family – Page 2 – Memos for Me

Fall tradition

November 21, 2017

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It has become a fall tradition to travel about 30 minute south of Jonesboro to White Hall (a tiny town six miles south of Harrisburg) to visit Parker Homestead with my niece and Mom. This year, my sister, Dad and the latest addition to the family, my fourth-month-old niece, joined us.

Parker Homestead is a recreated 19th century town with buildings and artifacts from White Hall’s past. The neat part is my Dad’s mother grew up in White Hall (her sister still lives there in their family home) and Parker Homestead actually displays homework of their older brother in a school house on the property. My family searches for my uncle’s work each time we visit.

I may be drawn to the school house but my 3-year-old niece is drawn to the church where an old piano is located. If given the chance, I think she would remain on that piano bench all day.

Here’s some pictures from Parker Homestead:

Vulture circling

November 10, 2013

A lone turkey vulture circled Branson as we conducted some major shopping at Tanger Outlets. The weather was perfect and we stopped at Garfields Restaurant and Pub along the river for lunch/dinner.

Yum and what a view. I watched a heron fly by along with five or six geese. House sparrows perched above the stores lining Garfields.

We ended up stopping by Cakes and Creams Desserts for the Ozark Mountain Sundae or the funnel cake with fresh strawberries with ice cream. It was the perfect ending to the day (well, along with a stop by the hotel’s pool and hot tub)! The only downfall was that the sundae and funnel cake was too good – we were completely full by the time we left. We’re planning a second visit before we leave!

Our sole other stop was to the Festival of Lights. Slightly disappointed by it, but still interesting. My aunt and grandmother loved it.

Here’s some pictures:

Branson arrival

November 10, 2013

We arrived in Branson, Mo., late last night for a four-day getaway with my aunt and grandmother.

The decor at the Stone Castle Inn tickles me. The hotel is jammed packed. Christmas lights are already going up and, while traffic is busy, it’s not too bad.

For once, we have no plans. It’s off to shop and visit a nearby state park.

Night prowl

August 1, 2013

I’m finally back from vacation. I’m exhausted, but I had a great time. We basically took it semi-easy — slept in and then got going until we would arrive home just in time to pass out again.

One thing that kept us out late early in the week was a walk on the beach to find crabs. Yep, I said crabs. My brother-in-law decided he wanted to crab for part of the week and we spent one night walking the beach to see what we could find. Below’s our find, plus deer we saw on the way home. Enjoy!

DSCN0097 — We were trying to let this crab go, but he didn’t seem to want to let go of our bag. Eventually, we won.

DSCN0102 — My sister and her husband were able to save this jellyfish. Unfortunately, two days later I was slightly stung by one on the opposite side of the island.

DSCN0109 — We weren’t in time to save this little shark.

Marshes and autoliners

July 23, 2013

It has rained every day.

The rain comes typically in the afternoon giving us plenty of time to do all we want to. So far, we’ve mainly wanted to look around, reacquainting ourselves with the island. We last visited more than 10 years ago.

Jekyll Island was originally an exclusive winter retreat, The Jekyll Island Club, for U.S. elite. It was purchased in 1886 and hosted families such as the Rockefellers, Morgans and Pulitzers.

It became a Georgia state park in 1950 – unique to me since it is a “barrier island” off Georgia’s southeastern coast. It has tons of marshes, hotels and tourist-minded businesses.

We spent part of Saturday and some Sunday just looking around. The views are great, and Dad was fascinated with the huge ships carrying cars (Hoegh Autoliners). My only complaint? As the sole birder, I am unable to get pictures of some of the birds we pass in the marshes bordering the road. One such bird – a Roseate Spoonbill.

Georgia bound (memosforme.wordpress.com)

Our home away from home

July 20, 2013

We’ve finally arrived at our Jekyll Island rental. After 15 hours in a car (we stopped and napped along the way), my first priority was a shower.

We’re now about to unpack and head out to reacquaint ourselves with the place until it’s time to pick my sister and her husband up at the Jacksonville airport.

Here’s some pictures so far:

Georgia bound

July 19, 2013

I’m on the road, just five hours late. My sister, her husband and I loaded up my car with our gear, two boogie boards and tons of food and drinks.

Next? The task of fitting my carload into my parents already half-full impala.

It was a close fit but we did it. We’ve also managed to kill most of the mosquitoes that were in the car.

Now, we’re finally on our way to Jekyll Island. Only 11 hours and 13 minutes to go.

Photo essay: Gigi & I

July 1, 2013

My grandmother, Gigi, and I share a love of birds. So, a hummingbird banding workshop was the perfecting outing for us to spend some time together. Luckily, the Saturday workshop was from 1-4 p.m. at the Potlatch Conservation Education Center in Casscoe, which gave me plenty of time to pick her up in Jonesboro and stop at Jack Ryan’s Convenience store to pick up some of their oh-so-good sandwiches for lunch.

I’ve been going to the workshop for three years now and I don’t think I’ll ever get bored with it. There were no little kids this time so Gigi and I were both able to release a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird after they were banded. It was a pretty neat experience since the hummingbirds sat for a moment before flying off. Later, we drove down to the dock to see how high the White River was.

Here’s pictures:

Banding the first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

Gigi releasing the first hummingbird. — Gigi releasing the first hummingbird, a male.

I got to release the last. — I got to release the last, a female who was also the rowdiest.

Cooks Lake-hummingbird3 6-15 — Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Cooks Lake-hummingbird1 6-15 — Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Already banded. — Another look at the already-banded hummingbird.

Eastern Bluebird that posed as we headed down to the dock.

The White River water level is pretty high right now.

The dock at the White River. We were still able to access the floating ramp.

We found this lady bug on the floating ramp along with ... — We found this lady bug on the floating ramp along with …

This Broad-headed Skink (lizard) and ... — This Broad-headed Skink (lizard) and …

This frog who jumped off the ramp as I approached.

We spent our trip back to Jonesboro look for any wildlife. We saw very few.

It was a day well spent.

The Bandit (Aug. 17, 2012)
Revisiting the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (May 30, 2012)
The Smallest Around (Aug. 23, 2011)

Photo essay: An overflowing garden

June 10, 2013

To say my aunt is a gardener is putting it lightly. Her yard is her pride and joy as well as a year-round showcase. I love visiting her to discover what’s new in her garden (and plus because she’s simply amazing). It kills me that the gardening gene went to my sister and not me. I have a black thumb.

Anyway, here’s what was blooming at my last visit:

Attending the Special Olympics

May 28, 2013

I attended my first Special Olympics Saturday. The Arkansas event was held at Harding University’s Athletic Center and my 13-year-old cousin competed in three swimming categories. Not bad for a girl who just decided to swim six months ago!

Brittany ended up with one gold, two silver and a bunch of very proud family members. It was a great way to spend the day; not only because of my cousin but also for the other inspiring swimmers.

One girl was paralyzed from the waist down. Her coach would lower her into the water with a float device helping keep her lower limbs afloat. She raced solely on her arm strength and still managed to receive first place.

You could also tell another little girl didn’t care about the medals — she just enjoyed swimming and being around others. She slowly “doggy paddled’ her way across while smiling broadly at the audience.

It was truly awe-inspiring and I’m proud to say I was an attendee.

Memos for Me

Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.

Category: family