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Yesterday we received word of the sudden passing of our dear friend and brother in Christ, Welton Lockhart.  We mourn with our Christian family and honor his memory even though we are miles away.

After that beautiful day in Bellingrath Gardens, we decided to move on and take two days to get to Spring, Texas.  Coming into Houston between 4 and 5 pm would be like going into Manhattan on New Year’s Eve; not smart no matter what the reason!

We made a good decision for more than one reason.  During the night that ugly storm moved in and we were breaking down in the rain and wind.  But it gave us another opportunity to use our Disney rain gear we bought all those years ago, and if I remember correctly, they were not inexpensive.  We may be down to $8 or $9 a wear now.  

The pouring rain and wind continued most of the day and once again, Jim’s expert driving made it seem effortless.  About 3 pm it finally stopped raining and by 4 pm we were at our destination; Red Shoes RV Resort.  There were very few RV Parks in this area right off of I-10, so we had to go north for about 20 miles.  Although it was a little out of the way, it was well worth it.  My kind of park with concrete slabs, manicured landscaping and full hook-ups.  The best part was the price; $18.00 per night.  Too bad we were only spending one night!

The interesting part about this park is that it is on Native American land and, you guessed it, has a casino, hotel, restaurants and everything the public expects from these kinds of places, in addition to the RV Park complete with fully furnished Chalets.  The back story is that the Chief Red Shoes move his band of about 80-100 people to this land.  As the years passed, other members of other tribes joined them creating a sizable group.  The land was eventually converted into this facility to help the members of the tribe support themselves and live productive lives.  We had a nice dinner and walked around some to see the sights, then back home for a relaxing evening.  Given how often we travel to Texas because of our family, this will definitely be on the list of stops based on the quality and price, and it is close enough to get us through the traffic at the right time without having to leave too early.

The next morning, we left around 9:30 and drove in very overcast weather and watched the temperature never go higher than 55 degrees.  By the time we got to our destination, the wind had picked up some but it was really easy to get set up.  This is the same park we stayed in the last time we were in Texas and it’s the top of the line kind of place we like; concrete and landscaping.

Right after school was out, our daughter, Debbie, and the our grandsons came to see us and it was wonderful.  Kyle the oldest is growing fast and we had to go through the ritual again of measuring how tall he is compared to Grammie.  Now he is up to my nose. Of course that means Ryan is next and he is up to my chin.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them they were using the wrong standard and being taller than me was no big deal.  We had a great time listening to all their stories and being together for the rest of the day.  We are hoping tomorrow the weather will get better and we will see some sun again and warmer temperatures.

We left yesterday morning at 8 am on our Spring 2013 trip incorporating some family fun, sightseeing and RV maintenance.  Our first day was mostly driving to get us to Theodore, Alabama in time to set up and relax before dark.  I-75 and I-10 were filled with cars with out-of-state plates heading north and west.  It looks like things in Florida will be quiet for a few months until school is out and summer vacations begin.

You may be asking, “So what’s in Theodore, Alabama and why go there?”.  Well, we have been stopping here for several years on our way to Texas to visit our daughter and her family and have loved it each time.  The difference this time is we are here in the Spring instead of in November or December which is a BIG difference.  Usually we stop here to see the Christmas Light display at Bellingrath Gardens and Home.  It is a truly impressive display with innovative designs covering a large portion of the 60 acre grounds.

Walter and Bessie Bellingrath bought this abandoned old fish camp back in 1917 on the advice of Walter’s doctor as a way of making him relax from his business stress.  He was the first Coca Cola bottler in Mobile.  Before long, Bessie was planting flowers and the old fish camp was transformed into a country estate. In April 1932, the Bellingraths opened the gardens to the public on Sunday afternoon to see the gardens and over 4,700 people responded to the invitation.  After their deaths, the estate was established to honor Mrs. Bellingrath’s memory by a foundation set up by Walter.  Proceeds from the estate not only go towards the maintenance of the house and gardens but to various Christian colleges and churches.

Our timing was not the best considering the frequency of freezes and varying temperatures this Winter.  We missed the azaleas and caught the tail end of camelias but there were some really pretty beds of planted hydrangea and other flowers I can’t name.  There is an impressive rose garden with over 2,000 plants of 75 different varieties.  Unfortunately, they were not quite ready to bloom yet.  It was fun comparing the pathways we have walked so many times in the dark with the imaginative lighting to the beauty and simplicity of the flowers and gardens. 

After walking what seemed to be the entire 60 acres, we decided to move on to Dauphin Island and see if we could find some food and beach scenery.  The sign that caught our attention was “fine dining in flip-flops” with lots of outdoor tables and umbrellas with a view of the beach.  It was almost 2 pm by this time and Burger King would have sounded good, but we held out for seafood on the beach.  Unfortunately, they were only serving a lunch menu but we had a wonderful table up high in the sun.

If you have never been to Dauphin Island, it appears to be narrow and everything is built up on stilts.  I guess they want to minimize the hurricane damage if possible because it looked to me like one good storm surge and Dauphin Island would be  gone.

Original Homestead in 1807

Homestead in 1853 – actual bullet holes in columns and front door from the Civil War

South of Nashville is a plantation called Belle Meade and we spent most of the day there being amazed.  This plantation started as 250 acres in 1807 and grew to be 5400 acres and one of the major thoroughbred horse farms in the country.  Now the historic site is 30 acres of recreated and preserved memories.  We were told that 62% of the artifacts are original to the family and the other 38% are authentic antiques from the era.  This plantation was the home of Bonnie Scotland, one of the six sires of the american race horse blood lines.  Here’s an interesting fact we learned during a tour of the home and grounds, all the horses in the Kentucky Derby for the past 10 years have a geological connection back to Bonnie Scotland.  This horse got around!

Stallion Barn at Belle Meade

The home on the plantation went from a two room cabin (still standing, by the way) to a 10,000 square foot mansion (pictured in beginning of blog) and many outbuildings including a dairy, multiple stables, a race track and many homes for slaves and workers.

Homes of Slaves at Belle Meade (Two families lived in this structure)

After the Civil War, 72 of the 132 slaves chose to stay on the plantation as paid workers.  Most of the domestic workers and skilled workers stayed and led me to believe the Hardings/Jacksons were good people who took care of their workers.  In fact, Bob Green was the lead Trainer on the plantation as both a slave and a free man.

There is also a restaurant on the property so we had lunch there.  It appears that many people come to the plantation for lunch on a regular basis and there are even facilities for weddings and special events.  I like to eat different things and found a sandwich on the menu called the Belle Meade.  It is pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, carmelized onions, and arugula on ciabbata bread.  I can only tell you it was worth every calorie.

Most of the attractions close here at 4:30pm so we didn’t have enough time to go to the other place we had planned (saving it for tomorrow), so we went to Plan B and stopped at the Parthenon.

Parthenon in Nashville, TN

We saw the original Parthenon on the Acropolis in Greece, but this is an exact full-scale replica built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition.  It shows what the structure looked like back in the time it was originally built.  It includes a 42′ 10″ statue of Athena and you can easily imagine the Greek philosophers debating in the center hall.

Athena, Goddess of Wisdom

If you come to Nashville, you have got to put this place on your list of things to see.