DeSoto Caverns Date

Good Thursday morning!

NOTE TO ROBIN - Yes. Joseph is not the first young man who has coveted the big gold van. I have had many (MANY) teenage boys and girls ask if they could one day buy the big gold van and turn it into who knows what. (I have to say, I'm not loving the Man Cave on Wheels idea... although it already has a gaming system... and a twin bed.) I always tell them, in no uncertain terms, I am driving the big gold van until it dies. It is now 13 years old, and I love it as much as my beagles. I cannot bear to think of the day when I am no longer driving the big gold van. It is just too painful.

Also, while I appreciate the bond we share watching teenage sons drive on the busy interstate, I have to say I disagree with hiding my fear. I have always believed a healthy dose of fear is a plus when it comes to parenting.

For example... Your five year-old starts packing his suitcase to run away to greener pastures because Mommy and Daddy are mean and won't buy him a puppy... I tell him fine, but the neighbors saw three grizzly bears in our driveway the night before. "Fear" is a wonderful parenting tool! (Which is probably why I haven't been asked to speak at any parenting conferences lately!)

Thank you for my Alaska goodies. I LOVE them!

NOTE TO CAM - What can I say? I miss you! I can't wait until we can walk together again when school starts. Seven to ten miles a day, folks. (You may have figured out I think "exaggerating" is a great parenting tool, also. Some people would call it a lie, but they would be wrong.)

I've added a couple more gallery pics of our trip. These are from our second full day at the very crowded beach... 200,000,001 on Sunday as opposed to only 200,000,000 on Saturday. Explanations are below.

Weekend Family Fun

Dollar Movie - The Dollar Movie in Hoover has some new flicks to choose from this week. Night at the Museum 2, Imagine That, Monsters and Aliens to name a few. Check times on their website (www.carmike.com), and take the entire family for just a few bucks!

LifeWay Christian Bookstore - Mark your calendars. August 1 is sure to be a great day for VeggieTales fans. Why? Because there is a free event at LifeWay Christian Bookstore at the Village at Lee Branch shopping center.

The store is celebrating the DVD release of VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella. The Kids Day Adventure program will feature free activities, giveaways and refreshments.

There will be an in-store scavenger hunt and children can make VeggieTales "merit" badges.

Here's what you need to know:

It begins at 11:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m. The store's address is 220 Doug Baker Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35242. For more information call the store at 205-408-0536.

Flea Market - Briarwood Presbyterian Church will open its doors this Friday at noon for a spectacular first annual flea market. The Briarwood Flea Market sponsored by the Women's Ministry is Friday from noon to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Remember it is CASH ONLY.

Here's what you need to know:

The sale is open to the public. It will be an indoor/outdoor market, with more than 70 vendors. Booths will be in the church gym, lunchroom and surrounding outside areas.

Less Than Semi-Entertaining Beach Tale #3 - Day two at the beach started out much the same as day one... sleeping in, eating in and making our way to the now REALLY crowded beach area. The water was still clear and there were WAVES. We love waves. The bigger, the better.

We put the Frisbee away after a few minor mishaps (Code for BONKING NON-FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE HEAD... AGAIN), and just concentrated on body surfing. We love to body surf. Of course, it is more fun when you have a boogie board, but I'm a firm believer in taking as little to the beach as possible and still squeezing as much fun out of the beach as we can. Case in point... one Frisbee, five towels, and a cooler with five drinks. That's it. Of course, during this trip, there wasn't room for miles around for anything else.

You've probably guessed there will not be a picture of me in a bathing suit using the tips for the perfect bathing suit picture (no matter what your age or body type). Two things very necessary for these pictures to be a success is SPACE and LARGE CRASHING WAVES. (Plenty of space to set up the shot was mentioned in the booklet. Large crashing waves was my idea.) We had neither. Thus, the missing picture I know you've all been waiting for. Maybe next year...

After a couple of hours of playing in the surf and sand, we headed back to the pool for another repeat of the day before. Everyone had a good time and before we knew it, it was time to for dinner. We decided to try a restaurant in a place called Baytowne Wharf about two minutes from our hotel. It is a beautiful community built around a quaint village of restaurants, shops, etc. and it is definitely a place where the moderately to extremely wealthy stay. (We were just visiting.)

We ate at Acme Oyster House and the food was very good. After walking around a little, Roxie decided to Bungee Jump on trampolines. We bought her ticket and waited in line for her turn. She was very good, turning flip after flip after flip and going higher and higher. It was definitely her kind of "thing to do."

We also noticed a little zip line in the village. (Remember? I want to zip line before I'm 90.) It was a short zip line that went over a man-made lake and then back again. It cost $18 plus tax. I watched and thought long and hard about knocking the zip line off my list. But in my mind's eye, I'm always zip lining over the rainforest in South America... not over the heads of moderately to extremely wealthy people looking up and seeing me wearing a harness. (One of the most unattractive pieces of safety equipment ever invented, I might add.) Nope. That was not the ultimate zip lining experience I had dreamed of, and I refuse to settle for anything less.

Our evening ended at a wonderful ice cream/candy shop in the village with everyone getting exactly what their sweet tooth desired... except for me. (Why is it the great ice cream shops only have sugar-free flavors in vanilla and butter pecan? Shoot me now! What's wrong with sugar-free chocolate mint, or sugar-free chocolate peanut butter, or just sugar-free CHOCOLATE?) I found a pretzel stick dipped ever-so-lightly in white chocolate and tried to pretend it was really something very, very good. In reality, there's only so much you can do to a pretzel stick, white chocolate or not!

Day two ended just like day one... everyone going in different directions until the hotel shut down at 11:00, and then finding an appropriate movie to watch until the wee morning hours. We Faulkners like to get into a routine as quickly as possible when we go on vacation. We are, and have always been, creatures of habit.

Don't miss tomorrow's less than stimulating last day of our mini vacation. Well, at least come back for the Book of the Week if nothing else!

DeSoto Caverns Date

Located only an hour away off Highway 280 in Childersburg, you will find DeSoto Caverns. Although they host an event called Septemberfest every year, you can also take one of your kids on a very fun-filled date during a different month. The following are some of the things you and your date could enjoy:

1. Gem stone panning
2. Lost trail maze
3. Bow and arrow shoot
4. Cave wall climb
5. Happy's Hoop (basketball)
6. Cave crawl box (200 feet of tunnel for kids to crawl through)
7. Squirt gun maze
8. Water balloon battles
9. Wacky water dodge
10. Happy's Hopping Cave (moonwalk)
11. Crystal find (digging for crystals in a giant sandbox)

There are a total of 27 different attractions. Each attraction costs $5.99, so you would need to pick and choose one or two things that would interest you and your date. The Cavern tour is $17.99 for an adult ticket and $15.99 for a child ticket (ages 3 to 11). Since this is not a "cheap" date, it will take some planning and saving on your part, but it would definitely be memorable time spent with your child.

The Caverns are open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

For more information, call 256-378-7252 or go to their website at www.desotocavernspark.com. Oh... and have a great time!

Have a safe Thursday, full of family, friends and fun. Make some plans for the weekend (big or small), because if you don't you will wake up Monday morning and it will have just slipped away. I know. Been there... done that.

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