Wedding time!

As you all know,We have a wedding in June!

Breanne and Danny became engaged on their trip out to Alabama.

Being the parents and grandparent ( G-pa) we are, of course we were concerned for her well being, leaving family and friends and moving with Danny to Alabama.

Yes, we fit the concerned parents role quite nicely.

Danny assured me on our trip to New Hampshire at Christmas time what his intentions were and I appreciated that. But nothing says commitment like marriage.

It was during my trip to Alabama to spend time with them, that they decided to take a trip to the Opelika County Courthouse to make it official.

I really appreciated that. Just verified that what Danny said, Danny meant.

So they are married now!

But to answer some of the questions that have been coming our way~

Yes, they are married.

Because they wanted to do it the right way.

Yes, they are having a ceremony in June in Washington.

Because they deserve to opportunity to have Michael walk his little girl down the aisle to a man he knows he can trust.

Yes, it is a full blown wedding and reception.

Because they deserve the celebration coming their way on June 11th.

This is their journey and we are thrilled that they are starting it in all the right ways!

The Joys of Traveling by air.....

As often as I fly, which is really not that often,I've always wanted to write about my fellow passengers . I find them so doggone intriguing.

Before I continue, I ask you to

please remember that when I fly, I tend to get a little grouchy.

Why, you ask?

Have you seen the size of my chest? By the time I get off the plane, I am pretty sure I have one gigantic boob. And so, yes, I am grouchy. Here goes~

When I see the man in the aisle next to me with his "carry on" that is actually a Hefty garbage bag filled with clothes...I say to you...seriously?

And no, it wasn't the flex kind. Just an observation.

When I see the woman who had the horribly mismatched clothes (in color as well as genre) let her hair down and then watch in horror as a man coming back from the toilet step right onto her hair...I say to you, seriously? Did you not realize that your floor length hair would, oh, I don't know, actually touch the floor when you set it free from that hideous ponytail?

And to the gentleman who sat next to my on my flight home from Atlanta: I am sure you were a very nice soul, you seemed like it. But when you smell a little like saltines and Vienna sausage, I will be just a little distant. And when you put your tray table down so you can sleep on it but end up totally resting on my whole right side of my body, I cringe. Nothing personal.

Ok, everything personal. I am not your pillow. So, in turn, to retreat a little from you, I find myself scrunching even more to the left, thus ensuring an extremely squished boob. So very comfortable for me.

Homage to the young mother traveling with two children under two and no stroller~ You are amazing. I watched how she maintained her composure while they both cried. For at least an hour. I watched her continue in a loving manner to feed them and reassure them and lay them down to sleep on their blankets on the floor. At this point, I walked over to her and told her she was my hero and asked her that if she needed to use the bathroom, I would stay with her children.

I'll admit, just for a slight second,I was worried she was never coming back.

I watched as she bundled up the youngest one ( 6 months) like a pro in her baby carrier strapped to her chest, all the while never waking her. Tucking in her blanket like an expert who has done this a million times. Then gently waking up the 18 month old and putting a restraining harness on him and coaxing him to walk towards the plane. I offered to carry him but she declined. All I kept thinking was, if someone told me I had to travel with two children under 2 with no stroller......I would have told them absolutely not. In a million years. (Hey, I never said I was going to get "Mother of the year" award.)

She is the definition of a good mom.

To the man who sat in the section clearly marked " for our handicap clients only" and then brag about the great seat he got in the terminal.......

you're an idiot. Plain and simple.

And to the mom whose children told her she was sitting in the handicap section? To which she replied " So, they're not sitting here now, are they?" You must be married to the man above. Many happy returns.

To the businessman who kept standing up by his seat, straighten his shirt, glance at his expensive watch and casually look around.... right towards my one gigantic boob....Sit Down. Before I sit down next to you. And trust me, you're not going to want that.

And last but not least,

when I travel alone, to an airport I have never been to before, I get a little tense.

Which explains why, when I landed in Atlanta and proceeded to the baggage claim, as the signs indicated....I may have missed the tram signs to GET to the baggage claim.

So I walked. And walked. And walked. Until I noticed no one was behind me. Or on front of me.

Hold up....is that a tram with people on it? Where might THAT take you? Our trams at SEATAC take you to other terminals, so I was not about to hop on one of those, let me tell you!

So I walked. A kajillion miles ( absolutely no exageration at all here) to baggage claim.

Carrying my Samsonite carry on that weighed a ton, I started to sweat and possibly worry about where I was going to end up. All by myself. In an airport I have never been to.

Eventually I got there right when the tram doors opened up and people poured out in swarms.

I overheard someone say " did she just walk to baggage?" in a hushed tone.

Why yes, yes I did. Is not the sweat pouring down my face a dead giveaway?

Welcome to traveling in my world.

I have officially been to the "South"!

It's always fun to travel to new places, take in your surroundings,

marvel at tree houses not quite built to spec.

Welcome to Alabama and Georgia Colleen!

How was it? I had a blast~ I didn't have to see the bigger attractions/cities to enjoy myself.

If you look around you, there is always something to be fascinated about.

My favorite shake your head in amazement/can't look away/ are we coming up on it yet? was, yep, the "tree house".

Oh My. I know you love us all Lord, but where were these people when you were handing out common sense?

"Ima gonna cut that tree down in the front yard. You know, the one up aginst the driveway? Then I am gonna paint it white with blue and pink polka dots, make it purty. Then Ima gonna put a piece of plywood ( I'm sure it's waterproof) ontopa it. Hand me that little tykes doll house, will ya? Up she goes! Tah Dah! Oh, hold up, I need a ladder for the stairs. There. Good to go."

True story folks. I found myself looking for it every time we drove by,kinda like an accident.

You don't want to look, you just have to.

Secretly, I wanted to see kids climbing up the ladder....

Now I have been in military installations for the first 18 years of my life and I have never seen one as big as Fort Benning. It was pretty cool. I especially loved the military museum that is there.

Danny was telling me there was an IMax theatre inside of it...I thought he was trying to see if I would believe that. He was right. ( he was right a lot of this trip....hate that) And a restaurant upstairs. But I loved how they showcased the wars with memorabilia from those times. In the center of it, in glass room,( this place was huge) they showcased medal of honor recipients.

Yeah, I read every placard inside that glass walk in display. I found it very moving to read of the heroics and sacrifices these men made. Made me cry. But, history with details ( mens names make it personal to me, I don't know why) always puts me "there", and the tears always follow.

(I don't think my face was ever dry when I was in Normandy ,France , at the American Cemetery.)

After hearing all the amenities this base provides, I want to speak to someone at Fort Lewis and ask them why they don't offer the same things~Not like they don't have the land, sheesh.

I discovered football in the south is a whole nother animal. Another watch in amazement moment. Now, remember, I grew up moving around but when we settled, we settled here. In the Northwest. That being said.....

I have never seen so much football paraphernalia in my life! On cars, homes, mailboxes, clothing, cars, homes, mailboxes, clothing....it is a religion. Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to imply that it's wrong.

Not at all. I am just not used to seeing it all the time, every day, in such abundance. I was thinking at first it was because I was in ( or close to) Auburn country, but no, I don't think so.

These people are serious about their football! I kinda like it. Camaraderie is great!

Next stop: The wildlife Safari~

It was about 40 minutes away from where Danny and Breanne live. But you have to look for this place, it is not easily identifiable and/or marked. If I owned it, I would have gigantic signs on the freeway telling you not to miss it!

Because it was a blast. We rented a zebra striped van they provide ( where else would I find one?) because you just don't want these animals freely rushing your vehicle.

And rush your vehicle, they do. Continually.

Which I loved. I mean, come one, how many times does an elk ( a "tirty point buck") stick his head into your car? Or a zebra? Or a Bison?

You wouldn't think it, but these guys have it down to a fine art, sticking their heads in as far as they can for that tasty pellet you have to offer! We bought two big bags of food pellets. I thought we might need only a large cup per person. Wrong. ( another "you were right" moment for Danny and Breanne)

We had two bags, four bags each inside those, filled with food. These pellets were about the size of your thumb. So, do the math....500 animals to feed, with Breanne and Colleen in the car. Yeah, your on the right track...EVERY animal must get some! No favorites! Feed them all!

Wait! There's a deer back there, who's pellet bounced off his head, he still needs one!!!!

So...deer, zebra, bison, elk, longhorn cattle ( very impressive rack...yeah, I said it) pigs, emus, ostriches, rheas ( look it up) mules, assorted cattle/gnu like beasts all wanting to be fed.

Good times. Altho, they did ask you not to feed the horses and ostriches/emus/rheas. Said they were aggressive. Which we had no doubt of ,when one gave Danny the evil eye at a slow trot past the van, very up close and personal. He got it in video.

In the back of my mind, I kept holding onto this thought: "Headlines! Couple mauled at safari park!" Danny would be feeding an extra large elk, whose whole face was blocking out Danny's. While Breanne was marveling at this, a zebra stuck his whole head in on her side of the van wanting to know where his food was. These things are BIG and it was a little scary at first.

But we got over it.

So if your ever in the area...go there. Experience the fun!

Real estate: A lot of inexpensive smaller homes, in the area where we were. Found myself wondering what the price was on a couple of them! I noticed a majority of the homes do not have garages. The newer built ones do. But not many, unless your in a development. Lots of brick homes, which I love. But more importantly, land. Lots of land. The "I need a riding lawnmower" kind of yards.

Weather: I never want to hear another Pacific Northwester complain about rain again.

Our rain is gentle ( with the exception of the occasional storms) and constant.

Their rain is......brutal and continual for a day. Then it stops. And then, like in a movie, the birds come out and sing, the skies are blue and clear. And all signs of the gulleywasher the night before are gone. The small creek in Breannes front yard was about 4 feet across, at it's widest. When it rained, it grew to about 25-30 feet across. After the rain stopped, the water receded and all that's left is a beach. Woohoo, beach front property Breanne!!

Vultures: hmmm, they SAY they have them...I never saw one. They SAY their always around the roadkill....I never saw one.

Ponds: Lots of them! Everywhere~ Some folks have a pond for their front yard, complete with dock and chairs. ( Are there alligators in Alabama?)

I recall Cint's father telling us we talked fast and to slow it done a tad when we got to the South. So I tried to remember that when we were shopping and around employees. Sometimes I forgot to and would get caught up in a conversation with Breanne and then notice the person at the cash register looking at us in, well......, looking at us. For the most part, I don't think I weirded too many people out with my hundred mile an hour speech impediment. But I did find it extremely easy to speak with a twang...even when I wasn't even hearing it! What's up with that?

Summing it up, I leave you with these choice words to explain my trip:

Treehouse, vultures, bar-be-que, Cracker Barrel , carports, Opelika, Fort Benning, 73 degrees, RAIN!, football, Big lots ( complete with furniture!) Wedding registry, dining out, safari, Chatahoochee river, the dam, BMW, areas largest bridal store, UFC on pay for view, superbowl and good food. Especially Rogers Bar-be-que in Hogansville, GA (Do not miss that store!)

And yes, I am looking forward to going back!!