Exploring Alabama the Beautiful

For four years I was spoiled. I was able to travel on someone else's dime once a month, and my right brain got lazy. I got so used to finding my photographic creativity in new landscapes, faces, and foods, that when my traveling days ended, I lost motivation to take and share photographs. And not just of my dogs (who are super cute, granted, but how many dog photos can a girl take?!) So on New Year's this year, I made a list of places in Alabama I would like to visit. Slowly but surely I have been ticking places off of that list. I figured that if I can't be a tourist in someone else's state, why not pretend to be one in my own? I thus tricked my right brain into photography mode.

Old Bryce Hospital was the first place on the list. (check!)

Next were some of the many covered bridges in Alabama. A section of the Warrior River has three bridges, and having never seen a covered bridge before, I was anxious to check it out. My friend Amy came along, she's a native Alabamian, and a fellow adventurer, who was eager to find some fun and interesting places she hasn't seen before.

The Horton Mill Bridge was the first on the list. At 70 feet above the river, it is one of the tallest bridges in Alabama.
I love this photo I got of Amy!
Then we visited Easley Bridge which was very puny and I only got one photograph of it because it was really nothing special.

Then we headed to Swann Bridge, which is the longest covered bridge in the state, and supposedly haunted.
Here we are on the bridge.
Pretty spectacular.
Dirk had ONE weekend off this month so I kidnapped him and planned a getaway to some more of my must-see spots. We set up camp at Lake Guntersville State Park, right smack dab on the lake. I was really really hoping to see a bald eagle (Lake Guntersville is famous for it's bald eagles), but alas, I did not. I have two life goals, one is to never smoke a cigarette, and the other is to see a bald eagle in the wild.
We got everything set up in time for the golden girls to take a dip at sunset. Dirk and I had so much fun. I love camping with him. We just drink and ask silly questions (if you were stranded on a desert island-type questions) and play silly games (word rhyming, etc.) together.
We got up early (which was not difficult when you're sleeping in a tent with two alarm clocks), and headed to the Walls of Jericho. Granddaddy was the first person to tell me about this place, which is considered the Grand Canyon of the Southeast and was discovered by Daniel Boone (this place was his old hunting ground.) The hike is not easy (I won't lie.)
It's approximately 2 miles to the first footbridge, and at this point we were thinking we were almost there. We were wrong. I kept saying, "It's got to be right around the corner. It's got to be right around the corner." I was wrong.
Another half a mile brought us to an open wildflower meadow with this grave in the middle. The headstone was dated 1861 (I believe). Yet again we were thinking that we were almost there. And again, we were wrong.
It was another mile on a rocky trail along the side of a cliff with a drop off on one side before we reached the main attraction. And it was worth it.
The water just gushes out the side of the mountain and forms a huge bowl-like crater inbetween the cliffs. I can honestly say that this is the coolest place I have ever hiked to, and any nature enthusiast in Alabama has GOT to see it once in their lifetime.
And for all of my Iowa readers, there was a dude in an Iowa t-shirt we met on the trail. Big high fives ensued.
It's wildflower season in the South. Blues, purples, reds, yellows, whites. Lovely.
Everything is SO green! I did not enhance these photos at all.
Then we began the long way home. Ugh. As Dirk put it, "Hell would be having to hike this trail over and over and over again." There were many conversations between the two of us about what it would have been like to be a Civil War Soldier having to traverse this terrain in uniform carrying war gear. Dirk decided he would have cut off his pants and worn shorts. Sexy Short-Wearing Civil War Soldier.
Since it only took us 3 hours (YES THREE HOURS) to hike the 7-mile roundtrip (I was about to fall over. When I saw the car I thought it was a mirage.) We decided to hit up another one of Alabama's attractions: Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, AL. Ever wonder what happens to your luggage when it gets lost? It ends up in Alabama at this place.

And we were asleep by 8:30 last night.

intense dance battle

This occurred last weekend at the Funky Fish Fry, a benefit whose proceeds went towards the Autism Society of Alabama (or something along those lines.) No one encouraged these kids to start dancing, we all just looked around and suddenly this was going on. I almost peed my pants a little bit I was trying not to laugh so that my iphone wouldn't shake. Oh, and that's Dirk's band in the background.

Typical

Jane & I have been working on scanning a bunch of photos that she's uncovered at Granddaddy's. We scanned this one Friday night. It makes me laugh whenever I see it! It is so typical of Brooke & me. Brooke has had the same smile in photos since she was old enough to realize that there was a camera IN THE ROOM. She knows her angles, that one. Me, on the other hand, I am MUCH more comfortable BEHIND the camera (as we all know). I hate looking at photos of myself. Yuck. Anyway, here we have Brooke, curtseying in her beautiful Crown Bearer dress, and then we see Libba in the background hanging like a monkey from the clothesline, which I obviously spent some time figuring out how to do (as the pillows on the patio furniture indicate), totally showing my undies to the world. Ha!

The New Young-South House

It took us awhile to get everything unpacked and situated, but we are currently relaxing and enjoying the view from our front porch.

I took the majority of these photos the week or two before everything turned bright green. Now you can barely see the house from the street.
Here's a little corner of the living room. Why was I not surprised when Dirk decided we needed a BIGGER television? The other one is currently gracing the wall of Dirk's mancave.
The dogs love roaming around the backyard, chasing bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. We also have so many pretty songbirds. I need to get a bird feeder.
This water hole is in the frontyard and the golden girls spend a lot of time in it, as you can imagine. They both make a beeline the minute the front door opens.
Here's our little stream. I'm going to plant a weeping willow tree here!
THE LAST BOX! I unpacked the last box and then ate an entire bowl of popcorn. I take that back. The golden girls helped.
Then we rested.
Now everything is crazy green outside of EVERY window!
And the ferns are unraveling all over our backyard!
I log a lot of time in my bathtub. Every other night between 5 & 6 you can find me here with a glass of wine and my book. Sometimes we'll find the dogs in here. Making out.

So yes, we are in love with this place. It's perfect for us and we are so proud of our home.

Bridal Shower Shenanigans

Whew! I'm still recovering from a whirlwind Easter weekend. Brooke & Taylor came into town Friday afternoon and we ran all over Birmingham getting things together for the shower. Taylor was entertained by her new buddy Dir"K" (emphasis on the K), and PiperSipsey, who are apparently synonymous in Taylor Land.
On Saturday morning I sucked in my gut 'til I could suck no more and we were able to get me zipped into my wedding dress and made up and out the door by 8:15 to meet Chap (yes, we talked him into it) at the Botanical Gardens. It was raining, but I was not discouraged, because the lighting was actually a lot softer than it would have been had the sun been out. I'm DYING to share photos from that shoot, but Dirk stalks my blog occasionally, so if you REALLY want a sneek peak, send me an email and I'll forward you photos.
I was a little nervous for the shower, mostly because of the collision of all of the separate spheres. Family, future in-laws, work friends, concert friends, dog park friends, dinner friends, I was very anxious about not getting to spend enough time with each and every one of these wonderful women. Everything turned out great, however, and I had SO much fun! I could not have asked for a better bridal shower! How cute that Brooke decorated everything with Easter candy?
Aimee was in charge of the shower games and she took some inspiration from "Project Runway" and split everyone into groups to create a toilet paper wedding gown. Brooke volunteered to be a bride and all was fine and dandy until...
Taylor flipped her $h!t.
So then the competition was between my cousin Kate, and Laine, whom I have been babysitting for for almost seven years. Laine was REALLY into it, as her expression in this photo indicates. Laine won "Most Traditional" bride, and Kate won "Most Ethnic" bride for her elaborate African-inspired headdress.
I got half of my place settings!
Here's the lovely hostess!
Here are my gals, Aimee, Stephanie, & JB, we've all worked together (at some point or another) at Cantina, and that means we've also partied together. Aimee is also one of my bridesmaids.
AMBER! I can't talk about Amber without an explanation point. I've always had a "little friend" in my life, Leyna was my little friend in Iowa, and Amber is my little Birmingham friend. She is amazing. A photographer, single mother, and expert climber (she's currently planning a trip to South Africa to go climbing!) We've had our ups and downs, but we're on an up, and I couldn't be happier. She's the one who will dance her booty off without me no matter what music is playing :)
All in all, I came away from the entire day feeling so blessed, and also a little guilty. I mean, do I really deserve all of this generosity?! People were so kind and sweet to think about us, and no amount of personalized thank you notes can ever truly express how grateful I am.
Taylor was great at helping me open presents. And climb on top of them. And pop the bubble wrap. And eat the cheetos. And suck the ranch dressing off of my carrot sticks.

I know, I know

I haven't updated my blog in ages. But honestly, I've been dealing with some crap. It's called Episcleritis. Crap of the Eye. It's a chronic eye disease that's kind of like arthritis of the eyeball. My eyes were so inflamed and hurt SOOOOO bad that I was blind for a day. I literally could not open my eyes because they hurt so bad. So yeah, a little self conscious about it. And then I was on two weeks of stupid eye drops and the VERY DAY that I was finished with them the eye crap came back. So now it's another two weeks of wearing my stupid glasses. Which are from 2000 when Lisa Loeb library glasses were still somewhat cool. And I hate them. So there. There's a lot of anxiety because my wedding is just 6 weeks away and I don't want to have hemorrhoid eyes when I walk down the aisle. And steroid eye drops are not a longterm solution to this $h!t, and it's very frustrating.

Here's what the crap o' the eyeball looks like. Notice that I'm having to hold my eyelid open with my hands? Because for a few days I lost all ability to open my eyes of my own free will. I had to pry them open because they refused to open on their own. Ouch.
The thing is, I could handle being deaf. I could deal, but I could not handle being blind. And those days when my eyes wouldn't see and Dirk was having to lead me around were "eye opening" no pun intended. All I could think about was how I would never be able to appreciate spring again...
Or colors or textures or photography in general. Sucky.
So yeah, I didn't blog for awhile, because I'm very wary of having a pity party.

Aside from eye disease, we've also been dealing with gimpy puppy. Here's why.

I've bonded with a few coworkers, who share my love of adventuring and photography, so we traveled to the abandoned Old Bryce Mental Institution north of Tuscaloosa, AL to take some photos and freak ourselves out. And for some reason, probably because they go everywhere with me, I took the dogs.


One of my new friends from work is Dr. Pignataro, whom we affectionaly refer to as "Pig" or "Piglet." This is before the drama, and before we were completely freaked out. This was actually there!
This place is haunted. I've never been one to scare easily, and I know that everyone is different and believes different things, but I have seen spirits before and therefore believe in them. I felt numerous cold breezes (indoors) and there were times when I would catch the dogs staring off into space.
I've never been to Iraq, but this is what I picture it as looking like.

The creepy graffiti helped the mood.
While I was taking the photo of the "Save Me" graffiti, Amy turned toward me and yelled, "The dogs just went out the window!" I didn't believe her, and she told me again. My knees went weak and I thought I was going to puke. We were on the second floor. And Sipsey won't jump out of the back of Dirk's 4Runner without tons of encouragement. I slowly walked over to the window, fully expecting to look out and see two seriously injured, if not dead, golden retrievers below. The girls jumped out of a third story window but only fell about 16 feet to the roof below. Sipsey looked up at me, huge smile dripping with blood, tail wagging, like, "What?!" See the three windows at the top of the building? That's where they leapt from.
We've since taken two visits to the vet, where we so casually explained that our dogs got spooked by ghosts at an abandoned mental institute and leapt from a window. Piper has had x-rays and did not break anything, but she's been on pain pills and crate rest for 10 days now due to the soft tissue damage she sustained to her right front paw (ankle.)
I have felt horribly guilty about the whole thing. I know I'm not the one who somehow cajoled the dogs out the window, but it was my fault they were there in the first place. This is Sipsey's third near-death experience, and I know they say that cats have nine lives, I'm just wondering how many Golden Retrievers have? And Piper is finally feeling better and is now driving me crazy. Because she's used to walks and fetching and swimming and she is going crazy and therefore I am, too. And every time I take Sipsey for a walk I feel as if I'm cheating on Piper. The vet finally gave us the okay to take her on SHORT walks, but no fetching or strenuous exercise for another few days.

I have much more to share, including bridal showers, house photos, autism benefits, and covered bridges, you'll just have to come back in the next few days for those updates :)