Sunshine in the UK, Hooray !!!

Hi folks,

stand back in amazement an English blog. We awoke to bright sunshine streaming through the window so up we got and out before the weather changed.

Down the park we went.

To make a change we went in the other end and found a nearly empty car park and sauntered through the park to the "historic" waterfall.

Needless to say there was a lot of water in the waterfall but not very historic..

Trees still had some leaves on their branches.

Then we came across this chap who after a chat showed us his dog Crystal doing her party trick. The chap tossed leaves into the air and the dog did somersaults.

The chap said that Crystal was a rescue dog he has had since she was seven mouths old and didn't have the heart to change her name so instead he bought her a gem collar to wear.

Next there was a load of noise as a flock of Canada Geese flew over.

We had to have an obligatory Swan.

View across the lake as we made our way up the slope for a cup of tea in the cafe.

Lastly a shot of a dog very much like our neighbours with such a sweet expression..

Thanks for looking,

nite nite, Luv Mike XX

Vicksburg on the Missisippi

Hi folks,

Well I spoke to soon and down came the rain.

Coming down from the north we stayed at this town by the river which is steeped in history re the Civil War. Like New Orleans and other towns on the Mississippi it suffers badly from flooding and the levees are very high.

Note the white sign on the tower and you will see the last years flooding was not the highest at river has been, these are massive defence walls to keep out the water.

Behind the levee was this magnificent paddle steamer.

How the civil war started.

Further down the Levee are a set of painting, one of which depicts the war and the steamboats firing on each other.

Another scene on the Levee wall, our Sue is in the process of cleaning a few of them with cable shadows on then to show later. What you are seeing will not last long as a few of them are starting to deteriorate.

This last one is a modern scene of a Tow boat as Stephen corrected in the original holiday post.

That's it for tonight, hope the sun shines tomorrow and we can have some English scenes to show.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Missisippi

Hi folks,

Looks like we might get a good weekend, here's hoping, anyway we will continue on our trip across the US.

Just a quick note to our American friends, you see that this place England is called a " green and pleasant land" the trouble is to keep it green we get loads of rain which sometimes lasts a week or so, anyway I digress, back to our wonderful trip.

I love America for its diversity, things are always changing and we never  tired of the different scenes you come across.

From one extreme to another.

We arrived at the Great Mississippi and tried to follow it down the road to Vicksburg.  

Even up near  Memphis the river was huge.

The banks were adorned with private buildings with there own landing stages for their boats.

From the landing stage you can just see the silver Taurus on the bank. 

We are starting to go south now and about halfway through the trip. I planned to go down the Mississippi next to the river by road but the roads came away from the river so we joined the main road to Vicksburg and then on our way to New Orleans.

Thanks for dropping bye.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

All Shook Up!!

Hi folks,

after our lunch we went to see the "King", well his house anyway. It is the 35th year since he went.

You arrive and enter by the front door.

All these shots were taken without flash of tripod as they were not allowed. I think is is obvious where there were taken so I will let you enjoy them....................

Out in the garden of remembrance there were lots of floral tributes to him.

Lastly in the concourse outside.

Thanks for looking, if you can I really think this place is worth a visit.

nite, nite, Luv Mike.XX

Few more of Memphis

Hi folks,

To continue our trip at lunchtime we went into Beale Street in the heart of the city to eat and be entertained by a group in a bar.

The group were fantastic as they played soul music whilst we ate.

Not a lot of people about when we first got there but it livened up later. This street had a character all of it's own with plenty to look at ether side.

Lovely signage adorned the street.

As it got to lunch time the street performers got into there acts which was great fun to watch.

Part of the tour was to the Memphis information centre and to pay homage to the King.

Last statue was the famous B B King, I even bought an album of his whilst we were there.

Back on the coach for a trip to Gracelands.

Thanks for looking.

nite, nite, Luv Mike. XX

Little Magical Part of Memphis

Hi folks,

Well as we had one good day on Sunday I went back to America today.

We went on a trip around the City before doing the usual things like Beale Street and Gracelands  our driver took us to this wonderful place.

This pavilion was the centre of a chapel for the dedication and research of Cancer in young children.

The dome was a spectacle of colour and light in this magical area.

Around the walls were inscriptions.

This one bought a tear to my eyes.

This image says it all.

The area for research is huge covering several blocks all for the cure of cancer.

 In the garden is a serene atmosphere of love and hope.

A bouquet of flowers to finish as we left with a feeling of hope in the world. Not a lot of words but I think the images say it all.

Thanks for dropping by.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX