Gratituesday and the Military
On Tuesdays I give thanks for something and since this nana is on vacation, I have to say “Thank you, Lord, for the blessings that come with visiting a new place and from having my family all together.” Day two has gone much smoother than Day one (see previous post about Chevy Chase vacation). Even though the skies were overcast and gray today, we didn’t let that spoil our beach vacation. We loaded up (it takes two cars to hold us all) and drove to the west end of the beach to look for shells.
We found some huge ones and filled a bag up with them. Abby wasn’t too interested in shell hunting so we let the others look while we played a corn hole game that someone had left on the beach. This island is almost deserted so we have a whole beach to ourselves!
Today we were determined to find my son-in-law some oysters so we went in search of a seafood restaurant. Remember I told you about the Topless Oyster Restaurant?
Well it turns out it was a pretty harmless place. The oysters were the only thing topless and the only other thing scary inside was a lizard that crawled up the wall next to the door. Gabe, my son-in-law, was the only one to order oysters. How in the world can anyone eat something that looks like…..okay, I won’t tell you what I think raw oysters look like. Look at the picture and YOU decide what they look like.
Then we drove off in search of a community called Fairhope. Someone read my Day One post and guessed where I was and suggested we visit there, so we were going to take her up on that. But as we were driving along we looked over and saw a huge battleship. It was the USS Alabama and since we had a car load of boys with us and battleships are “way cool” we stopped and never made it to Fairhope. (Maybe tomorrow)
We NEVER EVER are spontaneous, so for us to see something, exit and go see it without planning was totally out of character, but I am so glad we did. Our tour began when we were introduced to the captain of the ship…
Then we spent about an hour just marveling at the size and complexity of such a big vessel.
After we toured the ship we went next door and looked at airplanes. There was even a flight simulator and the more daring ones in the group climbed on board. There were fighter planes and written accounts of P.O.W.s Their stories were amazing and I found myself being thankful and appreciative of all the men and women who have served (and are still serving) their country.
As a matter of fact, I found myself thinking about someone who is serving right now in Iraq. His name is Chris and a few weeks ago his mom, Dorothy, was Nana of the week.
Visiting the battleship today reminded me of the sacrifices made during WWII. And thinking of Chris reminded me that we still have men and women today making those same sacrifices. Today I give thanks for their service and pray for peace so that they can come home.
