Traveling With Beverly – Fall 2019



It’s been and busy and fun fall so far. I’m catching up on my “On The Road With Beverly.” I know you have been anxiously awaiting. (wink) I do know that I need to catch up, though, so for those that like to follow along; put on your seat belt, here we go…

In October, my mom and I flew to Birmingham, Alabama for the Southern Lady Celebration. Have you ever read any of the Southern Lady magazines published by Hoffman Media? If not, you will love them! Several years ago, they had a yearly celebration and then stopped hosting the yearly event. My mom and I attended three of them in the past; Dallas, Savannah and Atlanta. This year, Southern Lady is back with their celebration, yay! Perfect birthday gift for my mom.

The event was held at the Wynfrey Hotel that is attached to the Galleria Hotel. Perfect! We flew in, rented a car and made our way to the hotel. Got checked in and settled. The first evening we were part of the VIP group that got to attend a special dinner at the home of the editor of Southern Lady Magazine, Phyllis Hoffman DePiano. She has a lovely home and the living/dining room was set up with several round tables. The meal was catered by a young lady that has a catering business and restaurant in Birmingham. Our meal was delicious! Mrs. DePiano, then spoke for a few minutes and played the piano for us to end the evening. She is an amazing pianist. As we left her beautiful home, she gifted each one of us a beautiful journal in hopes to inspire us to write. She has a wonderful blog called, The Ribbon In My Journal. Click here to be directed to her blog.

Such a beautiful kitchen! This is the only picture I took. I get so caught up in things that I forget to take pictures! I so regret not taking more! Trust me….it was beautiful!

The 3 day celebration began the next morning with guest speakers such as Jeanne Robertson, a story teller that will have you in stitches as she speaks with a southern girl accent. As a former Miss South Carolina (or is it North Carolina?) and married to her husband that she calls, Left Brain, she has many humorous stories to tell. She is a favorite of ours.

We also had a couple of cooking demos, floral arrangement demos and an inspiring message by the creator of Vietri tableware. Also, the star of Say Yes to the Dress, Lori Allen, was part of the lineup of great speakers. Phyllis Hoffman DePiano shared a couple of devotionals that were inspiring and encouraging. Each time we came to our seat for a new session, we would have several gifts. Always fun to see what we will be stuffing in our suitcase to take home!

Happy 81st birthday, Mom!

I wish you could have been there! There is always next year. We plan on attending, so join us! I also plan on taking many more pictures next time. If you missed my post on the cookies that my granddaughter and I made from a recipe that was demonstrated this weekend, you can click here to read.

As soon as I got home, I had two days to unpack and pack again for a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. We decided to drive the 22 hours to South Carolina! I would be attending a retreat while my husband golfed. When I wasn’t in sessions, we found some great places to shop, eat and explore. It is off season, so wasn’t crowded at all. Our hotel was right on the beach. Such a beautiful view and a such a quaint hotel for a Myrtle Beach get away! It rained one day, which I LOVE rain, so it didn’t bother me at all.

View from our room.
My retreat friends.

We decided to leave a day early and drive on to Asheville, North Carolina! We thought to be so close, how could we not! We called the hotel at the Biltmore and they had a room. Yay! This was our third time to be there and I LOVE that place! It was beautiful as always. We had dinner in the “fancy dining room.” They bring you different courses at different times, so we were in there for quite some time. Plus, I learned a few things about fine dining.

When we left Asheville, we drove through Johnson City, TN. We lived there for a few short months a few years ago and I love that place! We drove by our house we leased while there and looked around at some other sites we remembered. Then on to Memphis, our stopping point! We stayed in Memphis on our way to Myrtle Beach and now again on our way back to Texas. Our first time to stay at the Bass Pro Shop lodge. Oh me! It was so much fun. We dined in the restaurant that is at the top of the pyramid and rode the glass elevator. It is taller than the Statue of Liberty. I don’t do heights very well. I had to do it though….if I wanted to eat dinner. Our room was amazing! I didn’t want to leave, but, we had to get back to Texas! Our granddaughter was turning 16 and we weren’t going to miss it.

A little strange to have window in the bathroom from the room. But, what can I say?
The balcony overlooks the Bass Pro Shop. It’s all indoors!

Next stop….Texas Hill Country. We made it to see our granddaughter before she left for her birthday trip to Nashville!

Then….back home in time to take our two grandsons to see a Nick Jr. Live Show!

Next on list was the Fall Fundraiser for The Life Center with guest speaker, Trey Gowdy! I love hearing him speak and we got to meet him and receive a signed copy of his latest book! Very inspiring evening with family and friends!

As soon as I was all settled in at home it was time for another Mom/Daugher trip to Fort Worth, Texas! We have attended a southern gospel event the past couple of years and it was time for this years concert. It was a fun weekend. We met some friends that I haven’t seen in a few years! Loved all the music and the atmosphere was so much fun!

David Phelps was a one of the many artists that sang during the weekend. As usual, I got caught up in the concert and I didn’t take pictures of the several other groups!
I have some sweet memories with these life long friends! So fun to enjoy the concert with them.

Okay, I’m all caught up with what’s going on in my world. I’m now preparing to decorate for Christmas as soon as I return from……

I’ll let you know soon! I wonder where? (hint…one of my favorite spots!)

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