Whoaaaa! It's the Queen. How very cool. I've been fans of you and Trixie from afar. Nice to begin to get to know you.

All-inclusive means, basically, that all the food and drink you can shove into your face during a 24-hour day is included in your price of admission (room rate). And, all the water sports and other diversions you can handle, if you're sober enough. "All-inclusives" are generally found in Caribbean resort areas that cater to Americans wishing to 'see the islands' without venturing beyond the gate of their resort compound. (Sorry, Dotsie, but you know it's true.) It works and doesn't, is good and isn't, depending on your goals, viewpoint, bank account and number of beers consumed.

We've had quite a time here on this forum over the past month. I've had a blast. We've traveled the globe. I'm proud of the thread we've left for others to read. Good people, information, conversation.

Me? About 60 countries and some 40 states. But there's still time, God willing.

I haven't been to Alabama, although my grandfather lived in Birmingham. I've recently started researching our family history, and he was an interesting cat -- before, during and after his Alabama years.

I'd traveled in the South -- Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida, Arkansas -- before the 12,000-mile, post-9/11 road trip that spawned my book. On our "Ribbons of Highway" journey, my kids and I got to know Mississippi and Louisiana, and some of the journey's, and the book's, most important human moments were spent with rangers in the deep, green woods of the Natchez Trace, Mississippi men out for early morning catfish, and Cajun boatmen who knew the bayou like the backs of their hands.

Does Trixie know she's a celebrity?