Cassadega, Florida
Our friend Patti took us to a unique and mysterious town here in Florida named Cassadega on Valentine's Day. We had to drop our guys off for their annual Daytona trip so thought we'd pass through there on the way. I've never seen a medium but thought it would be interesting anyway, so we headed out with a stop for Greek Food, beer for the guys, then into the mystic.
A tiny snippet about Cassadega, it's a place that draws the clairvoyant. Psychics, mediums, healers, people who seek enlightenment are guided to this place, and some believe it is a kind of spiritual vortex.
With respect to people visiting Cassadega for the Spiritualist camp, I was careful not to take too many photos where it might interfere with someone's privacy especially since it was a first time visit. So here are the ones I did take..
First.. a photo of me and our baby Sonny : )
Patti and Rodney, lovebirds extraordinaire
Simba the cat, coined by some as the "Mayor"
Sonny was totally feelin it
For more information about this neat Florida town, here's an article I found written by Robin Peraldo, https://medium.com/florida-history/the-mystery-and-spirit-of-cassadaga-8a0058b024b1
Information about the spiritualist camp http://www.cassadaga.org/
Katie, Oliver and Kodi
Katie and Oliver were married at the Courthouse in Watkinsville, Georgia on July 14th...
so we arranged a photography session that morning at 9 to try and avoid too much of the Georgia July heat. I met up with Katie and her sister first and Katie looked beautiful!! Sweet blue eyes glowing with excitement and a bunch of bright yellow sunflowers in her hand, backlit by the sun. My mind was darting back and forth with the thought of how pretty this session would be on this beautiful morning!
We started shooting first around the Oconee County Visitors Center when we spotted the bright red door.
We heard Oliver and Kodi were on their way to meet up with their bride so we headed to do a first look at the
Eagle Tavern across the street.
Oliver and Kodi show up to see their beautiful bride while Katie waits..
Though Oliver was excited to see his bride all dressed up in her wedding attire, Kodi stole the first kiss!
Katie surprises Oliver with a sweet Mario mushroom boutineer she made just for him!
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I asked how they met.. they both worked at Pacific Swimwear (I love that store) but reconnected years later and started to date. I think they said around the first date they were ready to get married and have kids. That's pretty dadgum sweet.
Potty break for Kodi along the way.
Photos at a perfect spot by the Gym.
YEP, absolutely : )
Together Furever, the wedding of Rudee Huxtable Yarbrough and Eddy Spaghetti Watkins
Bella Watkins and I decided to arrange the marriage of our dogs in a backyard ceremony. This event is something we have been discussing for a couple of years now, so we finally made it happen on March 11th, the last weekend of Bella's 6th grade Spring Break.
The night before, Bella made lots of tiny cupcakes for the guests, and selected the perfect icing colors. Rachel and I made a photo area, and we did everything but a rehearsal because we became carried away with other things, especially once my parents arrived in town and the chardonnay started pouring about. Eddy and Rudee sat on the couch and waited patiently while we doted about, oblivious to the plans in store for them.
Bella the baker, perfecting the icing colors for the tiny cupcakes
Rachel preparing the photo area with tissue leftover from baby shower gifts, she is so talented!
Our snacks for the people included my Mom's delicious pimento cheese sammy's, Bella's colorful cupcakes, a bowl of danish wedding cookies, carrots and veggies, goldfish, and some other delicious stuff brought by the guests.
For the canine guests, my friend Robin Taylor of the delicious smelling and tasting (yes, I've tried one or two) Oscar Bites Dog Treats provided the party favors and the beautiful wedding cake for the couple and their friends. Mom also made up some cute milk bone suckers.
Table display with the engagement photo and Robin's beautiful cake
Close up of the cake made by Robin Taylor of Oscar Bites!
My friend J-Nasty Sand had the perfect cake topper look-a-likes!
The wedding began around 45 minutes later than planned (we felt Doc needed a quick trip to the lake to get energy out before his friends arrived ) so we threw the remaining touches together with the help of some of the guests. John Watkins (Father of the groom) started his playlist of dog themed songs hooked to our karaoke machine. The crowd gathered as we waited on the groom to be escorted/held by Bella, as we played a special song called "Puppy Love" written by our friend Joe Shelby. (Vid with song at the end of this blog)
After the Puppy Love song, John Watkins blew "Isn't She Lovely" into the unique melodica for the bridal procession.
Walker led our bride down the aisle so I could take photos.. she lost her vale along the way but we fixed it quickly before she approached her groom. Here's a short vid from Marilyn Estes..
Our friend Lisa Stokes, a real deal ordained wedding officiant, joyfully led the ceremonials
We went straight for the kiss instead of adding rings, and tried to use a bit of hot dog threaded through fishing line, but only Eddy was interested so he stepped on his bride to get to it..
The cake eating begins, in the background is a beautiful wreath of camellias made by our friend Catherine of Flowers by Posy. She also provided the beautiful floral collar for Rudee.
Rudee and Eddy shared their beautiful Oscar Bites cake with their friends
And after, the Bride and Groom took a few photos
Doc, Rudee's home brother looks a little disappointed we chose Eddy for her.. he'll get over it.
Photobomb by the bride
The Watkins family with the Bride and Groom
And some of the guests..
Bucky!!
My Mom and Dad with Banjo : )
Lisa even printed a marriage certificate for the happy couple!
Thanks to the guests, we received monetary donations as well as food and treats from the guests and we donated to Athens Council on Aging, and to Athens Canine Rescue for a spay/neuter.
Here's a very low resolution vid of the wedding photos with Joe's "Puppy Love" song...
Pictures with Precious
Well, New Year's Eve I was a baaaaaad Momma.
I have to tell the truth. We went to a wedding in Tennessee and left the dogs at home by themselves for one night. I'd never done that with Rudee, ever.. I usually sneak her into the hotel room regardless. However, since we now have our black lab Doc we decided to leave both at home thinking Doc would be jealous of us taking only Rudee and tear something up. We do have a fenced in yard and doggie door and planned to be back by lunch the next day so things would be just fine we assured ourselves and bolted.
When we got back home there was no Rudee! We searched everywhere and I was panicking. Walker noticed one spot by the door of our wooden fence where only she could have squeezed through in a panic. I walked around the neighborhood and burst out crying while on the phone with my mom when I saw the Vultures atop a meat hunk of something at the house directly behind ours. Heaving with tears, I walked right up to it and realized it was just dinner leftovers from the night before. So I continued on, asking people in the neighborhood if they'd seen my small, Toto like terrier mix but no leads. When I went across to a neighbor's house and knocked on the door it suddenly struck me that there might have been fireworks somewhere for New Year's Eve and then I knew.. she'd fled. It's the only thing that makes her absolutely crazy and erratic and I was so mad at myself for fireworks not even crossing my mind on New Year's Eve, July 4th yes that's a given.. but I didn't even THINK about it!!
Meanwhile, after Walker headed the opposite direction on foot following several trips around in the truck, our neighbor who details cars was outside barbecuing. After asking about Rudee he got a lead, the guy had gone to pay his booth fee at the J&J Flea Market earlier that morning and had seen a dog fitting her description in the office on a dog bed. We headed straight over, across hwy 441 from our neighborhood off Newton Bridge and went to the little log cabin office and there she was!!
So, word from Kristen and Elise, the office managers, was that she had appeared at 11pm the night before and the security officer on duty left her where she was, thinking she would return back to her home eventually. When Kristen and Elise came in to work at 6am that morning she was still there on the office porch and they knew she must be somebody's house dog and let her in. She was given treats and a warm dog bed that belongs to Elise's dog Precious, who comes to work with her every day. I did not have a tag on Rudee (shame, shame, shame again!) so she had already posted on several sites looking for her owners.
We were so lucky to have found her, to have had the missing link come right from our neighbor we had never even spoken to before, and for everything to have happened within an hour of noticing her missing.. and the kindness of these ladies to recognize and take her in that morning. By the unbelievable grace of God she made it across highway 441 from our neighborhood that night and to the office cabin at the J&J of all places. We were so thankful to see her there and safe, and after the shock wore off I was able to focus on this little black and white dog sitting on the office table with it's tongue hanging out. This little toy dog named Precious had been rescued by Elise after delivering 6 litters of puppies at her young age by a breeder who sold pups at the J&J. Immediately I thought of one thing I could do to maybe express my thanks to these very sweet ladies.
Introducing, Precious of the J&J Flea Market:
Thank you soooooo much Elise, Precious and Kristen for taking such great care of my little Rudee in my neglect!!!
Infatuated with Lost Souls of the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Tx
I recently came back from a photography conference in San Antonio where my parents met me. We stayed at the La Quinta close to the convention center where we could pretty much walk everywhere. A friend of my parents had mentioned we should visit a haunted hotel there, so naturally that was on my radar, loving doing the ghost tours and stuff in my favorite Georgia City with soul, Savannah. The second night after the convention we headed straight to the Menger Hotel, "the oldest continuously operated hotel west of the Mississippi" and steps away from the Alamo. It opened less than 25 years after the battle and is full of history and as they say, "People who have stayed here have been from all walks of life, including our non-living guests," (Ernesto Malacara, the Menger's director of public relations and ghost expert, San Antonio Express-News.")
So, after mom had several glasses of wine at the La Quinta bar and a sneaky cup of it to go, we headed to the Menger for a visit. Mom was feeling good and cracking us up, immediately when we walked in I felt a good vibe. The hotel is beautiful! It reminded me a little of the old version of the Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain.. with elegant decor and a feeling of welcoming old souls. The beautiful blue walls and hotel carpet were amazing. I'm not great at describing architecture but a great description is on their site.. We were in awe and wish we'd booked a room there. I had read that most sightings happened on the third floor so I headed there first to look around and take some photos. Unfortunately I wasn't blessed with any apparitions in the moment or after viewing the photos, but posting the photos anyway because it was a neat place to shoot. I used existing light with a 35mm lens on my D700.
My parents waiting patiently, mom's to go wine cup on the ground (we trashed it no worries).
A ghost tour forms at the bottom floor
The leader of the ghost tour tries to scare me coming up the stairs like an apparition in my photo
His ghost hunter apprentice, sniffer outer, or protector
On the third floor, many people experience seeing the ghost of Sallie White. She was a maid working at the hotel who was brutally attacked by her husband in 1876 and remained in her room suffering until she died, the hotel paid for her funeral which was $35 at the time. There are several photos and stories online of people experiencing her ghost. On the second floor is the King Ranch Suite, which hosted a man named Captain Richard King, who loved the hotel so much he became ill and chose to book a room where he stayed until his death. They have moved the original door to his room but he is seen by several moving through the walls, unaware of any changes. Here's a link to these and a few more stories: http://darkhaunts.com/TexasGhostStories/TheMenger.html
Before leaving, we felt we had to visit the famous Menger bar where Theodore Roosevelt formed his Rough Riders. Though Mom was probably good on the wine, I decided to purchase her just one more glass, Dad a bud light, and myself a decaf coffee (I'm pregger) and we sat in this lovely wooden piece of history and met some interesting people, as mom is great at never meeting a stranger.
This is mom in the phone booth trying to look scary.
Real bullet holes from back in the day
The next day we decided to visit another haunted hotel by the Alamo, called the Emily Morgan. Before it was a hotel it was a hospital that housed a morgue and psychiatric ward, and has lots of paranormal activity according to guests. It has been rated the 3rd most haunted hotel in the world according to this site: http://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/article/San-Antonio-s-Emily-Morgan-Hotel-is-the-third-6582426.php
We explored a few of the hallways but didn't stick around too long. We went to a few of the floors reported to be the most haunted, and I will say it felt pretty freaky.. kind of stifling. The doors are dark brown and brooding and it has a strange sense about it, I'm sure it's a cool place to stay. I did speak to a worker who captured this image on his cell phone from the hotel lobby at one point. You can see a translucent image of a figure sitting on the blue chair. We met a woman on the elevator down and I asked if she was staying there, hoping she had experienced something paranormal but she had no idea about it even being haunted, oops. Also, my Uber driver mentioned he stayed there once thinking there was a jacuzzi in the room and was disappointed his didn't have one. He mentioned it felt eerie.. so I feel that people loving the haunt would most likely get their scare on here pretty easily.
Here's a photo of a hallway from one of the floors..
A scary looking antique mailing system by the elevator, with bloody looking condensation
On our last night in San Antonio we hadn't had enough of the Menger Hotel, and wanted to go back and try the famous mango ice cream made fresh for 100 years there, so we headed back since they serve it until 10 pm. We stepped into the Colonial Dining room where they play music from the 20's just like that scene in the shining. The architecture in the dining room was also beautiful, and service with a smile but not fake at all, not one bit. Everyone was super cool. One other family was finishing a meal near us and the waiters filed in with a chocolate cake and candle, flicking the lights on and off for a little boy's birthday. At first I thought we were experiencing a haunting but realized someone was in the room controlling the light on purpose.
I was trying so hard to find something in the photos.. thinking maybe the grey behind the little boy was a headless something in 20's clothing. Probably just a stroller or something.
Neat detail on the fireplace
One of the waiters mentioned people have often seen the ghost of what looks to be an Englishman with a bolo and hat, coming out of the fireplace and hovering above the table in the area around it (photo above). Also, people claim to see the ghost of a little girl named Sarah who was brought into the hotel after her accidental death from a horse and carriage. They say she plays in the restaurant and wears the 20's clothing she was brought in wearing.
I was thinking, maybe Sarah plays in here sometimes?
We left for the night and vowed to stay there if we come back sometime for a visit.
The Alamo at night
