Alabama's Hidden Treasure {Fun Shopping Experience}

A few weeks ago, my sister and I were invited to attend a blogger event in Scottsboro, AL. It didn't take long for us to say yes because that meant we'd get to see family that we rarely get to see AND go experience a really cool store we'd never been to. If you've ever heard of Scottsboro, Alabama, you either have family or friends there or you've heard of Unclaimed Baggage. That's pretty much the main attraction in Scottsboro.

 

Unclaimed Baggage gave us the whole experience of touring their store and giving us the history of their business which is extremely interesting! Watch this video clip if you've ever wondered where all the lost airline luggage goes!

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You never know what you'll find there on any given day. They put out 7,000 new items per day on the sale floor! That is absolutely astounding. Lest you think the airlines are not doing a good job returning lost luggage, they do actually find the owners of 98.5% of the lost luggage. So, Unclaimed Baggage represents the tiny 1.5% of lost and unclaimed bags! These are a few of the things I saw while there:

When you visit, be sure to be a part of the Unpacking the Bag Experience!

This particular bag had a laptop, winter clothes, exercise bands and Russian souvenirs in it. Apparently, it belonged to someone who was on their way home from Russia. Totally fun experience!
Unclaimed Baggage donates a lot of what they receive including 100,000 pairs of eyeglasses/sunglasses each year to the Lions Club, along with plenty of other items to other charitable organizations.
The neat thing about Unclaimed Baggage is that it is NOT a thrift store. A thrift store accepts things people no longer want. Unclaimed Baggage is full of things people do want - they just lost it and it cannot be returned.
You never know what you'll find!
Your visit will not be complete unless you stop by Cups Cafe in the front of the store to taste their Chicken Salad - Voted Best in Jackson County year after year! I had it. And it was delicious!
I wanted to point out - every November, they hold a Ski Sale. This is a largely attended event. People come from everywhere to get great deals on ski equipment! If you ski, you might not want to miss it!
Thank you, Unclaimed Baggage for a GREAT day!

So, when are you going???

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Summer Vacation {Boston, part 2}

There is so much to do in Boston that I cannot possibly post it all in two blog posts, but here's a small glimpse into our 2nd day in Boston. It's such a fun city to explore with something for everyone. I love how much American history is there and how family friendly it is. It's definitely a city I recommend either as a vacation spot, a long weekend or even a day trip. Go visit!
Our second day was a full day. We started it by visiting the U.S.S. Constitution as I posted here. Then, we headed over to Old North Church on the Freedom Trail. We had 5 kids with us and really didn't have time to walk the entire Freedom Trail, but if you have more than one day in Boston, I highly recommend you walk the Freedom Trail. Here's a view of it.

We decided to hit a few of the highlights by walking some and then taking the T to others. I walked the whole trail years ago and it's really fun and informational.

The midnight ride of Paul Revere has always intrigued me, so walking the route that he took on his midnight ride was pretty cool. My daughter thought it was awesome. There's just so much history there!

Be sure to take a walk through Little Italy while you're downtown. It's really cute with pretty store fronts and a wonderful aroma! You'll love walking through.

The Boston Common is like the Central Park of NYC. I love it. There's a great walking path, many benches, fountains and you can sit and relax or people watch. You have to ride the Swan Boats ($3) while you're there and experience that fun. Visit the Make Way for Ducklings statues and pick up a copy of the book while you're at it. I could have spent a couple of hours in the Boston Common.
We had a fabulous time in Boston! Next time, we'll plan to spend a little more time. There's so much more to see and do.

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Summer Vacation {Boston}

As I mentioned here, we recently returned from a great family road trip and I'm finally able to weed through some of the pics. Our first destination was Boston. My husband grew up in the Boston area and we'd been wanting to take our kids for a stroll down memory lane and to show our oldest some of the great, historical places she's already learned about in school. She's our history lover and Boston was a highlight of the trip for her!
Our first big site when entering Boston was a quick view of Fenway Park. Home of the Boston Red Sox. {Our favorite baseball team, of course!}

After finding a parking spot {which wasn't too hard considering it was a Friday night at dinner time}, we meandered on down to Faneuil Hall, but not before passing the Old State House where just outside its doors in 1770 the Boston Massacre occurred. My 5 year old loved the golden unicorn that stands on top of the building. She's not all that into history, yet.

{Faneuil Hall in the evening}

{Faneuil Hall Marketplace}

{Inside Faneuil Hall the next day. This is where town meetings would be held.}

The next place we went after watching some street performers and waiting on the rest of our party to arrive was Durgin Park. It's a yummy restaurant that's been around for a long time. It's one of the places we look forward to going when we're in Boston. Definitely stop and have a bite to eat when you're in town! I recommend the Yankee Pot Roast.

 {Located in Faneuil Hall Marketplace}

 {Inside Durgin Park}

It was late when we left Durgin Park so we called it a night and got up early the next morning to do most of our sightseeing. After catching the T, we rode into Boston to spend the day hitting a few of the sites we could see since it was our only full day to spend there. First stop, ferry ride to see the U.S.S. Constitution.

{It was probably the hottest day of the year in Boston that day. We were all dying from the heat, but still had a great time!}

{The U.S.S. Constitution - still a commissioned vessel in the Navy}



You can tour the ship for free, but do not ring the brass bell on board. That's reserved for officers entering/leaving the ship. We were not able to tour the bottom level because of the heat that day. It's still a beautiful sight to see.

Don't forget to stop by the museum, too!

 

More on Boston later! There's just so much to see and do in Boston. If you ever get the chance to visit, do! You won't be disappointed.

 

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Summer Vacation {a road trip}

Just got back from a wonderful vacation full of adventure! I can't wait to share some of the highlights with you, but for now enjoy a little taste of our vacation. We had a beautiful view of God's creation...

 saw the most beautiful, clear lake water I've ever set foot in...

 swimming...

 relaxing in the great outdoors...

 kayaking...

 and great times with cousins...

We spent a week with my husband's side of the family at Square Pond in Maine. It was a great road trip with adventure and memory-making all along the way. There is so much beauty in that part of the country! All of you should visit!!

Thanks for stopping by! More on great places to visit in New England coming soon...

Monday, Monday {Making Memories}

Life gets to be so daily sometimes and it's always nice to step away from the mundane tasks of life and spend real, quality time together as a family. Making memories is important! I want my girls to grow up and be able to look back at their childhood as having lots of fun times together as a family. I want them to view family the way I do - that apart from their relationship with God, their family relationships are the most important ones and these relationships need to be cultivated and protected. We love to take day trips or just drive around on beautiful, sunny days and this weekend we had a couple of gorgeous days. We didn't have a lot of time so we decided to stay kind of close to home and drove about an hour away to Cowpens, SC. My 9 year old is a history buff. She loves everything that has to do with history, especially when it comes to American History. I love that she soaks in every detail down to specific dates and names of people and battles, etc. She's just like her dad in that area. We've lived in this area her whole life and have driven past the sign for Cowpens Battlefield many times and just never have taken the time to visit it. Much to our surprise, there is a visitor's center, a walking trail, a driving trail, and lots of info about this significant battlefield. We had a great time together and my big girl was in her element! I'm pretty sure she'll never forget our little trip to Cowpens Battlefield.

We had to stop at every sign and read all about everything.

These two enjoyed hanging out the window while riding around the trail.

Standing in the footprints of a real Revolutionary Soldier.

Learning to shoot a wooden gun.

Thousands of peach trees blossoming! Beautiful sight!

Getting windblown. Lots of laughs.

Exhausted from a few fun hours of family fun.

What's your favorite day trip?