The Storybook Sunset

This long stretch of Alabama road led us to one of the very first Mardi Gras Parades of the year on Dauphne Island (and our first Mardi Gras Parade ever!).

Over the deep blue waters we traveled to be with the thousands of people that flocked to celebrate the coming of Fat Tuesday before Lent!

"Because I finally love my job and my two kids."

Our necks were adorned with brilliantly colored beads that rained from the floats...

...and our tummies filled with Caramel & Chocolate Moon Pies that were thrown into the crowd...



 ...as we watched the parade floats & danced all the way back to our car for our short ride to Mississippi!

Found among the grounds of the Mississippi State University, this over five hundred year Oak tree's branches are told to bond into a lifetime friendship anyone who walks under their shade.

Even though we're all sisters by blood, we figured it couldn't hurt to walk under it and also always be friends! With the adventuresome spirits our parents raised us with, we knew that there was much more to be found in the treetops than we could ever view from the grounds.
These branches dipped close to the ground, which made them a little bit easier to climb than the ones from our backyard at home.

Fifty-nine feet high, the twisting trunk and branches of this tree have intertwined with the lives of the many people who have wandered this campus and witnessed America itself unfold. 

A sign by the grounds tells the story:

"I was a sapling when Christopher Columbus sailed the Caribbean and I had begun to bear acorns when Ponce de Leon reached Florida in his quest for the Fountain of Youth. In 1587, the year Virginia Dare, the first white child born at Roanoke Island, appeared, I had turned a hundred years old..."

A survivor of Hurricane Katrina, this tree held it's magnificence and hope, much like the character of the people we met in Mississippi. They are full of hope, full of life, and full of love.

 "Be with my wife."

 

"Each day is a unique experience, curiosity about what new events will transpire."

"I wake up because I am hungry for some reason. So I cook something good and start my day!"

"I wake up in the morning because I'm still able to!"

 "Because I have to, I would prefer to sleep in!"

"I'm still searching for my reason to, but I know it is out there."

A striking sunset greeted our night on one of Long Beach's many piers.

The sun goes down on the waters of the Gulf Coast and almost gives off an iridescent glow of purples and pinks that surrounds you with a warmth that could only be described like the ones in storybooks.

Here's to a new page on our journey,

Love,

The Crew +Stephanie

The Day that Jennifer Practically Disappeared

Driving along the road you see many things. Mostly these things are either billboards or gas stations. Sometimes however, we find really interesting...and unique...attractions.

Especially when they stand 36ft tall into the sky (like this replica of the Statue of Liberty!).

"I wake up everyday so I can go outside and enjoy nature."

"I wake up everyday to care for the animal collection at my job & it is a joy because they are my kiddos!"

"I wake up everyday to see what's next!"

Ruffner Mountain is a secluded oasis of nature's beauty and wonders.

All you have to do to get there is follow the signs for the Behavorial Health Center, drive up the steep hill that says 'Dead End', and of course, like all legs of our journey, pack a lot of snacks.

Our goal was to hike to the tippy-top of overlook point at the third largest urban nature preserve in the U.S..

 But like when we're driving on the road, we see signs for exciting things...and end up taking an hour long detour. (Like the Giant Peanut of Georgia! )

This time our wandering led us to an old rock crusher from the ruins of irons mining that began in the 19th century!

An 1896 newspaper reported that at one point, over 200 tons of raw ore were produced per day & then shipped to Sloss Furnaces for processing.

When you think you've climbed far enough of the trail...

...keep climbing to see an even better view!

The way that the dry rocks are beveled and formed practically swallow the sight of anything that is against them. And that's kind of what happened to Jennifer.

Can you find her?

Of all the days to wear her camouflage jeans, Jennifer chose "Hiking in the Woods among the Trees Day."
It wouldn't have been that bad...
...Except it got a little chilly......
So she put on her camouflage jacket (because it's so fuzzy & warm!)...
...and consequently disappeared into the woods...
...a lot...
 She became our very own personal Where's Waldo? :)

In betwixt the bustling of the city, you can find the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, another beautiful escape to nature. If you make your way past the calm pond of giant coy fish, over the little red bridge, and through the tall grasses of the Japanese gardens, you will find tree knees like the ones we first saw in the Congaree Forest of South Carolina.

 "Because I have responsibilities."

Thank you to our Alabama family for introducing us to Alabama, mouthwatering cheesy biscuits, and hysterically funny movies! You both are amazing people and we are so glad to have met you! :)

"To learn new things."

"I wake up everyday to let my sweet dog, Daphne, outside. Providing for her is a way I can reciprocate her unconditional love."

To mountains, botanical gardens, and finding Wald---ahem, Jennifer,

Love,

The Crew + Stephanie

Listen To The Graffiti!

  

A great big wonderful thank you to our forever amazing Florida family! You all are a big part of our lives and we are so happy we got to spend time with you over our shared loves for Downton Abbey, mouthwatering foods, and O-H-I-O!

 

"I get up every morning because I know there will be coffee! After coffee, everything is possible!"

"Because I love that sunshine."

"I don't know why. I have to go to work in the evening?"

"Because I need to get ready for work. I get up 7:30 no matter if I'm working or not. Habit."

"To share the love of Christ with those around me."

"So that I can live the life I've been given to the best of my ability."

Alabama's beautifully breezy mornings gifted us with a good excuse to find warmth in drinking coffee and meeting people at Church Street Coffee & Books!

"I wake up because of Hope."

"The beauty that is found in the interactions of human being's story."

Although the weather was still a little drizzly, we wandered around the brick walkways of Railroad Park...

"The next adventure."

...and stumbled upon this brilliantly lighted tunnel!

Birmingham's Museum of Art was not only filled with unique pieces of art on the walls, but also interactive art pieces like the comfiest cement bench we've ever sat on...

...and the comfiest cat couch Jennifer has ever curled up in! 

Notice: Cat Allergy Friendly.

Sloss Furnaces is the perfect historic stomping grounds for adventures!

"I wake up in the morning happy to have such fulfilling work at Sloss Furnaces with such a nice staff."

A few hours is enough time to only get a taste of discovering all of the stairs, pathways, and tunnels that this National Historic Landmark contains.

Tips for exploring Sloss:

• Bring your camera!
• Grab a flashlight!
• ...Listen to the graffiti when it tells you to Watch Your Head!

Sloss is a remarkable symbol of the industrialization era of America...

.

...as well as being a beacon of the struggle and of hope of the men and women who worked hard to help Birmingham grow quickly and turn it into the "Magic City"...

At the top of the lookout pier of the Vulcan statue, supported only by the metal grates beneath your feet, you begin to really see the wonder of the city from a view that only this Roman god of Forge could provide.

"I get up in the morning to start a new day and to go to work at Vulcan Park and Museum. My "dream" job!"

"I wake up everyday to come to work at Vulcan! Great view and great people. It's a pleasure to welcome visitor's from all over the world!"

Built in less than three months, this statue of Vulcan was created by the people of Birmingham for the

 St. Louis World's Fair to represent their booming iron industry!

Standing tall & proud 56 ft into the air, Vulcan is the largest statue over cast in the U.S. and the world's largest cast iron statue (and is well worth the dozens of flights of stairs on your way up!).

Be sure to bundle up!

Vulcan weighs 101,200 pounds (over 50 tons).

That's equal to almost 202,400 cans of Dr. Pepper!

The twinkling lights of Birmingham shone throughout the darkened city as the sun began to settle over the towering buildings and give way to a chilly night.

To the sweet people you meet in coffee shops & the wonders of standing in the sky,

Love,

The Crew