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A family visit with Will, Julia, and Harrison Outlaw
Aug 13th — Aug 20th, 2016

 

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Last edit 2016-09-12.
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Will arrived in Tallahassee with the children on Saturday afternoon just two weeks past Julia’s 10th birthday, so Bill and I planned to have our first dinner based on this occasion.  The birthday cake was pre-determined based on previous lemon-flavored birthday cakes, and this choice influenced our cake décor and table setting.  Julia helped me (below left) with the yellow-sugared marshmallow flowers for her angel food cake filled with lemon mousse.  She placed the candles atop the cake and we set it on a new stand, bought for this celebration.  After tying some ribbon around the cake, the presentation was complete (below, right).
A week’s vacation requires shoes for all types (below, left) of activities as we had planned a busy schedule. The first trip was to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, a family favorite, but Julia and Harrison’s first visit. Visitors from around the world have graced this tourist destination for a taste of Old Florida.  We planned a snack first and a boat tour second, followed by lunch in the historic lodge.  The photo of Julia, enjoying a Moon Pie (below right), shows the long marble bar in the soda/sandwich shop. It is the longest known marble soda fountain countertop in the world. 
We had a wait period before the next boat ride, which gave us time to read and enjoy the educational material provided by the park and the old movie posters displayed.  Harrison found a book on manatees very interesting and one of the posters inspired a movie rental--The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which Bill watched as a child and found quite scary.  On boarding the boat, we noticed a new (to us) guide and at least one foreign family.  It wasn’t long before Harrison spotted an alligator (see photo below) as I enjoyed all the blooming plants along the way.
We saw many more alligators (right), lots of fish and turtles, birds of several varieties (anhinga, below left), and even a manatee (below, right).  Our guide told us that six manatees had been spotted that day.  It was the first I'd seen, so it was my lucky day.  The old sabal palm from a Tarzan movie is no longer with us, but we saw the remaining stump up close.  Sadly, the spring water has not been clear enough for the glass-bottom boat tour in three years.

Back inside the lodge for lunch, Julia and Harrison posed by Old Joe (right).  He has been moved over the years and the lodge lounge area has been redecorated.  The beautiful intricate designs on the painted ceiling appeared to be freshened up as well. 

In the lodge dining room, we were one of three parties, not unusual as it was near 3pm.  As we enjoyed our surroundings, we dined on classic Wakulla Lodge fare and were too full for much dinner that evening.  Before we left the table, Harrison checked out the breakfast menu, planning for our next visit.  He LOVES breakfast!

We aimed for a low-key second day.  A car tour of Tallahassee was planned and our navigator took us on our first drive through the new Orchard Pond Parkway, five miles south of our residence.  It is lovely but no more so than the land surrounding it. 

Our first stop was Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park.  It had just rained and was extremely hot and humid.  After a group photo, everyone but I climbed the lower mound and then headed to some shade under the pavilion.  We read the Interpretive Exhibit (an example, lower right) and the same group climbed the larger mound. Before leaving, Will and grandchilden posed near the pavilion (below, left). 

 

After the mounds, we lunched at Red Lobster, and then drove downtown by the Capitol and FSU.  Bill and I hadn’t traveled Gaines Street in years and I was amazed at all the changes and new structures.  We passed by the stadium, Bill’s old workplace (BIO, Unit 1), the somewhat new medical school, and the site of the old Conradi building (BIO), completely gone, with the land now serving another purpose.    Harrison and Julia pose at the fountain off Chieftan Way near the stadium and BIO Unit 1.

 
For the next day, Will made reservations for us at St. George Inn on St. George Island.  We were very pleased with his choice as there was a sofa, chair, and game table set up with checkers just outside our room on the second floor.  This was perfect for watching Julia and Harrison play checkers as we sipped Outlaw wine and chatted.   
The kids went to the beach the first day as the old folks rested.  Later, we dined at The Blue Parrot Oceanfront Café.   Bill said he had never had better fried oysters.  Back at the inn, we used “our” sitting area and enjoyed the evening.  Next day, we suited up and joined the kids at the beach. It had been years since we had been in the water.  We all had so much fun!  Before we left the beach area, we took a brief tour of the St. George Island State Park at the east end of the island. The visit to the park was "down memory lane" as Bill used to take the children there to fish in the surf, mostly for whiting (and on the causeway, trout), but Will did catch a red drum once.

After we checked out of the inn, we drove, once again, across the Apalachicola Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico.  This time, we went to the small, historic town of Apalachicola.  We had a late lunch at Owl Café where we each had a delicious and generous meal.  We couldn’t resist a shop named Oysterbones and stopped to buy some oysterbones for the Outlaw dogs plus other treats for Outlaw dog people.  The Gibson Inn, ca 1907, looked inviting and we discussed a future trip to Apalachicola.
Back in Tallahassee, we relaxed with games of pick-up sticks, watched movies, read—Harrison latched onto Bill's copy of Overstreet and Julia read about Harry Potter—and cooked.  Interestingly, a favorite meal for everyone was Moroccan Chicken Thighs with green olives and dried Outlaw figs, served on couscous.  Bill had fun showing Julia and Harrison his “laboratory” and explaining the wine-making process.  Malolactic fermentation (carried out by bacteria, in addition to alcoholic fermentation carried out by yeast) was a special lesson that Harrison enjoyed reporting to me.  They also loved inspecting our fruit trees with Bill and feeding the critters each evening with our leftovers.  They were so anxious to check the next day to see if the food scraps were gone—and they were!  Simple fun. 

 

In Nashville, Georgia, the first activity was a trip downtown to see a special exhibit at the old courthouse—“A traveling sports exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution and a comprehensive local exhibit featuring the sporting heritage of Berrien County*. The exhibit was enjoyed by all and the kids got to see where their great-grandfather and great-grandmother worked in the courthouse for many years when he was county-school superintendent.  Outside the courthouse, they pose by the statue of a doughboy (right), which particularly memorializes the sons of Berrien County who were lost on the Otranto.  Later, they rode by the former home of their great grandparents on South Berrien Street (below). Bill grew up here, and Will stayed there on weekends with his grandmother when he worked nights at the Berrien County Hospital. Later, we visited the graves of Julia and Harrison's great-grandparents and great aunts in Westview Cemetery. Then, we visited Connell Cemetery, just south of Nashville. Julia and Harrison posed (below, right) by the gravestone of their 6th great-grandparents, James E. Connell, Jr., and Sarah née Reeves Connell, both of whose fathers were American Patriots.

*Many thanks to Bryan Shaw, Jane Knight and many others for the huge effort required for these exhibits.

Back at the farm, fishing and checking out the creek were a lot of fun.  They really enjoyed seeing two otters at the creek.  The sugar cane was of great interest, as well as the thought of making syrup and enjoying the finished product.  Both Julia and Harrison loved our Outlaw sugar cane syrup on their French toast. Also, Julia really likes fruit—especially muscadines and bunch grapes, much to her granddaddy’s delight!

Again this year, Will and Harrison had the loft bedroom and Julia had her own bed downstairs. Here, Julia stands in the loft ready for our dinner in Thomasville and return to Tallahassee. 

We ended our farm journey with a special meal at Liam’s in Thomasville, Georgia.  Will, Harrison, and Bill enjoyed their salmon dish and Julia had a pasta entree.  I ordered the pork loin with maitake mushrooms and found it delicious. 

Back home in Tallahassee, we had the next morning to relax and get ready for their flight back to North Carolina.  What a great week with so many adventures and new memories!

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