There were a number of reasons I picked "Monterey Peninsula" out of my very full Where Should We Go Next hat last Thanksgiving. Lots of interesting Nature - - and different sorts of Nature from what we have down here in Alabama. The sea. And missions. I had two in mind, in particular: Carmel and San Juan Bautista. Since we were flying into San Jose and staying in Santa Cruz our first night there before driving down to Pacific Grove, San Juan Bautista was the logical first choice for a visit. So that Monday morning, after a decent night in Santa Cruz (look to the left over there), we started heading east, through miles and miles of agricultural lands, being diligently worked. Mission San Juan Bautista was established in 1797, not by Blessed Junipero Serra, but by his successor. It's located in what is still a tiny little town. So it's very easy to find. There were schoolchildren there on a field trip that day, as I'm sure there often are. … [Continue reading...]
A Hot Date on the Gianicolo
I realized last night that I'd never written about this experience. At the time it happened - the… [more]
On top of Red Mountain
Another home-town tourism post.. I'd thought about heading to Atlanta today to see my oldest, since daughter is home from college for a couple of weeks, but he had to work, so we just hung around here instead. Most of today (Mother's Day) threatened rain around Birmingham, and at times made good on that threat. But it didn't stop me from pulling my troops out (with the temporary addition of daughter home from college) into the wild: Red Mountain Park is the newest addition to the Birmingham outdoor recreation landscape, and what I think will be quite a fascinating spot, not only to stretch our legs, but also to learn and think about the intersection between nature and human effort that birthed this city, since the land was the site of iron ore mining operations for decades. This first trailhead just opened a couple of months ago, but the park will be quite extensive, with trails winding their to and around various artifacts of industrial archaeology, remnants of the … [Continue reading...]
Little Rock
We like state capitals. We do. We rarely bother to get inside one, though, but we do like to point them out as we whiz by or even, when we have time, to stop and pose. I loved how small Montpelier was, with the capital..right there. And then we snap into roadschooling mode and repeat our recent sightings over and over in the car for a few minutes, the dome receding in the rearview mirror: The capital of Vermont is? Montpelier! Florida? Tallahassee! California Sacramento! (Time for religion class) What does it mean? Sacrament! So once Joseph remembered that Little Rock is a capital, he was pretty determined that we would go there on our spring break jaunt through Missouri and Arkansas this past March. Not that I objected. It was on the way, and while I don’t care deeply about the capital building myself, I did, at the very least want to see Central High School, and just you know, check out the Little Rock vibe. … [Continue reading...]
Alabama Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage. The Holy Land. A Hajj. Rome. Mexico City. Guadalupe. Alabama. Wait, what? Carmel, California. Gethsemane, Kentucky. St. Augustine, Florida. Cullman, Alabama. Wait, what? Well, yes. Pilgrims come to Alabama. And not just Hank Williams pilgrims or Selma pilgrims. Catholic pilgrims. Those Catholic pilgrims? They come ,quite often, to near where I live – just [...]
[Continue reading...]A Hot Date on the Gianicolo
I realized last night that I’d never written about this experience. At the time it happened – the fall of 2008 – I held back on it because (honestly) I didn’t want my dad calling me up and saying “Amy?” in that exasperated, worried tone he took on sometimes. I was going to put it [...]
[Continue reading...]Alabama weekend
Easter Sunday and Monday, we traveled, but not far. Just down south a bit, then around here. It was a rare weekend – because it was a holiday, of course – with hardly anything to do. No games, no scouts, and no one was even serving Mass or teaching a class. NO BIRTHDAY PARTIES. We [...]
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