DSC_2986

I love this picture!

As always, when asked what I want for Mother’s Day, the answer is the same. I want an outing with the family at a location of MY choosing.

It often involves something more feminine. Being in a house full of guys, I usually have to give up the girlier things during the year, but for Mother’s Day I get my berry picking and botanical gardens visits!

This year, I asked for a trip to Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, Alabama. Again. I had already dragged the family out there over the holidays to see the fantastic light show, but I wanted to see it in the spring with all the flowers in bloom before we moved to Colorado.

I was not disappointed. And Timmy, my little naturalist, was just as impressed with all the flowers and animals.

I took the good camera with us so I could capture the beauty! Enjoy some pictures. Be forewarned, I took over 300 pictures, so I’ve distilled it down to about 30 of my favorites.

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Presenting, Dave's first-ever BACON EXPLOSION! It was very good, but this log serves 24 people.

Presenting, Dave’s first-ever BACON EXPLOSION! It was very good, but this log serves 24 people.

Dave’s squadron in Florida has an annual tradition: BACONFEST! One day, everyone shares their favorite bacon recipes.

In 2011 Dave made bacon cream cheese roll ups, and I can’t remember what he did in 2012, if he did anything at all.

While it was tempting to make another beer-bacon cheesecake, this year Dave proclaimed, “I’M MAKING A BACON EXPLOSION!”.

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02. July 2013 · Comments Off on Military Move Musings – Day 4 · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Day 4: Raton, NM to Colorado Springs, CO

Hi honey, we're home!

Hi honey, we’re home!

This is a short drive day. We timed things so that we could easily arrive during the work day so we could visit the realty office and pick up our keys.

Very little to talk about for this short 2 1/2 hour drive. The trip up I-25 northward from Raton is pretty tricky. With the trailer, it was a lot of effort for the truck to wind its way through the mountain passes.

We picked up our keys from the realtor and then had a nice outdoor lunch in downtown Colorado Springs. We ate at a place called La Creperie, which had outdoor seating and welcomed pets. Howie sat at our feet and people-watched. He dog-watched too, since there were so many dogs.

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02. July 2013 · Comments Off on Military Move Musings – Day 3 and the Oklahoma City National Memorial · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,
Our view for most of Day 3's drive.

Our view for most of Day 3’s drive.

Day 3: Oklahoma City, OK (1200′ elevation) to Raton, NM (6680′ elevation)

This was not quite as long a drive as the previous day, but it was the least interesting day of driving. It was westward across western Oklahoma on I-40, then we turned northwestward in Amarillo taking U.S. highways (instead of interstates) towards Raton.

Before we hit the road, though, we took a few minutes to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which is a park at the site of the former Alfred Murrah Federal Building. The memorial is very beautiful and very well done. We visited at about 8am on a Sunday, so it was nearly empty. It’s sunk into the basement of the former federal building, and evidence of the bombed building can still be seen. More »