I usually like to go places I haven’t been before, but when it comes to family, I’ll make an exception. It’s time for a visit with the Davison Family South in Alabama.
I always love seeing my brother Scott and his wife, Lesley. I think their front porch looks so homey! In all the places I’ve lived, I’ve never had a porch – and I still want one!
I get berthed next to their side porch and commence with the family fun.
Man! It’s no fair! They have a front porch, a side porch and a small porch on the back, too!
With all those porches, there’s bound to be a porch cat or two hanging around.
When you’re spending time with family, you just do ordinary stuff. It felt so good to watch Scott work on his truck, with Lesley at his side.
Lesley is an avid gardener.
She gets her grandchildren involved. Here is Gwennie getting ready to plant a potato. She’s showing me the eyes that have sprouted.
Now, Lesley is an excellent cook, as is Scott, but sometimes you just have to go out to eat. Scott took me across the river to Columbus, Georgia to Country’s Barbecue.
Does anyone recognize the building?
They converted an old Greyhound terminal!
It was kind of special to me to eat there, because my Grandmother used to take the bus from Crystal Beach, Ontario to visit us in Kenmore, New York. She’d arrive at the station in downtown Buffalo and then catch the NFTA bus out to us. She said that she’d take me to eat at the automat in the bus station, but we never got around to it. I wonder if they still have automats?
Anyway, I digress. Here we are, at Country’s Barbecue.
Sharp-eyed readers might recognize the trailer that the sign is on. Yep! It’s an Airstream!
We go inside and order. I love all the art deco details.
You can eat inside, but we opted to eat in the bus.
While we were waiting for our meals, we got to do a little pretend bus driving.
Get a load of the size of the steering wheel!
This is my lunch – according to my notes, it’s a chopped sandwich. I learned something about barbecue during this meal. You are supposed to add sauce to your food.
Duh! I could never figure out why people were so excited about barbecue. This northern girl is partial to her hamburgers, with ketchup, mustard and onions. To me, barbecue just seemed like a bunch on meat on a bun. But, put the sauce on it and it gets much tastier!
Scott opted for the ribs, fries and butter beans with iced tea.
Of course, we did some shopping during my visit.
I prefer things that are free, but “dirt cheap” is the next best thing.
Hey! We could have used these S’mores at the Historicorps campsite!
One day, I was out tooling around. I spied this large cow up on a hill looking down on the major thoroughfare. Of course I had to check it out.
I was curious as to why there would be a cow in front of a Best Buy.
It made “udderly” no sense to me.
When I got back, I asked and Lesley told me (if I remember correctly) that there used to be a dairy store at that location and the cow was a local landmark.
My visit coincided with Easter, so we all went to church. Scott and Lesley, their children and grandchildren and maybe some in-laws, too were all there. This wasn’t Scott and Lesley’s usual church. Someone else in the family picked it out.
You know how I usually gripe about organ music? There was nary an organ to be seen. It was the most unusual church I’d ever been to. I snapped this photo while we were waiting for everyone to arrive. The screens in the front kept scrolling messages. Judging by the darkness of the interior, it kind of looks like this might have been the Easter vigil.
No, it was at 9:30 in the morning.
Two-foot long light sticks that change colors when you shake them were distributed. A rock band played. There were dancers. There was a lot of energy. I never really considered myself terribly traditional, but the experience seemed more like what I imagine a rave would be than a church service.
But, hey, it was something different. When in Rome…
Wait a minute, I’m sure this was nothing like Easter in Rome.
After church, we headed back to one of the kid’s places for Easter dinner. There was food galore! I got a photo of me with Scott and Lesley while I had someone there to take it.
The next day, it was time to roll on.
Thanks to Scott and Lesley for the hospitality!
