Hey Y'all!

Our big summer trip this year included plans to visit Tennessee to see my husband's folks and then to celebrate our 2-year anniversary early by visiting a location he has loved vacationing in for years: Destin, Florida. If you know of my obsession with birds, it's a thrill for me to add a bird to my "life list." I now have that exuberance about adding states as "life states," since Justin came along and sparked a passion to travel in my heart. (He's the best traveling buddy...it's hard not to like travel with him!) So this trip not only added Florida to my state list, but also Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana! What a thrill it was for me, indeed! (Minus the indescribable humidity that made me feel like I was constantly melting...see this for reference).

I ticked 4 new states for my list and...drum roll, please...32 new life birds! Uncontainable joy! Onto my list flew: Black-throated Green Warbler, Black Vulture, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue Jay, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Chimney Swift, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Screech Owl, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Mississippi Kite, Orchard Oriole, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Scarlet Tanager, Tufted Titmouse, White-eyed Vireo, and White Ibis! What a list for me to find joy in!

We birded with the Birding Master nearly every morning we were there. And I finally got to bird with my Grandmother-in-law at her kitchen window! She's the lady who started the generation of birders!

Justin and I value all of our time spent with family. Sabbath was especially meaningful with our Uncle, Grandma, and Granddad we hadn't seen for many moons. It also included a bird matching card game from their past they introduced me to! (My obsession with it goes without saying! Oops, I said it!)

This was our second trip to Tennessee together and we have a tradition now of always going to Gatlinburg, The Great Smoky Mountains, and stopping in Knoxville on the way home to eat at El Chico. (I recently have begun a rating system for my obsession with trying tacos at every Mexican restaurant. El Chico's has been the first 10/10!!! Also, the fresh guacamole is out of this world!)

We added a new stop on our trip this year that is so special and amazing that it deserved its own paragraph! The Christmas and Collectibles store in Pigeon Forge!!! Another one of my obsessions is Christmas, so... me + Christmas in July = Augggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Justin and I picked out many absolutely perfect bird ornaments that we cannot wait to add to our bird-themed Christmas tree this year!

Side note: I realized my official obsession with Christmas a few days ago (not sure why I didn' realize it before!). Then it dawned on me as I was searching Amazon for Old World Christmas bird ornaments in July, someone else in our family had an obsession with Christmas, especially Christmas decorations and ornaments--my Grandma Carol! It is an honor to pass down her tradition and it is a very high honor to display some of her most lovely Christmas ornaments she has collected and gifted throughout the years on our tree!


Our trip to the south then moved us to our anniversary "Destin-ation!" (We were pretty proud of coining that term this trip!) We drove through horrific thunder and lightning storms to get there, which made me unsure of what I was getting myself into with this whole Florida thing. Upon relaxation and a good night's sleep, I fell in love with Florida the next morning! How could I not? ...He took me to the Destin jetty!!!! The water was so clear I could have written all my postcards underwater! (But why would I want to do that? What I really should have done was snorkel with Justin! Next time! ...And I will definitely use your tip, Christy, to snorkel with a noodle! There's no way I'm going to snorkel for exercise! Snorkeling will be 100% relaxation and leisure if I choose to partake in it!)

Justin and I discovered the nearby outlet stores. Which was a mistake. But it was also a hilarious discovery to find out Justin's disbelief of how literally everything is always on sale at an outlet. I also found my new favorite store: GH Bass. I think we literally visited the outlets 3 times in 2 days!

We also miniature golfed, which was so fun! This was only the second time we played. Apparently, it's a vacation activity for us. Our first time playing was on Catalina Island. I remember we tied our first time, but he says I beat him by one point. This time, he beat me by one point! Perfect!

The final part of our trip consisted of driving from Florida to Louisiana in order to fly home with a shorter flight. It is so easy to trust Justin with taking care of all the planning, reservations, and details of our trips, that sometimes I forget to ask things and, instead, I get surprised! He booked us a stay at "the belle of New Orleans." It was the prettiest hotel I've ever seen! He wanted us to have a treat for our last day of vacation and also for me to feel relaxed before the flight home. The Lord knew I needed to marry this guy for sure!!!

On our one night in New Orleans, it was our goal to experience some jazz music! Our first attempt was proven unsuccessful, but I wouldn't necessarily call it that. The Little Gem Saloon provided us with Fried Green Tomatoes (a first for both of us--and delicious!), hilarious live music from a band that must have averaged out at 80 years old, and a key link to our unforgettable jazz adventure! Our waitress was kind enough to send us on our way to the best jazz in town! Preservation Hall, although down Bourbon Street, which neither of us enjoyed one bit, instantly was exactly what we wanted to get from New Orleans. A trumpet, clarinet, trombone, upright bass, drums, and a piano combined together to create an unforgettable jazz experience! Jam-packed into a tiny living room-like hole in the wall, this place was ablaze with jazz! The solos were my favorite! Justin and I even donned what we call our "sick faces!" Where something is so good, your face becomes contorted to look like you actually hate it....

Cheers!

All in all, our summer vacation was 100% a success! Great memories to last a lifetime plus! And I learned a valuable lesson this trip: no trip to the south is now complete without sweet tea, boiled peanuts, and grits!

For more of our trip pictures: Click here!

Bird Encounters: Heaps Peak Arboretum

Today for Sabbath, we adventured to Heaps Peak Arboretum off the 18 in Skyforest, California. This is one of our favorite locations to bird, not only for the species we have spotted there, but also for the easiness of the Sequoia loop trail. The trail is about a mile long and is just right...not too hard, not too easy. The perfect trail for birding!

We have been to Heaps Peak either two or three times before (neither of us could remember). Our first time was iconic. We spotted the White-headed Woodpecker within minutes of hopping on the trail. And every visit to Heaps Peak, we have seen new birds, which is always what you want as a birder!

Every time we go back, and this time was no different, we walk very slow as we begin. We look for the White-headed Woodpecker to return. No luck. 

Once the trail takes its first big bend, it opens up into a vast array of trees on both sides. This is where the majority of our birding takes place. We venture left, then straight, then back, "psst-ing" to each other if we see anything. We even ventured farther this time off the trail (oops!). But good thing we did! We saw the bird we came to see this time!!! The Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) is a woodpecker that is quite large and I've been wanting to see this bird ever since June. Not only did we see the Northern Flicker off the trail, but we also spotted a Nuttall's Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker in the pine trees! What joy!

Does anyone know if this is Poison Oak?

Heaps Peak is known for always having multitudes of Mountain Chickadees and Western Bluebirds, which are always fun to see chirping and fluttering about. Other repeat bird species for us at this location are: Steller's Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Acorn Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, Spotted Towhee, and Dark-eyed Junco. Already on our birding lists, but new for us at this location now are: Western Scrub Jay and Yellow Warbler. And, of course, we usually always have a suspicious bird we are unable to identify. We are not sure whether we saw a Western-wood Pewee or an Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Our favorite part of the trail 

Western Bluebirds all over the place!

Acorn Woodpecker

Today, I counted my blessings. There are so many things to be thankful for. I love how birding slows down my life and makes me able to realize this. 

I have been indulging in a pleasure read, in between reading for school, and my newest book, Bird Sense: What's it's Like to be a Bird, has taught me that birding is all about encountering. Encounter: an unexpected experience, in this case, good. Oh how I love birding and all of the encounters it has shared with me! Today, I cherished our encounter with the Northern Flicker. And, as always, I cherish my time with my best birding friend, my husband. In between our lines of "what I remember about coming here before..." and "this is where...," we have once again created new memories in nature. 

Oh, what joy!