Oil Spill Update

Obviously, we were very worried about the oil issues in the gulf before we arrived. I think we are all in agreement, the beaches at Navarre and Destin are about as beautiful as we've ever seen them. If you weren't aware of the spill and there weren't crews working around the area, I'm not sure you'd know there was a problem at all.

On the beach at Navarre yesterday afternoon, we did encounter a couple of very small tarballs. They were about half the size of a dime and I don't think you'd have noticed them if you weren't looking for them. We saw the first signs of the boom at Mobile Bay and there's more boom out at Navarre and Destin. There are a lot of work crews combing the beaches and just off shore to check for oil and that's probably the biggest sign of the problem. There was national media at the Destin bridge.

Bottom line . . .the beaches are beautiful and we are glad we didn't cancel our trip.

CNN News Crew at the Destin Bridge. CBS News was there as well.

The boom out near the bridge at Destin.

A CBS or CNN News Crew Broadcasting below the bridge at Destin.

More boom staged on the beaches at Destin. It's ready to be deployed quickly.

Navarre Florida - Day #2

It's been a great day on the Gulf Shores. We had a leisurely morning by taking a couple of walks on the beach. The kids found several hermit crab and some cool lizards and on our last walk of the morning, we spotted two stingrays near the beach at the RV park. We snapped a few quick pics and then headed for the swimming pool. I think the kids thought it might be a little more safe.

Since we were already soaked, we decided to go ahead and head over to the beach. When we arrived at the beach, we noticed a crowd gathering near the water. We were hoping it wasn't a medical emergency and when we got to the water we realized it wasn't that type of issue, but rather a fisherman who'd landed a 5 ft. nurse shark very close to the place we were about to set up. They let the shark go and it quickly left the area. They said it was over 200 lbs. but it didn't look that large to us. We set up our umbrella, laid out our towels, and let the sunburns begin.

The kids had a blast. Ainsley spent most of the afternoon collecting seashells and Garrett did some snorkeling. We caught some small fish and crab. The highlight of the afternoon was when we had close encounters with a couple of dolphin which came within about 40 yards of us and a large sea turtle which came within about 10 ft. They were awesome.

We finished the evening at Johnny Houston's Grill for dinner. Melanie had a shrimp po' boy and I had grilled shrimp tacos. The kids played it safe with pizza and alfredo. It was a very good meal and we'll probably go back before the weeks over. Then we headed back to the park and watched the sun set over Navarre Sound from the tiki hut on the beach. We're back in the RV and all sharing some aloe vera. I think all will sleep very soundly tonight.

Navarre Florida - Day #1

We loaded up late Friday afternoon in the RV and headed out to begin our summer vacation. This year we decided to play it safe with an old standby in Navarre, FL. We've made the trip 6 or 7 times over the years and are comfortable with the route, the RV Park, the restaurants, and the beaches so everyone was looking forward to a relaxing trip. We made it from Springdale to Vicksburg, MS the first night and arrived around midnight. After finishing a very busy week at the office and the kids finishing VBS, we were all exhausted so everyone went right to sleep.

This morning, we ate breakfast on the road and headed out around 8:30 a.m. We made it to Pensacola a little before 2:00 this afternoon and went straight to Joe Patti Seafood www.joepattis.com. There's so much selection, it's almost overwhelming but if you're in the area, you have to stop by. We picked up some fresh seafood and headed on to Navarre and set-up for the week. The kids headed immediately for the pool to get a jumpstart on the week. We gathered for a low country boil tonight and had some oysters. As soon as we cleaned up from the meal, a massive thunderstorm moved in and it looks like the remainder of the night will be relaxing in the RV. We'd love to be outside, but nobody seems to be complaining about a little rest from the road.

The Suite Life of Brad & Garrett

We didn't exactly experience the "Suite Life" but we did stay in a hotel last night. I had some business to take care of on Little Rock early on Monday morning so I decided to head down on Sunday evening and get a room so I'd have a jump on Monday. I knew I'd have a little time on Sunday evening to try and take some photos around LR and decided to see if Garrett wanted to go along for the ride.

The suite life experience is something the Thresher family has taken for granted. Over the last several years, we travel almost exclusively in our RV which means our kids haven't spent a lot of time in hotels. GT was excited which caught me a little by surprise. We were planning on staying in a really "inexpensive" hotel since we were only there for a short period, but when we arrived we felt like we may have needed body guards to get to our room. We decided to run over to NLR and grab a little safer room on the river. They were having a police convention, so we definitely felt we would be able to rest a little easier.

When we arrived in the room, GT began exploring every nook of the place and was amazed at what he found. He said, "Dad, someone left a Bible in this drawer!" It really cracked me up. He then located all the soaps and shampoos and wanted to know if we could keep them, to which I explained he probably could but definitely needed to leave the towels. The biggest discovery of the night came when GT opened a cabinet door and discovered the "fully-stocked" mini-fridge. It was complete nirvana. He was completely deflated when he realized Dad wasn't going to pay $4.95 for a package of M&M's.

We grabbed a pizza and then ran around LR snapping some shots of the Capital, Heifer International, and the Clinton Library. We ended the evening in the room watching the Razorbacks come up short in the Super Regional in Tempe. The girls stayed home and did a little shopping and went to see Marmaduke, which they said reminded them of Cassius.

GT Standing on front lawn of the State Capitol.

Before we left Monday morning we met Bonk for a little breakfast at IHOP where GT downed a short stack of pancakes. We enjoyed the visit even though Bonk and GT had a little miscommunication on time and we met a little earlier than anticipated.

Before heading back to NWA, we had a chance to go through and tour the Capitol building and I think GT really enjoyed seeing the House and Senate Chambers as well as the Governor's office and the State Supreme Court room. It was a great little trip and I had a blast watching his enthusiasm, however, the best part for GT may have been when he found out you could leave a hotel room without making your bed. I guess it's the little things in life . . .

The State Capitol with the sun setting in the background.

The beautiful Heifer International Building near the River Market in Little Rock.

Another Heifer International pic at dusk.

The Clinton Presidential Library and fountains in Little Rock.

Clinton Presidential Library at dusk in Little Rock.

Memorial Day Weekend

We've had our RV in Russellville for the last few weeks being worked on, so we'd be ready to go on our trip to Navarre, FL. It was complete this week and we ran down to pick it up and enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend. It was nice to get back in the motorhome, but since it wasn't complete until Thursday, we never made reservations at any of the parks. This meant we camped at the (all-inclusive) resort known as "Camp Grandparents". Thank goodness they already have hookups for their RV.

We went down on Saturday and got there in time for Melanie to land some Taco Villa for lunch. We spent most of the remainder of the day recovering. On Sunday, we were a little more ambitious and headed up to Petit Jean Mountain for a little hiking. We left Mather Lodge and headed down the Cedar Falls Trail to take some pictures of Cedar Falls. It was a great hike down, but the hike back up left a little to be desired. When we finally reached the falls, we found out most of the folks we'd encountered on the trip down were less that truthful. There was NO McDonald's and we never found the snow cone hut, however, the falls were beautiful and well worth the trip. It was humid and a little warm and the trip back up was "strenuous", according to the sign, and that was the nice way to put it. We couldn't help but spread the love a little and let the folks on their descent know the McDonald's was open and the A/C was on - - just couldn't resist carrying on the mischief.

Unbelievably, I was able to talk Melanie into another trip later that afternoon. We headed North of Dover and turned East at Sand Gap. We headed into the mountains in search of Falling Waters Falls, Six-Finger Falls, and Fuzzy Butt Falls. We did locate the falls, but I didn't anticipate the number of people who would be up in the mountains enjoying the holiday. The falls and pools were covered with folks so we didn't get any pictures and decided to head back and try again another time. We were about 30 miles North of Dover, when I realized I'd never looked at my fuel gauge. The fuel light came on while we were still in the mountains and we were at least 45 minutes to the nearest gas station. Melanie was sooooo proud of me at that moment. I'd actually noticed it 10-15 minutes before I mentioned it to her trying to avoid the speech that would be forthcoming. We coasted into McB's Stoplight in Dover on fumes and were able to fill up and make it back to Russellville.

After visiting my Grandmother at the Yell County Nursing Center, in Ola, we headed home on Monday afternoon. The crew was a little disappointed Whatta-Burger was closed for the holiday, but we stopped at Cracker Barrel in Alma on the way home and everyone seemed content for the remainder of the trip.

AT & GT happy to be spending time together at Cedar Falls on Petit Jean Mtn.

Cedar Falls from the Overlook on Petit Jean Mtn.

Cedar Falls from the trail on Petit Jean Mtn.

Amber Waves of Grain . . . view from one of the wheat fields with Petit Jean Mtn. in the background.

Tanyard Creek Cascades - Bella Vista

We had a good weekend this weekend. On Saturday, we slept in (or at least I did), the kids were up and outside at 6:00 a.m. looking for the baby rabbit they caught on Friday night. As expected, he'd made his escape during the night. Saturday afternoon, we went to a cookout for some of the teachers Melanie works with and enjoyed the evening outdoors.

On Sunday afternoon, after church, we ran up to Bella Vista to see the falls at Tanyard Creek. The trail was beautiful and was completely packed with folks enjoying the weather. We hiked to the falls and tried to get some pics, but the crowd was a little too thick. We eased down the creek a little to the cascades and noticed there were some kids "butt-surfing" down the rapids. GT and AT didn't take their bathing suits and you could tell the temptation was killing them. The water was chilly, but after getting the green light from Mom and Dad to get their clothes wet, GT decided to brave the rapids, first. Sister couldn't stand it and wasn't too far behind. They each made a couple of runs down the whitewater, but I think their rears were bumped and bruised a little so we called it a day and hiked back to the car. They had to have a couple of HappyMeals to make it home. It was a hoot.

Tanyard Creek Cascades - Just below the Falls in Bella Vista.

GT taking his first "butt-surfing" run down the rapids.

GT going over the first falls of the rapids - - I'm not sure how much he saw with his eyes closed.

Tandem on Tanyard - GT & AT shoot the Rapids!

AT braving the Whitewater on her Own!

Hurts so Good! Can't tell if it's a grimace or a smile.

Boxley Valley and Amber Falls

GT and I had an adventurous afternoon. We ran over to Boxley Valley during the rain and did a little hiking. The girls decided they would stay home and chill out and watch some movies. I'm not sure, but I think they may have enjoyed their time without the boys.

The weather was a little rough and we were totally soaked most of the day. Thankfully, we were smart enough to take along some dry clothes to change into for the trip home. We saw turkey, elk, deer, some wood ducks. We also stopped by Hedge's PourOff, but didn't get any pics because it was raining a little to hard to get near the bluff. Next we ran over to Amber Falls and were able to get some pics of several waterfalls in the area. We were shooting for Compton's Falls as well, but with all the trees down from last year's ice storm and the fact we were soaked, we decided to stay in the Amber Falls area. It was beautiful. After GT spent a couple of days at ONSC (Ozark Natural Science Center), he was our trail guide. He was giving directions and telling me the types of leaves and trees as we passed them. It was very informative.

We were worn out by the time we made it back home. Ended a perfect trip when Mel had a great dinner ready for us which included a homemade pecan pie. Mmm Mmm good!

The little rock building next to the stream in Boxley Valley across from the Mill Pond.

A unique cedar tree on the bluff near Hedge's PourOff.

A small waterfall on the way to Amber Falls, just south of Boxley Valley.

GT at another small waterfall on the way to Amber Falls, just south of Boxley Valley.

Another small waterfall on the way to Amber Falls, just south of Boxley Valley.

Amber Falls, just south of Boxley Valley.

GT and BT enjoying an afternoon hike and taking a little break at Amber Falls.

GT didn't know I was going to plant one on him when I snapped the pic. I'm threatening to post it on his Facebook page.