Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Rainy Day in Charleston

For several days the weather forecast for Sunday had been 70% chance of rain, so we expected and prepared for it. It was a little cool so we donned an extra layer and set out on foot with our umbrella and jackets. Our hotel, Kings Courtyard Inn, was located in downtown historic Charleston so there were plenty of points of interest to keep us walking! I love the architecture and the variety of colors the buildings are painted, so I snapped away as usual.


Because it was Sunday the time schedules were different, so we did some rearranging of plans. The Charleston Museum wasn't open yet, so we scratched that. Next we went looking for Bell Park. It was quite small!




We passed by several beautiful churches I wouldn't have minded stepping inside.







 As it continued to rain quite steadily, we decided to take the "trolley" bus to the Aquarium. Watching fish is always good for lowering blood pressure... didn' take pictures, just enjoyed seeing the many kinds of fish swimming around. Out front was a frog on a bench...



From the balcony of the Aquarium you could see the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, across the bay. The Fort Sumter National Monument was right next door, so we took pictures of the ship in the harbor and of the suspension bridge in the distance.






After we returned from the Aquarium to the historic area, we visited the Nathaniel Russell House which turned out to be quite interesting and the tour guide gave us a good history lesson.









More fun stuff...












 




 


Sunday, April 22, 2012

South Carolina - #50 for Tom!

This is it -- the last state on the list for Tom!!! I still have 8 or 9 to go...

Thankfully, we arrived safely in Charleston Saturday evening without any turbulent weather affecting our descent into Charleston. It was a long day of travel, but we decided to take a little walk and see what old town Charleston was all about. We checked out King Street and did a little window shopping and people watching  Then we headed to our room and read for the rest of the evening. You know, I had to finish the book I was reading!






Monday, April 16, 2012

Wildflowers and Butterflies

The Outdoor School
Marble Falls, Texas

On Sunday we drove out to Marble Falls to see Camp Champions where Rachel has been working since February. After a delicious lunch at the Fish Camp & Grill, Rachel took us on a great adventure through the wonderland of wildflowers on the camp's property. The camp is right on the lake, but we didn't even go to the water because the wildflowers got all of our attention. After our tour Rachel treated us to strawberry cobbler she had made the day before. We sat up on the second story deck eating cobbler and ice cream, relaxing, and shootin' the breeze with Rachel and Perry. From there we had a nice view of the lake and the camp. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon... and the weather couldn't have been nicer!




































Sunday, April 15, 2012

Austin Skyline


Austin skyline from the Zilker Botanical Gardens.



Wonderful cacti and succulents were purchased at the Cacti & Succulent Show!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thought for today

I choose to love and to forgive.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Nostalgia


Just me in 1958



 One of my favorites of Jill and Rachel on Halloween in 1989
wearing their Minnie Mouse costumes. I made them for the neighborhood's Disney themed 4th of July Parade that year.