Hello October!

In early October we went to Oklahoma to maintain our adopted section on the Ouachita Trail.  We only had to do minor lopping and pruning as it was still in pretty good shape from our last trip up there.

We had brought along our camping gear so after our trail work we set up our tent near Big Cedar Creek and Tom "Pyro" built us a nice campfire.

The following morning we decided to do a hike beginning at the Big Cedar Trailhead, walked along U.S.Hwy. 259 for a short distance then followed a Forest Road for three miles to the Pashubbe Trailhead where we picked up the Ouachita Trail following it about four miles westbound back to our car.

It was a very overcast, misting, foggy morning and while we were mostly in the thick woods we still got increasingly wetter as the morning progressed however the woods were quite beautiful with lots of lichen, moss, mushrooms, and colorful leaves covering the forest floor.

We celebrated the 20th anniversary of our first date at the Texas State Fair, which is where Tom took me on our first date!

I think we have only missed one year going there in the last 20 years.

We always begin our State Fair day by driving one of Chevrolet's newest models on their Test Track at the Fair.  And one of our first stops is to get an Original Fletchers Corn Dog, hand dipped and fried to order.......delicious!

Another favorite is the Greenhouse, with the model trains running among all the greenery....

......and this year there was a demonstration of hydroponic gardening.........

                                    .........fascinating!.......

......and there is always a pumpkin carving demonstration.

We love going through all the Automobile Buildings seeing all the newest models of cars and trucks even though we are not in the market for a new vehicle at the present time.  Also we enjoy the exhibition halls where all the crafts, sewing, canning, photography, and so much more are displayed not to mention the 2,000 pound butter carving which this year was Texas people and places.

The weather was outstanding, just a wonderful day to be outdoors.

The tiny East Texas town of Edom sponsors an Art Festival (April & October) so I called up my sister Norma and she her grandson Devin met us there.  We walked up and down the rows of tents, booths, and displays of every kind of creations imaginable.

    Oh yeah, you can't have an Art Festival without Food Tents!

Another beautiful, actually quite warm, Autumn day.  A fun day with family!

Our next adventure was a trip to Waco.  We first went to check out the famous Suspension Bridge that was first built many years ago for the cattle drives to get across the Brazos River.  There is now an awesome sculpture park at the bridge, several cowboys and many steers all headed toward the bridge.

                           Pretty impressive entrance!

              We walked across this historical suspension bridge.

There are several bridges spanning the Brazos River in the city of Waco.

                  We enjoyed a nice walk along Waco's Riverwalk.

Thanks to the HGTV program Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines and their Magnolia Market at the Silos is a HUGE tourist attraction in downtown Waco. 

We were there midweek and were shocked to see hundreds if not thousands of folks there also!

Inside the aisles were all packed with shoppers and tourists!

I cannot even imagine how crowded it must be on weekends!

This small building on the corner is the cupcake and ice cream shop but people were lined up out the door and alongside the building the whole time we were there, so I said "no thanks".  We got out of there!  We thought everything inside and the food trucks outside were super pricey!

We walked down the street a couple of blocks and found a great Mexican Restaurant for lunch and then checked out this interesting "junk" place.......with a cool mural on their building.

We ventured over to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum since our next door neighbor is a retired Texas Ranger.

                Lots of history, photos, and many, many guns!

And there was this great old tree on the grounds of the Museum.

And lo and behold, surprise, surprise, Tom found Chip and Joanna Gaines in the Gift Shop next to the Texas Ranger Museum!

This is another extraordinary bridge over the Brazos River next to McLane Stadium.

The next morning we found Cameron Park where we left our car and went for a nice long walk along the Brazos River on Waco's Riverwalk.

Waco has done a great job with this lighted and very well maintained hike/bike path along the River.

                                   
                                     We loved it!

 

 

 

Tom went back to work the week after our Waco trip.  He is employed at the Canton Walmart, the same one that I work at.  We have both enjoyed his 13 month vacation from full time employment.......it has been fun to go on spontaneous adventures any time I had 4-6 days off in a row sometime since I only work 2 days a week.  Now with Tom working again it will take a little more creative planning for our little adventures!

Caribbean Cruisin'

                           BooBoo went on another cruise!

                      She is one lucky little girl monkey!

Instead of our usual Saddlebags gal's cruise, this year I enjoyed some of the gals bringing their husbands along.

                                               Evie and husband Tom

                        Joyce and husband Paul (always the "cut-up"!)

         My friend, Gill, relaxing poolside with the two couples.

As always, my favorite time of the day was the early morning, grab my first cup of coffee and head up to the Walking/Jogging Track on Deck 12, get in a 2-3 mile walk as I watched a glorious sunrise, no better way to greet a new day!

Each morning's sunrise was a little different depending on the low cloud cover which would burn off quickly as the sun rose ever higher in the blue skies of the Caribbean.

The Carnival Breeze was a beautiful ship with something for everyone. 

                                 Plenty of "water fun".......

.....fun to watch as the large yellow bucket suspended overhead continually filled to capacity......

....then dumping its huge amount of water on anyone/anything below.....sending this wall of water down before righting itself and beginning the process over again, all day long!

Due to the hurricane damage on Key West we did not stop there instead we continued on to Freeport in the Bahamas.  In Freeport I participated in a bike excursion.

Riding "no-frills" bicycles we toured Freeport following our knowledgeable guide, stopping at many points of interest, while drinking plenty of the cold bottled water that the Tour Company provided for us.  It was a warm day on the island!

                                                     Fun, fun!

There were ten of us on this excursion along with the guide who mainly kept us off the main roads, following side streets thru neighborhoods and along established bike paths.  I really enjoyed this excursion which ended at a beach grill where we could get in the water (where I saw a small stingray) and I quickly got out of the water!

Cool view of our ship, Carnival Breeze, as we headed back to go on board before leaving Freeport.

Our next port-of-call was Nassau, Bahamas.  Joyce and I went on a city tour excursion, first going to Paradise Island and stopping at Atlantis.  This was an amazing fountain, the flying horses appeared to be jumping out of the water.

                            I strolled around Fort Fincastle.......

.....climbing to the top of the old Fort admiring the distant views......

........we continued on to the small family owned/run rum distillery...

.....in a beautifully restored mansion of a house......

.....rum is a big business in the islands......we also stopped in town at a small rum cake factory.......

......best of all, the tour ended at Fish Fry Central, a long strip of many small cafes who serve any kind of fish you like.....

....all brightly colored facades, and friendly folks beckoning you to come right in.....

The following day at sea I had to try the rope course up on Deck 13.....

.....what a blast that was, with the ocean breeze, and the sea far below, testing my balance, agility, and overcoming my fear of heights to accomplish this feat....

 ....there were 7 or 8 towers and between each tower there were two choices of ways to navigate to the next tower......

 .....and of course the young kids were just running across all the obstacles so carefree but I was pretty terrified at first so I was stepping very carefully......

 ....however once I made it across all the obstacles between all the towers my confidence level had risen considerably, so much so that I went back the next day and did it all over again!  My friend Gill, Evie, and Lanette all accomplished the rope course also!  Woohoo! 

The gorgeous blue waters of the Caribbean never cease to mesmerize me.  So relaxing!