Our brothers and sisters are there with
us from the dawn of
our personal stories to the inevitable
dusk.” – Susan Scarf Merrell
As the years go by and life gets busy, we don’t spend enough
time with family members who live away. It takes extra effort to plan
opportunities to get together especially since we’re all getting older and challenged
by our abilities to drive long distances. Charles and I had been saying for
some time we needed to see both our sisters this spring.
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| Marion & Richard Simmons |
Charles sister, Marion and her husband Richard Simmons, live
in Baton Rouge, LA which is a long ten hour drive from where we live. So we
asked them to meet us in the picturesque city of Fairhope, AL for the weekend.
The beautiful weather enabled us to tour the shops and visit the Mobile Bay
area of town. We enjoyed tea at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear and a delicious
feast at the rustic Wash House Restaurant. The building is so old; you can’t
imagine a fine restaurant being housed inside. But the inside atmosphere and
food were very delightful. We spent a lot of time catching up on kids and
grand kids and talking about the old days when Charles and Marion were young—more interesting stories for Charles’ book.
We drove scenic 98E from Fairhope toward Pensacola, FL. Several
signs along the way kept us entertained and gave me some new ideas for future
writing efforts. I’m glad we’d already eaten lunch when we saw the Roadkill Café or we might have been
tempted to check it out. Next we passed
the Blue Angel Baptist Church that
gives dual recognition to the Christian’s eternal destination and the US Navy’s
flying aerobatic squadron.
Our next destination was Gulf Breeze to visit with my sister and her family.
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| Audrey & George Kimmel |
Audrey Kimmel is my older sister and like me a recipient of
a liver transplant. Our personalities and interests are similar so we’ve
enjoyed a lot in common throughout our lives. I was the pest when we were younger
when she dated her soon-to-be husband George. Charles and I stayed on Pensacola
Beach so we could take advantage of the beautiful weather and the ocean
waves. Audrey came with us to sit on
beach chairs under a big umbrella—a very enjoyable and relaxing experience. We
enjoyed visiting with their children and grandchildren, and having a delicious
dinner with Audrey and George at Jackson’s in Pensacola on our final vacation
night.
Sisters are those special people in our lives who have known
us the longest, know all about us, and love us anyway. So glad we could make
some new memories with them.
As we headed home on I-65 in Alabama near Evergreen, we
drove over Murder Creek. My story making wheels have been churning ever
since.
