Wedding Bells

I've been meaning to write about our trip to Tennessee for about a week now. Better late than never I guess. The main reason we went was to attend my brother's wedding in Nashville. Don and I kid that we're getting too old for these 16 to 18 hour trips. As Don would say, "Whose kidding?" To pass the time while driving, we thought it appropriate to listen to The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks on CD.

All was well until the night before the wedding. Then came the inevitable family squabbling. A certain part of my family is now not talking to another part of my family and did not attend the wedding because of mean-spirited words. (And they were very mean words that serve no purpose in repeating). It's hard being in the middle trying to make it so everyone gets along. I do have to say though that I chose a side right away. It's not on the side of those mean words either. None of it had to do with the bride and groom. So all went according to plan, thank goodness.

Enough with family quibbling. The night before the wedding, we had dinner with John, Laura and close friends and relatives at the Caney Fork Fish Camp. It was a country restaurant with a live bluegrass band. Yes, they have a red truck in the wall. Afterward, we took a ghost tour of downtown Nashville. It was a dark and stormy night.....well actually, it kind of was. It was raining, and we took the tour around 10 PM. Don and I think we'll go back to some of the places by ourselves sometime instead of a group.

The wedding took place the next day in a cute little chapel sort of on the side of the interstate. Laura's (the bride) dress was beautiful. And the groom, John, looked quite handsome (even though he's my brother). After the wedding and outside the chapel, we heard the chapel's bells. Beautiful. We also heard honking from the cars on the interstate. Cute. After John and Laura drove off to honeymoon bliss (airport and then a carribean cruise), Don and I, my family and friends went to a Mexican restaurant. Our favorite is Mexican. We said our goodbyes there, and had to retire to the motel for an early wakeup call.

The trip back was just as long as the trip there! Funny how that happens. Only this time we listened to Marley and Me. It's the only time I've ever been able to get Don to listen, read, or watch a dog story. We both knew it was going to be sad, but we didn't know just how sad. It was a two tissuer! I think we both loved on Frodo a lot more after that.

Walking in Tennessee

I noticed its been a while since I last updated here. We took a trip to Tennessee last week for a wedding. Naturally we took our child (Frodo) with us. He travels really well. He sleeps in his bed in the back seat until he feels the car slowing down, then he gets up to see where we are. He also loves to crawl up onto the lap of whoever is in the passenger seat and sleeps like a little baby. He is so sweet when he does this but after a while he gets very heavy and we have to fight to get him back into his bed. He tries everything he can to stay, he wraps his front paws around your neck in a doggy hug and it makes you feel bad about putting him in the back.

While in Tennessee we were able to take a couple of walks. There is a paved trail that follows along a river. It's really a nice walk. The first day we had to hurry because it was getting late so we only walked 3 miles. The next day we walked the full length of the trail, a total of 6 miles. We were both dragging after that one. One section of the trail was a wooden deck that extended over the edge of the river it was very scenic. We met a few other dogs while walking, I think Frodo took lessons from my son's St Bernard, when we walk he has a tendency to drool very badly.

We met one dog, a black lab, that Frodo had to greet, in the process he proceeded to wipe his slobber all over the dog's nose! I was so embarrassed! Here was this beautiful black lab, with a nice shiny glop of drool streaked across his nose! Such are the adventures of walking a beagle!

Long Walks

Wow what a weekend of walking! On Saturday we did the trails around the house. I wanted to walk further but Frodo had other ideas! We still managed to walk 4.25 miles. It was a great walk the weather was perfect for it. He is so funny, he knows all the trails and he knows all the short cuts. He kept trying to take all the short cuts and I just kept walking where I wanted, but I could tell he was not a happy beagle. When we get home from these walks he gets his drink and then disappears to his favorite sleeping spot and is dead to the world for the next few hours.

On Sunday we went to a new place, its a wildlife refuge about 5 miles from the house. They had a trail there call Songbird trail and it was 4.75 miles long. With the little side trails that we did I figured we walked at least 5 miles. It was a great walk, with some rolling hills and lots of birds. We also saw 4 deer. Three of them were together right in the middle of the trail. We stood and just watched each other for about 2 minutes before they went back into the woods. Its always fun on new trails because his beagle nose is going about a mile a minute smelling all the new smells. Its amazing how strong he is for a small dog. He catches a scent and practically drags me along until the scent runs out. I also thought I saw a bobcat, not sure, but if it wasn't it was sure a big cat! I didn't stay to find out one way or another! I will probably go back there again because it was such a nice walk. They even had benches spaced out about a half mile apart in case you need a rest. The only bad thing was I picked 5 or 6 baby ticks off my clothes when I got home. I guess they fell out of trees onto me because I never left the trail to go into the brush. I guess I need to use some of the dog's flea and tick repellent!

It's Party Time!

Don and I went to the Tech Center's gala on Thursday. It celebrated fifty years of hard work and honored the past while looking forward to the future. The Trump Marina ballroom was a good venue. Personally, I enjoyed seeing all the different gowns women wore. There were many different and unique dresses in attendance. We decided not to buy anything new for the event, but Don looked especially handsome in his suit and tie.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo along with a few past tech center directors attended (the present one too). I chose to eat salmon and Don ate chicken. All the food was very good. The band played well, but I'm not sure where they got the singer. They could have made a better chose there. Nevertheless, they were able to keep the dance floor busy. We had a lot of fun.

Don and Frodo went for a four mile walk today before I ever got out of bed. I have to make a better committment towards walking with them. Don heard gunfire while they were on the trail. Apparently, it's deer season. It freaked me out a little, but Don said they were safe as long as they stayed on the trail they were on. He said there were signs posted along the way not to shoot toward the direction of the houses. Yikes! I told him to make sure he didn't venture off the trail. Actually, maybe during hunting season, we should stick to the parks instead of trails in the woods!

We went to Ft. Dix/McGuire AFB yesterday. We usually go only about once per year. Don bought some new clothes and luggage. And I got a new overnight case. It takes about an hour to drive there. We took a different route this time with the help of Garmin. It was better than our usual ride, I think. It was more scenic anyway.

After Don's and Frodo's walk, Don and I went to breakfast together at a favorite Irish cafe. I think it's going to be a lazy Saturday.