The South

Where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter; summer starts in April; front porches are wide and words are long; macaroni and cheese is a vegetable; pecan pie is a staple; Y’all is the only proper pronoun; chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy; everything is darling and someone is always getting their heart blessed. -unknown

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Welcome Blog Around the World Friends!

Hey Y’all! Welcome to my fellow BATW friends.. I have a big glass of sweet tea waiting on you. I am not as talented as others who have given marvelous tours of their regions, but I am going to do my best to share a glimpse of the area.

You have arrived in the great state of Alabama, more specifically Wetumpka, Alabama. You may be asking yourself, “How do you pronounce that?” and “Where in the world is that?”
We-tump-ka is pronounced just like it is written. It is the Creek Indian word for “rumbling waters.” The Coosa River runs right through the middle of town.
The city is located in the middle of Elmore County highlighted below.


Wetumpka is about 20 minutes northeast of Montgomery, the capital city of Alabama. I had lived in Montgomery my entire life until 4 years ago. (My husband on the other hand has lived in like 20 different towns, including 6 years in Indonesia. He and I will be going there in March, so I am sure that I will have lots to share then.) We moved to this bedroom community and have loved every minute of it. It is a small town, yet it has everything you need. I thought to myself the other day, only in our city can you leave the Wal-mart and hear a hunter's rifle go off in the near area. (I really heard that last week.)

Although we don't live there anymore, I still call Montgomery home, too, because of it's close proximity, because my husband and I work there, and my oldest goes to school there. The Montgomery/Wetumpka/Prattville area is considered the "tri-county area."

Montgomery is known for Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement, and for being the first capital of the confederacy, among other things. One of my favorites things to do is to go to the world renown Alabama Shakespeare Festival. It is a world class theatre that hosts numerous plays throughout the year. It is located on numerous acres that include rolling hills and gorgeous ponds.

I could tell you many straight forward facts about our dear state, but you can find those anywhere. Here are some fun things about the state:

  • When traveling to Mobile via I-65 South, the huge bridge that you must cross is nick-named the "Dolly Parton Bridge". Can you guess why?

  • Chilton County is known for their wonderful peaches. So to honor that, the water tower looks like a giant peach.

  • There is a pet cemetery in Montgomery. It has been there for over 50 years.


  • There is a town in the northern part of the state called Guin. Another close by called Winfield. And the town in between the two is name Gu-Win. There is also an area close to my house known as "Slapout."
Alabama is a wonderful place to live because of its natural beauty. We have the white sands of the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to the beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains.
We live in a small neighborhood, but if you look out our back door you will see this:
(and that was the reason we moved here 4 years ago)

***and just a side note, that if you cut down the trees, Melissa from A Little Loveliness, lives like 200 yards straight ahead. She is so great!

Above was the first picture I added to my blog and thus the name of it. I had several friends from church that were blogging and would talk about other blogs that they had hopped over to. It sounded like so much fun. I don't really blog about anything serious, it has just been a way to share things going on in our life. I have enjoyed documenting our happenings, and know that with this, I will always have the memories to look back on. Like this:
My husband and I have two boys ages 5 and 2. I will let you guess which one is the jokester, and which one is the spitfire!

Let’s see, what else can I tell you about?
I was serious about the sweet tea. (A.K.A. "The house wine of the south") You can find it at any restaurant, fast food place, and even grocery stores in the southeast. And when I say grocery stores, it is sold in gallons next to the milk. True sweet tea has the sugar added while the tea is still hot. To me, there is no other way to make it. My favorite to buy is Milo's

I guess you have all heard about the Auburn vs. Alabama rivalry. It is as big, or maybe even bigger than you can imagine. If you are born in this state, you pretty much are either a Tide or Tiger fan. If you meet someone that is not for either of these teams, then you can be 99% sure that they did not grow up in this state. I am married to one of those. So this can be confusing to children. Some may think that we do not have 4 true seasons here. That is not the case. For Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter we have "Getting Hot," "Sweltering," "Still Hot" and "Pleasant." But what can I say, this is the only area I have ever lived in, so I guess it is just the norm to me. One of my favorite conversations I overheard was when I was waiting on my husband to pick me up from the airport in Montgomery one AUGUST evening and I heard a woman say to the group she was with, "Hey, it isn't as hot as I thought it would be here." A gentleman she was with replied, "It is 11:00 at night and it is 80 something degrees!"

And you know what? I wouldn't trade this sweet-tea-loving, hospitality-oozing, gas-station-supper-eating, God-fearing, neighbor-helping-neighbor, region for anywhere.

Thanks for stopping by!!!Y'all come back now, ya hear!

47 comments:

Tammi said...

That sounds so lovely! Makes me (almost) want to move. :) I think the view from your house amazing.

I love the peach water tower. I'll have to show that to my son tomorrow morning. He has a weird obsession with water towers. Haha!

Lady Dorothy said...

What a gorgeous view you have! And a very fun blog!

Greetings from California! Enjoy your BATW day!

Julie said...

thanks for sharing... my son was looking over my shoulder and was so super excited to see the peach tower! He asked if we could have one. :)

Tara Bennett said...

Congrats on being a tour guide today!

Alabama looks nice, but those kiddos are adorable!!!

Valerie said...

I just stopped by the other day and am glad I did. Glad you are BATW feature today! You did good explaining our beautiful state. Everyone loves the Peach tower. lol

Hope you have a great day!

Oh judging by the football helmet I'm guessing you cheer for that other team so Roll Tide Roll!

(you know a true Alabama fan is gonna have to say that, right?)

C. JoyBell C. said...

Forget about "we-tump-ka"... tell me more about how it got to be "Elmor County"!

Hee hee...

For some reason...

that reminds me of Sesame Street! lol! I think what my brain might be referring to is "Elmo"... lol!

I would LOVE to experience the Shakespeare Festival! I would just LOVE LOVE LOVE it! You have no idea!

The pet cemetery sounds so scary, though! It reminds me of this really really scary movie that I saw when I was little that went by the same name! Haunted me for years n years!

You have really gorgeous children!

xoxo,
C

Debbie said...

I LOVED IT ALL! That was so much fun to read Rebecca! I knew you were friends with Melissa...I didn't know that you lived that close to her...thanks so much for taking the time to write this post. I truly truly enjoyed it!

Lauren W said...

thanks so much for the lovely tour :) Your pictures are absolutely beautiful!

Anonymous said...

omgosh, it just looks beautiful there! And your pond looks so serene ... very calm and peaceful.

Every time I read one of these tours, I want to move there!

said...

What a pleasure it must be to live in such a breathtaking part of the world!

Your boys are adorable!

Congrats on your BATW feature!

Tessa said...

Thank you so much! I absolutely loved my sweet tea and the wonderful tour around Wetumpka you've taken us on. Please may I visit again?

Melissa Lester said...

Congratulations, Rebecca! It took me a few seconds after reading the post over at BATW to realize that this Alabama blogger was my friend. I'm so happy for your day! You did a great job extending southern hospitatlity today and were so sweet to include me in your post. I'll have to stop by in later to enjoy all your comment love today!

Amanda said...

What in incredible BATW tour!! I really, really enjoyed it! You did an awesome job and I was tickled with some of the quirky facts and amazed by some of the beautiful pictures!

By the way, I am in SC and we have a town with a peach water tower also (Gaffney). LOL

Lynda said...

You gave a great tour! And what a pretty town! We love our sweet tea here in Texas, too :-)

Roblynn said...

A pet cemetary? That is great. Beautiful country for sure. Good luck on your adventure to Indonesia. Thanks for sharing

Star Forbis said...

Thanks for the tour. I'm a big city girl, but small towns are fun to visit. I hope you really enjoy your day!

Alicia @ Oh2122 said...

Great tour, thanks!

Your boys are adoreable too!

Pamela said...

Great, great post. I have a facination with the south and always wish I could live there.
And here in CA, we have sweet tea all summer---even McDonalds is selling it now---go figure!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a nice town! Bet its warmer than Virginia!

Ashley said...

ROLL TIDE!!! :) Good to see another Alabamian here! I'm from up north. Congrats on your feature!!!

Sharlene said...

Alabama is the only southern state I haven't been too. Thanks for the tour. Your town looks lovely. I would kill for a view like that out my back door!

Lucy Mills said...

thanks for the tour - lovely pics :)

EmmaP said...

love the pics. dolly parton bridge, eh? lol! i also love the pics of the kiddos! thanks for the tour!

Skeller said...

Awww, what a sweet tour. Thanks for showing us your part of the world.

Visiting from BATW,
Susan

Tara said...

Alabama is close to my heart...I met my husband at Auburn! War Eagle!

Dee Dee said...

Very good for your first time.
Dianne M.

Susie said...

Greetings from Wisconsin! Congratulations on your BATW feature. I hope you are enjoying your day in sun.

Betty said...

You have some adorable boys! And live in a nice country!
Have a good BATW day!!

CaraBee said...

Great tour! I love the unusual facts!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the Alabama tour! It looks beautiful where you (used to) live. Your pictures are beautiful and the tour was lovely.

It was fun to meet you today.
...and thanks for the sweet tea! :) Yum.

Lynnette

Jenners said...

Loved your post! I'm hosting for New Jersey this week and wanted to get an idea of how to go about this and your post was so nice and down home and funny! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Sounds like a pretty and fun town! :)

L said...

I live in the midwest but when I was very young my sister married and moved to Georgia and I was introduced to sweet tea...and she always served it in jars..just like your pic!!! Thank you so much for sharing that, seems silly but I love those memories growing up.

What a lovely place to live. Thanks for sharing with your BATW friends.

I Love Purple More Than You said...

Thanks for the wonderful tour! What a fantastic view from your backyard!
(visiting from Los Angeles, CA)

Jodi said...

I enjoyed reading your tour! Great pics too!

Kori said...

Just wanted to come say Hi from one Alabama girl to another.

ROLL TIDE!

Melissa Lester said...

What a fun day, Rebecca! You totally deserve it! I hope it was a blast!

Unknown said...

That was fun!

Vicki said...

Sweet home! Those pictures of The Shakespeare Festival park are five minutes away from me! I love Montgomery even though we're only going to be here for a year. Oh, I've picked a side even though I'm a short termer. Roll Tide! ;)

Anonymous said...

Great job on your blog from a non-blogger that I am!! You made our area look very appealing!! I also feel the need for some good 'ol sweet tea right now!!

Love ya,
Amy Carr

Abigail Kraft said...

Cool water tower! That's too funny. ^_^ Thanks for the tour. I've never been to Alabama before...maybe I'll have to do that someday. Sounds like fun. :)

Have a good day!
--Abigail

Aubrey said...

Coming over from BATW!
You gave an absolutely GREAT tour! Your pictures are making me reconsider this city life! Oh! And I love me some sweet tea. I'm sure it's much better in your neck of the woods than here in CO!

Unknown said...

I had such a fun visit to your state and area...enjoy the BATW day and THANKS for the sweet tea it is my weakness

Anonymous said...

What a great job! I love this state too! HOME. SWEET. HOME. ALABAMA!

Heidi said...

What a GREAT post....... I love it!
I don't want to move anymore!!!!!
Roll Tide!
Heidi

Bramblemoon Farm said...

I love the last picture of your boys:) I also love Southern town names! My husband's uncle lives in Possum Grape, Arkansas. BAHAHAHA It's 17 degrees here and the snow is DEEP-- do you want some?

Sally-Ann said...

Thanks for the tour! Cute kids!