Fresh Tortillas Made in Athens?

Hey Friends, I hope you enjoyed our program this morning from Athens. We were at Tortillas Blanco, an actual tortillas factory. Mark White and his wife April own and operate the factory and a small restaurant featuring their products. Nothing better than fresh, right off the griddle, tortillas or chips. Believe me, a burrito or taco or their special "Nacho Blanco" salad will make you forget about running for any "border". April has a special seasoning she uses when she slow cooks the chicken or steak and it along with the fresh tortillas makes all the difference in the world. Oh, don't forget the outstanding chips that are cooked in 0 trans-fat. Personally, my favorite chips are the cheese wheat...OUTSTANDING!!!
Tortillas Blanco is open from 10:30a.m. to 6p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday and Saturday they are open 10:30am-3pm.
Located on West Market Street in Athens...(256) 777-0874 or (256) 230-2330
You can also check out website for a complete menu...

A fun day on Newschannel 19 This Morning. Most everyone has heard of the musical "Cats" which is in town today and tomorrow. We had a little contest and one of our lucky viewers, Russell Stephens, won the opportunity to join me and two of the cast members as they turned us into cats. Russell also won two tickets to the musical and I'm not sure which had him more excited.

This is Russell, a senior at Huntsville High School, as he is undergoing the process of becoming Pouncival, a playful tom kitten. Russell wants to go to college to study theater so this was like a dream come true for him.
I wasn't planning on becoming a character in "Cats", I figured I was already too much of a character, but Ryan and A.J., the two cast members and make-up artists convinced me I needed to represent the older members of our audience. Thus, I became Asparagus (Gus), the theatre cat.
The make-up takes between 15 and 30 minutes to apply in normal time and each character applies their own. It is quite remarkable how the change transpires and as you can see, the finished product is just fantastic. "Cats" starts this evening at the VBC and also has two shows tomorrow. It is a remarkable musical, go see it.

Robert

Veteran's Museum

Hi friends, I hope you will join me Monday, Memorial Day, as I go on the road to the Veterans Memorial Museum. It is really an amazing place. The museum is located at 2060A Airport Road in Huntsville. It is run by a group of volunteers who are also veterans that take great pride in our nation and those who have served to keep it that way. There are artifacts from all of the wars our nation has been involved in and also lots of information about each one. We'll take you inside tanks, some of the very first jeeps, armored personnel carriers, even humvees and helicopters.
The museum is open to the public and for more information you can call (256)883-3737.
I will see you tomorrow!!!

Robert

Friday May 18th Morning show

Friday morning promises to be an interesting show...I will be live from a brand new Civil War Museum on Bank Street in Decatur. The name of the museum is Blue & Grey of North Alabama, Located at Parham Civil War Relics. This is a non-profit museum and is one of the largest privately owned collections of Civil War artifacts in the country. The museum is open Monday thru Saturday from 10am to 5pm. The admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to younger children accompanied by an adult.

You will be amazed at the documented artifacts. I hope you will join us Friday morning from 5-8am.

Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll

An update to the annual Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll. What a great day we had! The weather was beautiful, although a bit warm for many of us in costume...the crowds were fantastic...we are estimating between 5-6 thousand listened to the 60-odd re-enactors' stories. That's one of the biggest crowds we have had in the 10 year history of the stroll. We took in $5,400 in donations!! This money goes for the continued care and restoration of the old headstones. On behalf of the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association and all of the volunteers...THANK YOU!!!

NewsChannel 19's Daniel Clayton took pictures of the stroll, and we've put them in a photo slideshow on WHNT.com. Check them out!

Here's what you can expect for our "Robert on the Road" segments for Thursday and Friday...Thursday, we will be in Scottsboro for the big fly-in at the airport.All types of planes are expected.

Friday we will be in Mooresville. It is time for the Home and Garden Tour. The tour will be Saturday May 12th from 10am-5pm. Friday we will be live from the oldest post office in Alabama.Click on the link for more information.

Until next time, stay safe.

Robert

Hello From Robert

Hi friends, I know it has been awhile since you heard from me so I will try and catch you up on what's been happening with me...

Back in March..the 26th to be exact, I got married to an "ANGEL." If you watch our program you have met my new bride...her name is Jacquelyn Procter Reeves...she is the lady that always does the history programs with me, like the Historic Huntsville Depot or the Maple Hill Cemetery stroll. I will post some of our wedding pictures on this site in the next few days...believe me, it was not your normal wedding...first of all, about 25 people crashed the event...we had only invited family and a couple of really close friends. We were just going to have a nice quiet ceremony..short but sweet...yeah right! When Jacque and I walked into the old Brick Church out in Mooresville we got quite a surprise as the whole group of folks that had slipped in started singing the song.."Going To The Chapel, Gonna Get Married." From there it was wide open as a Case knife!

I will fill you in on the rest when I put the pictures in.

I hope you saw our Monday morning April 30th program from the Huntsville Animal Services...we featured the animals that are involved in the big Open House and Adopt-a-thon that is happening Saturday May 5th.

Both the City of Huntsville Animal Services and Greater Huntsville Humane Society are having open houses. Please come by and see the two shelters and meet the wonderful animals...there will be dogs, cats, bunnies and wildlife...treats for the kids like pizza, popcorn and cotton candy. Come adopt your new best friend...the shelters will be open for the adopt-a-thon Saturday from 9-3 at Animal Services and 11-4 at the Humane Society.

If you have any questions, please call (256) 883-3782. Huntsville Animal Services is located at
4950 Triana Blvd, Huntsville, Alabama 35805.

The Greater Huntsville Humane Society is located at 2812 Johnson Road SW, Huntsville, Alabama, 35805. The phone number is (256) 881-8081.

Here's a heads-up on our next two "Robert on the Road" segments...Thursday, Jacque and I along with several other re-enactors will be at Maple Hill Cemetery to give you a little history about the cemetery and some of the folks who are buried there and the part they played in Huntsville's history. The actual stroll is free to the public and will take place Sunday, May 6th between 2 and 4:30...Donations are accepted and used to restore some of the old headstones that are damaged. Also this weekend is the annual Huntsville Pilgrimage Tour of Homes which take place Saturday. Tickets are $15-$20 and money raised also goes to the upkeep of Maple Hill's priceless monuments and beautiful grounds. Call: (256) 533-9460 for info.

On Friday I will be at the Historic Huntsville Depot for the annual Whistle Stop Bar B Q event. Yes, my good friend Lee McWright will there with us to bring you some tips on how to properly cook ribs, chicken, pork and brisket. You will also meet some of the members of the only all-ladies cooking team entered in the Back-yard cooking competition...these ladies have the dubious honor of finishing tied for last for the last two years and they love it! And so will you....I hope you will join us, until then...remember, let a smile be your umbrella, but don't get a mouth full of rain.

See you soon,
Robert

CUT THE ONIONS!!!

In response to all of you wanting to know when to cut the wild onions in your yards.
According to the "Old Farmer's Almanac" which is my source for information, the days to cut the onions to get rid of them are March 19th and 20th. Also, April 15th and 16th. Good Luck, I hope it works, but to use a phrase that James-Paul uses...if it doesn't, DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!!!!

I hope you have enjoyed this past week's On The Road segments. As we move into Spring, I will do my best to take you to places you may not have seen or know about and give you a little history lesson along the way. Please feel free to make suggestions if you have a favorite place you would like us to share with our viewers...no promises, but I will try and get there.
Have a great weekend and I hope you will join us on the weekend additions of Newschannel 19 This Morning at 6am on Saturday and Sunday. By the way, don't forget to turn your clocks one hour forward Saturday night when you go to bed.

Until the next time,
Robert