Frankenmuth World Expo of Beer

On Friday, 18-May, Rosie, Doug and I drove from Midland to Frankenmuth to attend the World Expo of Beer. However, our first stop was at Zehnder's restaurant for dinner. Doug and I had the fried chicken; Rosie had walleye - so health conscious.

After dinner we drove to Bronner's - the world's largest Christmas ornament store. Rosie had time for some quick shopping. After Bronner's we headed for the beer expo.

Rosie and I both had fun hanging around the Expo with Doug.

However, we have to admit that for the second year our favorite stall was the cream soda - very sweet and non-alcoholic.

We left early - before things got too crazy, but we had fun at the Expo!

Butterfly Weed

Our butterfly weed in the backyard is especially beautiful this year. Enjoy!

Sweet Tea Cafe

In a local magazine, Rosie read about a restaurant in Bryant, AR, called The Sweet Tea Cafe. Their specials included classics such as fried chicken (with white gravy) and meat loaf. They also have fried okra, turnip greens and of course, green beans - all well seasoned.  Here's the sign at the entrance:

We have two data points to say that the food is delicious. Since Bryant is on the way to Little Rock, the Sweet Tea Cafe is a convenient lunch stop.   Here's Rosie after a delicious lunch:

 Beware visitors - the Sweet Tea Cafe may be on our list for upcoming visits.

04-MAY: Karen, Logan and Kayleigh Visit HSV

On Friday, 04-MAY, Karen, Logan and Kayleigh arrived in Little Rock (at the Hil-Billy Airport) for a weekend visit.  They arrived on Friday morning and we immediately drove to Hot Springs to do a bit of shopping.  After shopping we headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch.  Kayleigh had fun on the slide.  

After lunch both Logan and Kayleigh enjoyed their ice cream cones.  Bummer - I didn't get a single bite.

On Saturday we went boating on Lake Coronado.  Karen and Kayleigh enjoyed the wind in their hair.

Logan had a great time "driving" the boat.  He likes to go fast!

Kayleigh had fun driving but wanted to know the way back to the car.

After church on Sunday morning, we headed to Terrace on the Greens for their Sunday brunch.  As usual, it was delicious.  When we got home, we changed into our swim suits and headed for Balboa beach.  It was a warm day, but the water felt good.

On Sunday evening, Rosie, Karen and I led the Barcelona Road congregation in four songs (Kayleigh joined us for the last song).  Rosie and I were really excited that Karen could sing with us.  It was great to have her here.

On Monday morning we packed the gang up and headed to Little Rock and the Hil-Billy Airport (FYI - the LR airport's name was changed to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport.  To the locals, it's more affectionately known as the Hil-Billy Airport).

Thanks to Karen, Logan and Kayleigh for a fun visit. 

HSV Trails Scavenger Hunt

Hot Springs Village has over 20 miles of trails throughout the Village.  We also have a Trails Committee that plans new trails, helps maintain the current trails and promotes use of the existing trails.  To get HSV residents more familiar with the multiple trails in the Village, the Trails Committee recently sponsored a scavenger hunt.  The Committee published eight photos of items that could be found on 8 different trails.  Folks who find all eight items, indicate which trail they are on, and turn in their sheets will get a free lunch at the Balboa Pavilion.  Well, never one to pass up a free meal, Rosie and I joined up with Kay Ford's tour to the various sites on the trails.  Kay and her husband, Nelson, had already found all eight of the sites and she lead our group.  Maybe that's a bit of cheating, but we did get on all the trails and actually walked to every site.  So, in reality we were exposed to Village trails - some we had never been on before.

Here's a picture of our group at the first marker on the Hernando trail (off Desoto Blvd.):

Some of our group had to leave before we finished.  Here we are at the final spot (exposed tree roots) on the trail next to the Desoto golf course:

Since we finished near the west end of the Village and it was lunch time, Rosie and I headed off to the Shack.  Most of the group went to Sonic - how boring!

Thanks to Kay for coordinating and leading our small group.  We had a great time and learned some new trails.

April 1 / HSV Day at Oaklawn Park Race Track

Sunday, 01-APR, was Hot Springs Village Day at the Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR.  Villagers got free parking, free entrance into the track and a $2.00 voucher (for betting or simply taking the money - we took the money).  So - after church on Sunday, Rosie and I made a quick stop by home to change clothes and head out to Oaklawn Park.  Here's the "well trained horse" at the entrance to the track.

We enjoyed watching the owners and trainers getting the horses ready for the race.

The horses are heading for the gate.  Looks like a parade to me!

The winning horse had a comfortable lead at the finish line.

 The track infield was really nice.

We also went to the restaurant on the second floor (based on input from track regulars) to get a corned beef sandwich for lunch.  The sandwich was delicious; much better than the one we got during our last visit to the track (two years ago during HSV day).

We had great weather and stayed at Oaklawn for about 1.5 hrs before heading off for other errands in Hot Springs.  

Azeleas at Garvan Woodland Gardens

On Friday, 30-MAR, Rosie and I stopped by Garvan Woodland Gardens to see the azaleas.  The azaleas plus other flowering trees were beautiful.

Here's Rosie by a flowering tree at the start of our tour.

The view down the trail was really colorful.

We always enjoy the Japanese lantern.

Here's Rosie with some of the azaleas.

I'm sitting in front of white and pink azaleas.

We also saw some pretty wildflowers.

Rosie got a nice photo of a butterfly landing on red azaleas.

The carp were also busy searching for food.  These guys were so big we could see them from above the carp pond.

It was a great day at Garvan Gardens!