A Taste of Frankfort Kentucky...

Kentucky's not just about horses, it's about bourbon too! ...just ask any Kentuckian and they will be happy to tell you that the best bourbon whiskey comes from Kentucky!  Well, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to check that out, now could we?  Especially when not only when the "oldest continually operating distillery in the country", as well as the candy company that "started bourbon balls" is here!  ;-)

We started our day off with the candy company...Rebecca Ruth Candy & Museum.  Ruth & her friend Rebecca started the confection business in 1919.  The newly formed Rebecca Ruth Candies was an instant success with the help of J.J. King, the owner of the Frankfort Hotel. Closed by prohibition, the girls rented the barroom of the hotel and began dipping chocolates on "Edna's Table" (a beautiful granite tabletop that survived the hotel fire).  In 1929, Rebecca decided to get married and sell her portion of the business to Ruth.  She went through a number of setbacks, including prohibition, fire and WWII with the rationing of sugar and supplies...but she carried on. 

The idea of mixing candy and bourbon together was accidentally suggested by a dignitary, Eleanor Hume Offutt, at Frankfort's sesquicentennial celebration in 1936. Ruth Booe worked on the recipe for two years before perfecting the still-secret process for blending bourbon and candy. In 1964, Ruth Booe retired, passing the business to her only son, John Booe. Ruth lived to the age of 82, passing away in 1973. In 1997, John sold the business to his son Charles Booe. John remained active in the business going in daily until November 2011. John Booe passed away on January 30, 2012. Charles Booe continues to run the family business today. 

They give a nice little tour of the very small (house) tour where everything is still done by hand.  Of course we bought our share of candy, and left quite happy!  A wonderful way to start the day!  Yum!

Not far from there is the Buffalo Trace Distillery.  Distilling started on the site that is now the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1775 by Hancock Lee and his brother Willis Lee who died in 1776.  The oldest building on the site, the Riverside house, was constructed in 1792 by Commodore Richard Taylor and is still standing. The distillery changed hands a number of times, installing steam heating in the storage warehouses, becoming the first climate controlled warehouse for aging whiskey in the nation.  During prohibition the distillery was allowed to remain operational, in order to make whiskey for "medicinal purposes".
  
We took the "Trace Tour", as they have several types that you can make reservations for.  This one was for walk-ups, and all that we needed.  Fred was a great tour guide and took us on a walk-through of several warehouses, telling us about the processes of making the mash, showing us the various grains, then taking us into the aging warehouse to enjoy the smell and see some of the various barrels, and into the bottling room.  I was surprised how small it was and how much of it was done by hand! 

Afterward...was the tasting!  We got to taste their vodka (yep, they make that too) and "white lightning" which is actually "moonshine" (I passed on that), and their Buffalo Trace Bourbon as well as their Thomas H Handy Sazerac Rye which is a single barrel Whisky (not to bad).  Then we got a taste of their Bourbon Cream which is like Bailey's (quite good!) and their root beer made by Dr. McGillicuddy's (which was great...and that's what we bought!).

Frankfort has one "Covered Bridge" called the Switzer Covered Bridge, and it's on the National Historic Register.  I was excited to go out and see it.  It was built by a man named George Hockensmith in 1855 and is 126' long, 11' wide.  Due to a flood, it had to be rebuilt in 1998.  When we got there, we were shocked...it was covered in graffiti!  We've visited covered bridges all over the country and this is the very first one that has ever had any marks on it anywhere.  To see so many was a shock.  We spoke to a couple that was fishing nearby and they said that even the old bridge had been treated this way, sad.  They agreed, but it was just something the young people did.  ;-(

We left there and went to our final stop in Frankfort, the Josephine Sculpture Park.  This is a 20 acre park where over 40 sculptures and murals are scattered about that you can just wander around, touch as you want, and some even climb on!  It's a great place to bring kids and get them started on learning and loving art of all kinds!  They change the exhibits periodically and have events several times a year.  It was a fun place, and free!  It was a great place to end our stay...
  

...on the road to Ohio,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Frankfort Kentucky, A Capitol City!

We've been spending several days in Frankfort Kentucky, and it's really needed it!  There are so many things to see and do here; I'm glad we allowed ourselves the time to do it all!  It's going to take me a couple of blogs to get it shared...

Frankfort is the Capitol of Kentucky, and a beautiful one at that!  We started our "touring" days with that.  We no sooner parked our car (free parking right out front too! First time we've run into that, I might add!) and one of the Capitol workers stopped us and in such a friendly way said "well you folks sure have come a long way just to see our Capitol!"  We stood and laughed and talked with him for about five minutes, commenting on how beautiful the grounds were and how we were looking forward to seeing inside.  He started our visit off wonderfully, showing us just how friendly everyone here is (and it kept right on from there too!).

I don't think I've ever seen so many flowers and a more beautiful landscape on a Capitol grounds than this one!  It just went on and on.  Inside, we had just missed the 12:00 tour, so we decided to wait until the next one, rather than do it on our own.  While we waited, a Representative came by and sat with us a bit (he was going to give a private tour to another group he was waiting on) and we had a nice chat together.  That was a fun unexpected visit!

Our tour guide took us to all four levels, telling us all about the State Reception Room modeled after Marie Antoinette's drawing Room, Supreme Court, House of Representatives, Senate and even showing us some old phone booths that still worked!  She ended at the Rotunda that reaches seven stories high and (now) has LED lights that changes colors in the dome.  This Capitol was built in 1910 and much of it was modeled after places in France, bringing in marble & woods from all around the country.  It's a beautiful Capitol.

Behind it, is a massive Floral Clock that was built in 1961.  It is 34' across and planted with 13,000 plants.  It weighs 200,000 lbs!  The minute hand is 20 1/2' long & the hour hand is 15 1/2' long, they are cast aluminum and finished in "Kentucky Blue".  It's quite impressive.

From there we walked across to see the Governor's Mansion built in 1912, as it is  patterned after Marie Antoinette's summer home Petit Trianon.  "Wow", is all I have to say about that.

A few blocks away is the Old Governor's Mansion (c1798-1914)...a bit different, I'd say.  It was home to 33 Governors and had 8 US Presidents visit it though.

A quick stop was made at the Old Capitol Building because it was closed, so all we got to see was the outside of it...It was built in 1838 and operated until 1910.  Still looked nice, but quite a bit smaller! ;-) 

Frankfort is also the final resting place for Rebecca and Danial Boone.  Their grave is in the Frankfort Cemetery which has been around since 1844.  They have a nice site that over looks the Capitol and the city of Frankfort.  The cemetery itself is quite large and as you can expect, has a large section of civil war plots, including a "Confederate Lot", as well as one sectioned off for state officials (being the Capitol and all).

Our next visit was to the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  This was quite a sight to see.  It honors the 125,000 Kentuckians who served during the Vietnam era (1962-1975).  The blue-gray granite plaza of the Memorial contains the names of Kentucky's 1103 citizens who died.  Each name is precisely located so the shadow of the sundial pointer, touches each veteran's name on the anniversary of his death.  Thus, each individual is honored with a personal tribute.  Accordingly, every day is memorial day for a Kentucky Vietnam veteran.  The Memorial's unique design was created by Helm Roberts, a Lexington KY architect and veteran, completed in 1988.  It was very moving...something like I've never seen before.

We ended our day with a special stop at a sandwich place the ladies at the Capitol Visitor's Center told us about (when Jack told them I like to try "regional food").  The place is called Gibby's and they make a sandwich called "Grilled Kentucky Hot Brown.  It's full of turkey and cheeses and topped with bacon!  It was incredible!  Yum!!
 A great way to end our first day.  I sure was glad I had climbed all those stairs and walked all those places because I'm sure the calories in that one sandwich was more than one whole day's worth!
But it was worth every bite!  ;-)

...kicking back in Kentucky,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/
 

Completing the Trace...

Our first experience driving through the Natchez Trace was in April of 2012.  We started in Natchez MS and traveled through Mississippi to Red Bay AL where we left it to go to  the Tiffin Service Center to have some work done on our coach.  We never completed the Trace and always promised ourselves that "someday" we would.

That "someday" was last week.  We took up right where we left off...from Red Bay!  This time we spent a little more leisurely time doing it tho.  We decided to camp nearby and stay awhile.  Since we only had a couple of hundred miles left to do, which was easy to do, there were also areas that an RV wasn't allowed to go into that we'd wanted to see.

As typical with me, I "forgot" about Memorial Day coming up until about two weeks before time, and when I went to make reservations around Nashville, found them all booked!  Ugh.  When I located a campground near the Natchez Trace that had a vacancy, I was thrilled and I quickly took it.  The owner was so nice to talk with and assured me we had "full hook-ups". 

Everything went smoothly in Red Bay and we got done two days early, so I called Noel at the campground in Hohenwald and asked if we could arrive early, he said "no problem" and even asked us if we were coming via the Trace.  When we said we were, he explained that a small part was closed down due to construction, and gave us directions as to how to get around it.  Then, we were on our way!

Well...that was the last of the "good vibrations...." When we got there things were quite different... First, no one was there to assist us.  Noel, the owner was out of town shopping, then the camp host wasn't there (emergency).  When I called (help!?? where do I go??).  When I finally go hold of Noel on the phone and talked him into talking me through "where" we were to park...it was a disaster!  This place was horribly laid out, with only a couple usable spots, and those were not available.  The spot he had us going into was about 40+ feet long with electric at the very front and sewer at the very end and big lumps and dips all up and down through the grassy middle!  No way could it work!  Then, after we kept explaining (over the phone) that to him, he said, "how about pulling through it, to the one in front, and using it?"  Well, that meant using the sewer, going up hill!  Nope, that wouldn't work either!  Jack was furious!  A long day's drive to this? ...and Memorial Weekend?  Now what were we going to do?

I got on my phone and started looking again for places and God must have been on my shoulder, because I don't know how I found it, but I did, and somehow another campground showed up nearby!  I called, and would you believe it, they had space?  I grabbed it!  As we left Noel called me back and offered to move someone else and put us in another site, but I told him it was to late, we already were going somewhere else, sorry.  To little, to late.  He apologized and said it was bad timing that he wasn't there when we arrived, and that his host had that emergency.  ;-(

What a beautiful campground we ended up in!  Natchez Trace Thousand Trails...ended up on a "beach site" overlooking their lovely lake, full hook-ups, big, level sites and lovely wonderful people who had tons of fun, wonderful activities scheduled all weekend long...and at cheaper rates than the other place!  Wow!  Makes you just shake your head sometimes...;-)

We faced the water and the grass park was behind us!  Far behind those trees were the "other campers"!

Once settled in, we used the truck to enjoy the Trace and take in it's beauty.  For those of you that might not know what the Natchez Trace is...it's 444 miles through threes states and 10,000 years of history.  As the US expanded westward in the late 1700s and early 1800s, growing numbers of travelers tramped the rough trail into a clearly marked path.  Where the ground was relatively soft, walkers, riders and wagons wore down the "sunken" sections you see today.  In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson designated the Trace a national post road for mail delivery between Nashville and Natchez.  Today the Natchez Trace parkway creates a greenway from the southern Appalachian foothills of Tennessee to the bluffs of the lower Mississippi River.  It's truly a beautiful drive, and if you ever get the chance to do it, even a part of it, take it!

We enjoyed using it as our "daily freeway" as we ventured into the edge of Nashville or over to Franklin.  We could count on one hand the number of cars we would see on the road with us.  I would tease Jack that he would get spoiled here and not know how to drive with regular traffic again.  ;-)

As you exit the Trace at Nashville, there is a wonderful Cafe there, called The Loveless Cafe.  It's been there since 1952.  Now, there might not have been a lot of traffic on the Trace, but boy there sure was here!  This place was packed, but they know "service"!  ...and food!  Yum!! Nothing like "Southern fried chicken" in the South!  My mouth still waters up just thinking about it! ;-)  They give you a "beeper" and set you free to roam...they have gift shops (plural), a motel, meeting room, catering, and ?? Quite a place!  Super great staff (and did I mention how great the food was?).  ;-)

We took a side trip into Franklin one day and visited the Carter House where the Franklin Battle took place.  It was quite a siege and left both the brick house and the wooden office riddled with bullet holes.  Very interesting town, I wish we could have spent more time there, but it was a long drive from the campground and we had arrived late in the day.  We will remember it for next time!

Back at the campground, activities were going strong.  They had everything from Bingo to BBQ, from live music to ice cream socials, watermelon eating contests to water slides and for Memorial Day they invited Rolling Thunder to do the Missing Man table ceremony.  I had never seen it before and was really moved...to tears.  Very touching, and perfect for the day.  Being a "Navy Brat", military observance is special to me and this really touched my heart.  These men and women who dedicate their time, money and energy to keep the POW & MIA active is really something.   

We met some great people here and had a wonderful time.  I loved looking out my window each day, watching the families enjoy the lake together, watching the geese as they honked at each other in the park beside us.  The night before we left, it gave us a wonderful sunset to say goodbye, come again!  ...I love that, we will!

...on the road to Kentucky,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Digging for Diamonds!

Sometimes you just have to go dig in the dirt to have some fun!  At least that's what we told ourselves the other day!  ;-)

We stopped in Hot Springs Arkansas for a few days, and since we'd been here before and "seen all the sights" we decided that the "one we had missed" was just back up the road a bit, so, "why not?"  It was the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro Arkansas.  We knew about it last time, and thought about going, but it had started to rain, so chose not to.  Our campsite neighbors had gone the day before and had shared that it had "been fun".  They hadn't found any diamonds, but had a good time trying.  We tucked it in the back of our minds if we ever came back here. Soooo...

The weather's been "iffy", and we figured we had one really good, sunny day, so we decided we would jump on it and take the drive to Murfreesboro, which is about an hour and half from where we are staying in Hot Springs.  So, we got into our grungiest clothes & shoes and off we went!

When we arrived, Jack was surprised that the parking lot was already half full (I wasn't, people like to "try their luck!")  We paid our fee, rented our supplies (bucket, shovel, and two sizes of screens) and off we went to their very large field!  Even though there were several dozen people there, you couldn't hardly tell, as the field is so large, it could hold hundreds and not feel crowded.

Once we filled our bucket up, we brought it over to the washing station and began the process of rinsing the dirt through the screens to see what minerals were left behind.  Two kids playing in the mud!  Hadn't done this since my kids were little!  ;-)

While Jack searched for the "diamonds" (in the little stones) I went through the larger rocks and pulled out some "pretty stones" that I decided would make a nice bracelet for each of my granddaughters (since we weren't finding any diamonds!).

We continued to do this process for a few hours until we agreed we had had enough fun for the day!  ;-)  We bid "adieu" to the two fellows near us (who were avid diamond hunters) and let them "have at it" and went to see what we did unearth.

Turned out, I had collected some lovely pieces of Jasper, and a few small pieces of Barite, & Calcite.  Once I set them in a rock tumbler, they will polish up nicely and make a nice bracelet for my sweet granddaughters and I can tell them I found them myself!  Ha!

After we washed ourselves off as best we could, we headed back to Hot Springs to a "World Renowned Bar-B-Que" Restaurant, called McClards.  It's been written up in a number of magazines an books, including my 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  We both ordered their "ribs, beans & slaw combo".

Now, anyone who knows us, knows that we love BBQ, and love checking out BBQ ribs any chance we get.  So far, our most favorite place, hands down, has been Blues City  Cafe in Memphis, and so far, no other place has topped it.  And that includes McClards.  Sorry McClards.  They were pretty good, but a bit to fatty and the sauce a bit on the tart side for me - but that's a matter of taste, I'll admit.  But, as for the ribs themselves, Blues City's are much more lean, and still fall off the bone tender, and that's what counts.   However, I will give McClards an A+ on their beans!  Very different and very tasty!  Yum!  A wonderful way to end the day!

The rain did come, and we just hunkered down, as we do, and read and caught up on things...Stops like this are good for that.  We'll be on our way again tomorrow, rain or shine!

...kicking back in Arkansas,  Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Beautiful Bayou!

We enjoyed Mother's Day touring the beautiful Caddo Lake on Capt. Ron's Swamp Tours!  What a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.  The day was absolutely beautiful and the lake was like something out of a movie set.

The tour is conducted on a pontoon boat, nice and comfy...slow and smooth.  As we exited the dock we passed by a few dozen homes that lined the bank.  Many (not all) were on very tall stilts.  The Capt. explained that when the lake flooded last year, when people rebuilt, they went ahead and built "up".  I asked why they hadn't in the first place, considering that their homes are right to the edge of the lake.  He shared that this was the first flood in over 50 years and most of the homes along here are passed down in the families, rarely is one "up for sale".  Wow.

We had experienced a good storm a few nights ago, so the lake was up a few inches, it makes that much of a difference.  We got the benefit of a fuller lake and a nicer day, but I don't think I would want to be here when it's storming...

It's beauty is awesome...  The feet of the Bald Cypress have to be in water to grow.  This lake is mostly in Texas, but it is so large (26,810 acres), some of it is in Louisiana as well.  It's the largest grove of Bald Cypress in North America.  Spanish Moss hangs from all the limbs, giving it that surreal look.

All kinds of animals and birds coexist within the bayou.  We only got to see a couple of snapping turtles and a Snowy Egret, but alligators, snakes, peregrine falcon,  and the Rafinesque's big-eared bat are among the "special" ones listed.  There are also 18 species of game fish, wood ducks, etc. Plus, lots & lots of bugs!  I was surprised that all those houses I saw at the beginning didn't have screened in porches!  That's the first thing I'd do!  They don't bother you during the day (nice breeze), but once that sun starts to go down, wow, look out!

After our boat tour, we stopped at the dock-side restaurant called Big Pines Lodge Inn for a late lunch.  Being Mother's day...and very limited choices...the place was crowded!  But, we didn't mind the wait.  I sat outside on a bench next to a grand ole lady and her daughter-in-law.  The lady and I struck up a nice conversation while we waited.  She'd lived here her whole life and shared some wonderful stories about Caddo Lake and picking Mayhaw fruit off of the lake and making jam.  I had never heard of "Mayhaw" before and had to look it up afterward!  It's a fruit that's only found along the bayous, and not much any longer; and a tradition of making jam (she told me all about how to do it!) that no one really does that any longer either.  I love the things you learn, especially from older folks who live in different places.  Very cool.  Well worth the wait.

Our last day in the "Piney Woods" of eastern Texas was in Jefferson.  Funny, because that was the whole reason we came to this part of Texas!  I had read an article about the town and decided to check it out.  It's a cute little town, with a lot of antique stores...or stores that have a lot of "stuff" really.  Inside are tons of dish sets, more than I've ever seen before!  Outside are, well, lots and lots of stuff!  Wow.  They had a couple of really cute old gas stations that they fixed up.  The town did a good job of "recycling" their old buildings.  I'm glad we came.

I have to say, of all of Texas, I really liked the Piney Woods!  Very pretty, lots of lakes and trees.  You would hardly know you were in Texas!  (and no chiggers!  I asked...)  A lovely way to end our stay here...and it sent us off with another lovely sunset!

...on the way to Arkansas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Texas Adventures - Family & Friends...New & Old!

If you've read my blog before, you know that we come to Texas every year, sometimes more than once or twice!  (it's hard to miss!)  We have a son who lives here...and, it's a big state!  We always see & do something new...but this year, we've lucked out and have (so far) had several wonderful "new" experiences!  Some we expected, and some we didn't!

We came, expecting, and got, a new addition to our little family...a new, beautiful, healthy (thank God) baby Grandson!  My son and his lovely wife gave birth to our last (our children have proclaimed) and 8th grandchild.  We've had the wonderful privilege of being there for each of the births, so couldn't miss out on the last one either, so made sure we were "in Texas" for the big event!  We were all thrilled that all went well for baby and mom and they came home with only two days in the hospital.  Big brother was happy about that as well!

The surprise, for me was getting to meet and know my daughter-in-law's Aunt Michelle.  She had come in from Utah to be with her niece for the birth as well and was able to spend a week.  The two of us really hit it off!  She is just a few years older than my own daughter, but "wise beyond her years", as they say.  We have so very much in common that we ended up talking for hours and hours while we watched and played with Dublin (the big brother) and took care of the home front while mom, baby and dad were at the hospital, or resting at home.  I hated to see her leave, we all did, and teased her about making her miss her flight.  Such a sweetie and welcomed new friend that I'm sure will remain in my life.

We stayed on for several more days to play with both grandchildren and spend time with my son and daughter-in-law as well as to do some work on our rig.  That's the luxury of having a spot at your family's, you can work on your rig, where you can't at a campsite!

It was time to move on though, so we decided to see another part of Texas that we haven't seen before, and that is the eastern part, known as the "Piney Woods".  It's really the last section of Texas that we haven't seen yet, so we checked out several areas and decided on a COE park called Buckhorn Creek at Lake O' the Pines outside of Jefferson.  I had read an article about Jefferson that sounded like a great place to visit, so off we went (only about 3+ hours away).

Nice drive, and the park turned out to be just beautiful!  Great, large sites.  Each separated with grass and trees and plenty of space in between.  We have a nice view of the very large lake right in front of us too.  Our first night here our next site neighbors came over and introduced themselves and chatted for awhile.  So friendly.  We got a spectacular sunset that night!  One of the prettiest I've seen in a long time...a "warning" of the rain storm to come the next day tho...and did it ever!  Sure enough it came in with full force!  Lightening and thunder and buckets and buckets of rain!  Sure was glad we were all settled in with good books and plenty of food!  ;-)

I had taken a picture of our lovely site the day before, and on a whim, posted it on Facebook  Not something I usually do actually, but it had been so pretty, I just did it.  Well it must have meant to be, because an old friend of mine (one I haven't seen in over 25 years!) saw it and contacted me and said "OMG Marie, you are only a few miles down the road from where we live!  Call me back and let's get together!"  I was ecstatic!  We did and was able to arrange a time for us to meet at their home and have a lovely evening together.  I had no idea that she lived in this area...had I not posted that, I would have missed her, and gone on my way...Thank goodness for tiny miracles!

Elaine & Jack on their boat touring lake Simpson

We took a drive today out to Caddo Lake to check it out and see if we could take a boat ride.  It was all booked up for today, so we booked one for tomorrow, so decided to just take a drive "around" and see what we could see.  We had no direction, we just drove here and there...we ended up at one point in front of a little Cafe.  When we parked the car, there was a beautiful 1968 bright blue Mustang convertible parked near us and as we were getting out, two nice ladies (that looked to be in their mid 40's) came out and started to get in it.  I commented to them that "I should have known that that lovely car would belong to two lovely ladies such as yourselves!"  They thanked me, and we walked over and started talking to them, about the car at first and then in general.  We four must have stood there talking about "traveling the byways" for almost 40 minutes!  Such fun!  They were absolutely delightful!  Two great friends who loved to travel hither and yon, having great adventures whenever they can.  Jack pretty much talked the owner of the car into getting a little "Tear Drop" camper to attach to the back (she was thinking of "something" to pull behind).

They insisted I get in behind the wheel!  Such fun!  ;-)

They suggested a fun General Store in the town of Jonesville. It's been in operation since 1847.  So, when we left the Cafe (after a great lunch!) we decided to check it out).  Well...Jonesville turned out to be a Post Office, that General Store (T.C. Lindsey & Co.) and a couple of old abandoned buildings that used to be a Cotton Gin & storage buildings.  That's it.  That's the town!  The store was quite something to see tho and well worth the trip (so were the old buildings, I thought).

It's so much fun to meet new people, to share stories, to laugh and learn new things...this is why I love this life of ours...

...kicking back in Texas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Fiesta San Antonio!

Every few years we stop in San Antonio Texas en route to or from visiting my son.  It's a nice town and we like it.  The River Walk is nice and we have a favorite restaurant we like there.  This year we stumbled into their Fiesta San Antonio! What craziness!  We had no idea.  When we arrived at the campground we were given a Fiesta Book that was an inch thick that showed all the events of "when, where, & what!.  Oh my!!  ;-)  Something was going on everyday, somewhere, from April 20 through April 30th - all day and all night.

Well...we were in for some fun!  ...or a part of it anyway.  Our first outing was to the Fiesta Arts Fair at Southwest School of Art.  We had actually gone to this several years before and really liked it.  You have to pay to go into it, but it has some of the best arts and crafts we've ever seen.  Really unusual pieces here.  Really upscale artisans doing some very imaginative work.  I love to see their creativity!  I always sneak a few pictures...

Afterward we just to a nice walk around town and enjoyed the River Walk.  The following day we found out that evening was going to be their big Texas Cavaliers River Parade at 7:30 p.m.  We thought if we went down around 4 p.m. we would be fine...get a bite to eat along the river then enjoy the parade.  Ha!  We didn't realize what a "big deal" this parade was to the locals!  Ticketed chairs were all lined up all around the River Walk and most of the restaurants were either closed or all their tables were "reserved" or they had "pre-set menus of $65"!  After a long search, we lucked out at O'Malley's Irish Pub, right on the river.  We got good seats and got to watch the parade from there!  It didn't pass by there until almost 8:30 p.m. but we didn't care.  They even passed out a complimentary whiskey drink to us!  Fun crazy evening...

 Besides all the crazy Fiesta happenings, the city streets are all torn up with being widened, so 90% of the street parking is gone, which makes things difficult.  All the public parking people have taken advantage of the situation and have jacked their prices skyrocket.  Such greed, it was sad to see.  It took some time on our part, and we were able to find street parking, but most places were charging upwards of $20+ each time.  Such a shame.

We skipped the crowds the next day and chose to go out to see two of the Missions we hadn't seen in our previous visits.  Mission Espada (c1740), and Mission San Juan (1731).  Both beautiful sites, and not far from the downtown area.  I love the old Missions and the ruins surrounding them.  With all the festivities going on downtown, there was almost no one visiting them, so it was nice and peaceful there.   ;-)

Afterward, we decided to go see the small little shops I like in La Villita.  Well, once again, we wandered into "A Night in Old San Antonio" - a HUGE event taking place in the little village area of La Villita!  So much for our simple browsing!  A nice gentleman saw us wandering around (looking bewildered, I'm sure) and explained what was about to take place in a few hours, and offered us some free tickets to attend.   ;-)  We decided to head on over to the River Walk (once again), grab a snack, then return to "see what it's all about".  

We did.  After our snack, we did something we've never done before...we took a boat ride!  What fun!  The tour guide shared so much information and was a delight.  After all these years of walking along different sections, it was nice to see areas we'd not been to, and to learn about it all.  It was a lovely way to spend 40 min.  

Afterward, we headed back to La Villita, and sat and listened to a nice band play some popular music, then ventured into the crowd.  And CROWD it was!  Oh my!!  Wow!  Body to body...we had been warned (by that nice gentleman who gave us the tickets) and he was right.  Tons of people with lots of food and drinks, and music groups, each in a different section, each themed (Cowboy, American, German, Clown, etc) some shops stayed open, but mostly it was food vendors everywhere.  

We wandered for a while, then left.  I'm getting to old for that kind of crowds anymore.  Been there, done that.  As we left, they were pouring in like crazy and it was only about 7 p.m.  and this was a three day event!  I think they were going to be a success!  

Our last day, we decided to "leave the festivities behind" a bit and check out a small town not to far away, called Boerne.  It sounded quaint.  A nice town, less than an hour drive away.  It had some sweet shops, some antiques a few restaurants and a cute town square.  The boutiques were nice, albeit a little over priced, but nice to browse.  We had a nice quiet lunch and  peaceful way to end our stay.   

...on the road in Texas, Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/