One more story from vacation

We stopped at a Shoney's on the way home... somewhere in Mississippi, I guess. Anyway, on our way out, there was a group of about 20 soldiers in camo fatigues who were waiting for a big table. Allen pipes up: "That's a lot of the same outfits!" Well, they heard him, and laughed, and it put a smile on every one of their faces. So, that was a nice thing for our boys and girls in uniform. Allen and all of us thank you for all you do.

Rockin' at Lambert's

Yes, we are new to this "Guitar Hero" madness... But, give us a break: We're usually about 10 years behind on cool stuff!

Throwed rolls were good... We managed to not order excessive amounts of food, just the usual unreal portions they give you at Lambert's. We may not eat for a week.

Anyway, it's good to be home. Got a lot of DVR to clear off, that's for sure!

Introducing Giovanni Giordano

My new great-nephew! Congratulations to Ally and Antonio, and new grandparents Lori and Bill. (He looks just like his mommy.)

Halfway home

Hello from beautiful Southaven, Miss., where our suite is luxurious -- but there's no indoor pool, and happy hour has been scaled back to just Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Shucks. But the suite is really nice. And we've got a whirlpool tub!

I asked Emilyn to take a portrait of me that captures my deep, abiding love for palm trees. I think she did an excellent job:

Later on, we stopped at The Watermelon Patch, a famous roadside attraction and shoe store. They have this cool mural outside showing distance from visitors' hometowns...



We should be home tomorrow afternoon... After we stop in Sikeston for throwed rolls! See you all soon.

Red flag snapping outside my window...

Danger to swimmers! Because the surf is really churning today, and the wind is blowing like heck, straight out of the east.

So, we ventured out to the beach this morning, but it wasn't for long... Not pleasant. Allen caught a face full of wave, and that was it. We fled to the pool.

Then, we headed back over the Dr. W.C. Holmes Bridge to the same shopping plaza where Emilyn and I went to the movies... Pelican Place at Craft Farms. We went shopping at Books A Million... Japanese restaurant Mikato there was good, if empty. Allen seems to have gotten over his fear of Teppanyaki chefs. He panicked at first, but once the fire got going, he wanted to see.

Another important shop in this plaza... Incredible Candies! Emilyn went nuts on the wall of colorful joys, Allen went straight for the gummy sharks. He wanted 5. Daddy and Mommy chose their own treats... I give their truffles a disappointing C-minus. Their chocolate-covered pretzels are good. Solid B.

Well, it's our last day... Gotta eat all this food, do some more laundry, empty the garbage, pack up and head out in the morning. Good spring break. For more photos from our last day at the beach, click here.

Latest stuff from Day 6

Just click on the thumbnail to see the big photo and read its caption.

Happy birthday to my favorite sister

Letters by Jennie. Frame by Emilyn. Principal shell gatherer, Steve. Allen, in the role of Grampy, is lead kibbitzer.

Chill of the North outside my window...

Why'd you guys in St. Louis have to send me your cold front?! Oh, well. I hear it's snowing in NY today, the first day of spring.

Happy Crabbes outside my window...

It's Emilyn and Daddy, frolicking in the pool! They went back out to the beach, but discovered it's covered with "jellyfish bits." Ewwwww. So, the pool for them instead.

But this morning at the beach was perfect. We built sandcastles and sunned and played in the waves... Just look at how happy Allen was!



For lunch, it was the Original Oyster House, birthplace of Grammy Shark. Mommy had cheese grits... Mmmmmm... and the most awesome mahi mahi, with lime hollandaise and garlic sauce. Then, we had this massively huge piece of peanut butter-chocolate chip pie. Oh, so good! We went out back to feed the fish in the lagoon and play on the playground.

So many good pictures today -- and video! Click here to see them all.

Stiff southeast wind outside my window...

And it's kinda put a damper on the beaching today... It's hard to be comfy in that much wind. And if you get a little wet, forget it! Chill central! But, we're going to bundle up and venture out there again today, doubtless. It's what we're here for!

What we're also here for: Finding cool dead things; feeding the ravenous seabirds; stuffing ourselves with gulfside delicacies... We've done it all already, and more.

Day 4 memories: Emilyn taking off after someone's lost kite (and NOT catching up; as I said, that's some wind!); the seagulls taking off with our little orange sandcastle cup; and kite surfers just plain taking off. For today's photos, click here.

Breeze is blowing outside my window...

And the water is the most enchanting shade of boo-been. We had an excellent morning at the beach; now Allen is in for a nap and Emilyn and Daddy are back for more, while I tackle the online duties.

Allen conquered his fear of the surf today! Pretty good for just our second full day here, and the first with nice weather. (I didn't get any pictures yet, but he crawled along on his belly, waiting for the water to roll over him... Until he got a face full. He was wiping sand off his tongue for 10 minutes.)

Lunch was Doc's Seafood Shack, home of the best popcorn shrimp. Too much of a good thing, as it turned out... We have tons of leftovers in the fridge.

To see more shots from today, click here.

Rain is falling outside my window...

... But we still managed to have fun on Day 2 at the beach.

We went to NAS Pensacola to the Naval Aviation Museum... Saw some new stuff there... Crawled around in some airplanes. Then, topped it all off with pizza at Lillian's! Yummm. For more pictures, click here.

Surf's pounding outside the window...

And I'm logged into some wi-fi network or other, so hello from beautiful Gulf Shores, Ala.! Allen is in the bathtub, soaking off his latest layer of crud... Emilyn is enjoying her palatial suite (whirlpool tub, her own TV tuned to Nickelodeon, a closet bigger than some of the rooms in our house...)

The trip down was OK... Allen did as well as could be expected in the car. Our first beach vittles were at the Crab Trap, of course... I had some sublime grouper and grilled shrimp... Emilyn had popcorn shrimp... Daddy had the tuna. YUM! We went to Bruno's and dropped a fortune on groceries, then we spent the evening down at the beach, with Allen getting used to the sand and Emilyn scouting for beach life. She found tons of tiny clams (coquinas, I think) and sand crabs!

Ahhh. We're here. Good times ahead!

Another spring swing

Allen was fascinated when the bucket of water I gave him yesterday to play with (80 degrees) was found this morning frozen, with all his little toy cups still inside.

A major achievement

Thanks in large part to the stories I chronicle here in the blog, I have managed to make hotel reservations to and from the beach... in the exact same hotels we stayed at last year! You don't know how big an accomplishment that is for the Crabbes! We always say: "This is a nice place; remember this." But we never do. Sigh...

But now I've got a handle on it: On the way down, it's the Country Inn & Suites in Pearl, Miss. On the way back, it's the Comfort Suites in Southaven, Miss.

Let me tell you, we are stimulating the Mississippi economy like crazy. You're welcome, Magnolia State!

Great links

Just a few things you should click and give a listen to:

The political editor here wrote a song about copy editors. It's awesome. I'm trying to make him famous. Click here. Then share it with anyone who will listen.

Allen is amassing quite a playlist of his favorite songs on YouTube. Click here.

Allen, really reading

He's been doing it for a few days now... He sees words everywhere, is constantly sounding things out, and spelling to himself.

Well, today at Whole Foods, he wanted me to buy more "purple oranges." (He's been eating lots of blood oranges.) He reads the sign and says, "How come it says bloooood? (rhymes with "food.")" OK, I know he's reading!

Then we get home, and he goes for his magnetic letters, proclaiming: "I want to spell gorgonzola." Sheesh!

Just because they're so darn cute

And because one of them is about to become a grandparent for the first time! And because the other one has a very big birthday coming up! And, just because I wish I could have been in this picture. My big sister and big brother. Miss you, guys! Love you!