(There seems to be a boat theme happening here but, given where we're staying, I suppose it can't be helped.)

Today we went into downtown Fairhope to just kill some time.

It's filled with loads of little specialty shops, art galleries, cafes and the like. It's quite quaint and seriously overpriced, but it was fun to wander through for a while. If you're ever in the area, though, you've got to go into Three Georges Chocolates, especially if you like malted milk balls. They're pricey but they put Whoppers to shame - [……]

Another day with no schedule and nothing important to do. I could get used to this.

This morning we were treated to breakfast at The Grand Hotel. It's been a while since I've seen a breakfast buffet that large. I tried to find a link that would give some of it's history but, alas, couldn't some up with one. In a very small nutshell it goes like this. The small hotel was first built on the site back in 1820. In 1847, the Grand Hotel was built to replace it. It quickly became famous [……]

Today we went to Mobile, AL to see the USS Alabama, a World War II battleship. While my pictures show the deck pretty well, they can't begin to convey what the below decks area is like. If you've never toured a ship from this era, I encourage you to do so.

Among other things, these ships are a study in space utilization. Rooms fit into every nook and cranny, crew members eating at tables attached to the big gun turret barbettes and bunks that hung everywhere (although most of them were [……]

This morning we awoke to breezy conditions and light rain as Frances' reach extended into Northern Alabama. Not to be discouraged, however, we got out and bravely ventured across the parking lot to the Waffle House. After a hearty breakfast we headed to one of the most popular spots in the Huntsville area. Wal-Mart. We had packed everything except umbrellas. Then we finally pointed ourselves toward the U.S. Rocket & Space Center.

We knew this was going to be cool even from the day before. I would venture [……]

We've been planning on taking a vacation for a while now and, as I usually take the week of Labor Day off from work, it seemed liked a natural fit. We were also offered a free place to stay anytime we wanted so we were all set.

But the best laid plans...

The reasons they went astray? A little thing called Hurricane Frances. Our destination? The Gulf Coast of Alabama.

We were supposed to drive down on Tuesday and stay the rest of the week on a boat on Mobile Bay but, as of Saturday and Sunday, the forecasted [……]

What in the world have the good folks at the National Hurricane Center been smoking?!?

You have a tropical storm named Bonnie. Who in their right mind would choose to name the next one Charley?!?

Repeat after me, people - Clyde! Clyde!!!

The Statue of Liberty reopens today - kind of. While I'm certainly glad that we will once again be able to visit this historic and beautiful monument, the experience of that visit will not be the same as it once was. It saddens me to know that my children will not be able to climb up the stairs inside and look out through the windows of the crown as I did when I was young. Every time I see a picture of Liberty Lighting The World, my mind jumps back to that [……]

First, let me echo the sentiments of countless journalists and others in saying that you are a smart and impressive young girl. You carry yourself in a way well beyond your 12 years and I won't be surprised to see your name in the years to come in either California state or national politics. I applaud you for taking an interest in and action about things that will affect your life for years to come. Unfortunately, that is the extent of the similarity between those comments and mine. Most of them continue on to fawn on you and your speech [……]

Mainly because I got tired of looking at the same stories day after day and I don't have time at the moment to write anything with even a modicum of value, I slapped up a quick poll. I'm sitting here looking at a stack of empty Altoids tins - one of each kind. Don't ask me why I have these in my office. I'm really not sure. It's just the dumb sort of thing I do. Let it suffice to say that those who know me well aren't at all suprised by the fact that I have [……]

Apparently, a number of the blogs that I present on the Blog Links page have recently undergone conversions from Movable Type to WordPress and, as usual, I slept through it. The only one I actually knew about beforehand (because it was discussed on the blog - er, journal - itself) is Dr. Bacchus' and his is the only one that continued to work without any changes, presumably because he redirected the URL of his old feed to his new or some such thing. As for the rest of you, I've yet to find a good URL for your [……]