Day Trip to Cullman

Good Thursday morning!

Yes! Wonderful, glorious Thursday. I thought you would never get here! However, I must say yesterday, although a Wednesday, was not a bad day at all. In reality, it could have been a Tuesday. (It wasn't good enough to be a Thursday, but it just didn't fall in that Wednesday category either.)

Mike and I started watching the movie Yes Man (starring Jim Carrey) Tuesday night, but had to stop mid-way because I wasn't going to make it. We finished it last night. It was a pretty good movie. It really made you think about what would happen if you actually did say "Yes" to every question posed to you. I even toyed with the idea of trying it for one day. But then I realized in that one day, I would probably have to say "Yes" to anything from buying Roxie everything her heart desires (and her heart desires A LOT of stuff) to chaperoning every school trip between now and the year 2012. It's too risky at this point in my life. I worked too long and too hard to learn to say "No" a few years ago to just throw it all out the window. Also, I now (very firmly) believe that God doesn't want or expect us to say "Yes" to everything. Our answers to questions asked of us are to be thoughtfully and prayerfully considered. Otherwise, it can lead to the "busy" life I so desperately try to avoid.

If you get a chance, go to Lisa's Blog on my Blog List and read her post about the word "Still." She did a whole post using that word as her subject. I might try that one day in the near future. (Example: I STILL love going to the pumpkin patch even though my children have outgrown the trip.) It would be fun to think along those lines for a day.

If you have a hankering for macaroni and cheese, go to Confessions of the Pioneer Woman under my Blog List... then click under "Cooking." She has the most delicious mac and cheese recipe I've ever seen. I'm going to try it AFTER Easter. This weekend I need to stick with recipes I know I can fix. But next week... watch out!

If you're still in the mood for blog hopping, go ahead and click on tara whitney photography in the Blog List, too. Look two posts down. She has a clip from U Tube of people breaking out into dance in an European train station. She's right. It would be so much fun to be somewhere when something like this happened.

After yesterday's depressing true tale, it's back to California, folks. We'll finish the sights today, and tomorrow we'll get back on that plane. I wish I could say the flight back was so much more relaxing and enjoyable. Sorry!

California Trip - Part 3 - The Sights

California is truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Of course, I haven't seen most of the places on the planet, but I imagine it is comparable to anything else out there!

I do want to mention one of our day trips before heading up the coast was the lush and lovely Napa Valley. Nothing out of the ordinary happened during our visit there (meaning no famous people were spotted), but it was a wonderful day, just the same, and I wanted to mention we visited.

The 17-Mile Drive to Carmel was breathtaking. Big Sur was exactly like you've seen in the movies. And when we finally arrived at our final destination, San Francisco, it was something to behold. The Golden Gate Bridge, the fog rolling in, Fisherman's Wharf (where all the action is), Lombard Street (the most crooked street in the world), trolley cars, Coit Tower, Alcatraz in the middle of San Francisco Bay... and absolutely the teeniest, tiniest apartment I've ever seen in my entire life where the five of us stayed for two nights packed like sardines! But it was free. And at the end of a trip to San Francisco, free is good.

Fisherman's Wharf became the location where we kept returning time and time again. I declared it the spot to meet if I were to get separated from the group. I knew how to get to Fisherman's Wharf. I felt comfortable there. Trolley cars were our main mode of transportation... mainly because once they heard Celeste say something, they usually gave us our ride for free. They even let us ring the trolley bell. It pays to be a southern girl!

One of the memories that stands out the most was being on top of Coit Tower on the 4th of July watching the fireworks from somewhere down below. Spectacular! However, no one mentioned California in July is much like Alabama in November. We each wore three or four short sleeved shirts and two or three pairs of shorts. Yeah, right. That's what they mean by the term "layering." We froze to death.

We had the last half of the final day to ourselves since Kelley and her husband had to drive home. We had to be at our hotel near the airport because we had such an early flight the next morning. The trolley system, while quaint and fun in the downtown San Francisco area, did not venture out to the airport. Thus, we decided to try the mass transit system... also known as the bus.

The bus drivers were not as enamored with our southern accents as the trolley drivers had been. The bus drivers did not offer to give us free rides because of our charming southern drawls. The bus drivers expected money each and every time we boarded a bus. (And we boarded several in the attempt to reach the airport.) The trolleys always ended up at Fisherman's Wharf. The buses did not. As the day turned into night, I begged my friends to let us return to the Wharf. We knew the Wharf. We were comfortable at the Wharf. The Wharf was our home away from home. Wisely, they said no time and time again to my pleas. Where would we have slept at the Wharf... on a bench? They were right. I was wrong, and when we finally reached our hotel, we were happy. Exhausted, everyone got ready for bed, and my friends immediately fell asleep. I, too, was exhausted, but sleep eluded me. I knew what tomorrow would bring. I was going to have to get on another airplane because my so-called friends refused to rent a car and "road trip" all the way home. (And I only had one dose of Dramamine left.)

Things were looking bleak. Very, very bleak.

Day Trip to Cullman

Mike and I lived in Cullman for five years after we married. While we saw most of the following sights during that time, some of these things have been added since our departure.

Blooming Festival (April 18 and 19) - We attended this Festival on two different occasions. It was a lot of fun. It is located at St. Bernard's Abbey and Prep School. It is your basic arts and crafts show with over 140 different booths, live music and plenty of food. It costs $2 for adults and children 5 and under get in free. The good thing about the Festival is the location. The Ave Maria Grotto is also located on the grounds, so while you're enjoying the Festival, you can break away and see Jerusalem in Miniature. There are over 125 miniature reproductions of historic buildings and such made by hand by a monk. You walk down stone pathways and look at the amazing work. (It is outside, also. The cost is $7 for adults; $4.50 for children 6 to 12; and children 5 and under are free with adult supervision.) While this could take several hours out of your day trip, there are several other things to see and do in Cullman.

Clarkson Covered Bridge - This is an old-covered bridge (no longer in use). You can walk across the bridge and beneath the bridge there are places for picnics, tossing a football, etc. Unless you have a picnic, you wouldn't stay very long. However, it is a pretty setting for family pictures. (There is a nice bathroom facility there, also.)

FunZone - This is something they added since we lived there. If you feel like putt-putt, go-carts or playing on inflatables, you also have that option.

The Painted Bisquet - I mentioned this place in an earlier post in December. It's a great place to spend an hour or two painting pottery. They have things for boys to paint, too. (Not teenagers, but elementary-age boys... definitely.)

All Steak Restaurant - This is a Cullman landmark. They have wonderful food, and you will not be disappointed in the menu selection. It is a family restaurant, so children are welcome. (You have to try the orange rolls. They are famous for them.)

These are just a few of the places Cullman has to offer in the month of April. It would be a low-stress, fun-filled spring day trip for you and yours. For more information on all or any of the places listed above, you can Google the name of the place (Example: All Steak Restaurant in Cullman, Alabama), and they all have websites listed. While you are visiting Cullman, chances are you'll see many more things you would like to visit. Make a list of the things that interest you, research them when you get home, and in a few months, plan another day trip... only 30 minutes away.

Have a beautiful Thursday. As promised, tomorrow I will have three more Easter books to add to your collection. I also will have the TV Review (only four this week... Amazing Race took a week off) and the Weekend Happenings.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.