Greensboro Alabama

Wednesday saw me in the small Alabama city of Greensboro.

Greensboro is a city located in Hale County, Alabama the population of the city is 2,731 and 1 CVS, lol! The city is the county seat of Hale County.

It also has many Victorian homes dotting the main street that are on the National Register of Historic Places and many other antebellum and Victorian homes and churches are as charming today as they were a century ago.

This home was beautiful!

Alabama Catfish Farming

While driving NW between Semmes AL and Greensboro AL on Hwy 43 I passed miles of Catfish Farms.

Founded in 1974, Alabama Catfish Producers, a division of Alabama Farmers Federation, is composed of fish farmers across the state involved in aquaculture. The dictionary calls "aquaculture" the science of raising water-based animals in a controlled environment. The government calls it the fastest-growing segment of U.S. agriculture. Consumers call it a great way to produce one of the tastiest and highest-quality fish around - genuine U.S. farm-raised catfish. And Alabama fish farmers call it a way of life - something they love doing and are proud of it.Alabama has around 25,000 water acres of fish farms where nearly 250 commercial farmers produce 25 different aquatic species. Farm-raised catfish is by far the dominant species, with Alabama ranking second in the U.S. in annual catfish sales. During the last 20 years, production has grown by 1,600 percent, and Alabama still has the land and water resources to support an industry 10 times its current size.

Mobile AL

This week took me on a swing through the deep south!

Monday I flew to Pensacola FL, picked up my one way Hertz rental and drove to Orange Beach AL. Late Monday I drove to Semmes Al to visit a CVS night project via Mobile AL.

Mobile is steeped in history:

The area around Mobile Bay was settled by some Choctaw tribes before the European explorers arrived.
· Most of the early expeditions to La Florida sailed north from the ports of either Santo Domingo on Hispaniola or Havana, founded on Cuba in 1519

· 1519 Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, with four ships, sails from Jamaica to explore the northern Gulf Coast. Among his discoveries are the River and Bay of Espiritu Santo, without much question identifiable as Mobile River and Mobile Bay. Pineda remains forty days in a large Indian village at the mouth of the river, trading with the natives while repairing his ships.

· 1528 Panfilo de Narvaez leads an expedition of three hundred men was virtually wiped out by Indians, storms, and hunger as it made its way north into Florida from the Tampa Bay area. The survivors built boats out of horsehides and drifted across the mouth of Mobile Bay on their way to the Texas coast where the last of them would eventually wreck. One survivor, Cabeza de Vaca wrote a memoir in which he recalled entering what was most likely Mobile Bay.

· 1540 At the Battle of Mauvilla (Mobila) Hernando DeSoto was brought to the town of Mauvilla by the chief Tuskaloosa, where he and his men were ambushed and fought a battle where 20 of his men and hundreds of Indians were killed and the town destroyed.

· 1558 In advance of the colonial expedition of Tristan de Luna, Guido de las Bazares explores the northern Gulf Coast. He reports favorably of "Bahia Filipina", which was probably Mobile Bay. 1559 The government of New Spain (Mexico) sent over 1400 colonists from Veracruz under De Luna to establish a settlement in the area, called Ochuse bay. Some sources believe the settlement was further east, at Pensacola Bay. Due to hurricane damage, famine, and disputes with the native inhabitants, the Spanish settlements were abandoned in 1561, and the survivors left for Cuba or Veracruz

Foe more visit: http://www.flotte2.com/MobileHistory

Tulip Tree

Our Tulip Tree out front is in full bloom this week. In fact everything is in bloom causing a pollen count of 3243!!!

Glad I don't have allergies!

For more on Atlanta's pollen count visit: http://remote.atlantaallergy.com/pollencount

1999 Heart Attack Bush!

Beth visited me on my third day in the hospital after my 1999 heart attack and brought me a pink 6" high forced Azalea to brighten my room.

Here it is today after 9 years of tender loving care in full bloom!

Orlando Airport

This Monday saw a trip to Orlando to visit CVS 204. I could spend a whole day at this beautiful airport with it's fountains and palm trees!

Orlando Airport's life span has been short and spectacular; the first scheduled international service did not lift off from its runways until 1984. The airport has gone from redundant Air Force base to a 30 million plus passenger airport in 20 years.
The closure of the McCoy Air Force Base gave Orlando its start. Surplus land was given to the city for an airport facility and in 1975 the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority was born.
The following year the base was re-named Orlando International Airport and by 1978 it had claimed the title 'fastest growing airport in the US'. Six years of steady growth saw Orlando acquire a new terminal, an international concourse and, significantly, launch Orlando Tradeport which was to establish the airport as a major trade center for Central Florida.
By now the Sunshine State's man-made as well as natural attractions had visitors flocking in from all parts of the globe, with Walt Disney World a star performer. The 1980s were a boom and decision time for Orlando Airport. The pressure was on as airlines lined up for slots, international services to Europe took off and business traffic increased.
It meant a second expansion program which resulted in the building of a third runway and a third airside terminal. By 1992 passenger numbers had hit the 20 million mark and as they go on rising Orlando has kept pace with development through an imaginative development program.
Alongside all these people are the petals, millions of them. Central Florida is the biggest exporter of flowers, plants and nursery stock by air in the US and Orlando handles 80% of it. It even has its own Department of Agriculture plant inspection station and perishables center.
Orlando is managing a continuing program of expansion. It is the airport which, you could say, has become the real McCoy.

"Georgia A Blooming"

These pictures were taken this evening outside Beth's parents home. The first is a Dogwood Tree and the other is a Red bud Tree. The whole state is full of blooming trees and with it comes the pollen!

Orange Beach AL

This week took me to beautiful Orange Beach AL and our newest CVS store! I know I have a tuff job, lol!

Located on Alabama's Gulf Coast, you can escape to one of many Orange Beach vacation home rentals. Orange Beach is just a few short hours from Birmingham, Montgomery, Jackson, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge. The area has an average annual temperate of 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Though the population of Orange Beach is relatively small, it lays claim to one of the most beautiful beaches in Alabama. During the summer months, however, Orange Beach is very popular among families and tourists of all ages. With its white sand, the Alabama Gulf Coast is a perfect vacation spot, with championship golf courses, deep sea charter fishing trips, various wildlife areas, and historic sites.

For more visit: http://www.cityoforangebeach.com