The Beach at Ocean Springs

Mississippi does have a coast with beaches that have salt water lapping the white sand while pelicans dive at fishermen. I know, it surprised me too. I didn't have high expectations for the quality of white sand beaches in Mississippi until this past Thanksgiving extravaganza in Ocean Springs, MS. It's great having two paid days off from work that are coupled with the weekend, it makes for a nice weekend with the opportunity to do something different and fun. We thought that because of the Thanksgiving holiday and the time off that we would pack up and ship out to the coast and enjoy a relaxing long weekend doing nothing. We packed up the car with the essentials, thanksgiving feast, golf clubs, and the puppy, and we were ready to go. When we arrived I was surprised to see the coast still destroyed from hurricane Katrina. Newt, Kristy and Trout met Lesley, Jane, Tucker, and I in Ocean Springs for the weekend too. Our vacation house was brand new and so were all of the other houses, all three of them, on our street. The rest of the coast was empty. The new regulations for the coast state that the beach houses must stand somthing like 20 feet off the ground to protect them from a storm surge. Notice Lesley in the photo. There were no other people to be seen most of the weekend so we had the beach to ourselves and the dogs had all the room to run and play that they could want. I can sum up the weekend very concisely, relax a lot, eat a lot, and play golf a little (about three holes worth). The weather was wonderful most of the weekend and only rainy on Saturday. Lesley knit, I worked on grad school applications, Tucker read books, Newt did school work, Kristy knit, and Jane read, but we all played with the puppies. I think that Trout and Cloud probably enjoyed the beach the most. They spent a lot of time chasing the ocean, crabs, sticks, and each other.
We were lucky when they finally would wear each other out and we would have a moment of quiet.
After Tucker and I squeezed in three holes of golf by the Gulf in the pouring down rain we met everyone else for a great BBQ experience at the Shed. Aside from having amazing BBQ the Shed was covered in Shedisms. Such as this one - We celebrated Thanksgiving by combining our many talents for cooking and created a unique and delicious Cajun feast. We had deep fat fried turkey, shrimp n' grits with brown roux gravy, sweet potato casserol and so much more. I really didn't need to eat the rest of the weekend. It was very relaxing and just what we all needed to recharge. I enjoyed the "ghost town" appeal of the area and loved walking with the dogs and taking photos.
We drove back to Jackson on Sunday and I think everyone would agree that it was a great Thanksgiving.
The video is of Cloud Dancing and Trout chasing a crab... They had a blast.

Cloud Dancing

We had the pleasure of bringing a bounding baby girl home a few months ago. A coworker of Lesley's found her in the middle of the highway. Her name is Cloud Dancing and she weighed in at 6.3 Lbs. That was about two months ago. Now she weighs about 25 Lbs and is full of energy. She, like all good puppies (did I mention she's a puppy), is full of worms and vigor. We have worked hard to teach her the essentials such as sit, stay, lay, high five, and come. She really is a great companion when she's not waking us up at 5:30 in the morning. We have had a lot of fun introducing her to her best friend Trout, as well as her other friends Gypsy, Wizard and Heidi (don't tell her that I added that last one). You will most likely see a lot of her in future blogs.

Mom and Dad in the South

I was still studying for the big test that was coming at the end of October, but I was aloud one fun weekend without studying. My parents flew in from Colorado to come visit and see what the Deep South was all about. They found out that 1.) most people do wear shoes (most) 2.) people do know how to read (most) and 3.) it doesn't matter where you are its fun when the fair is in town. They flew in over Columbus Day weekend and the first night we had fun cooking (Lesley made a pot of red beans and rice) and catching up.

Saturday morning we got together at our
apartment. It was a relaxing morning. I made my famous biscuits and we took a walk to orient them with our neighborhood. We walked around the pond and watched the birds and then headed down the bike path to show them our route to work when we pedal. Then we headed downtown to the fairgrounds.


Flashing lights, the smell of stock, and the sound of screams of excitement lay before us in all directions. First things first, foot long state fair corn dogs and fresh lemonade.

After our gullets were filled we wound our way through the games and rides and into the stock barns to watch cows and goats getting ready to meet their maker. Les reminisced of the days she showed sheep at the fair when she was a young girl. My mom reminisced of entering her sewing projects in the 4-H competitions.

We had fun laughing at the half woman/half snake exhibit and remembering as kids we used to beg our parents to pay money to let us go in and see such a site. The fair is one of those things that is the same whether you grow up going to the Louisiana state fair or the Colorado state fair. They probably each have a little something significant that stands out and makes it its own. One of the notable events at the Mississippi state fair is the biscuits. As a bread baker myself with a specialty in biscuits I was drawn to this state fair tradition. A group of ladies sit under a tent cranking out biscuits with fervor.

And anyone who wants one can have one. They are free! They give out over 100,000 biscuits by the time the fair is over. It's best with maple syrup. These biscuits have, I believe, three ingredients; shortening, milk, and flour (the southern way). They are cut out with mason jars and Campbell's soup cans and then baked in the oven, and with a quick turnaround they are eaten by the fair goers. Delicious! Winding our way through the barns we went over to the equine center to watch what must only happen in southern fairs, mule pulling. A team of two mules attached to a sled and 5000+ pounds are encouraged to pull and the team that pulls the most wins. It's quite a site. After the fair we went to enjoy some authentic Jacksonian food at Julep's. Shrimp and grits, spaghetti squash, blackened fish and of course a mint julep. Lesley's mom and Tucker joined us for the evening as well.

The next morning after another fantastic breakfast we chose to check out the Natchez Trace south of Jackson. We drove the National Scenic Parkway down to a little spot called Rocky Springs. There is a trail that follows the old sunken trace for a few miles and you get to see what it was like before the cars and the pavement.

At the trail head we saw a sign that said trail closed due to the bridge across Rocky Springs being out. We decided to venture on despite the obstacles and what we discovered was that the bridge was only kinda out. The bridge was navigable with a little care and we then were able to enjoy the old trace.

We saw birds aplenty, though the mighty Pileated woodpecker still eludes me. The day was fun and it was great having my parents in town.

I however had to go to work the next day. On Monday while I was at work Lesley took them to the Mississippi craft center to see some of the local art and then they swung by my office to see where I worked and to take us to lunch at Hamal's, the down home, soul food, all you can eat, must try before you leave Jackson restaurant. Well, thanks for visiting mom and dad and we can't wait to see you again our way.

Cloud Dancing

This is our puppy Cloud Dancing enjoying a walk amidst the Autumn
leaves!

Greer's Ferry Lake

Let's see if I can play catch up and fill everyone in on the most recent events. Let's take a look back to the end of...err...sometime in September. We decided to take a day off of work and drive up to Arkansas where we could relax and hopefully do a little water skiing. Ross had been in town helping on the farm for a few weeks and before he drove back up to Montana, Jane and Tucker and Les and I thought it would be fun to get together. We all made the 6 hour drive north through the Delta, up through Little Rock, and finally to Greer's Ferry Lake. I was in the midst of studying for the GRE and spent a lot of time studying, and it was a relaxing place to study. But, one can't study the entire time and to fill the non study time we rented a ski boat with a giant tube and a water ski. We had the lake to ourselves and after Lesley and Ross showed me how it worked I took a turn on the Tube. It was a lot of fun. Next Lesley and Ross tried out the water ski. I thought I would take a turn. Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but it was fun. After an afternoon of skiing we went back home to enjoy the evening. The next day we went to Mountain View. Now I could tell you about Grape Vine Betty and the planters peanut jar filled with mysterious clear liquid, but I suppose it is Arkansas and who stops on the side of the road anyhow. I think you needed to be there to appreciate that side trip. After Grape Vine Betty's we found ourselves in the little town of Mountain View. In mountain view they love bluegrass, dulcimer making, and whittling, not to mention candle making, soap making, knife making, wood working, pottery, baking, black smithing, herb growing, booze making and other handy crafts. We enjoyed the Ozark Culture park and all of the hand made crafts that can be found there. After the park we headed into town to enjoy the sights and sounds. It was a great break from the daily grind....... Here is a video of my first tubing experience.

From Naive Teenagers to Responsible Parents

It's definitely time to play catchup with our blogs. This is the first blog that I, Lesley, am posting. Jeremy is the faithful blogger in our family, but I'm giving it a go to see if I can help out a bit as He is in the midst of the grad school application process. Of course, this blog is all about my trip over to Shreveport September 5th to see some of my closest friends from the glory teenage years stepping into the role of parenthood.


Lindsay, Warren, Lea, and Gilbert are each such great individuals, and it is so much fun to see them in this new nurturing, responsible role, where these precious little ones are completely dependent upon them. Ike, Zeke, and Billy are each blessed to have you all as their parents, to look up to and trust and share the joys and pains of life with.


May your relationships with your children be blessed with much love and joy and incredible memories as you watch them grow and discover who they are as their journeys in this world unfold.


I'm glad that I was able to meet the little ones, and I'm so glad that I was able to connect with each of you and share an afternoon celebrating one of the most amazing blessings in your life journeys thus far. The joy and love in each of your hearts was evident and beautiful! Congratulations Friends!

Changing Plans

(An early addendum to this post; I wrote most of this on September 14th but I have been tackling the GRE so I have devoted 0 minutes to blogging. My apologies for the disjointed post. Lesley will be taking over for the next few backdated posts and you will hear from me again once I have managed to secure a spot in a highly touted graduate program.... we hope.) Okay, sometimes plans don't always work out the way you think they will. For example, when you have a family trip planned for Arkansas on a lake and a little canoe trip down the Buffalo and it turns into a trip closer to home fishing in the Louisiana marshes with alligators and Cajuns but at the last minute a hurricane shows up and tells us that we should probably change our plans again. Well, this happened and we ended up having our little family vacation right here in Jackson, MS. Ross, Newt, Kristy, Lesley, Jane, Tucker, Juel, Trout, Baker, and me all coming together to ride out Gustave and try to find something interesting and different to do at the same time. The vacation started a couple days before the hurricane hit but just far enough out that New Orleans and southern Louisiana were being evacuated. Newt, Kristy and Trout showed up from the their home in New Orleans right after Ross drove in from Montana. Pizzas were enjoyed and ideas hatched about what we could do to entertain ourselves for the next few days. After a good nights sleep and a wonderful breakfast we decided that we would have lunch at Cool Al's. (These are my biscuits and they're awesome.) Cool Al is a Jamaican who makes hamburgers. In fact he is listed in the book "1000 things to do before you die" as a must do, well, before you die. So we made our way to his restaurant and discovered that he made 16oz hamburgers. That's right hamburgers that are 1 whole pound, and for the low price of $5 you couldn't go wrong, you couldn't eat the whole thing, but you couldn't go wrong. He also specializes in veggie burgers and has won a PETA award for them. As a side note on the way out of the restaurant we saw an elusive urban tumble weave. That magic piece of hair that has gotten away in search of a better life. From Cool Al's we made our way to the Natural Science Museum to see the wildlife and hike around by the Pearl River. While at the museum we watched a couple snakes eat whole fish. I should mention that this was also Kristy's birthday so we had a birthday meal for her as well at a great Italian restaurant in Ridgeland . Newt may have been bested by the impending hurricane , as far as birthday surprises go, but he did manage to bring a few surprises to Jackson with him to surprise Kristy on her birthday. (I know you can't see it but Newt is wearing a T-Shirt that says "Make Wetlands not War" with a picture of some cattails growing in an old army helmet. I thought it was a great image) The next day we all decided since the hurricane was eminent (and we could see the clouds swirling) that our best bet would be to head further north up to the Delta in search of BBQ and Blues. We didn't find much in the way of BBQ but we did find Kermit the Frogs home and a piece of "food" called the BBQ Ripper. The BBQ Ripper didn't really have BBQ and really it was just a two foot long hot dog with baked beans on it. The real find was Tamales. I have heard that Tamales were invented in the Delta, I informed the informant that tamales were in fact invented by the Aztecs, that is to say the word came from an Aztec word that means "wrapped food". Any who.... the African American tenant farmers working side by side with Mexican migrant farmers adopted the food and it is now a Delta Mississippi staple. The tamales were good and it made the whole trip worth it. We made it home just in time to watch the hurricane start to role in. The next morning it was raining and a little breezy, the power even went out for a little while, so we packed up and headed out to see if we could find any treasures at the "junk shops". A few trinkets were found so I guess the excursion was a success. The last night of the vacation catfish was in order so we went to Cock of the Walk to enjoy the fried fish and watch the hurricane rage, or not, outside the window at Ross Barnett reservoir. A long story short; we may not have had canoing on the Buffalo, or fishing in the marsh but we did experience a little "regionality" in our own backyard here in Mississippi... and the hurricane didn't kill us. (This is me saying good bye, Lesley will be writing for awhile and I'll see you guys (Y'all) later)

Another Decade Done

30 years, 8 days, 3 hours, and 24 minutes later I am still having a fabulous time. I have been blessed with many unique experiences in life and turning 30 was one to remember. With a little planning on Lesley's part and the restrictions placed on me and information given to me on a need to know basis, anticipation grew for weeks if not months. I was counting down the days until we flew to Colorado and the fun that awaited, but to my surprise it began in Mississippi. After work on Aug 22nd Lesley, her mom, and Tucker took me out for what can only be described as the best steak I've ever had, next to my dad's of course. We went to Tikos in Jackson and had a wonderful evening at their house where we stayed the night because our flight was at about 6:00 a.m which equals getting up at 4:00. The alarm sounded right on cue and I was surprisingly wide awake. I wasn't sure what I was going to be involved with today but I did know that it was in Colorado with my family. We boarded our plane and landed in Denver a few short hours later to all the excitement of the Democratic National Convention which was taking place this weekend. I did manage to pin on my Obama 08 pin for the ride into Denver. My parents picked us up, which was exciting, and we headed back to their place in Aurora. Upon arrival my little brother, his girlfriend Elizabeth, and my Grandma were waiting. One thing I had been looking forward to was the new New Belgium Fat Tire beer in a can. I can't get Fat Tire in Mississippi so it was a treat to have lunch and a cold "can" of Fat Tire waiting for me. We sat down to lunch and Chris passed a note to me which read "Happy Birthday! Wow, 30 that's amazing. Seems like just yesterday we were going to the Brighton skate park for your Birthday. We've got something very special planned for you this weekend. But we're keeping it a surprise. We're going somewhere special. But, I lost the directions! You'll have to help us find our way. As I was climbing in the mountains a strong wind blew the coordinates we need all over the place, But I was able to hold on to one. This is your first clue. "We know you've been waiting for this for some time now. It rhymes with flat wire but it doesn't come in a bottle." go to 39% 36' 37.25" N 105% 8' 51.36" W - Chris" I received the clue and instantly was whipped into a frazzle of excitement. I need a map and compass I exclaim. No sooner had I made the exclamation than did Lesley pull out my GPS that she brought from home. Perfect! I ran up and down the back yard trying to get the satellites to line up and give me my position. Got IT! I don't remember what everyone else was doing but I was ready to go "The Party's Here" exclaimed the sign given to me. My dad, and Chris got the car ready and we headed out to find out where this "Flat Wire" was. Lesley, Mom, Grandma, and Elizabeth where left behind, I had little time to contemplate what they were going to do. The coordinates brought us to C-470 and Bowles and the largest monstrosity... ahemm. liquor store I have ever seen. Dubbed Tipsy World this was like a super Walmart of booze. Well I had found the "Flat Wire" aka Fat Tire and a new clue. Wow, How does that taste? Bring your brew and let's scoot. A special prize awaits you. (if you can find it.) The way is tough and I hope you don't fall or get caught. Watch out for cactus and shotgun wielding mountain folk, and always remember, "In case of flood, climb to safety." Go to 40% 00' 25.5" N 105% 20' 28.3" W. A new clue! I must be getting close. I punched the coordinates into my trusty GPS and off we went in the direction of Boulder, CO. As we drove through the city full of recently returning co-eds excited about a new year at CU we make a turn to the west and head up Boulder Canyon. My GPS tells us to stop at a tiny pullout on the side of the road just as the rain starts. There is Middle Boulder Creek to our left and a mountain to our right, I start up the mountain. No sooner had I started than I noticed a barbed wire fence, Ah "watch out for shotgun wielding mountain folk" I get it we're trespassing. Onward and upward the rain picks up and I finally notice a bright yellow dry bag suspended high in a pine tree. I've found it. I get the bag down and it is filled with all kinds of bread making goodies, and another clue. This one was written on the back of a box that told us to head up to the town of Nederland and then go north. We wound our way to the fun town of Ward and the Utica Grocery. Utica grocery was full of hippies and dogs, just the kind of place that would have delicious home baked mountain cookies. We enjoyed watching the locals shoot coffee cans with blow darts the size of a javelin and viewing the local yard art but we had one more clue to go. "Hurry Up! You're taking too long. Quit wasting everyone's time stuffing your face with those delicious cookies your last clue; 40% 20' 32.54" N, 105% 30' 22.11" W. Off we went to our weekend destination in a mountain cabin in Estes Park, CO. I arrived to Joyful howls by all of the ladies. Now, I should mention that Justin was to be a part of this little geoadventure but due to some run-ins with the Mexican immigration departing Mexico, and some flight cancellations he was slightly behind on the arrival into Colorado (hopefully that will be told in his blog). But that didn't mean he didn't have some clues and treasure to find high up in the trees as well. We had a fun time that evening when Justin arrived with our good friends John and Kelley and their dogs and then Nate and his dog arrived and Jamie and David arrived from Santa Cruz too. We stayed up late catching up. The next morning we had a little climbing to do in Rocky Mountain National Park. There are few places that I have strong place connection to, but Rocky Mountain NP and Longs Peak is one of them and I was excited to spend the morning climbing. Chris, Elizabeth and I went up to the Jurassic Park area across from the Twin Sisters to get the climbing bug out. We warmed up on some fun little routes that were very slabby, definitely a different type of climbing than I'm used to. After our warm up we went to one of the classic routes of the area "The Edge of Time" but Chris dubbed it the Edge of Reality. This was a 5.9 R with a difficult start but wonderful holds on the right all the way up. The views were also quite spectacular. I wish we would have had more time to go climbing and that more people would have been able to enjoy the routes. We headed back to the cabin for lunch, a fabulous cookout with burgers and brauts, and to see what else would unfold. Soon all of our Colorado friends and family started showing up. I was so surprised to see so many make the trip to the mountains it was wonderful. We spent the afternoon visiting with so many good friends. Again, I wish I would have had more time... but we alway have next time. Justin and I were toasted into the 30 something club, Yeah Lesley I made it. Slowly everyone departed and we settled down to relax and enjoy the rest of the time in the mountains. The next morning, my actual birthday, we packed and cleaned so we could head back to Denver for a BBQ at my parents house. We took the scenic drive along the Saint Vrain River. The BBQ and celebration at home was great with all of the family there. Our flight left the next day and it was back home to Jackson, MS for work and a little recovery before our next family event (Next Blog). Check back soon because we have a lot more to talk about with Lesley's family vacation and hurricane Gustav. I leave with some extra pictures of the fun. Enjoy!