FFF ~ Southern Charm & Epic Celebrations…

I’ve been sharing this week about Katie and my travels to South Carolina to see her guy graduate from Boot Camp and officially become a Marine. Being at Parris Island and experiencing these celebrations was unforgettable. Here are more favorites to share with y’all during our trip. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun.

 

The food! We ate at 4 great restaurants and we were not disappointed at any of them. Fried green tomatoes were on my list to try and they were delicious. The fish tacos on top of grits with smoked gouda were pretty memorable, too. I didn’t eat that vertical cobb salad but it was a feast for the eyes. The popovers were huge and the trio of desserts was yummy. We ate at Wren, Emily’s, The Beaufort Inn, and Pannini’s in Beaufort. I’d recommend any of these places to eat if you ever travel there.

 

I really enjoyed the architecture and the beautiful water scenes we got to see. This is “Low Country”. The Lowcountry is often thought of as a geographic and social identifier. While there is a general consensus on defining Lowcountry as it relates to culture, there is a considerable difference of opinion on its geographic extent. According to some historians, the Lowcountry extends from the Sandhills of South Carolina, just east of Columbia, to the coast. This area is mostly near or below sea level; thus the term “low country”.

 

 

 

Katie and I at Wren Restaurant. This was one of the hours that my hair didn’t look like Bozo the clown. The South and the humidity don’t do anything for my hair. As charming and beautiful as the South is I could never live in that heat and humidity.

 

On our way home form the South we had a layover at the Dallas Airport. We were so excited to spend time at the airport with my brother and Miss Hope. Because Andrew was military they gave my brother and Hope a pass to go through security and sit with us at our gate! Miss Hope kept us entertained. We also got to board with first class on all the legs of our flight. I was really impressed that the airlines gave our military special treatment!

Our biggest announcement this week is that Andrew asked Katie to marry him! Katie is thrilled and we are throwing a quick engagement open house on Sunday before Andrew flies to North Carolina for 9 weeks of Infantry School.

So our heads are spinning around here. Hope y’all had a good week and I’ll be by to see your favorites in between shopping and preparing for the Engagement party!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Rhett House ~ Part II

We really enjoyed the Spanish Moss hanging down from the trees.

That is the door to our room.

The porches were so inviting…if only the heat and humidity were less oppressive.

In the afternoons the Inn had Sweet Tea, lemonade and cookies for guests.

In the early evening they served cheese and crackers.

Later in the evening dessert was served in the kitchen.

Although breakfast was served in this room each morning our schedule prevented us from enjoying it.

Several times a day this horse drawn carriage came by the Inn on their Beaufort historic tour.

My next post will be about Family Day at Parris Island.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Rhett House Inn

Over the next few days I will chronicle our trip to South Carolina. We left Seattle at 7:00 am and flew through Dallas and on to Savannah. From Savannah we had a 45 minute drive to Beaufort, South Carolina where we would be staying. We stayed at the Historic Rhett House Inn. We arrived at the Inn at 6:30 in the evening.

 

We stayed in room #7 on the lower level of the beautiful old house.

 

 

This garden space was just outside our door.

 

Located in Beaufort, South Carolina, the 17 room Rhett House Inn is a classic restoration of 19th century Southern Antebellum architecture. Offering all of the amenities that seasoned travelers have come to expect from a fine bed and breakfast, this historic Beaufort Inn is among the finest accommodations on the southeast coast. The Rhett House Inn is situated in the historic district of Beaufort, SC, a small Southern town of only 11,000 and founded in 1712, and only steps away from the celebrated shops and restaurants.

We got settled and walked a couple blocks to Emily’s for dinner. We were tired from a full day of travel and it was nice to sit down to a good meal. We enjoyed our food and the waitstaff were efficient and helpful with questions we had about the area. On our way home from the restaurant at dusk Katie commented that it felt like she was on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland with the crickets chirping, the muggy air, and the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.

Over the next week I’ll be posting more photos from the Inn and the Beaufort Area along with the main event, the Marine Graduation Ceremony at Parris Island. It was all amazing. We arrived home on Saturday and during our layover in Dallas we enjoyed an hour with my brother and my niece Miss Hope. I’m still recuperating and hope to get around to visit y’all soon.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

A Southern Belle…

My daughter Katie and I hope to have a Southern Belle experience when we head to South Carolina and to the “South” for our first time ever. We are staying here…

 

with this fabulous porch…

 

Our #1 reason to travel here is to see Katie’s boyfriend Andrew graduate from USMC Boot Camp, Parris Island. She is soooo excited to finally see him after only having snail mail correspondence for a few months now. He has done well and we are all proud of him. I’m hoping to get lots of photos and will share after we get home. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll be taking my computer…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Oh Canada!

Growing up I was immersed in a Russian Community that used cousin, aunt and uncle loosely. We always had more “relatives” then a proper genealogy record would prove. I just inherited 9 girl cousins from Canada. Our cousin connection comes from our love for each other, similar upbringing, blogging, and recipes that our ancestors brought out of Russia and Germany. I will be sharing the wonderful bonding experiences we had during our 3 days together soon.

 

Here are the Mennonite Girls (MGCC) minus me and I now know first hand they really can cook! Starting in the back, Judy from My Front Porch, Marg from Home Again, Lovella from What Matters Most, Julie from Pearls in A Nutshell, Betty,  Anneliese from For Everything a Season, Bev from Kaleidoscopes, Kathy, and Charlotte.

Here’s the same photo with me in it. I borrowed it from one of my cousins who happened to post this same photo spot on her blog. Thanks Judy!

Thank you girls for all the good food, laughter, prayers, and fun we had! Till we meet again…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose…

Do you remember this great oldie from Burt Bacharach? Dear and I fly to San Jose today and I hope to eat some Mexican Food somewhere on the way to a wedding we’re going to in Mt. Hermon.

When we were on our trip to Eastern Washington we had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant in Colville and then we had dinner at a restaurant in Wenatchee that had some Russian food on their menu.

 

We had some of our Mexican favorites and then some Russian favorites,  Spinach Borsch, Pelemeny, Vareniki and stuffed cabbage which BTW my mother makes a whole lot better then this restaurant did.  I think I’ve finally figured out why these foods are my all time favorites…duh. I was born in East Los Angeles and lived in a Immigrant Russian household within a Mexican neighborhood.  Makes sense that I learned to enjoy these foods and they have become my comfort food.

I’ll be away from a computer till we get back on Sunday so I won’t be posting my hymn for Sunday this week. Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Republic Cemetery

I enjoy older cemeteries where there are still grave markers/monuments that are above ground. We found this cemetery on our travels to Eastern Washington in the city of Republic.

Republic, Washington is a city with an early 1900s look and a heritage based in the mining and logging industries. Originally named Eureka Gulch, Republic had a population of 954 in 2000. Noted for its fossils, natural beauty and recreational possibilities, it is nestled in a valley between Wauconda and Sherman Passes at the intersection of Washington State Routes 20 and 21 in the north central part of the state.

In 1898 a woman on horse back rode the hills around Republic, Washington looking for a suitable burial place for a man who’d recently died. At the time, Republic was a rough and tumble gold rush town filled to the brim with miners, and as yet hadn’t established a cemetery. That all changed when a man named Patrick Callahan died in Republic’s first mining-related accident.

 

The woman was Mrs. John Stack, and she selected a grassy hillside to the north of town for Callahan’s grave site In 1915, the Republic Cemetery Association was formed, and the location on Klondike Road became the town’s official cemetery. The Republic Cemetery Association’s records now report 1500 burial sites, with 900 more available.

 

Unfortunately a number of early wooden grave markers were lost when well-intentioned citizens attempted to use a controlled burn to remove weeds that had grown up around the edges of the cemetery. The fire burned out of control. Fred Bremnar of the Republic Cemetery Association described it as “…a good deed, gone bad.” Sadly, there are no written records of those grave sites.

The panoramic view of the San Poil River and Curlew Lake valleys and the Kettle Range beyond can only be described as mesmerizing.

 

 

 

 

Dear went back to work this week and I’m trying to get things organized around here before we fly off to a wedding in California this weekend. Today I’m going to mow the weeds! If I didn’t have weeds I wouldn’t have to mow since my grass isn’t growing. We are having another sunny warmer spell here but it still feels like Fall in the air. Blessings!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

It’s Saturday…

What are you doing?

 

I walked out to the garage this morning and I got a very distinct feel of fall in the air. Yikes is summer coming to a close so soon? I think I’ve decided that I am a lot fonder of the beginning of a season then the end of a season…

Since Dear has been on vacation this week I really haven’t made any plans. I just wait to see what he’s up to. We had an overnight at the beginning of his vacation to Eastern Washington but for the rest of the time we’ve just been hanging around the homestead. We spotted these animals in the East. I’m glad this guy was of the carved variety…

Have a wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you are doing!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Wood or Stone…

…there were a lot of great old churches in Eastern Washington.

Tonasket, Washington

 

Republic, Washington

 

Colville, Washington

 

In The Middle of Nowhere, Washington

I’m happy to see that the symbol of the Cross of Christ can still be displayed on our houses of worship!

Galatians 6:14 ~ But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Jude 1:20-21 (The Message)

But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Back in the Saddle Again…

…and if you had seen all the horses we saw you’d understand why I used that phrase after a very quick road trip to Eastern Washington and back!

We crossed the Cascade Mountain Range over Highway 2 and went through little sleepy towns like Sultan, Gold Bar, Skykomish before we reached Leavenworth on the east side of the range.

 

Leavenworth is a Bavarian town on the east slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range that attracts a lot of tourists throughout the year.

We haven’t had great experiences going to and from this little Bavarian town so we just stopped for a very short break before continuing east. We are happy to report this time we made it through the town going and coming without any major incident.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I forgot to show you the great little spot we stopped for breakfast before we crossed the mountains.

 

You’ll see this spot right on Highway 2 a little beyond Monroe, Washington. They bake their own bread and goodies.

 

Quite the tempting baked goods case!

 

We settled for a hearty breakfast. Look at the slices of that homemade bread!!

More from our trip later. Just wanted you to know we didn’t starve along the way. And here’s a little Gene Autry for you before you slip away…

I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin’ the range once more
Totin’ my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.