Bella Vista Ranch

Crazy I was so excited about this experience before we even left home, and I was even more impressed than my hopes held! We drove into the ranch, flanked by grapevines overflowing with beautiful purple and green grapes...it looked just like a Napa Valley postcard! Notice I said postcard because I have not actually been to Califormia! Our tour started out with the owner giving us the history of olive oil in general, of his personal history in the business, all the way up to current events pertaining to olive oil production. He was a fantastic storyteller and fun to listen to! I was only momentarily distracted by his puppy "Big Daddy" who came out to socialize with all of us on the tour. It was apparent he had vast knowledge of the industry and a true passion for the business. He took us out and showed us his olive trees which did have olives and explained the differences in type and how they harvest them. He helped us understand how his ranch is flourishing despite extreme Texas weather conditions and showed us all the different vegetables he is currently growing there. We went on to see the olive press-I can't remember the official name- and he explained how it is used and how the process has changed over the years. Afterwards we participated in a wine and food tasting of the ranch's products. We drank-yes we DRANK-olive oil and learned the important properties of really fresh extra virgin oils. We sampled some of the flavors of olive oil bottled right there on the ranch, as well as jams and vinegrettes. Of course we walked away with some amazing dipping oils, jam, wine (the Texas Sunset is fabulous), and even a bar of soap made with olive oil! I couldn't stop taking pictures this place was so breathtaking! I learned so much too. Well worth the $15 tour price! And can I just say... The olive tree is gorgeous--feels stately but each is unique and we learned that they can live to about 4,000 years! Simply Amazing.

Blair House Inn in Wimberley Tx

A little bit of Heaven is the motto for this quaint little town and that's exactly what it is! Cute little boutiques and eateries all around the downtown hub look like a girl's fantasy shopping trip day (gotta come here next time during Wimberley Market Days with plenty of money and girls only)...and our gorgeous bed and breakfast was only a few miles down the road. Blair House Inn was so much nicer than I could have ever guessed! We were greeted by Mike who gave us the grand tour...the grounds were beautifully lush and green, little birds chirping everywhere, yet quiet and secluded. We stayed in the main house which had several guest rooms, a study/computer area, dining room, TV room, living area and gourmet kitchen complete with chef giving cooking lessons! Out the back door are several more sitting areas and a stone path leads you right up to the pool. Past the pool were more separate cottages, hiking trails, and breathtaking views over the valley. We spent the afternoon laying out at the pool and visiting with friends and were delighted with the tiny details that made our stay so comfortable and relaxing: refrigerator near the pool stocked with drinks for your enjoyment, big fluffy clean towels located at the pool as well as sunscreens of all types for you to use. We returned to our room to find chilled white wine and two plates of brownies almost too pretty to eat (almost...we determined that they actually tastes even better than they were pretty!). The bed was firm and comfortable with high quality sheets and the oh so important ceiling fan for background noise required for optimal sleeping! The next morning, Reggie and I enjoyed a cup of fabulous coffee on the front porch as the morning sun woke up the Hill country...so romantic! Followed by breakfast in the dining room..the cherry on top of this amazing B&B...delicious fruit with real whipped cream, specialty juices, yummy Jewish apple cake (that almost rivals my mom's), and gourmet egg, tomato, onion and cheese quiche with a side of sausage for the main course. The service we received while here was excellent, no perfect. I hope to return here year after year as I can only see Blair House getting better and better,

Cypress Valley Canopy Tours

Whew!!! Just finished zipLining in the gorgeous Texas Hill Country! Who knew there are cypress trees here that are 300 and 400 years old! Bittersweet to see these beautiful monsters who must have had at one time massive canopies, but the wildfires in 2011 swept straight thru here and wiped most of the canopy out. Thanks to a few underground seeps and springs and a cute little sinkhole (yes, sinkholes can be CUTE) the trees are trying to recover and shed their burnt outsides and regenerate their massive beauty. Zipping from cypress tree to cypress tree, led by our guides Max and Robert, feels a lot like flying. Mid-air, I forgot about the harness, looked up into the sky and what came to mind? My sweet Abby-girl's recent infatuation with flying squirrels... And I thought how this is exactly what those little critters must feel like when flying from tree to tree! Robert was a hoot, he never shut up and even gave Reggie a new nickname-Turbo- because he was also first in line to start the next zip-LOL-that's my hubby! Congrats to my longtime friend Rachel and her husband, Eric, who joined us and zip lined for their first time! I loved seeing their smiles....well, smiles after the two rope bridges (Rachel was definitely not into that part)! I hope Canopy Valley continues to rebuild bigger and better! I know Reggie and I already talked with Robert about doing a customized rope course, repelling, and zip course for our kiddos. A full family day at this would be a great adventure for the boys and confidence booster for the girls, not to mention have all 8 of us work together to accomplish different tasks--something all families should do regularly in my opinion! Oh and shout out to Robert who does outdoor adventures all over the area and also works with handicapped children and our wounded warriors(near and dear to my own heart). Just know that talk is all he does! But he did point out a plant called maidenhair (spelling? Really?) that grows out of the seeps, looks like a fern, but he claims you can squash the roots and use it as a natural hair conditioner! If it weren't for that cute little sinkhole I would have been pulling me a plant to take home in a heartbeat! Www.hillcountrybob.com

Brewster's Pizza House in the Texas Hill Country

Tried a cool pizzeria not far from our B&B for our anniversary eve dinner and all I will tell you is that just us two couples cleaned out TWO medium pizzas! Now that is good pizza! And it was definitely in the crust...light, thin, crispy and fresh tasting. They even brew their own beer here and let you try all the different flavors! This family owned business makes you smile when you see the whole family, even younger kids, bringing out the pizza, cleaning up the tables and taking the orders. An added plus: my friend left her purse at the restaurant when we left and we had barely been back at the B&B ten minutes when two of the teenage members of the pizza family arrived to deliver her purse back to her! You definitely don't get service like that at your normal pizza joint! The kids were so friendly even answering some of my questions about how they got started in the business and how they feel as teens working in the business everyday! If I could only get my precious offspring to have such a superb work effort! Great family, pizza, and atmosphere while in Wimberley!

Stone Mountain Georgia=exercise & tired kids

Today we ventured out in Atlanta, Georgia, at Stone Mountain.  This is basically a huge, bald granite rock....carved into the side is Generals Davis, Lee, and Jackson on horseback riding into battle.  The carving is so large that a 6 foot man can fit into the opening of the horse's mouth!  They have a cable car which takes you to the top of the mountain scooting right by the carving-for some great photo ops-enabling you to really get a good look at such amazing art.  The cable car only costs $5.50 for a one way ride, but there is a $10 parking fee to enter the park.  Once at the top you can explore all the dips and craters...kinda makes you think that if the moon was made of granite-this might be what it looked like.  You can see for miles and miles...breathtaking.  Instead of riding back down in the cable car, we decided to get some exercise and take the trail down the mountain.  First starting down the mountain is a little steep, but there are handrails along the trail to help you keep your footing.  The kids had no problem at all...in fact it was me that couldn't keep up with them!  We encountered tons of hikers coming both up and down, young and old, enjoying the beautiful spring day and the exercise of climbing the mountain.  Coolest of all was all the initials and dates we found carved into the rock face-some as recent as within the past week and others dating back into the 1800's-proof this place has been a well loved and well worn hiking spot for hundreds of years.  The kids only complained once we got to the bottom and we had to walk around about a 1/4 of the mountain to get back to our parking spot...well, they were tired until they saw the play equipment inside the park.  It was rewarding for all of us to look back up the mountain to see how far we come and what a big accomplishment it was for them-to say they climbed down a mountain.

Nashville...What was I thinking?

Nashville Tennessee had lots of promise but left us dissappointed.  Let me just say that had Reggie and I come here to vacation and see the sights, we would have had a great time just hanging out near Music Row...bars, restaurants, shops, museums, live entertainment on the corner would have made us happy, but for kids it did not work out.  The really neat looking places don't allow minors in.  Parking was $15 everywhere we looked, the area was dirty and littered with trash, and all the eating places looked very anti-kid friendly.  We decided to try Gaylord Opryland Resort...and it was a step up.  It had our jaw dropping as soon as we stepped foot in the door.  What an amazing sight to see a building-scratch that-a miniature city, all self contained under one roof.  But again...the kids were impressed for about ten minutes, then ready to go.  Our most fun was had at Cooter's Place-a shop and museum (free) dedicated to the old TV show "Dukes of Hazzard".  They had tons of vintage items that definitely brought back childhood memories for me-mostly that super awesome metal Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox I begged my mom for during my elementary school days.  They also had full size replicas of the General Lee, Cooter's tow truck, Daisy's jeep, and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain's police car.  It was a lot of fun for me trekking down memory lane.  And for you Willie fans, next door was a Willie Nelson museum and gift shop.  That's where I got my favorite picture of the trip so far....Can you guess which one?  After a quick dinner at SteakNShake we headed back to the Embassy Suites for some swimming and TV time.  Kinda sad that we would rather do that than anything else in Nashville....Maybe I'll come back and try again as an adult only trip, but I definitely wouldn't reccommend it for kids.

http://www.cootersplace.com/

Hot Springs Arkansas...Alpine Inn and Garvan Gardens

Started out on our Southern States Tour yesterday...and started a little rough.  Didn't get the right rental car from Hertz-ugh and traffic backed up on I-35 which put us an hour behind before we even got out of Waco.  BUT, that was the end of the bad news!  Drove straight to Hot Springs, Arkansas and stayed with our favorite Scottish couple, Eric and Leslie, at Alpine Inn.  This was our 3rd time to stay here and we enjoy it more every single time!  We stayed in the safari suite since we had 4 kiddos with us....which proved an excellent choice!  Always clean, smelling great with super fresh linens and towels and at only around $100 for a Friday night suite with 3 double beds and a kitchen...I LOVE this place!!  Eric even stayed up til midnight to make sure we got in okay and left capri suns and snacks for the kids on the kitchen table.  After visiting with them this morning we headed out for breakfast and then to the University of Arkansas Garvan Gardens.  This place is an amazing hidden gem!  At $6 for adults and $4 for kids (a $1 off per person coupon can also be printed from their website) this place proved to be an all day adventure.  We climbed, we adventured, we posed for pictures, we smelled the beautiful flowers, we fed the Koi fish, we played hide and seek, we played in the mountain streams, we mined for quartz, we listened to the carillon, and we picnicked on a fallen log bridge.  The kids played like kids should...no Ipods, no cell phones....just nature and exploring the streams, the rocks, and the plants.  It was a beautiful Arkansas day..dirty, happy, and all.

http://www.alpine-inn-hot-springs.com/

http://www.garvangardens.com/