Listen...can you hear it??....what's that noise??

It's the gentle sounds of my brand new Trader Joes grocery cart rolling through the freshly waxed aisles as I pick up cheap, kitschy, specialty items from the shelves.

Nashville TJ's is open....


WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Now we'll see if I can shop TJ's without waking the sleeping tiger that is my coupon conscience.

Sigh.

love & a bag of Pirate's Booty,

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Can we please watch Adaptation....???

Hey y'all...welcome back to another installment of the Adventures. I mentioned in my previous post that my brother Steve flew to town so we could all head down to Louisiana for a little familial reunion. The trip would be very short (Friday eve to Sunday morning), but it was on par to be a memory maker.

The destination: Mer Rouge, Louisiana home of "Duckapaloza" (aka, the Byrd Camp....aka Aunt Jan & Uncle Richards quarters on the Bayou).

The plan: Fish, Visit, Eat, Sleep, Not Shower - not necessarily in that order.



Ahhh...what a beautiful scene, yes? I took this picture around...oh, I'd say 8:30 or 9 in the morning. Nestled with a hot cup of joe, I sat on the deck in awe of the beauty that surrounded me. The colors of fall on the bayou coupled with the sound of birds and an occasional fish flapping on the water made me forget that I had just spent 10 hours in a minivan the day before.



It was just chilly enough to make me wonder why I sitting there in my pajamas, but the only one around to care was my husband who was just slightly more focused on baiting his hook. An occasional egret would fly past and break up the stillness of the scene...there was not an ounce of city life around to drown out my moment.



The only thing that had a chance of drawing me back up to the warmth of the camp was Aunt Jan's biscuits and sausage gravy. And they did not disappoint...at least not for awhile.

After brekkie and a quick change of clothes, I bopped on down to the deck to take up my day dreamy scene. Only this time as I was boppin' on down, my stomach started makin' a fuss. Oh yeah... Makin' a big fuss. The kinda fuss that don't end pretty. Like...thank goodness there was a bayou and a rail right in front of me kinda fuss. From that moment on - all day and into the night - it was coming out one end or the other. Look my people, I'm sorry for the graphic nature of my content, but you've got to be with me through the good times AND the bad.

If I had to pick a bright spot from it all, the "output" did seem to attract some good fishin'. My uncle caught a 10 inch catfish right after my initial re-view of the morning menu.

So I had to experience the fun while fading in and out of consciousness and from all the 2nd hand accounts and pictures. I actually did manage to make it out to a chair close by the window while all my family enjoyed s'mores by the bonfire. And, as everyone was leaving I did manage to keep a saltine cracker down and perk up just enough to watch my Dad, brother and husband try and peg each other with a marshmallow.

It's still a mystery what sort of bug I managed to get ahold of...nobody else at camp got sick and I ate the same thing that everyone else did for breakfast and dinner the night before (which in my opinion eliminates food poisoning).

Although most of my time was spent curled up on the bed or in a chair (wondering when my next visit to the rail was going to be), I still had a great time having all the family activity buzzing around me.

And, I can't let this post go without showing you the cutest Nana around...here's a picture of her (sans bottom teeth) with my Dad and bro:



Until the next time (which will hopefully not include any euphemisms of throwing up)...stay healthy and bug free.

love & sausage gravy (the 1st time around only),

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Chunk E. Moto

This money saving maven has met her match! I had to pay full price for something...MAMA NO LIKE! The city caught me red handed on one of those traffic camera's running a light. In fact, you can see it for yourself:



Mike and I have already watched it about 50 times (one time for each dollar I had to spend get back in the good graces of this fine city) and we laugh our butts off every time. I don't know why the video strikes me so funny - it's just the sight of my little Camry boppin' on through that lonesome turn lane. Let me give you a little background on this right hand turn. There are TWO right hand turn lanes and when the light is green, it's a party and everyone gets to go. Then the light turns yellow, then red - at that time a green right arrow appears for the right hand turn lane. Well apparently the left right hand turn lane has been naughty because it's not allowed to go on the right green arrow light. Only the rightmost right hand lane can turn. I'm not sure if any of that made sense - but, it explains why nobody is in the left right hand turn lane - except of course for me. Bop, bop, boppin' along...

Of course, this little infraction has had its intended effect on me...today I found myself being much more obedient to traffic signs and lights. Not sure how long that will last...

Said in my hearing...
Today I was not feeling so well. So after we got home from school, I suggested to Abby that we have some "cuddle time" on the bed. Of course my idea would be that she brings a few books and reads to me as I close my eyes, rest and hope I feel better. Her idea is that I read to her while she relaxes after a hard day at school (come on, recess IS tiring!). Being the fab mom that I am, I acquiesced. I started to read but found myself unable to muster much enthusiasm in my voice. Abby - using hand gestures that are impossible to document in this forum - says to me, "MOM. You need to read the words with more excitement!"

Jack and Mary BoBo
No, this is not some nursery rhyme that I screwed up! Jack Daniels - as in the whiskey....and Miss Mary BoBo as in...well, Miss Mary BoBo! Two places that we visited with our friend Kathryn during her visit here. I never had an opportunity to write about it so I thought I'd give a little Readers Digest of it.



We drove down to the little town of Lynchburg, Tn. (a wonderful drive with lots of beautiful country scenery). First stop: JACK. Funny little side note, Lynchburg is in a DRY county - that means alcohol is not served or sold anywhere! The distillery can only sell "commemorative" bottles of Jack.



We took a tour of the distillery where Jack Daniels whiskey is made. The grounds are beautiful and the smell of whiskey fills your nostrils as soon as you get out of the car. I knew we were in for a wild ride as soon as we met our feisty tour guide, William. He kept things lively, I'll just leave it at that. The tour is great and we learned quite a bit about the process...we may have even learned more if we understood 1/2 of what William was saying.

After the tour, we went down the road a bit to downtown Lynchburg where 1 pm "dinner" reservations awaited us at Miss Mary BoBo's (MMBB). We weren't sure what to expect, but went at the suggestion of a friend. Turns out, MMBB is a boarding house & restaurant (although no longer used as a boarding house). The bedrooms of the house have been converted into mini-dining rooms where meals are served family style at a large table. Each room has a "hostess" - a local Lynchburg lady - that gets everyone familiar with each other and the food and handles any questions or concerns. We just so happened to be seated in the "Tolley" room with Lynne Tolley herself as our hostess. Lynne is the current proprietress of MMBB (Miss Mary was her mama) - and she is the great-grandniece of Jack Daniels. It doesn't stop there folks, Miss Lynne takes a little time each Friday to imbibe over at the distillery....oh sure....they CALL it taste testing, but we know the truth. Seriously though, she's an "official tester" for JD. They say sometimes it only takes a whiff to tell good from bad. Anyway - if you want to know more about MMBB, just google it and read all the fabulous write-ups about it. There is some fun history to it.


The 3 of us (along with 8 or 9 others) feasted on fried chicken, meatloaf, rice casserole, candied apples (candied with Jack, of course), pinto beans with red pepper relish, greens, fried okra, corn muffins, sweet tea and some fudge pie w/ fresh cream (Jack's in the cream too!) for dessert. I think I missed a dish, but you get the picture. We were so full afterwards that we walked around downtown Lynchburg and looked at souvenirs in hopes of our stomach returning to normal size.



And we couldn't help but take in a few rocks in the rocking chairs that were so abundantly available in front of the shops. NICE!

Well - thanks for hanging in there with me for this lenthy post. I hope you are all well and find yourself more informed about the haps at Club Amaro.

Love and okra,
k

SECRET MESSAGE: "It was the PASTA"

Many of you have heard me lament about how I would miss my sushi and my Mexican food after leaving California. I had very, very low expectations going in that Tennessee would be able to bring it to the table for me. I mean, come on - we now live in a state that screams catfish is king and wouldn't know machaca if it hit 'em in the head.

Well, this week I've been playing the whole, "I've been unpacking boxes all day, don't make me cook in this tiny kitchen" card. This has allowed us to try a few restaurants in the area to see if there's anything worth sharing with all the visitors we'll be having this year (hint, hint). We already found a great BBQ and Catfish place when we came to visit last year, although I'm sure there are some secret speak-easy type dives that we've yet to hear about. But, after being away from CA for more than 2 months, our pallets were yearning for Japanese and Mexican cuisine.

First of all - let me tell you....last year when we visited TN we ate at a place called Don Pablo's. All I'm going to say about this place is that at least they can spell "tater tots" correctly. That meal began my concern regarding the food of the Tennesseans and what they actually considered "Mexican" to be (let alone Sushi).

So let me break it down for you Amaro style:

1. Mexican
We hit up a little eatery called, "Cozumel" around the corner from the pad. The first good sign was that the place was actually called something authentic (fyi, Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula)...seriously.....there's a place here called, "Mexican Restaurant". The second good sign was that actual Mexican people were working there. I'm not saying that white people can't cook Mexican (I like to think that I can whip up a few good Mexi dishes), it just adds to the overall authenticity of the place, you know? The third good sign was that the decor was muy authentico...it had more than a big lame poster of 3 Corona chicks and a few blow up Dos Equis beer bottles hanging from the ceiling. The fourth good sign was the chips and salsa TOTALLY ROCKED. The menu was a little boring - everything was pretty straight forward American Mexican with a few "especials de la casa". Abby got her standard chicken enchilada kids plate (which got 93 million 20 thumbs up), I went for a chicken chimmy and Mike did a combo plate. As Aunt Jan would say, "It wuh good." After dinner, we went up to the counter to pay for our meal and the man running the register had that, "I own the place" aura about him, so I chatted him up a bit. He was in fact the owner and after we told him that we just moved from CA, he let it fly about the locals. He said Tennesseans don't want anything but burritos and tacos, man. They tried introducing authentic Mex food but nobody would even try it! We had a hearty chuckle over that and told him that we'd be back and he could make us something especial. Not to mention, the food was relatively inexpensive....mama like.

2. Sushi
I can't tell you how much raw fish I ate before leaving California...I had a feeling I would never hold a pair of chopsticks again...that my lips would never taste the saltiness of the soy...that my brain would not get another wasabe sting. Ok, you get my drift. So tonight we took a chance on a restaurant called, "Fin". The first bad sign was that there was one car in the parking lot...it was 6pm and we figured on a Friday that a good eatery in Murfreesboro would be packed. Well, we pressed on. Fortunately, that was the only bad sign. We walked into the place, which was nicely appointed with proper Japenese accoutrement's. We were greeted by - YES! - a Japanese lady!!! My heart was filling up with hope and continued to overflow as my eyes came into contact with - YES! - a Japanese man behind the sushi counter. The cherry on the pie was that he was wearing one of those little bandannas around his head....oh yes, it takes a real sushi chef to wear one of those things. It turns out that the restaurant opened just yesterday and they don't have their kitchen chef yet - so they were only serving sushi. (Oh, bummer!) No worries - we explained that we just moved into town from CA and that we were curious to see what raw fish Murfreesboro had to offer. Well, that was it - just like our guy over at Cozumel, our sweet little lady let fly about the people of the area. "They don't know sushi...they don't get it....I have to explain everything. Yes, you from California...you know sushi." Oh yes, we know sushi. When all is said and done, it was actually pretty good...not the best I've ever had, but it far exceeded my expectations. My complaint was the portions of fish were on the smallish side. But, the rolls were creative and the sushi chef served it himself. And, as soon as we put our order in, the place began to fill up...

So there you have it...a few more restaurant reviews from the cook at Club Amaro. The future may not bring too many more reviews since we are almost unpacked - which means....yes, I must start cooking. Maybe I can get a job at Cozumel ;)

love and dinner mints,
k

7 weeks

It's been 7 weeks since Abby has played with other children. That's 1176 hours of "adult time". 70,560 minutes of constant adult-interaction. 4,233,600 seconds of growing up that's past without getting properly dirtied up, roughed up or princess-dressed up. It all culminated last night when we arrived in Monroe, La. and had dinner with my Uncle David and Aunt Bonnie. There Abby sat for a good chunk of time listening to 4 adults chit chat back and forth. Oh, don't worry - Abby did plenty of talking too, but towards the end you could tell that she was ready for a playground (didn't help matters any that I mentioned that her cousins would be there and I was wrong!) Abby has been looking forward to playing with her cousins all week.

As I mentioned on Little Moon yesterday, Abby announced to us prior to meeting up with her cousins, "I have my plans laid out for what I do when I see my cousins." Her plan was to run up and hug them tight. Well, she stayed true to her laid out plans and then some. We met up with my cousins Ashley and Robyn at the "Jungle Gym" to let the kids run around and play. Ashley brought her 3 kids (Addison, Emerson and the baby Grayson) as well as her niece and nephew. The niece was the first to walk in the door to the Gym and of course Abby thought she was one of her cousins so she ran right up to her and gave her a big ol squeeze! Poor kid didn't know what hit her. Anyway - she proceeded to hug all her cousins as they came in and the next thing you know, they've run off to play leaving the adults behind for some good ol catchin' up. The kids had a wonderful time gettin' all sweaty and familiar with each other. We had lunch there and just had a great time watching them have fun. After the gym, Abby got to spend the afternoon over at cousin Tori's house...Emerson came as well so the 3 girlie girls had more bonding time.

Grillin' and Chillin'

Later on, we went back to Uncle David/Aunt Bonnie's house to do what it is that us Moore's do best....visit and eat. No Moore gathering is complete without grill master D workin' his magic on Black Beauty (the smoker grill). We had smoked pork, chicken and sausage that was 'slap yo mama's hand' good; Aunt Jan's potato salad; Nana's beans; some Boudin Balls from Ray's that Jan picked up on the way to Monroe; some Texas Toast and some little weenies wrapped in bacon that Cuz Robyn made. It gets setup buffet style and you just sit where you can find you a seat. Mike and I sat at the dining room table w/ Jan, David, Ashley, Robyn and Stan (Ashley's hub) and had a good time chatting. The food was great and the family time is even better. The best though, is seeing all the kids run around screaming and giggling. I had a flashback to my childhood thinking about me, Steve, Robyn, Ashley and Jeremy running around in that same backyard while the adults were grillin and chillin. Now I get to see my daughter make those same memories with Addison, Emerson, Tori and Grayson (Kayley too, who we are missing!) How cool is that?

After hours of outdoor play, the girls spent the rest of the evening playing dress up...our little princesses - they were muy preciousa! And puttin' up with all that girlie girl stuff was sweet Addison who is ALL BOY.

He plays so well with the girls but doesn't compromise on his boyness. Although he's not the oldest cousin of this group (that honor belongs to Kayley who lives in Tx), he was the elder today and took charge when he needed to. Like when a rogue puppy dog kept running into the yard (you know they don't have fences round these here parts) scaring little Emerson, Addison was right there to chase him off his turf.


Another great attraction today was the baby Grayson...just under a year old, I think. He is a chunkster with a million dollar smile that will warm your heart. My favorite picture (to the left) shows baby boy chillin' in a super fine nap pose - complete with foot hiked up on the snack tray and thumb in mouth. Grayson even made and appearance in the blow up jumpy house with his Aunt Robyn. He is a good baby and very adaptable....you have to be in this group!

Tomorrow we head out to the "Byrd Camp" in Mer Rouge for more family fun...stay tuned.

love & miss,
k

ps: Stay up to date on the pics...there's some good ones!!

Greetings from the fabulous state of Louisiana...Sportsman's Paradise, Creole State, Child of the Mississippi, etc. Lafayette, Louisiana is the exact spot where we are at right now - visiting Aunt Jan & Uncle Richard. Our time here has been filled with fun times, good food and neateaux sights. Lots to update you on, so let me get started...

Dat Wuh Good...
Aunt Jan can handle herself in the kitchen...of course she descends from culinary fabulousness (my Nana who could probably kick the Iron Chef up one side of the street and down the other). Upon our arrival on Saturday afternoon, we were greeted with the smell of lovin' from the kitchen. Jan had prepared dinner - pan fried thin chicken breasts with a basalmic vinegar/garlicy sauce, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes (par-boiled prior to roasting - what a difference!), corn, cooked carrots with brown sugar and of course, rolls (for soppin' stuff up). A meal that would make you wanna slap yo mama's hand, fo show. Later on after dinner, we went over to see my Nana, who lives down the way from Jan. My Nana is a sweet little thing - she can't talk because about 3 years ago doctors removed her voice box. Believe me, she can write up a storm - and, her eyes light up when she sees Abby. Nana is the last of my grandparents, so I treasure the time that I can see her.

Lappin' it up, Lafayette Style.
Sunday morning we went out for brunch at the Blue Dog Cafe. Their buffet is so incredible and popular that the wait to be seated was an hour! Fortunately, we opted for patio seating (which requires extra walking to the buffet) so we were able to sit right away. All you can drink mimosas, live music and wonderful dishes like Corn & Crab Bisque, Crawfish Enchiladas and Gouda cheese grits...needless to say when we were done eating, we needed to do some walkin'.

We went down to the quad at the University of Louisiana (home of the Rajun Cajun's) and walked around. Now, please don't let your mind conjure up images of the concrete rectangle of your youth...this quad is a SWAMP! Complete with cypress trees, green water, alligators, turtles and fish that defy the laws of physics. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect for strolling around. No trip around a swamp is complete with out a big ol' honken bag of dog food...yes, we took dog food with us to feed the aquatic life. The alligators were digging it and so were the turtles and fish...so, I guess that's fine, huh? (Sidebar: I'm thinking of a friend I have...one who is able to identify the origins of most mysterious animal poop....you know who you are...I'm apologizing to you for throwing processed dog food into a swamp for alligators, turtles and fish). At least I didn't throw a half of a McDonald's hamburger in the swamp for the alligator to eat (as seen in the photo to the right)...that was some dude standing next to us that did that. But boy that alli snarfed that burger up quicker than you could say Steve Irwin.


Painting at the Bisque...

Monday afternoon, the 4 girls (that would be me, Jan, Abby and Nana) headed off to Clayfish Bisque, a place where you can paint naked pottery (not to be confused with paint pottery naked) and then pick it up a few days later after it has been fired up in a kiln. We had the BEST time! We all picked our pieces, then picked our paint colors and went to town creating our masterpieces. Mike actually joined us a little later after he got off work - he was able to supervise and ensure that all that feminine pulchritude didn't get too out of hand. We were all very happy with our pieces - we'll see how well they turned out when we pick them up in a few days. Jan did a cute little tile with crawfish, using all 4 of our thumb and finger prints as the crawfish heads and claws. Nana did a tile with a Fleur de lis design. Abby did 2 figurines (a dino and a dog that she painted "dalmatian" style) and I chose a pencil cup and did a moon face on the front with a Genesis 1:1 bible verse on the back.

On Monday evening, it was time to bite tail and suck head (that is code for eating crawfish, or "mud bugs" as I like to refer to them as). I still haven't gotten to the point where I can order even a 3 lb (let alone a 5lb or all you can eat!) platter of the little freshwater crustaceans, I just like to watch other people do it (exhibit A - this picture, Uncle Richard eats a small 3 lb portion of crawfish). It's a messy ordeal and when all is said and done, you get a little more than a handful of crawfish. But, people eating it look like they are having fun. Who can resist holding the little buggers up and making them dance and talk? Anyway, we went to a place in Breaux Bridge (which by the way calls itself the Crawfish Capitol of the world) called, "Crazy 'bout Crawfish" (what a good name, huh?). A cute little place with lots of fun decor all around to look at. Mike and I went for the Crawfish platter which had little samplings of all kinds of crawfish delicacies. Abby had the critters basket which had shrimp and crawfish. Abby gave it "91 thumbs up" (a phrase coined by the little critter herself) and so did we.

Seaux HOT!
Today we headed to Opelousas to a dive (and I mean that in every sense of the word) called Billy & Rays. What prompted the 25 mile drive you ask? Boudin Balls, baby. For those of you that don't know what the heck I'm talking about, Boudin Balls are made from Cajun boudin sausage (a blend of rice, pork, and spices). The sausage mixture is made into little balls, coated with stuff and fried. You eat them warm, plain or spread on a cracker. These balls were good... This place also sells cracklin's, which is something I can't even bring myself to talk about. Quite frankly, it's where I draw the line in my dining choices. Seaux nasty.

After our short stop in Opelousas, we headed back the other direction and continued on until we hit Avery Island, home of the Tabasco plant! Everyone's favorite pepper sauce is made right here in the state of Louisiana. We took a tour of the facility and got to see the machines and workers in action. We learned about the process that a pepper goes through before it's bottled. Did you know that the pepper mash is left to age and ferment for up to 3 years? The mash is stored in white oak barrels that come from Jack Daniels. JD is only able to use the barrel once for their distilling process. Once the mash is ready, vinegar is added and it's stirred for 28 days! I hope you will now appreciate your little bottle of Tabasco...alot of time went into the making of it!

After the tour, we spent some time in the country store. One of the best parts of the Tabasco country store is the samples. They have all their products there to taste (using pretzel sticks) AND, they ask visitors to review new products they are working on. Today, we got to give our opinion on a Raspberry Chipotle dipping sauce (I gave it a thumbs up), as well as Tobasco Soda. Yes, that sounds gross, I know - but it's surprisingly good! It basically tastes like Coke with a kick...my Aunt (who likes her bloody mary's SPICY) did not care for it one bit. We'll see if Tabasco puts out these 2 products soon... Another fun treat we experienced was sweet and spicy ice cream. I would guess it was vanilla ice cream with red peppers blended in. Again - something that I would normally turn my nose up at! After we had our sample, we actually decided to plunk down a buck and get a full serving of it. A taste sensation!

Well, this post has turned out to be probably way too long...I hope you stuck with me. For those of you wondering what's up with my knee - well, it still hurts. I'm able to walk fine, but sleeping is tough and it's hard to sit with my leg in one place for awhile. I started out strong with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) but now the best I can do is Red Beans and Rice. Come on, I'm in Cajun Country!

By the way - I've got a bunch of great pics for you to see of our time here in Lafayette...head on over to the Drop Shots account and check them out!

We have a few more days here in Lafayette, then we head north to Monroe to visit more family...stay tuned for more fun-filled Club Amaro adventures.

Seaux long...
k

Well folks, I'm back - first off, I'd like to thank Mike for a fabulous post last night...and just so you know, I encourage him frequently to post, but he insists that I do it. Please feel free to encourage more of Mike on this blog by shooting him an email.

So I was chatting with my stepdad, Randy on the phone a few weeks ago about driving routes. I had mentioned that we really needed a stop between El Paso and Fort Worth because the driving distance was too long. Usually, I would try to find places to stop where there was some local sightseeing in order to increase our fun quotient. When I asked him about stopping in west TX somewhere, he said to me, "well...God didn't spend too much time on West Texas". The comment made me chuckle at the time, but I've come to realize that truer words have not been spoken! Mike was right on in his post - there is a whole lot of nothing going on around these parts.

We decided to by pass the city of El Paso (which we now refer to as By Paso) because we had more than a few occasions to hear what a stinky little town it is. So, we thought instead to make a really long travel day (Albuquerque to Midland), get to Midland late in the eve then have a "day off" the next day to ramp up for another travel day to Fort Worth. So we slept in and had a leisurely morning getting ready and hanging out. About noon, we decided to see if there was anything to do in this town - or if it was in fact just a "mid-way" point between By Paso and Ft. Worth.

So Mike was in charge of mapping out a little sightseeing. Our expectations were low to begin with - but, we did want to give the city a chance. We ended up at the American Airpower Heritage Museum. Entering through the doors we found ourselves in the museum gift shop. The price of admission made both Mike and I scoff. I wondered if for that price I would get to ride in a B-52 or something. I mean, really...scoff, scoff (or should I say, squeek, squeek).

We decided to go for it anyway - and we are so glad that we did.

Now I will be honest with you - I wasn't terribly excited about spending the afternoon in a airpower heritage museum...there are a few hundred other things that I could think of that would be more fun for me. But hey, that's what us gals do for our men, right? I sacrifice many a chick-flick to cuddle up and watch "Band of Brothers" with Mike (to be honest, though it's a favorite in our DVD collection). I go out of my way to put war movies in the Netflix queue because I know that Mike will enjoy them. (In Mike's defense, he will gladly suffer through a chick-flick if I really want to see it). So, I pulled up my boot straps and walked on in to the museum.


WOW....this museum was so well done. Although there were some Vietnam era planes, the entire museum (all 40,000 square feet of it) was dedicated to the history of WWII airpower. There were incredible exhibits, mini-movies, artifacts, memorabilia, hands-on equipment as well as a research library and conservation lab. There were actual airplanes to see as well - including a B-29 Superfortress affectionately named "Fifi" (whose wheels were taller than Abby).

We spent quite awhile checking out this museum and we recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Midland, Tx. Please check out more photos of the museum by clicking here.

Later on in the eve, we decided we wanted to find another reason to like Midland. Mike was on the case again - this time, his goal was to find a local eatery that would serve up some BBQ.
"Sam's BBQ" on Scharbauer Dr. was selected for our dining pleasure. Once again, Mike hit a homerun. Although, there a moment of trepidation as well pulled up to the joint. It just seemed shabby and run down. Mike turned off the car and we sort of sat there a minute - the unspoken words flying back and forth. I saw a sign in the door that said, "smoking allowed" - that's my out, I thought to myself! I mentioned it to Mike (who is almost allergic to cigarette smoke)...."OHHH Noooo..." he said. "We should go somewhere else"...."Well, no...let's just go here"...."Well, if you really want to"...."Should we?". You know the drill...

Finally Mike just opened the door - I could almost hear Abby say, "Finally" under her breath. We stepped inside Sam's and the smell of mesquite filled our nostrils. OH YEAH. The place was just about as toe up on the inside as it was on the outside...but at this point our eyes were blinded by the lovely smells that were making their way into our noses. We sat down in a booth whose vinyl was duct taped together. We were handed a laminated piece of paper with a handful of choices (no kid menu and crayons here, baby). Nothing seemed to matter - we were in a mesquite-induced trance. We ordered - and in no time plates of food appeared before us. Let me just say this....there was no family chatter going on at this table. Just eating. It was good bbq.

We came to the register to pay and the waitress asked us if we enjoyed our meal. I couldn't help myself - I said to the waitress, "Well, as my Aunt Jan would say, 'it was so good it made me want to slap my mama's hand'". Not only did I say that, but I said it in my best southern accent. So it came out more like this, "it wuh so good it made me wana slap my mamas hayen"
Praise the Lord that the waitress thought that was funny because that could have been an awkward moment. It already was for Mike...

So - there you have it. Saturday in Midland, Tx. - in the books. Tomorrow we are off to Fort Worth for a much needed travel respite. We will be there for 3 weeks, then we have some more traveling planned. Don't stop checking the blog though - you can count on me for more meaningless commentary.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Praise: We can't believe how quickly the travel time goes - we feel this is an answer to prayer - thank you for those that are praying - it does make a difference!

2. Please pray for - yet again - safe travel...this time to Ft. Worth.

3. We have been praying for housing arrangements for our arrival in Tn. There are not alot of apartment complexes in TN...at least in the area where we are targeting. There is one complex that fits our criteria - but not sure if the one we are looking at would be available at the right time. Please pray that God would be preparing our place even now and that it would be clear to us which place is right (and that we would be open to whatever it is).

Lastly - I just want to say how much we love hearing from "home"....your emails and comments from the blog are bringing us joy on the road. We miss you guys and look forward to our next visit to CA.

Love you so much it makes me wanna slap my mama's hand.
(Hey Mom - it's just a figure of speech, ok?)

k

Today was our last full day in New Mexico...and we decided we would make it count!


We woke up bright and early and headed out to find a beautiful day in Albuquerque. Our first stop was Target to get rid of a gift card that was burning a hole in our pocket. After that stop, we drove to our next destination - an aquarium called, "Albuquerque Aquarium" (wow, someone really used some brain cells to come up with that name). Coming from the Bay Area (and originally being from San Diego), zoos and aquariums are usually a big let down for me. But this one was nicely done - not so big that you can't see everything and not so small that you feel cheated. Just right, really...


We got to see a very large variety of fish, sting rays, sharks, jelly fish and even 3 birds that were part of the ray exhibit (which I initially thought were fake until one of them took a jump into the water!) Speaking of stingrays, we got to watch one of the workers there feed the small sharks that were in the ray exhibit...

There was a model boat exhibit as well - also, an outdoor exhibit that included a real shrimpin' boat (I of course was not impressed with this since I saw tons of these almost every summer visiting in Louisiana). They had a nice theater that continuously ran documentaries. We happened to catch the one about Rio Grande - it was quite fascinating!

After exhausting ourselves at the aquarium, we headed over to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden. This was a really, really cool place - made especially cool because the weather was incredible! As you walk in the park, you are immediately drawn to a pathway that led to "Children's Fantasy Garden". This is a well put together exhibit where you, the visitor are made to feel the size of an ant! There is a fun maze, little nooks to explore, beautiful landscaping and even a fun slide. Lots of photo opportunities in this little mini wonderland (by the way, that's a shameless plug to encourage you to click here to see the pictures! ) Here's one of Abby hiding in the carrot patch (notice the ant off in the background):

After the botanical garden - our tanks needed a fill up. We hit a diner on Route 66 called, "Route 66 Malt Shop and Grill". This is one of those places where you first drive up and ask yourself, "do I really want to eat here?" It's a tad shabby on the outside - and small! We decided to take a chance on it and we are SO glad that we did. We sat at the soda fountain counter and chatted up the owner, Eric, most of the time. Mike and I each had a hamburger - and my opinion is that it's probably the best burger ever. Everything in the cafe is old school - they even sell phosphates, which are the original sodas (you mix a little syrup w/ plain soda water). They also make their own root beer which has won awards on a national level. We had quite a lengthy discussion with Eric about politics, cheeseburgers and music. The place was a definite gem - I would highly recommend it.

After lunch, we headed to base camp for some much needed resting and indoor activities.

For dinner - we opted for another local eatery called, "Rudy's 'Country Store' & BBQ". The food was incredible - only this time, we didn't quite have the warm, friendly atmosphere that we did at Route 66. Actually, I would compare it more to Seinfeld's soup nazi. You ever go to a place where you've never been before and have this weird feeling like you're supposed to do some odd ritual to get your grub? Well, that's kind of how we felt. I had to go to the counter and ask the gal what we were supposed to do to order. She seemed all spun out about my query - clearly they were not in need of my business because the place was packed with lots of people who knew what they were supposed to do! Anyway - it wasn't that big of a production after all, but the fact that I had to ask meant that now everyone behind the counter knew we were "not local". So - we wait in line and, as luck would have it, the register we wind up at is the same gal from before. NOW I had to ask her how I should order for my peeps because the menu is basically just a list of meat and prices. Again with the spinning out. Well, ok - she wasn't that bad...but she broke it down kind of fast, which made me all flustered. I just picked a few things and she rang it up. Can you believe that this family of 3 walked out of the place fairly full for $16?

Anyway - the whole serving process is kind of different. First, she put down this crate looking thing (they are the plastic holders that soda delivery guys bring cases of soda in). Then, she lines it with butcher paper. Then, she turns and gets the meat from the meat cutting guy and throws it on some more butcher paper. They give you more butcher paper to use as plates. And, the gal throws a bunch of wonder bread on top of everything and sends you on your way. The tables are set up family style and they are covered in red checked table clothes. Once we got settled on the table, started putting all the pieces together and actually ate the food, we decided it was WELL worth the cost of humiliation.

So - that's our day in a nutshell...

A few prayer items:

PRAISE: I can't believe the weather we've experienced....it's been truly beautiful everywhere we've gone, this has been a huge answer to prayer for us!

Please pray for our upcoming travels - tomorrow (Friday) is a long travel day (500 miles) and the routes that are available to take all have high wind (50mph) advisories. Traveling mercies are requested as well as some kind of time warping to make the trip go by fast :) We are headed off to Midland for a few days, then on to Fort Worth for an extended stay.

kisses, hugs, trout and pancakes,

k