"All Of Those Tourists Covered With Oil"

We always enjoy our trips to Pensacola to stay with Bob Bob and Mama Charlie. And the best part is being surrounded by lots of cousins! With Uncle Denny, Aunt Gena, Catie, and Mac living next door to the Grands, we get lots of time with everyone. Uncle Kemp, Aunt Janet, Kemper, Rebecca, and Christina also live less than 2 miles away. We love to visit them AND their pool! We carried Bob Bob to see Toy Story 3 and watched as our Dad boo hoo'd in a couple of scenes. The kids loved their sleep over the at Catie and Mac's and loved hanging out with Kemper-- a senior in high school! We were also there for church on Sunday morning and for the Chapel Choir home concert Sunday night. Judd loved being back in his own stomping grounds and Mary Conlee loved meeting people who kept telling her she looked just like her Daddy. The best part was spending time with the grandparents before their two week trip to Germany and Italy. Thanks for a wonderful trip!

While we were there, we drove to Pensacola Beach and were saddened by what we found. I'm not so sure this is what Jimmy Buffett had in mind when he penned "Margaritaville." Not only was the beach covered in oil, but there were sheets of oil washing up with each wave. The usual smell of the ocean was no longer there. Parking lots that are normally filled with beach goers were filled with news trucks and clean up crews. Instead of families frolicking near the shore, there were paid prisoners and volunteers picking up tar balls from the sand. Cole and Judd stayed behind in the car while MC and I braved the rain (and oil) to take some pictures.


A reporter giving the latest report on the oil spill


A much different scene


Poor Pensacola Beach


A tar ball--up close and personal


The not-so-inviting waves along the shore


Despite the oil, Mary Conlee found a strip of white sand and took off running


Even the bayou was covered in boom to catch the oil

On our way home from Pensacola, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in Mobile to buy some skis for Cole and Mary Conlee. We also made a detour through downtown Mobile to visit Three George's Candy Shop. We loaded up on chocolates, jelly beans, and homemade milk shakes. Anything to make the 5 1/2 hour road trip more fun!


Mary Conlee loved her strawberry milkshake from the old fashioned soda fountain


Just what the boy loves most....CANDY!!!!