Mother's Day 2018

This year we did not celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, but we celebrated on Saturday, May 12. My sister and I went with my mother to Fayette, Alabama to visit our family's home, which is now the Rose House Inn. The house was built by my great-great grandfather back in the late 1800/early 1900s. My mom has fond memories of visiting her grandmother there when she was little. My grandmother and grandfather were married in the house. Going through the house, I could certainly feel Nannie's presence.

After we toured the house, we strolled around the small town. They were having a fiddling competition with vendors and food near the courthouse. We left Fayette and drove to Tuscaloosa (not too far away) so we could eat lunch at the Cyprus Inn Restaurant. The restaurant has great views of the Black Warrior River. The food was very good.

Of course, we also had to do some shopping. With the little-ones, it's very rare that the three of us get to do something without having a little-one in tow. We had a wonderful day.

Helen trip 4/21/18

Gary and I went to Helen, Georgia for a 3-day weekend because we had 4/23/18 off of work. We have been there before and knew that it is a great place for hiking. This trip was a little different this because the weather wasn't as cooperative as the previous time. Still, it was good to get away from home and have a change of scenery.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn (where we've stayed before) and it was great for our needs. The hotel was close enough for us to be able to walk to most things. In fact, since we had a wonderful vegetarian pizza with amazing roasted eggplant at the Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizzeria for lunch, we took a walk around the city on Saturday night after we did cardio in the hotel's gym. Of course, I had to get a picture of Gary's "serious" look during our walk.

And, during our visit, a picture of us with me wearing a hat, which usually doesn't happen. Gary is the hat-wearer.

Above is the view of the city that we had that evening. On Sunday, the weather was still overcast, so we took a drive and made it to the North Carolina border. I have figured out that taking pictures from inside the car just doesn't do the scenery outside justice. It was very relaxing, fun weekend.

P.S. Since we've been home from the trip, I found out that I am now in single-digit size pants at Gap. This hasn't happened in over 20 years. That is a non-scale related weight loss victory that I will take!