In 2014, an article in The Washington Post read “An estimated 94 percent of Lake Superior is covered with ice, enabling sightseers to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore’s sea caves for the first time since 2009.”
Before 2014 I did not know there was a possibility of walking on frozen Lake Superior to visit the sea caves. We explored the sea caves while kayaking one summer, but to see them in the wintertime was intriguing. I love Lake Superior and I loved the idea of walking on it. As soon as I learned about this opportunity we recruited some friends and headed to Duluth for dinner and an overnight, and drove to Bayfield, Wisconsin the next day. A beach near Bayfield was the designated entry point for the trail to the sea caves. There were throngs of people with the same idea. It quickly became a very popular attraction that winter, which made for congested parking and long lines – but it was worth it.
We bundled up in our warm, winter gear, grabbed our hiking poles and walked out to see the beautiful dazzling ice formations, crystal caves, and icicles hanging everywhere off the cliff faces along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore. When the lake is not frozen the sea caves are very popular places for exploring with canoeists and kayakers. But at this point in time people could walk through, and crawl under, these same sea caves and it was awesome!
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.
Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.
We sang this hymn in the worship service we attended for our granddaughter’s baptism on Sunday. The ceremony was precious, and brought tears to my eyes. More tears of joy surfaced as we sang this closing hymn. It touched my heart in a special way as it brought me back to my childhood. I remember it as one of the first hymns I loved singing when I was a child. Songs are powerful and stay in our minds; they often trigger certain feelings and memories. I was happy to have this special memory from my childhood church be brought to my mind on this very special day.
Our youngest son, Tim, planned our first trip to Africa. He was living there when my husband, oldest son and myself went to visit. Tim met us at the airport as we stepped off the plane. It was so exciting to be in Africa!
A photo of a page from the photo book I made from our trip.
We met the rep from the rental car company and picked up our car. We were soon on the road starting our adventures. The first days were spent at a rustic lodge in Liwonde National Park in Malawi, Africa. We went on an exciting canoe safari and saw hippopotamus’ up close, and in this park we saw elephants in the wild for our first time (but not our last).
Our first hippo sighting from our canoes.A hippo…they’re big!
After a couple of nights it was time to head to the country of Mozambique to see where our son lived. However, the morning we were to leave we had trouble starting our vehicle at the lodge. After several attempts the car finally started and we drove to the park entrance. We had to turn in our permit to the park ranger and by automatic reflex we turned off the car. This time it wouldn’t start again.
Photo from our safari in Krueger National Park…there was no hiking in this park…must stay in the open-top jeep with your guide.
We called the rental company and they said they would send someone right away but of course we were a couple of hours from the city, so we each took out our books and started to read. After a while I decided I wanted to take a walk. My oldest son said he’d go along so we started walking down the road. Immediately the park ranger came running after us and said in broken English…”No! No walk…elephants.” So, of course we had to go back to the car.
Finally two mechanics showed up at the park to fix our car. Thankfully they could do it on the spot and they worked quickly. Soon we were on the road again driving to Mozambique.
A photo of a photo of the sunset we saw as we were paddling back to shore from our canoe safari.
Shortly after we arrived home to the USA I noticed an article in the newspaper about a young mom and her baby attacked by an elephant in Kenya, Africa and they died. Of course I immediately thought about our attempted hike in Liwonde National Park. I guess the ranger knew what he was talking about.
The sun was shining, the snow was glistening and the woods were calling. Fortunately, we had no where we needed to be so we headed out to Big Woods State Park to hike in the winter wonderland.
An inviting trail.A blanket of snow.Trying to capture the glistening snow.Over a bridge and through the woods. Clean, white, fresh snow.Ending our time with a walk through the campground.
Reading is a wonderful thing to celebrate. I’m so grateful I can read.
I don’t have childhood memories of reading every chance I could get, or under the tree, or in a secret place like a lot of adults talk about, but at some point in time I started to read more and became aware of how much I love to read. It’s a wonderful thing.
I do have lots of memories from reading to my boys in their childhood. Reading was a very precious time. I loved reading to them, and we read to them a lot. Our reading times are some of my fondest memories. I can picture me sitting on the sofa with a boy at each side, cuddling up, by the light and reading and reading…many books, many times, including every night before bed. I cherish those remembrances.
I have always liked books but I believe my love of books began when I started reading to my children. I started learning about, and buying, books to read to our boys. I’ve acquired a small collection of children’s books, which I continue to enjoy to this day (and still add to my collection).
I am in a book club, which I enjoy very much. I have read so many books over the years that I would probably never have picked out to read on my own. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience. I borrow most of the books I read for our book club from our local library. However, there are certain other books I buy so I can highlight or underline ideas or thoughts as I read. My husband loves to read too, so we do have our own collection of books on bookshelves at home.
The book I wrote for my granddaughter.
I wrote a children’s book. The story line is about skyping and I used clip art for the illustrations because it is about using computers so I thought clip art was appropriate. I had a print center in town print, laminate, and bind the book for my granddaughter whom I skype with – in Africa – and now, with her brother too. I’ve sent it to publishers but so far no one is interested. It was a fun project.
There’s so many more thoughts to share on reading. I love to read…here’s to “I love to read” month!
When I told others we were taking a road trip to Southern Texas many asked if I was stopping in Waco, Texas. I wondered why would we do that? I soon learned about Magnolia.
The name: Magnolia, known for it’s metal letters, among many other things.
It’s a small complex in downtown Waco with two large, historic silos, an old grain warehouse converted to a home goods store, and a small bakery in the old office. Apparently there is a popular program on cable TV called Fixer Upper that Chip and Joanna Gaines, a Texan couple, are famous for – a reality show about fixing up and “flipping” houses, with a touch of humor.
The two historic silos, on the property of, and preserved by, Magnolia. The picnic area is in the foreground. The store is on the right.
The friends we traveled with to Texas knew of Magnolia and had seen a few episodes of Fixer Upper so were intrigued to stop and see this attraction. It was very close to the 35 W exit (unlike the Salt Lick BBQ restaurant) and so we pulled off the exit early one morning on our return trip from Mission, Texas. After parking the car, we headed for the bakery first, and it was a good thing because later, as we drove away from Magnolia, the line spilled outside the bakery door and continued down the block. This is a popular place.
,,,collecting our own precepts. This sign was hanging on the bakery wall at Magnolia.
It was interesting complex and it’s always nice to get a delicious bakery treat and browse in a home store. It was certainly unique. But, I think the person who enjoyed our visit to Magnolia the most was my husband. He’s not a shopper, and he barely set foot in the store, but he was intrigued by the two historic grain silos outside, on the grounds.
Look!Vines planted in the old conveyor bucket.What’s inside?
He learned this site Magnolia now owns had been a cottonseed oil mill. Although many of the original buildings were no longer standing, Gary liked to see the old silos with their rusty conveying systems. At his first job out of college, he worked in oil-seed processing with Cargill and was intimately familiar with the types of conveyors and silos left standing, so he stood their visualizing what the site looked like in its heyday of pressing oil from the cottonseed, and the handling of the seed, oil, and byproducts. It brought back lots of memories for him.
On the tables in the outdoor picnic area.
So…at this fun stop off 35W in Waco, Texas we had an interesting twist to our visit to Magnolia.
In 2016 my husband and I took a road trip and met up with friends in Québec, Canada. We spent our time in Old Québec, a quaint section of the city with a European flair and a lot of history. French is the primary language spoken in all of Québec, and the signs, including road signs, are in French.
Looking out from Old Québec…the trail went along the top of the walls surrounding the city.
According to Wikepedia, Québec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. “The ramparts surrounding Old Québec are the only fortified city walls remaining in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the ‘Historic District of Old Québec’.”
The front doors of our B&B.
We spent a few nights in a B&B in Old Québec. Because of the narrow streets with a lot of traffic and limited parking, it was suggested we park outside the walled city in a parking ramp, which we did. We had to travel by foot to visit what we wanted to see in this historic town; Château Frontenac Hotel, wonderful restaurants, outdoor markets, sea vistas.
Château Frontenac
The memorable hike was our walking on the city wall. The circumference of the fortified wall that surrounds Québec City is 2.8 miles. It was a leisurely hike. We stopped to enjoy sights seen from on top of the wall. It was a unique hike and a fun memory from our time in Québec.
Early this morning when I looked out our bedroom window I was in awe as I saw the beautiful, full moon. Later, on my way out of town along Highway 1, the super (closest to earth), blue (second full moon in a month) moon again gave me pause to wonder. There in the western skyline was the huge, white disc hanging in the blue sky, over the farm fields covered with bright snow. It was a phenomenal sight. Behind me I noticed in my rear view mirror the sun was shining brilliantly just over the horizon announcing a new day. I marveled at seeing the moon in the west at the same time seeing the sun in the east.
The blue moon shining over expansive snowy fields -a beautiful sight.
I guess the moon just couldn’t set yet. It seemed (and was to be) extra large, like it was puffing itself up to show off. I have always liked the moon. I decided it’s because I can look at it. One really shouldn’t look at the sun, but it’s fun to see the moon in the sky, especially a full moon at night.
I pulled over to take a picture but it’s really hard to take a photo of the moon, especially with an old iPhone, my only camera theses days. But I tried.
Heading west on Highway 1.
I praise God…for his amazing creation, both sun and moon…and stars, and trees and fields and birds and animals and…
Genesis 1:14-18 “Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
Mission, Texas is home to hundreds of Winter Texans, which the surrounding communities embrace, which are also home to many other Winter Texans. The Winter Texans bring a lot of business to the area and there are signs all around welcoming them.
Our friend’s backyard patio with planters and a glass table my friend made in her glass class.
It was fun to see where our friends spend their winters: in a nice, two-bedroom home in a 55+ retirement development. They have a community room with a library, game room, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs and a fully equipped tool shop and art studios. My friend discovered she can paint and has painted several pictures already, with lessons from an art instructor. She also enjoys making cut-glass art pieces. Her husband likes to spend time in the tool shop. They have enjoyed getting to know their neighbors and made some good friends over the years. It was fun to hear stories as we walked through the neighborhoods.
The neighbor’s give-away fruit basket.
Right across the street, at the end of the driveway, our friend’s neighbor fills a three-tiered metal basket with surplus fruit from his backyard trees, free for the taking. We grabbed a couple of grapefruit to enjoy, and I also picked one ripe grapefruit still hanging on our friend’s tree.
A large grapefruit ready for juicing.
Their backdoor neighbors have a lemon tree, also overflowing with fruit, and we were free to pick lemons anytime.
Picking lemons from the lemon tree.
Friends down the block brought a big bag of oranges from their trees (twice while we were visiting) for us to make freshly-squeezed orange juice. All the fresh fruit was a special treat. We soon got in the habit of making fresh orange juice or grapefruit juice, usually in the mornings. One day we picked enough lemons to make a fresh pitcher of lemonade. Our friends had an electric juicer, which made the job very easy and fun.
Using the electronic juicer for squeezing the lemons.Delicious lemonade from freshly-squeezed lemons.
We really enjoyed that fresh, off-the-tree citrus fruit which we don’t get in Minnesota.
Before we leave on a trip I usually ask around to see if anyone has suggestions for the area we are going to visit. That is how I got a strong recommendation for “the best BBQ in Texas”. It was only twenty miles off the freeway. It sounded like a great place, and twenty miles doesn’t seem too far…when you’re looking at a map. It’s different when you are actually driving it!
The first day of traveling we drove continuously south on 35W for twelve hours…stopping only for bathroom breaks and fuel…eating snacks and lunch in the car. We traveled with friends. We listened to an audio-book, and read a year’s worth of precepts over the 3,000 miles (round-trip), from a book recommended by a friend, 365 Days of Wonder, Mr. Browne’s Precepts: A Quote for Every Day of the Year About Courage, Friendship, Love and Kindness by R. J. Palacio. Both the audio-book and precepts helped pass the time and prompted discussion and laughter throughout the trip.
The morning of the second day we got back in the car for another long day of driving. This was the segment where we would exit the freeway and drive to the BBQ place. My co-travelers were interested, yet a little skeptical, but we decided to take a detour and try it. The GPS took us on different turns and it seemed we were on a back road in Texas.
As we kept driving down this country road I think we were all envisioning a “hole in the wall” joint along the side of the road. I kept shrinking in the back seat, thinking to myself, I’ll never hear the end of this! The twenty miles seemed to take a very long time.
Then, voilà! There was it was in the middle of nowhere in particular – The Salt Lick BBQ restaurant we were looking for. It had a huge parking lot for all the customers who come to this unique BBQ restaurant in Driftwood, Texas.
We were all pleasantly surprised. It looked very promising and our friends recognized it from a food network episode. I was breathing a sigh of relief! It was unique, rustic, large, and what one would imagine a grand, country, Texan, BBQ place to be, and best of all – it was delicious! It was the best BBQ we’ve ever had.
The Salt Lick seats about 1,000 people, the waitress shared with us. They usually turn over 3,000 people on weekend nights. It’s not uncommon to have a 2-3 hour wait, she said. We arrived at a good time…it was a Friday afternoon about 3:30 p.m. so we didn’t have to wait, although there were plenty of customers already seated.
Picnic style tables and benches/chairs in dining room of the Salt Lick. O ya, there are trees growing in the dining room.
On your way to the seating area you walk by an open fire pit where they cook the BBQ. Between the four of us we had the pork ribs, pulled pork sandwich and brisket. All were amazing. And to top it off, we ordered a blueberry cobbler for dessert, which was also the best we ever had!
Fire pit at the Salt Lick.
After our fun, tasty, and satisfying meal, we continued driving for another couple hours putting 500 miles on the car that day.
By lunchtime on the third day we finally made it to the southern border of Texas, our destination. Our friends dropped us off in Mission, Texas and they continued on to Alamo, Texas about 15 miles down the road.
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
