Paul and I have been married 18 years on May 4th. So we took some time to reflect - you see Paul and I have known each other for 35 years. I was friends with Paul's mom, Paula and his sister, Candi. This is not a story about our love but it is a certainly is a Love story.
Read MoreOk, I know you have heard the term putting the cart before the horse... well that's what we did recently. As most of you know we love to travel. America is such a beautiful country, there is so much to see, and we want to see it all.
Read MoreWith all this rain and the current flood Watch, we are reminded of a trip that we took this summer.
We were fortunate enough to get to go with 4 of our nieces, Delise’s brother Mark and sister Donyal and her husband Michael to Zion National Park in Utah. Zion is one of the most beautiful parks we've ever been to. (Ever heard that before?)
Read MoreIt's is our view that when the black birds and red-wing blackbirds arrive by the thousands in middle Georgia, fall is officially here.
We have a special name for these birds because one day when one of our nieces was very small she was riding in the back seat of the car when she looked out the window at a bird and asked her mom "what kind of bird was that?" Her mom, not seeing what kind of bird she was pointing at ask - "was he black?"
We wanted to visit Toronto but decided to get a hotel room in Burlington - it was cheaper and the location was perfect for exploring, so we would commute into Toronto every day. We did have a rental car but everybody said not to try and drive in. That was some very good advice, the road construction was everywhere. The best way to get in to Toronto from surrounding areas is the Go Train. It is amazing how honest everyone is. There are no ticket scanners or gates to go through. You just put the ticket in your pocket in case they ever want to see it. We rode the train 4 times and showed our ticket once... The Go Train is a wonderfully comfortable means of transportation, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Read MoreThere is an old lamp that looks like Niagara Falls - the way the light shines through it makes it look as if the water is moving. I remember as a child watching that lamp and thinking how great it would be to see it in person. So I guess you could say I've always dreamed of seeing Niagara Falls. So it was a no-brainer that when we were that close, we had to go. We crossed into Canada near Buffalo, NY, at the Peace Bridge then headed north on Niagara Parkway which follows the river to the falls.
Read MoreWe always want to keep the blog happy and upbeat even in a time that can be sad.
It is
our view that some people can help shape a community, they help educate us and
inspire us to be better stewards, to always see the best in people and make the
best of every situation.
We had a dear friend who did just that, Cyriline Cantrell. She so loved Peach
Country, she was always looking for ways to let people outside Peach Country
know how wonderful it was. Cyriline was so humble, during her last days when I
whispered in her ear about how many people were going to miss her she said no..
I said yes.
Cyriline was a quiet giver, never wanting attention for herself. Several years
back when a dear friend was sick, she made coffee and breakfast for her for 12
weeks straight. All you had to do was
pick up the phone and she was there to help.
We could go on and on about the things she did for Fort Valley and the people that live here.
One of
the last times we visited our friend when she was in hospice as we got out of
the car we noticed a field of yellow dandelion blooms. We thought it was
some kind of a sign.
A few weeks later we happened to go by that same
field, I was saddened to see all the yellow blooms were gone and replaced
by the wispy white seed heads. I told Paul the beautiful blooms were gone
just like Cyriline...... Paul turned to me and smiled, no not gone, just turned
into seeds that will blow and be far reaching and will bloom not in just that
one place be all over. He is so right, Cyriline planted seeds in so many
of us, making us better people.
You may wonder why we blog this now, well Cyriline's granddaughter had a baby
boy this week. I am sure he will be told many wonderful stories of his GREAT
grandmother. She will always be Blooming in the hearts of everyone that knew
her…
Cyriline and Norman
There are a lot of wineries in the New York - Pennsylvania lake region... Our new friends at the Cherry Farm told us of a winery down the road that buys their grapes, so down the road we go. Yes it was still early but it is OK to do wine "tastings" before noon. Heritage Wine Cellars is a family owned farm that was started in the 1800's and is still run by the same family. Located in North East, Pa. it is not one of those fancy California vineyards, but they do produce some very good wine. It is the only self serve wine tasting that we have ever seen. Just pick up your own tasting cups and try all of the selections that you want. There are about 40 bottles with a great variety of flavors sitting on the counter. You know the girls love Cherries and Chocolate...guess what one of their flavors was? Chocolate and cherry flavored wine - there is nothing better than that! We picked up a couple of bottles for the trip.
As we headed East along the coast of Lake Erie we pulled into a marina just to look around. Turned out to be a great place to pick some of Delise's favorite flowers. Sweet Peas were growing wild on the hillside. She picked a bouquet that lasted several days..
We Love Lighthouses! We guess by now you can see a pattern, we love everything. We will drive way out of our way to see one - especially if we can climb it...But who knew there were light houses on the Great Lakes. We were lucky to find this one very close to our route.
The volunteers provide a guided tour of the house and yes, you can climb the tower! The tower is 61 feet high. To reach the top you have to climb the original cast iron spiral staircase where you can go outside and walk around outside the tower. The last 10 steps are pretty tight but the view is worth it...
As we were driving in to Erie, Pa we saw a state park out on a point. It was getting late abut we decided to check it out anyway. We were glad we did. As we were walking to checking out the harbor lights we started talking to a fisherman that told us we should head over to the other side of the park to see the sunset. We always love talking to locals. He was right, It was a beautiful sunset over the lake...
Next - Delise has a dream come true... I think I hear a waterfall!
We love to travel. One of our businesses keeps us at home for months at a time. While we do love our home, sometimes we just have to get away. Luckily we have another business that offers us a chance to travel all over the country. We attend about 7 trade shows a year and always try to take a few extra days to discover another beautiful place in this great country of ours.
The word view has so many different definitions. Your view on things, how you feel about different stuff or the View from a window, what you see with your own eyes. Everybody's view is not the same... Everybody sees and interprets things differently.
With this blog we will share our views of the places we go and the things we do........ We think it will be fun, hope you do to. Let us know your view.
Paul and I have been married 18 years on May 4th. So we took some time to reflect - you see Paul and I have known each other for 35 years. I was friends with Paul's mom, Paula and his sister, Candi. This is not a story about our love but it is a certainly is a Love story.
Ok, I know you have heard the term putting the cart before the horse... well that's what we did recently. As most of you know we love to travel. America is such a beautiful country, there is so much to see, and we want to see it all.
