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!