SUNDAY LETS TRAVEL TO: Armenia

Nephew Brian in the middle with fellow Peace Corp Members at Easter

Village where Brian served in the Peace Corp

Brian with his host family and friends before he rented his own apartment

Host mother and other relatives

My nephew Brian and his sister Christine, my brother's children, have both served in the Peace Corp.  Christine served in Nijer, Africa, while Brian was assigned Armenia.  Both are really excellent at languages.  Both can speak Spanish like a native.  Brian learned German and Russian and French.  Christine knows French, Arabic and several others.  In addition to being in the Peace Corp, Brian spent six months overseas doing an accelerated program with languages. He wanted to do International Business, while Christine has been accepted into the Foreign Service.  In August of this year, she will be assigned to Muscat, Oman. Christine's study is in Third World Health Care.  Both enjoy traveling.  This week we're going to visit Armenia through Brian's pictures and notes.  

Armenia is located in the southern Caucasus and is the smallest of the former Soviet republics. It is bounded by Georgia on the north, Azerbaijan on the east, Iran on the south, and Turkey on the west. Contemporary Armenia is a fraction of the size of ancient Armenia. A land of rugged mountains and extinct volcanoes, its highest point is Mount Aragats, 13,435 ft (4,095 m). (Not to be confused with Mount Ararat in Turkey)

First up..

  

Mount Ararat, in Turkey (Noah's ark is supposed to have been discovered on the left)

Mayor of Gugark, Brian's village, Brian and friend Sarah

A trainee holding onto St. Mesrop Mashtot's finger. (Marshot is the inventor of the

Armenian alphabet.It contained 36 letters այբուբեն (aybuben).

Village Square of Gugark, Armenia

Another shot of Gugark

Church on a hill outside Gugark

Close up shot of the Church on the hill-doesn't look used and it has graffiti on the outside!

This is a shot from the camp they stayed at when first arriving in Armenia

A morning shot from the camp

Group met at an ancient sight at Yerevan, Armenia

A road shot of the countryside 

Another road shot of the countryside

A morning shot of the countryside--Can you see the mountains in the background?

City square of Vanadzor, Armenia

River

Landscape in Southern Armenia

Eating salt with bread, an Armenian tradition

Couldn't resist taking this picture on one of their road trips.  See the cow in the car?

Brian and friends drinking coffee on a hillside in Armenia

Aren't these poppies?

Gyumri in the background

Landscape

An old bridge

More flowers, Brian giving the thumbs up sign.  I call him the

gentle giant as he's 6' 7".  Kids and aunts love him to death.  When he gives a hug, he wraps his arms around you like a bear! My head comes to just below the third button from the top of his shirt.

I included the shot of Mount Ararat, located in Turkey, but it was closed on the Armenian side. He was unable to go and see it up close.  Though, I believe there was a window of time three of his friends were able to go and climb it.  There were certain areas that he couldn't visit as he could have been arrested and jailed for  being there.

Brian's apartment, they do have snow!

A winter shot of his apartment

I hope you've enjoyed this brief visit to Armenia.  

SUNDAY LETS TRAVEL TO: Sand Mountain, Alabama

This was first posted on 02/28/10, I've had a request to show it again. Hope y'all enjoy!

There's a lot of pasture's on Sand Mountain.

My cousin Peggy and Larry's house

Almost thirty years ago my cousin Peggy and her fairly new husband's life changed.  I was visiting my Aunt Jessie and Uncle Lloyd,when suddenly the sky turned black and the trees started swaying.  I think it was in June, but we all rushed into the house, all except Larry.  He was on the way back from doing an errand.  I found out later, that as he was driving up the mountain, a tornado passed over his car, uprooting a tree which then crashed down on him. In his twenties, he was paralyzed about four inches from below his neck down through his arms and legs. He has been confined to a wheel chair since that day.  He is a strong individual though, actually, both he and Peggy both are.  Peggy found out right after the accident, that she was pregnant with a child.  Dale was a great kid!  

This is Larry, on the wheelchair, at a family reunion in 2007.

This store belonged to my Dad's cousin.  I remember as a kid, some

50 years ago, my Dad, me and my brother stopping by the store to buy

log bologna. Do y'all know what log bologna is? I don't know if that's the technical term, but Dad could buy a

log of bologna about 18 inches long.  He would then slice it into thick slices and fry.  We then had some of the

best sandwiches.  The bologna today doesn't taste anything like that log bologna of the past! (That's my Mom driving, we were going around so that I could take pictures for the family history book.)

This is Antioch Baptist church.  The original building was destroyed by a tornado.  But the site has been here forever! This is the cemetery where my mother's family is buried.

My Grandparent's gravesite at Antioch

The far left tombstone is my great grandfather's.

This was the site of one of my grandparents homeplace. I can imagine back then.  The cutting down of the timber to build a house. Sitting under the shade in the evening after work.  Walking along the sandy road, feeling the hot sand from the sun, then walking through the cool sand in the shade.

Buck's pocket is a beautiful park.  As you can see, the legend goes that defeated politicians come here after loosing an election.(I assume to jump off the cliffs to commit suicide. Though, it must have been before my time, as there certainly aren't any running here to do this today.)

Buck's Pocket website view.

 

A personal view in Buck's Pocket

It's like you can see forever!

One of my favorite photos.  That's my great niece in front, then my great nephew and my niece in back.

Another shot.  Do you see the dry creek bed in back? To get to the picnic area is a two mile winding road that leads down, across streams and boulder rocks hanging onto the side of the mountain.  There's only one way in and one way out of the picnic and camping area. If a few days of torrential rain comes, you want to pack up and leave fast, because those streams can fill up and overflow, trapping anyone left in the area.  But in the summer time, when most other places are hot, this area is cool. You gotta see the boulders lying around.  As I drive down, there's not any housing, just nature and forest.  It's like a trip back in time, when settlers first came.  I can see wagons being pulled by mules and horses.  Whole families riding in the wagons or buggy

. 

This is a picture of my grandpa on my Dad's side. My grandpa is the one in the middle with his brother on the left and a cousin on the right. This picture could have been taken at Buck's Pocket in 1920.

There are a lot of these around. Barns with hay stored inside.

You probably are asking how we spend the 4th of July, following are pictures to show you what fun we have on Sand Mountain.....

First you bring a group of relatives together, such as my nephew Carl (he's my sister Susan's son in the Air Force), his daughter and my great niece Kennedy, Carl's wife and my niece-in-law, Simone, and their son and my great nephew Hunter....

Gotta have a bunch of kids such as, in the back row, Hunter, Kennedy, Cortney, my sister's granddaughter, and the straggly line in front, Shelby, my granddaughter, plus my sister Susan's grandchildren, Mattison, Ellie and Cole.

a Go Cart furnished by another nephew, Gary, one of Susan's twin boys.

Then you sit back and watch!

Of course, the sitting place is under a tent!

And here's what we're watching!

That's my granddaughter driving.  She had a ball!

Cole thought he was driving, actually it was Gary..

One thing is for sure, it kept them occupied!

We have many beautiful ponds and lakes on Sand Mountain.  This is Ellie feeding a bird.

I bet you also wonder how we celebrate Christmas....

Again, the first thing you do is get a group of family together at someone's house, such as my nephew Gary's house....then you take pictures!

This is Sara, Susan's granddaughter by her son Gary

This is Sara and her great grandmother, my mother. They weren't aware I took this picture. It's one of those priceless pictures!

Gary's daughter Ellie

David, who likes to take pictures also. He's my brother's son, though we're still at Gary's.

You notice we spend a lot of time in the kitchen and around the tables.

Gary's daughter Taylor, playing with the wii and her Uncle Richie playing the guitar.

Who said men don't love to cook other places besides the grill.  The twins, Gary in dark sweater and Larry in blue shirt.

Of course, there has to be a Christmas tree, a live tree at that. This was taken in 2007.

This is Susan and her tree, 2009

Family is a big part of the life on Sand Mountain. Picnics, fishing, hunting are the big sports.  Even a bigger sport is just loading up and driving the family to the river and spending a day or camping out.  The best sport is high school Friday night football.  The State Fair at Fort Payne is well attended.  It reminds me of the movie State Fair. 

I hope you have enjoyed this installment of traveling to Sand Mountain.......

This post has been linked to Grand Social for Monday's Happy Grand Social Day!