rig and Linda did things inside.

Sun. We went to church when we got home we took pictures of a killdeer bird that laid her eggs in the stones. The top picture is the female on the nest and the bottom is the male on the three eggs and as you can see I aggravated him and he puffed his feathers.

Mon.  We got up and got the rig ready for going to William Bankhead National Forest at Double Springs Al.  On the way we stopped at Peach Park and had a fried peach pie with peach ice cream Yum Yum.

   Below the top pictures a church built inn the early 1800's below 6 pictures is the Corinth campgrounds.                                      

   We had a fire and roasted our hot dogs and later had roasted marshmallows the first nite.

On Tues we went to Red Bay to see how the Allegro's RV's were made.  As we left we ask where a good place to eat and were told Piggly Wiggly!!! (not many restraunts in area) we ate there and the food was good.

 We stopped by natural bridge on the way home and saw the 148 foot 60 foot high bridge and Indian stone face. All of the rest of the pictures are from there.