A Night at the Arizona State Fair

Last night Bob and I went to the Arizona State Fair. If a person goes to the fair before 5:00 p.m. on Fridays, admission is only $5--thanks to CBS. Being on fixed incomes, we have to watch for specials.

We first walked through the petting zoo and saw many extraordinary animals, i.e. animals that can’t be seen in the Valley of the Sun. We saw an animal from Australia that resembles the folkloric jackalope, an antelope, zebra, giraffe, dromedary, buffalo, ostrich, emu and several other animals.

We walked through another barn full of cows and other animals common to the area. The first animal was a Clydesdale horse named Major. What a beautiful specimen. Another barn had several cages of unusual and beautiful pigeons. Some of them had tails that fanned out like a turkey. Others had colorful feathers providing beautiful coats. One sheep was getting its wool sheared and many others had been sheared wearing manmade coats to keep them warm.

Periodically, I had to stop and rest my weary bones. Carrying my weight is too much for this 71-year-old body. I am working on solving this problem.

While we were resting, we watched two stage shows that were performing simultaneously and actually facing each other. The noise from one show hampered the audio of the other show.

Bob wanted to ride the Ferris wheel but afraid of the effect on my health, I declined. We walked around the rides wishing that we were young again so that we could ride.

After splitting a sausage on a bun that was longer than a foot long hot dog, we toured the crafts and collections exhibits and the fine arts and culinary arts exhibits. I picked up a book that tells how anyone can be part of the Arizona State Fair. Maybe in the future, I will enter some of my recipes and/or collections.

At the end of venture, I thirst for a beer. Bob and I walked back to the midway where I bought a beer. As I drank the beer, we watched some young people break dancing. It looked like a lot fun but looked dangerous to an old fogy.

Business Trip to Palestine and Rusk

Bob Jones and I traveled by Amtrak to San Antonio, Texas on a business trip to visit Palestine and Rusk, Texas. Palestine is the location of the bed and breakfast we want to purchase. In San Antonio, we rented a Chrysler 300--what a mistake that was. We were charged taxes for some strange things, such as Texas Reimbursement Fee, Airport Access Fee (two times), Texas Motor Vehicle Fee and Bexar County Sports Venue. If you watch your dollars like we do, rent a car away from an airport.

The purpose of this trip was to become acquainted with Palestine and Rusk with regards to the purchase of 911 N. Sycamore, Palestine and to visit Thomas the Tank Engine at the Texas State Railroad. We gathered information about banks, mortgage companies and businesses in the cities of Palestine and Rusk. Since the Texas State Railroad is a major part of the Palestine tourism, we visited the Rusk station to take pictures of Thomas the Tank Engine and to gather information about the show.

Our first visit was the unique Tourist Information Center to ask the directions to Davey Dogwood Park. The center is located in a Restored Historic Depot. The agent gave us a map of Palestine and an attractive booklet, entitled Relax & Rejuvenate Getaway to Palestine!

We drove through the Davey Dogwood Park, which covers more than 200 acres. The park is featured during the annual Texas Dogwood Trails Festival during the last two weeks in March and the first week in April.

We toured the Anderson County Courthouse, a neo-classical architecture with a double-spiral staircase. The dome encases a beautiful stained glass montage. Admission is free. The courthouse is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

We drove around Palestine to look at some of our competition. We saw Apple Annie’s Bed and Breakfast, Little Bear’s Big Green House, The Naylor House and the Fig Tree Manor Bed, Breakfast and Bistro. We also drove buy Dyerwood Inn, which is the Bed and Breakfast we offered to buy.

Our intentions were to have lunch at the Fig Tree Manor Bed, Breakfast and Bistro but it was closed for construction. Instead, we ate lunch at the Ranch House. We were pleased with the food at the Ranch House. Located next to the Ranch House is Old Town Palestine, pictured on the left of this paragraph.

Later in the afternoon, we checked-in at the Best Western located on Palestine Avenue. For dinner, we had Italian food at Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant. While we thought the Ranch House food was better than expected, we believed that Giovanni’s food tastes were below expectations. We will reserve the right not to refer our customers to Giovanni’s.

The next morning we traveled Highway 84 toward Rusk to the Texas State Railroad where we saw Thomas the Tank Engine.

Day Out with Thomas at TSRR

Since 1881, the Texas State Railroad (TSRR) has been a Texas Treasure. The Railroad dates back to the late 1800's when the Texas Prison System opened the East Texas Penitentiary in Rusk, Texas.

By 1896 prison officials realized that transporting timber and iron ore by horse and wagon was impractical. It was decided that a railroad was necessary to provide the foundry with enough raw material to operate efficiently. Construction began on five miles of track, built in a southwesterly direction from the institution.

The Texas State Railroad is now being operated by American Heritage Railroad Company. The Texas State Railroad offers both steam and diesel train excursions reminiscent of days gone by. Passengers may board excursion trains at either the Rusk or Palestine depots where they will find Southern hospitality. The train operates weekend excursions year-round plus expanded spring, summer and fall service.

During two weekends in October, the Railroad sponsored a Day Out with Thomas. Bob Jones and I attended the event to take pictures. A few of the pictures appear below:

Meadows Manor 2007

For three days and four nights Bob and I enjoyed an enjoyable vacation at Meadows Manor aka Loleen’s property. Cindy was very thoughtful in relinquishing her bed to Bob and Loleen let me use her couch for a bed.

After Michael’s and Christi’s wedding we hightailed to Lokie’s house. Naturally, we engaged in conversation catching up on all the family news. I was glad to hear that Darla and Leandro had gotten back together again; Joey matriculates at Kilgore College; Vernon is doing much better after his stroke and so is Loleen.

Loleen is able to work in the kitchen now rather than suggesting what needs to be done to the girls. Cindy is real happy about that (Just kidding Cindy). She races her wheelchair whipping wheelies and chasing the kids around the house (Just kidding again). Actually the kids love her to death. They all want to sit n her lap. Cindy and Carla resemble their mother in their mother in that respect, i.e. holding their grandkids in their lap.

On Monday night, we watched Dancing with the Stars. We all picked Wayne Newton to be eliminated. Side note: Wayne Newton lived behind Loleen on 10th Street in Phoenix when he was a kid. She saw him taking out the trash occasionally in the alley. He was already famous with the song, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Oh yes, Loleen roasted a hunk of beef in her slow cooker.

On Tuesday night, John, Lucy, Cindy, Bob, Loleen and I ate catfish at the catfish place in Longview. Mmmm…muy good. We hurried home to see Wayne Newton eliminated from Dancing with the Stars. John and Lucy joined us for more family talk.

On Wednesday night, we ate enchiladas at Cancun Dave’s in Kilgore. Bob hosted Cindy, Carla, Vernon, Darla, Alicia, Jonathan, Loleen and me to dinner. Bob and I had planned to leave on Wednesday morning, but instead, we imposed on Meadows Manor for another free night of boarding. Thank you Loleen and Cindy!

More photos:

The Daniel and Christi Courade Wedding

Bob Jones and I attended the wedding of Daniel and Christi Courade. It was a beautiful wedding in a small church on the Roseland Plantation in Ben Wheeler, a small town near Tyler, Texas.

Roseland Plantation was built in 1854 by Mr. Burrell Hambrick. It was originally a 3300 acre cotton plantation. The plantation was the first recipient of the Texas Restoration Award, and is now available to the public for special occasions.

The plantation has a chapel, a 1850s ballroom and a bed and breakfast. The couple was married in the chapel. Because the ballroom was too small, the reception took place on the plantation grounds.

Many friends and relatives attended the wedding. Daniel’s father, Frank, flew from Northern California. He has attended Becky’s, Michael and now Daniel’s weddings and also all of their graduations. Matt, David Chappell’s son, flew from Washington. He was in Daniel’s court and his son, Kayden, was supposed to be the ring bearer but was too timid.

Because there were no ushers, the seating was mixed. It is my understanding that the bride’s family and friends sit on the left side as you are entering the chapel and the groom’s family and friends sit on the right. This caused me to miss seeing Aunt Gertie, Harmon Chappell, Nina and others.

Because Bob and I had traveled all the way from San Antonio to Ben Wheeler we opted out of the reception.

Below are a few of the pictures taken at the wedding: