Visit with the Warners

Our good friends Ralph & Terry have spent the last few days with us visiting from Tampa.  They brought their two little 8 month old dogs Coco and Bella.  Of course Al & I fell in love with them.  

They weren’t used to being able to get off the leash and running so this was a first for them to be allowed to run and play.  They really enjoyed it and were pretty good at coming when called and not running off.

Terry & Ralph were our first guests at our new campsite we call Mocking Bird Hill.  We may have to rename it to Blue Bird Hill though.  We think our first Blue Bird babies of this season have decided to live up there and have been working real hard on fighting with the bird in the mirror on both their RV and their CR-v.  They had a lot of bird poop on the CR-v due to the persistent bird.  We finally had to put aluminum foil on the mirrors to keep the bird away.  We have a nesting box up there and noticed the birds are making a nest.  It looks like they are both juveniles'.  It looks like brother and sister??? 

  Terry and Ralph arrived on Friday evening.  I had to work that day and in fact had driven to Valdosta for a continuing education class. I ended getting home about 5:30 and they arrived about 7pm.  After setting up their RV and giving them the tour of the place we put a lasagna in the oven and had dinner.  They have a large Winnebago, I believe it’s 39 feet.  They easily backed it right up into our campsite and plugged in with electric and water and were good to go.  The pecan trees and row of trees and shrubs gave them good privacy and shade.  The campsite is close to the road but it is not frequently traveled so the noise didn’t bother them with the AC running.  It turns out there is a good breeze on the hill there and even with our high temps sitting outside the campsite was quite nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning we all slept in.  Al & I went up to the campsite and Terry & Ralph made us breakfast muffins.  We lounged around a while drinking coffee and talking then headed into Thomasville to tour the Lapham-Patterson House.  It was built in 1884 by a Chicago businessman who had been a survivor of the great Chicago fire.  He built the house with many doors and windows to be able to escape in the event of a fire.  Our tour guide had been there for over 20 years and was extremely knowledgeable. The budget cuts are causing the park to turn over the operation of this house to the city of Thomasville.  At this time, it is unknown if there will be any more tours after this weekend.  It is quite a unique house and should be preserved for future generations.  Knowing Thomasville and their love of historic old houses, I feel sure the house will be maintained.

 

The following is a photo of the big oak. The pictures don’t do it justice and you can’t realize its massive size

 

A massive Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana, c. 1680) with a limb span of 162 feet, the Big Oak is one of the National Live Oak Society’s original members, enrolled in 1936.  President Eisenhower was so impressed with the Big Oak tree that he personally photographed it during one of his visits to Thomasville!  This tree is truly a living treasure of our city’s heritage. 

Saturday night we were off to get margaritas at the only bar/restaurant in Cairo.  Home and to bed then up early as our guests were leaving Sunday morning.

 

 

Good bye

Terry, Ralph, Coco and Bella!