One Month - Five Texas Breweries (#44)

Three friends at Shiner

The American Craft Brewing industry is finding a foothold here in Texas...and I couldn't be more thrilled!  Hopefully legislation will follow that makes doing business here in Texas a little easier for them.  A girl can only hope...and write to her local legislators to support reform like HB660.  But on with the tour!

Thirsty Planet Tap Room

Austin has recently been honored with several new brewing venues.  I welcome them all with open arms! In February Phil and I made our second visit to Thirsty Planet Brewing, located off 290 just west of the Oak Hill Y on Circle Drive.  Thirsty has a couple "anchor" beers like Thirsty Goat, Yellow Amadillo and my favorite, Buckethead IPA. In addition, they brew small specialty batches.  Brian and his wife are great additions to our brewing community here and we are glad they picked Austin to open their venue.  Besides brewing good beer, they are warm, welcoming and community minded.  Some of their beers give a portion of the profits to causes such as the Amadillo (local cancer research/support) and the small batch Silverback Ale (for gorillas of course!) that we sampled during our visit. Phil who rarely embibes beer enjoyed the small batch Ginger Beer.

Thirsty has been offering two tours on Saturday, one late morning and one early afternoon.  You can order and print tickets on line (recommended).  When you arrive you can buy the $7 pint glass and get bigger and better tastes.  The pub style tasting room has a wonderful atmosphere and the staff have been very friendly both visits.  It amazes me that they are so willing to "talk shop" with the home brewers in the group.  I do not doubt they will be successful here and hope they continue to stay grounded.

The next Saturday was the Grand Opening of Jester King Craft Brewing on Fitzhugh Rd; practically next door neighbor to Thirsty Planet.  Jester King seems to be fashioning themselves as a Dogfish Head type of venue.  The facility is very nice with an open air "barn" next to the brewery. The party started out great, they had food vendors, great entertainment, tours and several tasty brews to sample.  An hour into the event, a very cool, slightly ratty car club showed up. They had a super selection of darker beer styles and I really liked the Commercial Suicide (oak not whiskey barrel).  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed a tour, but less than three hours into the party, the drink lines went on forever and when people drink too much they often won't wait their turn...sadly it was time to leave.

Next weekend it was off to Houston to celebrate my very dear friend Heather's birthday. Now living in Minnesota, she flew home to Houston so we could help her usher in the big 4-0!  Phil and I planned to pick her up at the airport and head to Saint Arnold, but we had to venture there alone.

Saint Arnold recently relocated from their original industrial strip complex to a huge facility in a refurbished old warehouse just north of downtown and I-10. Houston traffic, even on the weekend is never fun and parking for the facility took some patience too. They profess to be Texas' Oldest Craft Brewery and amazingly they have a small staff of less than 30 who do it all.  Tours are free, but if you want to sample the beer it is $7. For your money they provide you with a very nice 8oz tasting glass and three wooden tokens for samples. They open at 11am and when we arrived about 11:30am the huge beer hall was jam packed (the website had warned us) and super LOUD. Did all these people come here to tour?

Saint Arnold Beer Hall

People brought in their personal larger sized Saint Arnold barware and bartenders often poured a bit more then the 8oz promised. Root Beer was free...and delicious. I questioned if all these people were using it as a cheap place to drink? At 11:30, we could not find two seats. I was rather surprised to see how many people had brought kids and babies (and even though I was raised in Las Vegas I do not consider it a family friendly venue either). Many people brought lunch/pizza/munchies/chess/cards as the website had suggested.  I wish we would have too, but there was no place to sit but on the floor anyway.

I have not been a big fan of Saint Arnold beer and I hoped somehow visiting the source would be different. Their best chance to impress me was their Stout, it lacked any complexity. I took the noon tour as my wonderful husband escaped to the van for a nap. The young women leading the tour did a fabulous job and all the staff members were super friendly. I was thrilled to see the brewmaster tossing hops into the batch of IPA and having my picture taken next to the tie-dye Rolls Royce, they were absolutely the highlights here.

My kinda ride

See those beautiful kettles

My friend Heather lived in Texas most of her life and had never visited the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas! I learned of this terrible oversight shortly after she relocated to Minnesota and insisted we journey to Texas Beer Mecca for a tour on one of her upcoming visits. So what better way to spend a day of her birthday week visiting the place "every drop of Shiner Beer is made"? They have a really nice tasting room and an extensive gift shop.  Tours are free and come with three wooden tokens good for small tastes (I think it was about a six oz plastic glass).  My one complaint was they do not allow pictures.  The area around Shiner is a wonderful place to visit and we topped off the day visiting some of the area's beautiful Painted Churches.

When I moved from Michigan in November 2005 I had to leave behind my beloved Bell's Porter. Shortly thereafter Shiner Bock became my "go to" beer.  Shiner Bock is Texas beer...hands down. Bock is Spoetzl's primary beer.  I also enjoy their 97 Bohemian Black Lager and a couple of their small batches-Alt and Kosmos Reserve.  Unfortunately the small batches can only be acquired by buying a "Family Reunion" 6-pack which also includes one each of Bock, Blonde, Black and Hefeweizen.  They will switch out the Alt with something else down the line.  I asked during our visit and they are just small batches and have no future plans to market them in 6-packs. The variety pack is their marketing gimmick, so check the 6 beers before you buy, I have encountered 6-packs that were switched out and the Kosmos has always one of the missing.  They also produce a numbered anniversary beer coinciding with the number of years they have been brewing.  This year is number 102, a double wheat, I did not care for, but I loved the (97) Black and it was so popular they made it a regular.


Twenty nine days after Thirsty Planet, I stopped at Freetail Brewing on the northside of San Antonio on a Sunday evening.  I had been at an event for most of the day and was looking forward to a relaxing dinner and samples of the dark beers I had read about on their website. I like to sit at the bar, especially when I am alone like this time. Staff let me sit, apologized, then forgot me again without beer! Did she think I wouldn't notice the guy that walked up and got immediate service when I waited...and waited...and waited??

I ordered a beer sampler and was really looking forward to trying some of their dark small batches. They were out of three I wanted to try including the Lucinda Obscura (the black IPA) that I specifically wanted to taste. Maybe they should pay more attention to their website content. The Ancho Oscuro was flat and I do not like chili beer.  Of the five I tried the brown hbb660 was tolerable.

The food was terrible too. The Rueben panini was awful. They used a fake tasteless corned beef, perfectly round, like Oscar Mayer DeliFresh. The fruit salad they gave me was several days old and on the verge of spoiling. Price: $9, come on! There aren't many beers or breweries that I haven't liked, but this one rose right to the top. Bad service, short beer supply, awful food=I won't be returning!

Three out of five breweries were great, and the "not-so-great" two made the three great ones even better.  I may be a little bit of a beer snob, but hey, life is too short not to drink good beer. What I really need is to plan a hike to the top of Enchanted Rock so I can visit my very first Texas brewery-Fredericksburg Brewing Company for the umpteenth time ;)

Cheers!!

Finding "Lost Maples" in Texas (#44)

What Midwestern girl would not be intrigued by the thought of finding "lost maples" ablaze with color in Texas Hill Country? The bigtooth maple is the tree that most closely promises some of the same vibrant fall color of Michigan's glorious sugar maples. Prime time for experiencing fall color in the Texas Hill Country usually occurs near the beginning to middle of November. To commemorate my birthday we took advantage of the long Veteran's Day weekend this year and reserved a campsite at Garner State Park and headed southwest for a hiking filled weekend.

We decided to take the road a little less traveled and letterbox our way to Garner State Park. The direct route would be about three and a half hours, but there were just so many places we needed to see and food to savor! We packed up first thing Friday morning and headed up SH71 to US281 and stopped at Spicewood General Store for one of the best breakfast tacos (a central Texas food phenomena) I've ever tasted. The steam table had more that ten different items to choose from like carne guisado, charrizo, sauteed green peppers and onions besides the basic eggs, potatoes and cooked ground bacon. I topped mine off with a pico de gillo and salsa; Phil had his with cheese, both cost $5. As of 2017 there are new owners and tacos just are not what they used to be.

Our next stop was Sisterdale, reputed to have been established by German "Freethinkers" in the mid-nineteenth century. We stopped at Sister Creek Winery located in a repurposed 1885 Cotton Gin. The winery offers several choices of red and white wines and tastings for a moderate fee. As we headed north of the town center, we saw the old schoolhouse and stopped to read the RTHL marker posted on the wall. Built in 1893 the schoolhouse was constructed with huge blocks of local limestone. We turned left to continue west on RM 473 and spotted a beautiful farmstead on the rise. The entrance gate was marked Siedensticker-1855.

We continued moving southwest towards Bandera, the Cowboy Capital on scenic backroads. We made a quick stop at Camp Verde, site of U.S. War Department's 1857-69 camel experiment run by Jefferson Davis. Today all that remains is the quaint general store, in continuous business since 1857. The highly remodeled two story building holds a cafe and the mercantile store selling specialty food, gifts and a whole room devoted to modern penny candy.

After stopping in Bandera for That Genghis Guy we headed for Tarpley to have lunch at Mac and;Ernie's Roadside Eatery. Featured on the Premier episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, we asked an owner how they were picked and she shared that Guy Fieri's veterinarian hadrecommended the place to him! The place has become so popular they had to expand, but they used the old kitchen for the entry so old customers can still recognize the place. We enjoyed the recommended Cabrito Burger and French Fries, which were cooked perfectly. The eatery is only open Friday-Sunday, but it is well worth rescheduling the day and the route you take to visit this beautiful area. The lunch menu is almost exclusively limited to burgers, including an Axis (deer) burger, but dinner and Sunday are filled with gourmet faire and if you bring your own vodka they will make you a pitcher or two of some awesome Bloody Mary mix to go with your breakfast.


We soon realized that Texas does offer nice fall color in some areas. I do prefer reds and oranges. and this area has a fair amount of bigtooth maple, sycamore, red oak and persimmon. We arrived at Garner State Pair in the late afternoon and snagged a great campsite (#468) in Rio Frio; part of the new "water only" section. This site is located close to the shower building and had good tree cover to set up our tarp roof. The rest of the day was devoted to relaxing and walking along the Rio Frio and resting up for our search of the elusive lost Maples.


After a leisurely morning we headed east to Utopia and north to Lost Maples State Natural Area. We arrived around 10am to find a short lineup waiting to get into the park and one nasty policeman screaming and shaking his fingers at the cars....give this guy a chill pill, we are here to experience nature folks! Once inside the park we continued with lines...lines to park, lines to go in to get a tag (glad I am a Park Pass holder), another line to park. In defense of the park we were here peak fall color on the Saturday of a long Veteran's Day weekend. And for the amount of lines we really did not wait too terribly wrong...it just all seemed contra to being in a State Natural Area.

We parked in the first lot on the west and headed up the East Trail. We soon met what State Natural Area really meant...steep uphills with large, loose chunky gravel the size of golfballs. This 4.6 mile trail should not be attempted with flip-flops or kitten heels, yes we saw both, in fact I highly recommend good hiking shoes or boots that offer plenty of ankle support. The view from the top is well worth the effort it takes to get to get there!! We had packed a lunch and found a nice ledge to sit on and enjoy the view of the valley below. After finishing the trail with a thousand new friends, we headed out of the park and the mile long line of cars still waiting to get into the park at 3:30pm. I sure hope they don't think they can hike the East Trail before it gets dark.

On to Leakey for an early dinner at one of Texas Monthly's 40 Best Small Town Cafes. We arrived an hour before the Leakey Feed Lot reopened for dinner so we headed up to the scenic overlook (now closed) north of town on US 87 and enjoyed a Shiner Bock we had stashed in the cooler. This funky little cafe has varied hours that change with the season so I highly recommend checking their website link before you go. The article recommended the chicken fried rib eye, but all I could think was-Why ruin a perfectly good steak? So I had the rib eye sans the chicken fried with a side of bacon green beans and salad. My meal was delicious and my medium rare steak was cooked to perfection. Unfortunately Phil's chopped steak was overcooked to shoe leather and they served it on Styrofoam plates...I guess they don't want or have a dishwasher. To top it all off they brought the very tasty salads with croutons and cheese with our dinner, no mistake just the SOP. If I were to go again, which I might-the staff and owner were friendly and we loved the funky cafe decor-I would go for the food more appropriate to Styrofoam and have a beer. Another 40 Best nearby was Hicks House and Bakery east of Utopia on Lee Street in an old renovated house, next time will be a must stop.

We savored one last night around the fire. Sunday morning we broke camp at a leisurely pace, enjoying breakfast, hiking along the Rio Frio and plotting one last hike and the route back to Austin. We were glad we had chosen Garner over Lost Maples to camp. Lost Maples very limited campsites were out in the open and everyone using the trails had to pass by. Lost Maples would be fine for someone who had a recreation vehicle, but we like the peace and quiet without listening to generators running all night. We also liked the newer Rio Frio section of Garner because of the mature trees we like for setting up a tarp roof.

Our last hike was in the older section of Garner, south of our site. We took the trail to Crystal Cave (make sure to pick up a Hiking Trail Map on you way into the park). This trail is reminiscent of the East Trail from yesterday. Up,up,up we hiked over the same golfball sized gravel (did they import this stuff?). We climbed more than 1200 feet in elevation over a short 0.37 mile trail. Never so happy to see a cave entrance sign, we ventured into the small cave to see the crystals. Without a flashlight and feeling a little foolish (it did say crystal now didn't it?), we made due with the light from my camera and Phil's lighter. It was worth the effort to get there and next time we will bring our flashlight! Just before heading back down the boulder strewn trail we grabbed Baby Bear's Extreme letterbox Oh Crap, That Was Today. After all, I had made it this far, why not scramble up the hill another 20 feet...and as it turned out it was a super cute carving.

Leaving Garner we turned east to Utopia then north up RR187 past Lost Maples to SH 39 and headed easterly again. The road to Hunt weaves back and forth crossing the Guadalupe River numerous times. We rounded a curve to see several horses down in the river seeking a little refreshment. We stopped to take pictures and continued on our way. At Hunt we turned left to go to the old Stonehenge and Easter Island heads location. I had heard rumor they wanted to relocate the 7/8 size replica, but Phil had never seen it so I thought it was worth checking. The old field was empty, but a sign directed us to its new home just down the road in Ingram at the Point Theater.

Stonehenge and the Island Heads seemed happy in their new home and it was now time we headed to our old home. But I could not resist going through Fredericksburg and making one last stop at my favorite Texas brewpub for a light dinner and a few delicious brews. Fredericksburg Brewing Company is located downtown on Main Street smack dab in the middle of town and offers several staple beers like Not So Dumb Blonde, Enchanted Rock Red Ale, or Pioneer Porter. They also brew specialty batches and had a Fitztown Brown-their seasonal hoppy porter with a creamy head, this is a great transitional beer as we move into the colder winter months here in Texas. A perfect finish to the fantastic long weekend.

Texas Hill Country Winter Weekend (#44)

One of our favorite getaway destinations is the glorious Hill Country here in Texas. While my favorite season tends to be the wildflower explosion during a great spring, every season reveals something special about this beautiful region. This last time we decided to try a little winter camping over the long MLK weekend.

Our first destination was the far western reaches of Hill Country and a little adventure at Caverns of Sonora. Located just west of Sonora of US 10, we knew we met West Texas went the posted speed limit went up to 80 mph. We love exploring caves and caverns and found this one to be an extraordinary gem for the spelunking crowd. The tour was almost two hours and included over 350 stairs taking us more than fifteen stories below the rugged desert above. We saw some very unique formations we had never seen before like fishtails, war clubs and geodes embedded into walls. What I found the most striking though, was the variety of formations included in each room. Both physical effort and tour cost ($20) were well worth it.

We had our choice of several very nice campsites at South Llano River State Park in Junction, but I imagine when its warm a little prior planning and a few inter tubes would be wise. There were several nice hiking trails including one straight uphill to a scenic overlook and a couple very comfy bird blinds to watch some of our fine feathered friends.

We wandered our way back home through some of the
most scenic roads I have encountered in Texas...and this was January! We headed south from the state park on RR377 and made our way toward Rocksprings, self professed Mohair Capital of the World. On our way there we stopped at Telegraph (Population 3, 2000) and admired the picturesque old general store & post office. Telegraph is an interesting little ghost town and holds the distinction of having the first commissioned postmistress in Texas in 1900.

About six miles north of Rocksprings we turned east onto 41, then south again at RR335. This was the first of two Twisted Sisters roads we would wander. The incredibly scenic road hugs the side of mountains named Schoolhouse, Graveyard and Turnpike and then crosses the Nueces and Frio Rivers. A little over half way we stopped at the fence of an exotic animal farm to watch kangaroos, giraffes and exotic antelope play. Then a few miles later we encountered a few camels. Just above Barksdale we joined 55 and followed it into Camp Wood.

At Camp Wood we turned east onto the second Twisted Sister RR337. Just before we left the town proper we had to stop at Holy Smoke BBQ who's slogan was "Never Trust a Skinny Cook!" We left with a pound of brisket and the appropriate fixings and headed down the road to find a picnic table to feast. A picnic table there was not, but the beauty of this highway begged for us to stop....somewhere. We rounded a curve and there was a small turnout overlooking the valley so we pulled over and made a make shift picnic table of our cooler. I love Texas BBQ and brisket is KING!
Just south of Leakey we headed south on US83 to Garner State Park to do a little hiking. Before leaving we checked out the extensive network of campgrounds, this park has so much to offer and is definately a must future camping trip. We headed east on 1015 to Utopia and then north on 187 to Lost Maples SNA. This time we drove right into the park, but an earlier fall visit found us several miles south of the park waiting more than an hour to enter and see the beautiful Bigtooth Maples bursing into a flame of fall color.

Heading back east on FM337 we stopped in Medina, apple capital of Texas. Here you can pick your own apples in season at Love Creek Orchards or stop in any time at the bakery store for one of their tasty apple baked goods. We loved their "Adam's Favorite Pumpkin-Pecan-Apple Bread" and Apple Strudel as a nightcap. We need to come back during apple picking time when the orchard is full of dwarf trees bearing some of my all time favorites like Jonagold and Pink Lady as well as their special "Lone Star Little Sugar" Gala.

January was a great uncrowded time to spend a lovely MLK long weekend exploring, but every season holds something special here. So come any time and if you really love fall there isn't anywhere else in Texas quite like this heavenly slice of Texas Hill Country.

50/50 Hawaii (#49)

The big day I aspired to starting back in 1994 happened this past...November 9, 2009. It was the day I turned 50 years young...the day I became eligible to the National Register of Historic Places as long as I still had integrity. It was the day I had raced to see all 50 of our beautiful United States (plus DC). It was the most glorious of all my 50 birthdays...it was the day I spent in the 50th state, a day in paradise on the island of Kauai!

This vacation started several days before when Phil & I hopped from Austin to Houston and then boarded another plane for 8 1/2 hours to arrive in Honolulu to visit my 49th state. My first birthday present was picking up my midlife crisis car-a Mustang convertible. I could not wait to get her out on the open road! This V-8 beauty was just begging to have her peddle buried into the floor, but it had been a long day. We did a quick dinner and beer sampler at Kona Brewing Company before heading to our hotel. Tomorrow would be a day of one of my many firsts in this beautiful state...a day of snorkeling.

Hanauma Bay is a snorkeling paradise located 20 minutes east of our Waikiki hotel. It is home to the beautiful triggerfish-Hawaii's unofficial state fish and officially the longest Hawaiian word...humuhumunukunukuapua'a. We arrived early in the morning and viewed the mandatory film; a preventative strike to keep us from walking along and causing irreparable harm to this incredible reef and home to over 150 turtles, fishes and invertabrate animals. We began our adventure in Keyhole Lagoon as suggested by one of the many helpful volunteers after I confessed I had never been snorkeling before. After lots of laughs trying to master the flippers we headed into the water were the hours passed way to quickly. The amount and color of the marine life was truly amazing, many looked blacklight flourescent and few cared that we had invaded their habitat.

We had a full day of tourist activities the next day starting with a Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour. Before the boat took us out to the USS Arizona Memorial we watched a very sensitive and moving movie account of the events that led up the fateful attack on December 7, 1941. From that point on I had a lump in my throat and shed a few tears (for all the braves soldiers who have served for our freedom). As we moved from the front to the back of the memorial I started to read some of the more than 1000 names on the back wall memorializing the men entombed under my feet. As we looked over the side, two drops of oil surfaced and spread across the water and I imagined as the movie account had said that these were the ships tears. Back at the Visitor Center we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Pearl Harbor Survivor Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class Sterling Cale, who had just gotten off night duty and ran back to help when the bombing began. He was also in charge of removing bodies from the USS Arizona. Sgt Cale just retired in 2005 after 57 years of government service and immediately started volunteering at the Visitor Center...amazing! While our visit here was relatively short one, it will be forever one of my most moving experiences.

We left the USS Arizona Memorial and headed to the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl with its numerous notable persons including Ellison Onizuka, one of the ill-fated astronauts aboard the Challeger. This beautiful cemetery also has incredible views of Waikiki with a Diamond Head backdrop. We then headed to historic downtown Honolulu past historic districts and many buildings belonging to the government...then and now. Our day was far from over.

A trip to Hawaii would not be complete without attending a good old fashion luau...we choose Germain's which included a very entertaining bus ride west of the city to the beachside location. Our escort Georgie filled us in about the traditions, foods and various Hawaiian word we would encounter at the evenings festivities. She was great at giving us the low down on how to make the most of our experience and she even got up on stage and helped entertainment. When the time came to send a lady from each table to go up on stage and learn the hula, I screamed it was my birthday and ran up on stage! As it turned out not one other lady had wanted to go, but I hadn't given them a choice either. On the bus trip home Georgie gave three beautiful and fragrant plumeria leis to those who answered Hawaiian trivia questions and Phil knew the official longest Hawaiian word for the unofficial Hawaiian state fish. What a great wrapup for an incredible day!

For our last full day on Oahu we got up before sunrise to go out to Diamond Head State Monument and hike to the top. The strenuous 0.8 mile trail to the top was build as part of the island's defense system 100 years ago. The trail includes switchbacks, a tunnel and several sets of stairs including a very steep set of 99 that empties successful hikers into the second level of an old bunker and ultimate rewarding views of Diamondhead Lighthouse, the crater and the Waikiki coastline.


We purchased 3-day Go Oahu cards from Costco for $119 each before we ventured to Hawaii. I was able to book the luau and tours using this handy card. My one do over for this trip would be- not to not purchase them. We booked our time solid the first two day but on the third and last day of the card they canceled our catamaran lunch cruise and we then waited almost an hour for an outrigger canoe ride which never happened. As it turned out we did not get the value we could of...or should have gotten. Fortunately by purchasing the card at Costco we had saved $30 each; if I had paid $149 I would have been very unhappy. We did end up just relaxing the rest of the day, seeing the beach at Waikiki and driving to the north shore.

Early the next morning we left the hustle bustle of Oahu for peaceful laid back Kauai, a short 21 minute ride on Hawaiian Airlines featuring impeccable service. We were taken to Dollar rental kiosk by bus though the confirmation stated in-terminal. I was then subjected to one of the nastiest clerks who thought intimidating me into purchasing needless additional insurance was going to be successful. She stated that I should buy the "loss of use" insurance because in the event of an accident they would likely charge my credit card for each day they lost use of the car up to 21 days! Unlike the wonderful customer experience we had with Advantage on Oahu...Dollar on Kauai was torturous. No matter...this nasty woman was not going to ruin my time in PARADISE.

We stopped at the Oki Diner for a delicious lunch and headed to our hotel. They allowed us to check in early and we headed off to the north shore and the end of the road at Ke'e Beach. Little did we know we would flirt with disaster...would I see my 50th birthday tomorrow???

Our first stop was Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge with its spectacular 1913 lighthouse complete with its original Fresnel lens. On our journey to the lighthouse proper we stopped to "borrow" a pair of binoculars to view the abundant wildlife. We had arrived just in time to join the elated staff celebrating the season's first sighting of an Albatross. The birds were fresh from arrival from Alaska, who would spend winter in this paradise. The hillside was littered with the white dots of Red-Footed Boobies and we observed the nesting grounds of Shearwaters. There was much talk of the first sightings of humpback whales who also winter here, but alas we were not lucky to see any this trip.

It was on to the end of the road, we stopped just past Princeville at the Hanalei Valley Overlook with great views of taro fields with a spectacular mountain backdrop. We continues down the road as it dropped into the valley and a series of one lane bridges encouraging us to "yield to oncoming traffic." In the town of Hanalei we stopped at the oldest church on the island. The beautiful Wai'oli Hui'ia Church was completed in 1912. The mountain background displayed a profusion of waterfalls threading from top to bottom. What a romantic place to get married!

We finished our drive at Ke'e Beach on the north shore and part of the incredible Napali Coastline. After a photo op in a tangle of tree roots at Ke'e Beach and a stop at the Waikanaloa (Blue Room) Wet Cave we returned to Princeville in search of Kauai's only blue diamond letterbox at Queen's Bath. it was getting late and we thought we would have enough time to venture straight down the trail, retrieve the box and head back to Hanalei for dinner at one of the quaint eateries in the little downtown hamlet...we couldn't have been more wrong.

While the box planter warned of the slippery nature of the trail, they said they took their children and carried a ten month old...were we in the same place I ask? The red clay trail with a wet skiff of moisture provided optimum challenge as we navigated or slid down a path perched precariously close to a craggy black lava edge. Had we lost our footing, we could have plunged into a small canyon about twenty feet below. We got down to what was described as the "washing machine" just in time to watch the sun drop into the horizon in a matter of seconds...and then it was dark and time to head back up the trail...no flashlight either. My heart was beating like a triphammer and I heard Phil start to swear...the next thing I think I saw was Phil's broken flipflops whipping past my head and into the washing machine. I questioned wheter I would see my 50th birthday the next day. We made it back to the trailhead parking lot, the lone car, but we were alive. No dinner in Hanalei tonight, no letterbox. We went back to our hotel room, got cleaned up and headed into Kapaa to Pizzetta's for an amazing pizza and their very tasty signature beer "Rooster Brew" by the Keoki Brewing Company.

The big day would finally arrive, and yes of course I did live to celebrate my most glorious of all birthdays! It started with the Big Kahuna one hour morning flight around the island of Kauai with AirVentures. I conquered my fear of flying in small airplanes a few short minutes after takeoff. We flew with two other couples; one from Pittsburg and the other from northwestern Florida. The route looped around the entire island, pasting through the lush Waimea Canyon, up along the dramatic Napali Coast, past several waterfalls including the one used in the opener of the old Fantasy Island TV show and my most favorite part-flying over the 1913 Kilauea Point Lighthouse we had visited the day before.

Shortly after landing we were standing alongside Wailua Falls which we had just flown over less than an hour before. We needed to check in for our Holo Holo catamaran cruise at the Port Allen Marina by 2pm. It was only about a third the way around this fairly tiny island and we had a little over two hours. That was just enough time to visit Keoki Coffee; the largest coffee plantation in the US and do a little letterboxing in an old abandoned cemetery filled with Buddhas and stones with Asian script. Abandoned and overgrown the cemetery stones were still incredible.

The cruise was a 3 1/2 hour cruise along the Napali coast in a supercharged catamaran. we were on board with about thirty other people and the boat could have accommodated 49 so it was perfect for manuevering around. Pru & Tim, the Florida couple from our morning airplane ride were also aboard and we discovered they had lived near Austin for several years before returning to her home state. The gang sang "Happy Birthday" to me and I graciously thanked them for joining my party. An open bar and excellent Asian dinner rounded out the romantic sunset wind down topped off with a champagne toast. We disembarked the boat just after 6pm, but I was not ready to finish this party, so it was off to the Waimea Brewing Company for a little beer sampler for dessert. They had great beer label t-shirts sporting their logo "The Last Beer Before Tomorrow." Waimea Brewing is the westernmost microbrewery in the US and to the left of this island is the International Date Line (tomorrow). This had been a birthday like no other and tomorrow was my last day in paradise.

We check out of our room at the crack of dawn and headed to the west side of the island again to drive the Waimea Valley. Waimea in Hawaiian means Red Earth and it reminded Phil and I of a lush slightly miniturized Grand Canyon. Teh road climbed quickly fro the town of Waimea and followed along a high ridge for about 15 miles. The end of the road offered a dramatic view overlooking a deep craggy valley. We had seen this island by air, sea and land. Making our way back to Lihue Airport we stopped at Lappert's Ice Cream for a scoop of their goumet ice cream. I had Tutu's Anniversary a combination of coconut ice cream and passionfruit and raspberry sorbets, it was out of this world. We still had a little time to sightsee, so we headed south to Poipu to see the Spouting Horn blow hole and the Tunnel of Trees drive north of Koloa. Our plane to Honolulu was at 8pm so we had time to stop for one of our most awesome dinners at the Garden Island BBQ. Recommended by a local it was a tremendous value at $15 for two...we could not believe our eyes when the bill came. We left Kauai in stormy weather, and I felt like crying too. From Honolulu our plane left for Salt Lake City and flew overnight and by 1pm the next day we were back in Austin, Texas...older, wiser and a little more relaxed. I may have missed getting Alaska and finishing my original 1994 goal, but it was only by one state. Maybe I can find the time before 50 officially escapes me on November 9, 2010??? Regardless, I have had the great fortune to explore this beautiful country... and there is still so much more to see and do.

Aloha Y'all!

Ohio (#3) - A Hocking Hills Christmas

I suppose a Wolverine should never admit to liking anything about the state of Ohio, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and confess to you...it is a great place to visit, especially Hocking Hills southeast of Columbus.

When I was growning up in southeast Michigan we visited several times each year and after Phil and I married the tradition continued.

Thanksgiving 2004 our family talked about going away for Christmas in lieu of traditional presents. We didn't know where, we didn't have gobs of money and we didn't want to fight the crowds (or possible delays) a trip to an airport might garner. After a little investigation, I came up with a couple of choices-one each in Ohio and Michigan. We had been to Hocking Hills the summer before and noted the high number of cabins in the area. The loft pool table and back porch hot tub clinched our choice as our destination the week between Christmas and New Year.

We drove to the cabin during what was possibly that winters worse ice storm for southeastern Ohio. Fortunately for us Ohioans were smart and laid low making it clear sailing for us in the trusty family minivan. The ice on the tree limbs glimmering in the sunlight was incredibly beautiful. It seemed as if we had journeyed into a fairytale.

The cabin was no disappointment. The living room and loft area were recycled from an early 1800s log cabin that had been moved and reassembled at this spot. A small Christmas tree, foosball table, and oversize TV for our video games greeted us in the living room and up in the loft was a small pool table. The boys squealed with delight! To the right and back of the log cabin were modern additions, one with the kitchen and keeping room complete with fireplace and wood and the other off the back, housed our two bedrooms with modern bath and laundry areas. The back door led to porches that hung slightly into a ravine and to one side was a hot tub that comfortably fit us all. This was nice.

It was real easy to settle in here. We had prepared several dinners back at home and froze. We always try to make them ahead for vacations such as this so we have meals made from scratch, and quick and easy prep after a day of fun. The boys hooked up the video games and Phil built a fire with the fruitwood they supplied. Phil slipped into the rocker next to the fire...life is good folks.

We got up early the next day so we could explore this icy wonderland the storm had left behind. During our five day stay we stuck to a loop and stopped for hikes at Cedar Falls, Ash Cave and Rockbridge. Few other people were hiking and we savored each adventure. Standing water froze in place and became iridescent and flowing water became drapes of icicles. At Rockbridge we were joined by a beagle who came out of nowhere and hiked down to the natural bridge and back with us. We scampered under the bridge where water fell into the small creek below during warmer weather, but today it was an ice cascade. Austin went on a great ice spear hunt, gathering more and more, each one bigger than the last. Our beagle mascot never left our side until we were close to the van and then he just disappeared just as he had when he joined us. the best part was after a full day of hiking we came back to the cabin and jumped in the hot tub while our dinner was warming up.

This was one of those great memorable family trips, full of fun and laughter and that wonderful feeling of closeness. I believe it may have been the most relaxed Christmas holiday I have ever experienced and that was the best present I could have ever been bestowed. As we pulled through the gate and left our little cabin in the icy wonderland, we talked about how nice it would be to come again next year and do it all over again. That was not meant to be though, the next Christmas would find our family exploring Austin, Texas together for the first time...our new home. Funny where life can take you.

Sweet Home Alabama (#45)

In June of 2007, our family was living in the twilight zone. Phil and Austin were living in the house in Michigan, while Jacob and I were living in our newly purchased house in Texas. We drove to Michigan as soon as Jacob got out of school for the summer and I "traded" vehicles with Phil so I could load up the van and head back to Texas. At this time I had been to 44 states and Washington DC and was missing three southern states. I took the opportunity and headed straight south from Michigan, picking up the Natchez Trace Parkway in Nashville and heading southwest toward Louisiana. When I got to Alabama, I turned east and headed for I-65 where I turned south toward my main destination...Birmingham.

I had read that Alabama had several covered bridges and decided to explore the east side of I-65 above Birmingham and visit a few. Most were in very haphazard shape, but one I found thoroughly intriguing near Oneonta. The Horton Mill Covered bridge is a town lattice truss bridge and considered the highest covered bridge above a US waterway towering 70 feet above the small river. Parking was very limited, so I parked out on the main road and scurried down to the bottom to see just how high this bridge really was. As I looked up from the river, I was glad I had already ventured across the bridge and back, because there was no way I was going back over it now...it looked like a covered bridge perched on toothpicks!

On my way into Birmingham I discovered one of the prettiest barns I have ever seen up on a hillside. I stopped to take pictures and the owner came over and struck up a conversation with me and offered to let me go into the barn to see the inside. He told me that the barn and property had been in his family for three generations and that they often had people from all over the US stopping to take pictures...I wasn't a bit surprised.

It had started raining by the time I found the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham. I watched the short movie about the history of the pig smelting facility and ventured outside and took the self guided tour. It started to pour and I found myself playing hide and seek with the raindrops navigating through the various stages of pig iron smelting.


After my enjoyable tour at Sloss Furnaces, I headed to the highest point in the city to visit Vulcan. Built in 1904 as a tribute to Birmingham's iron roots, Vulcan is considered the worlds largest cast iron statue and underwent a complete multimillion dollar renovation in 1999. The park surrounding the colossal statue had a nice museum and it was a great place to picnic. The statue is open late and I thought an evening visit to the top of the 56 foot statue for a panoramic view of the city would have been another great option.

My day was fleeting fast, but I had just
enough time to head down I-59 towards Tuscaloosa for a stop at the Tannehill State Historic Park with more than forty-five historic buildings from its heyday as a bustling ironworks town. The staggering number of sites and activities included a museum, gristmill, farm, candy store and a small railroad as well as camping and cabin rentals. A great place to explore.