I am the first and only member of my family of origin that can claim to be a Mobile native. Both my parents were from a region in central Alabama called the Black Belt, a place where the air is thick with the smell of the rich dark earth that once grew King Cotton and now sprouts corn, peanuts, soy beans and peaches (up in Chilton County). Georgia might be better know for peaches, but road side stands all over the central part of the state all have giant hand painted signs heralding the arrival...

I’m crazy about olives. Want to know why? Too bad, I’m going to tell you any way.

Time for a bit of a history lesson both personal and regional.

I’m not sure if many of you are aware that the Gulf Coast region of Alabama was settled and occupied by Spanish and French as well as British forces before Alabama as we know it achieved statehood in 1813. Round about 1540 De Soto stormed through, just a bit north of where my native Mobile is now.
In 1702 Mobile, where...

A visit in Moab with my Friend Paul, Utah
The heat, the humidity and jungle like bugs made our stay in Moab a difficult experience for the both of us. We talked much, cooked much and saw a few sights including getting ourselves up to some cooler elevations doing the loop through La Salle mountains. I would however, difficult or not, do it again as I took away with me some valuable perspective about...

This is not so much a rant as it is a commentary. An observation. Or, more accurately, a series of observations. Perhaps diatribe is more apropos. It is welling up, like the steam in a pressure cooker and needs somewhere to go. Now, the lid is off…
To where did consideration go? No, not the ‘r word’. “Yo, you don’t give me no respect… I don’t give you no respect.” Nor is this a polite issue. Considerate: “showing concern for the rights and feelings of others.” Showing concern for others....

Bad weather is here… Utah.
Suddenly outdoor activities are a bit curtailed. We have been so fortunate throughout all this time to not really having bad weather which would hold us back from the road. But here it is… Still, not getting to adventurous, we managed to ride a bit of Hole in the Rock Road where we did not even make it to Devil’s Garden… The washboard situation almost becomes a nightmare… fast or...