Nashville

The non-singing Gossages on stage at the Ryman Auditorium (the "old" Grand Ole Opry). Below are pictures from the Ryman: Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl, Confederate Balcony, the new outside entrance, the stage at the Ryman.

This is the stage at the "new" Grand Ole Opry and pictures of a few of the performers we got to see Friday night: Vince Gill, Bill Anderson, Ricky Skaggs, and Little Jimmy Pickens. It was a really fun experience, one we will definitely do again if given the opportunity!

There were tornadoes in the area yesterday, but none really close to Nashville!

Visit to Memphis

Yeah, we couldn't go to Memphis without seeing Graceland. We were surprised by how much smaller the house was than we expected. It was in a beautiful setting though. Elvis only spend $100,000 to purchase it in 1957. The area is very commercial with lots of Elvis shops and displays, but it was fun to experience.

Our favorite thing to do in Memphis was to visit with Chris & Russ O'Dell! I met them in family housing in Moscow in 1987. They are still some of my favorite people. We went out to dinner at the Olive Garden and talked for about 3 hours, just like old times!

On Sunday, before conference, we went for a drive across the Mississippi River into Arkansas. We got to drive by St. Jude's Children's Hospital in downtown Memphis (didn't know it was there) on our way to Arkansas. I had to take a picture of all the flowers at the Arkansas Visitor Center, they were just so beautiful! We had a good drive since the first session didn't start until 11:00 am! It was a good weekend, with Graceland, good friends, and thought provoking talks at all four sessions of General Conference!

Atlanta to Tupelo

It was cloudy and rainy while we were in Atlanta. Since Betsy's allergies were causing problems, we didn't do a lot in Atlanta. We did make a quick trip downtown to see CNN, Coca-Cola and the Aquarium. Above is Olympic Park with the circle of flags in the background. Lots of trees in bloom surrounding the park.

This is the Aquarium from Olympic Park. Again, lots of flowering trees. It was cloudy, but really pretty.

Coca-Cola was a neat building to go through. We got a free bottle of Coke and lots of free samples of Coke products from around the world.

We went inside CNN and took the tour. Our first step was to go up the 8 floor escalator into the globe. It was neat to actually see the studios where news is broadcast from (we watched one broadcast).

These pictures are for the grandkids! We went to the Atanta Zoo. This picture has a rino, giraffes, and zebras. Pretty cool.

There were several families of gorillas, but this guy was the biggest and was posing to be photographed.

Pandas really are cute! Not too cuddly though, too big. It was lunch time when we visited.

Natchez Trace was a cool drive in Mississippi. The Trace goes from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. We went over a 40 mile stretch near Tupelo, MS. It was a beautiful drive with lots of cool scenery. This picture is of Twenty Mile Bottom.

Howard and Andy walking a trail on the Trace. We enjoyed the history and the beauty of the short part we got to experience.

Had to take a close up of the dogwood. The sun was shining through the tree to pretty and there is dogwood everywhere you look as you drive through this area.

Can't go to Tupelo without seeing Elvis's birthplace! It's small, but we saw it. Today we drove to Memphis. Yes, tomorrow we'll go to see Graceland. Betsy's allergies are doing better so we get to tour some while we're here. We'll stay over the weekend so we can watch Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Looking forward to it!

Hilton Head Island, Charleston, Georgia countryside

This cute little bird attacked one window in our 5th wheel the whole week we were parked on Hilton Head Island! We think there may have been a nest in the bush.

On the beach at Shipyard Plantation, Hilton Head Island. Me, Cousin Jan, Aunt Mary, Cousin Nancy, Aunt Sally. It was chilly, but a beautiful beach!

Taken at the condo where the three sisters stay. Aunt Sally, Aunt Mary, Cousin Jan, Betsy, Betsy's Mom. They are going to try to stay here again next year. It's a very nice condo and they are having a great time.

We watched this ship sail out into the Charleston harbor. We visited the battery and the market while in Charleston. We got to visit with a high school friend of Betsy's, but of course we forgot to get a picture!

This is Fort Sumter across the harbor from Charleston.

A gazebo in the Battery park.

Howard by some of the cannon in battery park.

Some of the houses that line battery park. They are beautiful.

This picture shows some, but not nearly all of the flowers in bloom. Whole hedges, some 5-6 feet tall, of azaleas! Yes, my allergies are going crazy, but it is worth it!!!!!!

Our Last Night In Florida

The shuttle was launched Sunday night just as the sun set. The vapor stream changed color as it rose into the sky. The little glow is the shuttle. We could see the booster rockets drop off and the shuttle go up quite high. Rick said it was the most impressive launch he's seen. Nice finale to our stay in Florida!!!!!!!

At the beach, Florida Keys, Miami Beach

Jenn came to visit so we took the kids to the beach at Ft. Pierce. Yes it was very windy, but it was a beautiful day.

Jenn with Claire posing at the beach. Claire's first beach experience.

Grandpa and Dean walking along the jetty (where the Indian River flows into the Atlantic.

Koby wanted his picture taken too! He's our cute 6 year old grandson.

Tessa posing with Claire. Tessa was getting hungry and Claire's arm was really close!

We took Jenn & Claire down to West Palm Beach and headed south to the Florida Keys for a few days. This is a picture of the ocean from the dock at the hotel where we stayed.

The is an osprey nest on our dock at the hotel we stayed in on Islamorada.

This is a picture of our hotel from the beach. It was just a cute little hotel with 24 rooms. Very quiet and laid back.

Sunset from our room. Very tropical!!!

This is part of the road from Islamorada out to Key West. Lots of bridges and narrow keys.

This is one of the mansions on Key West. Key West is the "party key," very busy and bigger town atmosphere. Fun to visit, but we liked the smaller keys better for staying on.

This house was the southernmost house in the United States until the built the house behind it one foot back! It's a beautiful home.

This was the shot Howard wanted when we went to Key West. WE MADE IT!!!!!!

Jump to Miami Beach -- South Beach -- Ocean Drive. The art deco was on our left and the beach was on our right and the college kids on spring break were all over the roads! We didn't stay in Miami -- too big!! But seeing Miami Beach was cool.

Tessa's Blessing Day

Big brother, Dean, and cousin, Claire (from Idaho), just chillin' before church. Don't they look excited for the day!!
Tessa in her blessing dress. Di wanted a really simple Florida dress. She picked out the eyelet lace and I made a very small, very long sundress. One of the teenage kids in Di's Sunday School class called it a dranket (a cross between a dress and a blanket).
The Prescotts after 3 hours of church. Dean was READY to go!!!!!