Forida Day Three

We visited Alys Beach and Rosemary beach on our third day. There was a red tide warning that kept us from enjoying the beach, but we still had a good day.

On the Road to Florida- Days One and Two

Our drive to Florida was certainly interesting. Halfway through Arkansas, our check engine light came on and in fabulous Jenny style, I freaked out and made us stop at a Sedalia AutoZone for an inspection. It was interesting watching people who didn't really know what they were doing try to diagnose car trouble. They said it was a knock sensor---  which seemed like  a pretty serious thing, I called the Hyundai dealership in Destin for some recommendations about what to do. The mechanic couldn't necessarily recommend that we continue on, but the check engine light wasn't flashing, so it might not be a serious problem. It could be something as simple as oxygen in the gas tank. We filled up with higher octane gasoline and  kept going. 

After about two hours of heart palpitations and heavy breathing,  we made a stop in Memphis to collect my "You are here" Starbucks mugs. We had never been to Memphis before, but I chose a location near our route so that we didn't have to drive around a lot. There was one spot left int he parking lot, so Josh slid right in after doing a u-turn on the busy street. When I went in the store, they had TWO mugs: Tennessee and Memphis. Score!

Plus, when we started the car to leave, the check engine light was off and never came back on. Double Score! It felt a little scary in Memphis because we were in the middle of rush hour, on a bumpy road, in an unfamiliar sketchy area, but we powered on and made it to our overnight destination at the Holiday Inn  Express.  Fulton, Mississippi seems like a nice little southern town, from what we could tell. The room was really nice, but the WIFI had problems, as in it wouldn't work. We were only there overnight, so we didn't press the issue and took it as a sign to get more rest. 

We went to Homer's barbecue for dinner. The place was packed after 8 pm, so we took it as a good sign, but the food was really only okay.  I got the pork chops and they were super salty, but it hit the spot after a long, stressful drive.

In the morning, we enjoyed an awesome continental breakfast at the hotel. Holiday Inn Express sure does know how to do breakfasts, in our opinion. They had just about everything you can think of: bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits, gravy, omelets, yogurts, cereal, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls. Their cinnamon rolls are to die for! (I think we are going to make Holiday Inn Express our go-to hotel.)

The drive for the rest of the day, was pretty low key. We had a lot of fun taking Snapchat (Whereverweland)  photos with the location filters throughout our trip. The drive is scenic with cypress trees all around and windy roads. It doesn't fit my picture of Florida, but it's still a nice ride.

We only had a few hours to go and ended up in Florida around noon.  We couldn't check into our condo until 4 PM, so we grabbed some lunch at the Okaloosa Island Pier.  We really enjoyed staying on Okaloosa Island last year and I recommend staying there again. There are beautiful views and we really get the beach vibe there.

We went to Anglers first thing last year and we are starting to make it a tradition. Last time. they had these delicious soft shell crabs--- fried up golden and crunchy. I will never forget the taste of those buggers. But, they couldn't get a good supply of those this year, so they were no longer on the menu. Instead, I had a fish platter and it was just as good. The french fries are something to write home about--- seasoned and fried perfectly. The food isn't really even the best thing about this place. It has a view of the pier and Okaloosa Island Beaches where you could just sit for hours gazing out at the ocean. It's the perfect way to start your vacation.

We still had time to kill after lunch, so we headed to Destin Yarn Shop-- which is one of the main destinations on my trip. It was my birthday weekend, so I may have went a little overboard, but I won't tell, if you don't. 

Can you believe I didn't even get any pictures of our condo? It was on the Choctawhatchee Bay and had some wonderful views. The condo was small, but neat a clean. It was located in a hotel which was a little weird, but it was safe, cheap, and quiet, for the most part. It had great views of the bay where you can watch fish jumping and boats skirting across the water.

After we got settled in, we took a visit to the Destin Board Walk. We didn't get any photos, but you can view our vlog which has a little bit of time there.  If you get the chance, I recommend that you check it out. There are shops, activities, coffee, sweets, and a really long pier with boat after fishing boat. During the daytime it's the perfect change to see dolphins, pelicans, jellyfish, and other marine life. We really enjoying walking up and down it and manage to get in tons of steps in.

It was a long day and we were really in the mood for hanging out at our condo, so we decided to pick up some sandwiches from Publix on our way back. We love Publix and have heard from the Connerton Adventures that they have some of the best sandwiches, so we couldn't pass at the chance to hit them up. (No lie there, they are really good and the staff at Publix was super sweet and chatty while making them.)

If you get the chance, we did vlog our trip. I have included the Youtube video below. It's really fun (and silly) to vlog and I feel like you get a good sense for our goofiness. (Please subscribe to our channel.)

Morning Walks

We have a wonderful park near our house and I used to be in the habit of getting up early and taking a walk. It's pretty therapeutic and I often find the strangest things to take photos of.

Josh hasn't joined me lately because he like to get into work early, but Dugout and I usually make a few rounds around the block.

I liked these photos enough to keep them on my phone, so I decided to share them with you. You just never know what you are going to find in our neighborhood. That's for sure!

I think it's kind of fun to look back at what I take photographs of. Was I thinking about who wears this shoe? Where they looking for it later? Did a little girl sneakily toss it out the car window?

I hope you found your phone

I have gotten out of the practice of morning walks, but I definitely want to start up again and I think this serves as a reminder.

Arrow Rock Heritage Festival

We went to the Arrow Rock  Heritage festival on Saturday. It was an interesting ride. As we drove over the Missouri river bluffs, the road was covered in a thick gray fog- a beautiful sight. The festival is set in an historic town that played a big roll in the Santa Fe Trail. My family, the Boones, were a big part of development in the area and if you visit the visitor center, you will learn a lot about them and the Santa Fe trail.

The parking for Arrow Rock Heritage Festival was in the state historical site.  If you view our vlog, you will see that we had to off road it a little in the Hyundai and then take a bus to Main Street. This didn't take long and it was fun to ride in a school bus. I never realized how little the seats are. I'm a little person as it is, but I was still scrunched.

Arrow Rock's Main Street has stone ditches. Trust me that it is not a good idea to run your car over them. The festival was bustling with all sorts of vendors  dressed in historical garb and selling anything from wool to pottery. I particularly liked the Modest Goat's lotion booth-- with a free peek of goats included. I have the lotion on right now and it's the only thing that keeps my elbows from itching.

This is the first time we have really had a chance to really immerse ourselves into the Arrow Rock historical culture. All of the building we open and they had rein-actors teaching you about what the area was like at the time when people were traveling on the Santa Fe trail.

Print Shop

Gun Shop

There were so many shops! We visited the print shop, gun shop. surgery and herbalist. The herbalist was super friendly and could talk your ear off for hours about comfrey root.  We managed to escape when we heard shots outside. There was a good old fashioned shoot out, complete with a robbery and deaths.

Shoot out

The food! There were baked goods, roasted nuts, and your standard fair food like brats and hamburgers. Josh and I both had a huge bratwurst and chips. I vlogged about our lunch, but that wasn't the best part.

It was the yarn. The festival had both knitted projects, yarn, and fiber available. I was able to get some homespun yarn and cochineal died wool.  They even had a spinning demonstration. The lady and her mom go around the different events like this and teach people about spinning. Since I am a knitter, this is my bread a butter. We also took a gander at A Grand Yarn-- my favorite yarn store in the area. I couldn't go to Arrow Rock without stopping there.

At the end our day, we made our way to the end of town  to a lookout that viewed the Missouri river in the distance. I think it was would be the perfect place to have a picnic! We had a great day. We usually do!

Last little Dixie Visit for the fall and our first hiking Vlog

Fall is sweeping in and we wanted to make one last visit to Little Dixie this year. As much as I have been there over the years, I have never really walked around the lake. I usually take my camp chair and park in a spot with an incredible view. Josh, on the other hand, usually walks all over the place when he is fishing alone.

I am going to miss this place the most when we leave Columbia. It's always felt like home here. I love watching the sunset. I love going fishing when it's way to cold and the wind hits against my face. I love watching Josh cast back and forth. I love the loose dogs and the geese who poop everywhere. I love the smell and the boats.

On this adventure, I had another mission to accomplish too. I needed some photos of my knitted hat for my knitting blog. The hat has since been ripped out because the yarn is too thick to be comfortable, but Josh did manage to capture me in all my glory.

Afterwards, we went out to eat at Okii Mama, a neat little Asian place in town. I have never had Orange Chicken that tastes like oranges before--- and I was pleasantly surprised. In true Jenny fashion, I didn't get any picture--- I am going to have to get better at that--- but if you watch our vlog you will get a better recap.

I was our first hiking vlog and we had a lot of fun filming it. I hadn't gotten our camera yet, so I held my phone up on a selfie stick. It seems to work out well, but I know that I am definitely going to have to work on that shaky screen.

Traveling Vietname Memorial Vlog

It's our first Vlog. We took a trip to the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall and ate at Prison Brews in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The Traveling Wall was surreal and humbling to look at. It seems cliche, but to think that all of these people fought for our freedom.

My Parent's Anniversary Party

My Mom

My Parents had an anniversary party and I am usually too involved with playing with my nieces, Londyn and Big Mak,  to even snap a picture. I managed to get a few this time around, but I didn't get any of them together. Go figure. So all you get is my mom.

It was a nice party, held at a park in Wentzville, Missouri with barbecue: pulled pork, garlic bread, coleslaw, and cupcakes. When they got married, they had their reception at a park too, so it seemed fitting. If Josh and I would have had a wedding reception, I would have probably done it the same way, beer, friends, and barbecue.

My mom put together a wedding scrapbook and included a hilarious letter that I wrote about the wedding. In the letter, I mostly complained about my dad's girlfriend and calling Rick, my step-dad, a bit of a loser (to paraphrase). For the record, he is not a loser and never was. At the time, he was a hard working man that even had to ride his bike miles to work at one point. From the letter, I have gathered that not much has changed about my writing. I'm still quite frank and not very poetic.

During the party, I wandered around with my nieces to the World Horseshoe Hall of Fame. Yes, there is such a thing and it's in Wentzville, Mo. The volunteer wasn't quite sure what we were doing in there and followed us around like a hawk, but I finally realized my nieces were more interested in a playground than horseshoes, so we moved on.

My niece, Londyn

I also got a good session of jump rope in. (Again, no pictures. I wasn't even planning to blog this, but we want our memories to be here.) I didn't realize how much your body parts jiggle every time you jump up an down. I couldn't look at my niece, Londyn,  with a straight face because she was pretty grossed out/laughing at me jump roping.

After the party is what I will remember the most. We helped clean up and I got to see and chat with my parents. My nieces went crazy with the ice and threw it all over the play ground. Those girls are so fun to be around. I never thought that nieces would be this awesome, but I usually just try to roll my sleeves up and join right in.

And Josh, He just chilled out, as usual. I had to get a couple of pictures in.

I'm glad we went. My mom and I haven't always get along well and I think this help soothe the wounds between us. I feel nothing but affection for that day and I hope to be able to spend time with my family more.