Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Sacred Heart Cultural Center















I stumbled across the beautiful Sacred Heart Cultural Center on my walk through downtown Augusta. The front doors were open for their annual garden festival, which is held inside and around the grounds outside, so I could see the magnificent stained glass windows inside. Unfortunately, it cost $20 to enter for the garden festival. Ask my wife how much I love garden festivals. I passed, but not before really considering paying to get to see and take pictures of all the windows. Here is a description from their website http://www.sacredheartaugusta.org/:

"Sacred Heart Catholic Church, built by Jesuit priests, held its first service December 2, 1900; after seventy years of operation the last service was held July 4, 1971. The facility was closed. The magnificent barrel-vaulted ceiling, the ninety-two stained glass windows in the building and the intricate brickwork make up this architectural gem. After enduring years of vacancy, vandalism, and near destruction, this treasured historic site was reopened in 1987 as a prized landmark and a vibrant facility for community use as a cultural center. The old Rectory building, the former Convent building, and the Sacred Heart School building (original church building, built in 1864 house the offices of local arts groups and other non-profit organizations."




Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A Little Friend


A little friend we saw scurrying along the road at our training site.

Downtown Augusta Walk Photos 3







Downtown Augusta Walk Photos 2





Downtown Augusta Walk Photos 1






Monday, April 28, 2008

A Stroll Along the Augusta Riverwalk

A stroll down the riverwalk was quite relaxing. I loved seeing the boats and bridges along the way. I wondered who lived in the beautiful homes along the South Carolina side of the river.

When I came across the lady fishing on the banks of the river, I asked her what kind of fish were in the river.

She promptly replied, "Oh, I dunno. All kinds I guess."

Yep, I thought, just like people, it takes all kinds.














Sunday, April 27, 2008

St. Paul's Episcopal Church







There are some beautiful historic buildings around downtown Augusta. One of the churches is St. Paul's Episcopal Church. It was established in 1750 and is still in use today.

I love the large windows, and although I didn't have the chance to go inside I am sure the stained-glass images are gorgeous.

I would have loved to lie on my back at the base of the bell tower, framed in a beautiful blue sky with puffs of cloud, and pondered the depths of the heavens. With my restored girth, I would have been mistaken for a man in need of medical attention and caused quite a stir, so I restrained myself.

A graveyard with weathered and broken tombstones, one I noticed dated back to 1708, graced the grounds around the building. Most of the stones are illegible. The stones I could read gave me a glimpse into the people who lived in Augusta 200-300 years ago.

Church Sign Saying of the Week

There are many large, mega churches in the south. Augusta is no different.

They all have signs with prophetic sayings on them. I really liked the one I saw today, "The ten commandments are a map, not a trap."

Will The South Rise Again?












I love to find the remnants of the Civil War that exist in southern towns. Usually, a statue to Confederate soldiers and their sacrifices exists. On my Augusta walk I found a wonderful statue. but I was disturbed by the words still carved into one side of it. Now, I realize that this particular statue was erected in 1878, but due to these words being cast in stone, they are still here for all to see.


Am I interpreting this message incorrectly? I hope not. One man I saw, donning a straw hat and grizzly beard, drove by in his ragged old Chevy pickup possibly saying it all with his front license plate. On the plate stood a crusty old rebel soldier waving the rebel flag and announcing to all who read it, "Forget Hell."



Saturday, April 26, 2008

Way to go Jazz

It's bad enough that Utah Jazz playoff games don't start here on the east coast until 10:30 pm. It is even worse that they have to go down to the wire so that my heart won't stop beating in double time for another hour or more.

Game is over and in the bag for the Jazz, but it's already 1:30 am. Good thing tomorrow, I mean today, is not a work day.

Go Jazz.

Start Your Day With a Southern Breakfast



I decided to treat myself to breakfast this morning away from the hotel. There are Waffle House restaurants everywhere in North Carolina and it seems like they are everywhere here in Georgia. So, I decided to have a waffle at the house before heading in to Augusta to investigate the local tourist scene.

Just to make this experience really special, I hopped up on a stool at the counter to partake of my meal.

I just wasn't prepared for the waitress to wash a sink full of cast iron skillets directly in front of me while placing them one by one on the same counter I was eating my breakfast on. Two stacks of skillets smelling like cast iron and soap. What a treat.

The waffle was quite good, although I had to stop the sunnyside eggs from running down the counter several times. I guess runny isn't the word for it. Try liquid.

And the site of the waffle irons (all four of them) with batter oozing down their sides and piles of waffle cuttings surrounding them was special too.

The name badges on the waitresses and cooks declared "Good food fast and friendly." That's stretching the truth. The food was good, I'll give them that, but it wasn't fast and the help was in a mood between grouchy and fast asleep. Bickering among themselves was popular.

I'm assuming that working at Waffle House is not a real career. My first clue was the name badges announcing "Team Member Since ...." of which most all said "Team Member Since 2006 or 2007." Hmmmm.

An unintentional "gritting" gave me a surprise. I have never liked grits. I tried them many times in the military when I was stationed in the south. Grits come with everything breakfast here and since they were on my plate I stuck the tip of a fork tine in them and brushed it against my tongue; prepared to say "Yuck." Surprise! I liked them. I ate a good portion of them and might even try them again some day.

With breakfast behind me, I fired up the old Kia Rondo rental car and hit the road to downtown Augusta. Tune in again for my adventures in Augustaland.

Friday, April 25, 2008

A Short Visit to Augusta National

HOT, HUMID day to be outside all day in the sun. I melted. Drank tons of water. Yes, Marj, water.

We are in Augusta, Georgia. So it is a must that we visit the Augusta National Golf Course. Luckily I was forewarned about what we would find or I would have been majorly disappointed.

As we drove past the course, all we could see was a wall of trees alongside the road we were driving on. The course, exclusive as it is, is surrounded by tall trees and access is denied to the lowly folks like us. If you didn't know what was behind the trees; you wouldn't know what was behind the trees. Huh? Well you know what I mean.

The up side was seeing all the big, beautiful old southern houses in that area. They look like big plantation homes. I am sure that at one time they were very, very expensive homes of affluent Augusta residents. Who knows, maybe they still are.

Tomorrow I am off to the riverwalk to get pictures of Augusta. Wish me luck.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Can You Do It Everyday?

Patterns, habits, discipline...whatever you want to call them, why are they so hard to get started?

I've been determined this trip to get back to some good habits I thought I had instituted in my life, but abandoned since hitting the road as a trainer.

Daily walking and reading scriptures are a couple of them. Oh, and writing in this blog. So far, two days into the trip, I have been successful. I know, "big deal, tell me about it in a month."

OK, I accept the challenge.

The weather here is humid and hot. It was supposed to reach 81 degrees F today and I am sure it did. I had to make sure to drink plenty of water and even some Gatorade.

Our pre-class tasks have been harder than usual with the extreme heat. The weight I've put on has really been felt too. Aches and pains I haven't felt in a couple of years are kicking my butt.

Someone told me the other day at home to start small. One thing at a time. I took that challenge and will keep you posted.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Happy Easter Redux

Okay, it has been a few days since I wrote anything in this blog. So sue me.

I am on the road again. I arrived this afternoon in Georgia. I have been through Atlanta several times in the last four months, but never stayed. This time we took a short hop from Atlanta to Augusta.

It started early this morning at the airport in SLC. I had been awake since 5 am, but the airport was still opening its eyes and getting dressed.

The stillness of a people-less airport is almost eerie. It is almost like the quiet before the storm. Gates sit empty. The signs behind the ticket desks announce the mornings first flight still two to three hours away.

Young LDS missionaries, suitcases strewn across the floor in front of the ticket counter, remove one item at a time and weigh it on the luggage scale hoping to reduce a mere two pounds of weight. "Hmmm, how much does this towel weigh?"

Wide awake and hungry, I make my way over to Wolfgang Puck's for a breakfast pizza. Not just any breakfast pizza, but one I have been salivating for, on every pass, through every concourse, on every airport I have traveled through this year. Finally, I get to indulge my appetite with a nice, slow, munchout. It was all I thought it would be.

Bags checked, security cleared, breakfast over, and the roar of a jet engine taking off announces that the airport is in business for the day. I am on the road again...