Loads of Company! Part 1

If you are one of my faithful blog readers, you have probably noticed that I haven't written anything since the end of July. Part of that is because we had loads of company in August and we were really busy! Not to mention that we had some other excitement at the beginning of August that we probably could have lived without....but more on that in another post. Let me fill you in on all of our company!

Our first batch of company was my Mom, Gail (my sister), and Bob and Sam (my nephews). They were driving out from Virginia with a jam-packed car-load of stuff for us. The bulk of it was a quarter of beef that I had ordered from my sister back in the spring. (Back when the wagon-train had thought they were coming in the spring....but life happened and the wagon-train didn't come till late summer.) They were also bringing a half-bushel of peaches off of their own peach trees, some home-grown summer squash and zucchini, a few odds and ends I had garnered from my siblings "I'm getting rid of this, does anyone want it" personal yard-sales, and just random things people sent along. (By the way, Sally, Thank You for the new kitchen towels!!) Mom's car was stuffed full with four people, coolers, blankets to insulate the coolers, and all the rest of their travel needs and such. (I never really heard how comfortable the ride out really was....)

The wagon-train, stuffed to the gills, left on Sunday afternoon, stopped for the night in Kentucky, and arrived here late-afternoon on Monday. I was at work when they arrived, but Jason let them in and, in my family's typical style, they made themselves at home by unloading everything and

Welcome to Hard Work U!

I recently posted some photos from our vacation trip to Branson, Missouri with Jason's family. One thing I have heard of several times, and kept seeing signs for on the drive there, was this College of the Ozarks and their student-run, farm-to-table restaurant with home-made ice-cream. It is commonly known as "Hard Work University," and Jason and I decided to go check it out on this trip.

Potential future student?

While we were there, we learned that students at College of the Ozarks work on the property part-time throughout the school year in exchange for

I've Been to Branson...

A few years ago, I wrote this post, "I've Been to Jackson..." about a spontaneous road-trip that I did with my friends, Brittany and Shannon. This trip to Branson, Missouri that I'm sharing today wasn't a road-trip with Brittany and Shannon, but a vacation with Jason's family. In trying to come up with a clever title, however, "Branson" rhymed with "Jackson".....the Johnny Cash song came to mind......and I came up with, "I've Been to Branson...look out Branson-town!"

It was the first week of April for the family group vacation, and we left on Sunday after church. I think everyone was hoping for nice weather, but on the drive south we ran into freezing rain, snow, and just general gray, cold, overcast skies. Driving into the Big Cedar Lodge resort area where we were staying, everything just looked cold and gray. Not really the type of weather we were hoping for, especially as Jason and I had wanted to check out some of the hiking and outdoor activities that Branson is supposed to have.

Jason's family had all gotten there ahead of us and did all the check-in stuff, so we met them at Taco Bell where they were having dinner to get our room keys and such. Not much happened that first evening besides letting Little Pumpkin run around after the long car-ride, and unloading our luggage and accoutrements.

Everyone did go to Grandpa and Grandma's room for the handing out of Easter Baskets.

The Chef's Table: An Elite Meal

In case you didn't know, Jason and I went on a cruise this past December. (To read about our cruise, check out: We Took A Cruise, Continuing the Cruise, Our Favorite Day on the Cruise, and Cruisin' Home.) We sailed on the Carnival Glory to the Eastern Caribbean for a week. We didn't plan very much in advance as far as activities to do while on the cruise, but Jason did make dinner reservations for The Chef's Table. The Chef's Table is a small, group dining experience that includes a tour of the galley, and a private, exclusive dinner with the executive chef. Allow me to share our private, professionally created meal with you.

Our menu for the evening, which was rolled up, tied with a ribbon, and garnished with a star anise. (It got a little squished in the suitcase on the

Cruisin' Home

The last stop on our cruise was...

Grand Turk Island was not on our original itinerary at all, actually. We were supposed to go to Puerto Rico and St. Martin, but after the massive hurricanes last fall, our cruise was re-routed to Nassau and Grand Turk Island.

It was crazy how close to shore the ship could dock!

We didn't have anything planned for this stop, but I again wanted to do something instead of sit around, or sleep, all day. We found an island map and discovered that Grand Turk is very small; 6.9 square miles, to be exact- 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. I would've been game to try and walk around the whole thing, but Jason didn't want to risk getting left behind if we were late getting back to the ship. Instead, we tried to hire a car to drive around. I mean, there's only a certain amount of lost that you can get in 6.9 square miles of basically flat island! The hire car booth was very poorly manned, and we didn't want to wait around all day to try and get a car. So we asked a local that was advertising bus tours what they had to offer, and we ended up doing that.

We had to wait a couple of hours for our tour, so we checked out the sights that were right there at the port.

I don't think we ever learned the significance of Mr. Whale.

There was an large informational display on the Mercury Space Program, and how John Glenn and Scott Carpenter were debriefed at the local U.S.A.F. facilities after their splashdown. 

When we finally got to go on our island bus tour, it was informative, but not very leisurely. The driver did stop twice. Once in the Historic Cockburn Town area where there were some local tourist shops and food huts. He also pointed out "The Wall," a massive drop off in the ocean that is a huge attraction for scuba divers. Not too far off the shore, "The Wall" plunges over 6,000 feet straight down. Jason was excited to see the dark blue spot in the ocean where "The Wall" is at, and would've scuba dived if given the chance.

The island was hit by the hurricanes, though not as badly as other places. You could still see the aftermath of missing roofs, blown over trees, shingles in the ocean, and even large pieces of debris lying oddly about the shore and inland. The flowers, and landscape, were still pretty, though!

And the ocean water was so gorgeous! The beautiful blues and turquoise colors were amazing, and so clear and clean!

One claim to fame for Grand Turk is their wild donkeys. Although, they would almost walk right into the bus for food! They were everywhere, and just freely roam the island.

Our second bus stop was at the Historic Lighthouse. It is no longer in operation, but they have a little museum there, I believe. It cost extra money, and we were out of spending money at that point, so we did not see the museum.

There were also a lot of roaming horses on the island. I'm not sure if they were just free-range, or if they belonged to someone.

Beside the lighthouse was the old U.S.A.F. base which has suffered from the weather over the years.

More of the pretty flowers.

These Turks Head cacti are an iconic plant on the island. The red tops are said to look like the Turkish fez hat that used to be worn by the Turkish Army. I believe Jason knew this fact previous to us visiting Grand Turk, and he specifically wanted to get a photo of this cacti.

Most of the places we stopped on our cruise had old cannons (or replicas) positioned artfully around the port.

Another ship waaaaay out there on the ocean.

Our new towel animal from Gede: a dinosaur.

 After we returned to the ship, Jason wanted to nap. Since it was the nicest evening out of the entire trip, I decided to go try and watch the sunset from the top of the ship.

 The sun started setting as we were leaving Grand Turk Island, and while it was beautiful, I feel like there are probably even more amazing sunsets that happen at sea.

There were actually three food carving/art displays, but this is the only one that the photo turned out well.

 We had a full day and two nights of sailing on our return to Miami, Florida. The "How to Make Towel Animals" was one activity that we participated in. I successfully made an elephant.

 And a dog. Not sure if I can recreate them now, though!

Our very last towel animal from Gede: an elephant wearing my sunglasses.

And that concludes the tour of our cruise trip. I hope you enjoyed the photos- I feel like I did not do as good of a job with taking photos, or getting good photos, on this trip as I have in the past. That may be in part to having a new camera and figuring out the settings. (Or the camera isn't as good as our old one; I haven't decided.) Anyways, thanks for joining me on my Cruise post series!

Our Favorite Day on the Cruise

After our day, and night, at sea (which you can read about in Continuing the Cruise), we stopped in the Dominican Republic. This stop was probably our favorite day on the whole cruise.

Those guys played music while people were disembarking and coming ashore at Amber Cove.

We had scheduled a "Shore Excursion" that included a shuttle to a private beach area with a freshly cooked/grilled traditional D. R. lunch provided

Continuing the Cruise

In case you missed the first post (which you can find here), Jason and I took a cruise for our 5th anniversary. The second stop on our cruise was in...

Nassau, Bahamas

We had nothing planned for this stop, but I had determined that we were going to actually do something. There were about 5 other cruise ships stopped at Nassau that same day, so getting off the boat and into the little town area was a bit frustrating. Especially since I really had no desire to be around people. But, we eventually made it through the crowds, through the little shopping huts where people wanted to braid your hair, and I

We Took a Cruise

Yep, that kind of cruise- going out on the ocean on a giant ship for several days. Jason really wanted to do it for our 5th anniversary this past December, and he planned the whole thing. I will be honest and say that I did not want to go on the cruise. First reason was because I thought it was pointless: Jason works nights and sleeps all day, even on his days off. So why go on a cruise with someone that is going to sleep all day? I was a little bit grouchy about it, if you want to know the truth. Second reason I didn't want to go was because I thought we could do more productive

"I've Been to Jackson..."

"...and I've messed around."

If anyone doesn't know, that's an excerpt from a Johnny Cash song called, "Jackson."

Last week on Tuesday, I think, Brittany asked if I wanted to go to Jackson, WY with her and Shannon. Brit had a continuing education class to attend Saturday and Sunday for physical therapy. It was basically a free ride and hotel stay for Shannon and I since Brit's work was paying for her trip. (She would have been going alone if we didn't go.) So Friday after work, I packed up some clothes and headed to Brittany's. We got left about 4pm and took the scenic route (on purpose) through Lander and on to Togwotee Mountain Pass. 

The clouds were rolling over these mountains like a blanket - it looked amazing!

In Lander we were hoping to

The Spirit of Tasmania

Our destination from Strahan was to get to Upper Natone where we had booked a place for the night called "Natone Lodge." We were planning to get there in time to unload, eat dinner, and then go straight to Devonport to watch the ship come in that travels between Melbourne, Victoria (mainland Austrailia) and Tasmania. This ship, the Spirit of Tasmania, is one of the main passages for folks and vehicles traveling back and forth across the Bass Strait.

 Natone Lodge was not at all what we expected. This was one of our least expensive stays during the entire trip and it was the most luxurious

That Day In Tas When Jul Spied Upon A Miner

On our way out of Strahan (which you can read about here), we stopped to dip our toes in the ocean.

I don't know if this would be considered the part of the Great Australian Bight,

Strahan, TAS: Home of World Record Waterskiing!

(The prequel to this post can be found here.)
Welcome to Strahan, a little town on the west coast of Tasmania. Population: 636

Our little cabin at the YHA hostel.

Queenstown, Tasmania

Coming down the west side of Cradle Mountain into Queenstown, there was an old Iron Blow.

This was an open cut copper ore mine, if I understand correctly.

Along the Roads of Tasmania...

...you may find...

an Echidna. He was burrowing into his hole, so we couldn't see his face.

Tassie's East Coast...

Picking up where I left off in my first post on Tasmania, please keep in mind that Linden was on this trip to see as much agriculture as possible. Thus this first photo.

Cows. A road trip is not complete without stopping to look at some Jersey cows.

Well, Hello Tasmania!

Quite a while back, I finished up Jul, Linden, and my tour of the South Coast of Australia in Touring Melbourne. The next part of our journey was to Tasmania. We got a flight out of Melbourne into Launceston, where we had a hire car waiting for us.

Leaving Melbourn, Victoria, and flying across the Bass Strait.

...And The Hippie Festival

   After we finished climbing in Moab, we headed on down the road to Flagstaff. I think it was only a few hours drive and we got to the campground about dark. We set up the tent and then went to find Jake and Brittany's aunt and uncle, Roger and Julie, who were actually in charge of the entire Pickin' in the Pines festival. (Roger and Julie got us into the festival in exchange for our volunteering at the festival. They were very kind and generous!) Jake and Justin ended up jammin' with them around the campfire until about 2am.

This pickin' and jammin' around campfires until 2am was a regular occurrence all 3 nights.
The next day, we spent most of our time in downtown Flagstaff checking out all the outdoor recreational stores as well as other little shops. Coffee

The Hippie Road Trip...

   Earlier in September, I went on a road trip with Jake, Brittany, and Justin, to Flagstaff, Arizona. The main purpose of this trip was to attend the Pickin' in the Pines bluegrass festival. The other main purpose was to go climbing in Moab, Utah. (Just an FYI: if you're ever on a road trip with Jake, it is guaranteed that there will be climbing at some point.) Jason was unable to go with us due to work, and I was unemployed at the time which gave me lots of free time. No dogs were allowed on this trip because the car was already full, plus they weren't allowed at the festival. And now we begin the journey I called "The Hippie Road Trip!"
    It all started on Wednesday morning. I packed up myself, my camping gear, Gunther, and Gunther's overnight bag for his extended stay with Salem's grandparents. I mosied over the summit to help pack the travel car, and to go with Justin to take the dogs to his parents. Salem and Gunther were in heaven being able to spend 6 days on a farm! I felt really bad for the parents, though, having to put up with those two together for that long!!! After the 2.5 hour round trip to deliver dogs, we got everyone together, the car packed, and food to eat. It had been raining all day and the plan was to drive west out of the rain and end up in Moab at about midnight. Great plan, but it didn't work. We drove thru hard rain pretty much the entire way to Utah, took turns driving, and ended up in Moab about 3am. It was to late to find a campground (and kind of pointless at that time) so we parked in a supermarket parking lot and proceeded to try and sleep in the car. 

The little Honda Civic car.

August: The Things You Will Find In Wyoming

    In my last post about August, Jason had left again and was supposed to be gone for 2 more weeks. Well, three days after he left, he called me and said that his trip had been cancelled and that I needed to go pick him up the next evening. Usually when I have to make the trip to Casper, I just hop on the interstate and ride it the entire way. This time, I took a different, non-interstate route and got to see some new scenery. 

 Did you know that there are pyramids in Wyoming? If you look closely, there is one on the right side of that plateau in the back.

Touring Melbourne

Just a side note, I find it hard to believe that it has been over a year since I lived in Australia! These photos are from January of 2012.

   Driving back into Melbourne after being out in the open country for a week was a bit of a culture shock. I believe Linden was driving and I was giving the directions that we had gotten from some guy at a food shop. We were trying our hardest to avoid the toll roads which pretty much surround the city. It was an adventure, but we finally made it to our hostel in the CBD.

 Just a small glimpse into the lovely traffic we encountered along the way.