Weekend Fun

I had a wonderful weekend! We went hiking in NC on Friday and Saturday since it finally quit raining. Of course it was hot and humid but I still enjoyed it.

Then today I got up early and cleaned out my backyard shed. It took me 6 hours but I feel so proud of myself. I took everything out of the shed and while doing that I found a dead snake which kind of freaked me out. I asked my hubby to come out and watch in case I came across a live one that bit me but luckily that didn’t happen. Of course the mosquitoes love him and immediately swarmed him so he had to run back inside. Not to mention that he hates snakes and spiders so he was relieved to run back in the house. Instead of finding another snake, I did find two mice that scared me but I finally got them out of the shed. There was so much dirt and “stuff” from the squirrels and mice that I practically had to shovel the gunk out. When I finally got done, I ended up with about twenty bags of trash and 15 dried up old paint cans. Now I will have to call the landfill tomorrow to find out how to get rid of all of this. I sprayed for bugs but I think I will still have to put down some mouse bait to keep the mice out.

Now that I’ve finally made some room in the shed, I can get some of the junk out of my house, especially all my classroom stuff that has been cluttering up my formal diningroom! If I only could keep my hubby from finding any more junk…I mean treasures!

Summer Plans

Blog Prompt - It's the beginning of summer time for most of us. I would love to hear what your favorite things you love to do in the summer and if you have special plans.

I will be teaching two grad courses this summer for Furman University. The courses are Nature of Learning Disabilities and Practicum in Learning Disabilities. I’m really excited about teaching both of these courses. Since retiring from teaching in public school, I feel like I can continue to make a difference by teaching teachers. It is more like a fantastic hobby for me rather than a job.
Since my classes only meet Monday through Thursday, I hope we do a lot of hiking and camping on the three day weekends. I also hope to catch up with some friends for lunch since my class is over by lunchtime.
I also plan to do a lot of gardening. My six large flower beds call for lots of maintenance and so by the time I get done weeding in one bed, it is time to move to the next one. Watering them also takes time too but I use the time to enjoy looking at my flowers.

Hamburgers

Blog Prompt - Today is National Hamburger Day. Tell me how you like your hamburgers and if you have a favorite restaurant burger, tell me about it and I would love to see a picture of it.

I love hamburger but I don’t like mustard. When I grew up in the north, they didn’t put mustard on hamburgers but they do in the south so I always have to order it special without mustard. If I want to splurge, my favorite toppings on a hamburger are mushrooms and cheese but I usually don’t spend the extra money for that. If I make a hamburger at home, I just put ketchup and pickles on it. When we traveled across the country, we ate lots of hamburgers at fast food places because it was quick and easy and I knew what to expect. When we were in Texas, the hamburgers were SO big that I usually had to cut it in half just to pick it up. The surprising thing was that the price was not any different than the price I pay for a regular hamburger at home although they are much smaller. But I really don’t have a favorite restaurant for burger. Any burger will do.

Original image: 'Cheeseburger with Mushrooms with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion and Pickles on the Side' http://www.flickr.com/photos/10176719@N00/424622476 by: ira

The Good Humor Truck

Blog Prompt - Today is National Grape Popsicle Day and tell me about your favorite Popsicle or ice cream treat as a child.

When I was a little girl, the Good Humor truck used to go past our house every evening. If you have previous posts, you will remember that I was a very spoiled little girl. So, it is not surprising that many nights when I heard the music from the truck, I wanted an ice cream. My favorite thing to get was a Mickey Mouse ice cream cone. It would be a ice cream cone with a cherry for a nose and non pareil chocolate wafers for it’s ears. I think that was the only thing I ever wanted from the ice cream truck.

Original image: 'Good Humor Man - Nostalgia' http://www.flickr.com/photos/20801313@N00/2609031486 by: Bob Jagendorf

I am Woman, Hear Me Roar!

Blog Prompt - Today is Sally Ride's birthday, the first American woman in space. Can you tell me what your greatest achievement is you have accomplished as a woman.

I just love that Helen Reddy song: I am Woman so I thought it would make a great title to this post. I miss songs like that from the good ol’ days (sigh!).



I think my greatest achievement as a woman has been to be named a Top 10 finalist for 2006 Teacher of the Year in my district. It was not just a great achievement for me as a woman but also as an Asian American. I don’t remember seeing another Asian in the top 10 but there could have been and I just don’t know it. Usually at the high schools that I’ve taught at, I have seen men at the school named Teacher of the Year and some go on to the district level. I was truly surprised to find I was chosen for my school and then named one of the top 10. In fact, I was out of the state at a conference when I was given this award and started to receive congratulatory emails about it. It was the high point in my career for me.

A Dulcimer

Blog Prompt - Today is Buy a Musical Instrument day. Tell me about the instrument you would love to learn how to play.

I love music and like learning new things so I hope someday to learn how to play a dulcimer. When we go to a lot of country festivals I see dulcimers for sale in booths and can hear the beautiful music it makes. My husband is willing for me to look into buying one but I’m not sure I’m totally committed to learning it right now but I foresee it happening sometime in the future.

Here is a video I found on Youtube that shows a man playing the Dulcimer:

Donating Blood

Blog Prompt - Today is American Red Cross was established on this day in 1873. Have you ever given blood? If so, tell me about your experience.

No, I’ve never given blood but it’s not because I haven’t wanted to do it. My mother and sister died from lupus and my other sister has lupus. Plus most of my relatives on my mother’s side have lupus. I am the only one in the family that we know of that doesn’t have it yet so blood banks won’t take my blood. I do donate blood to research to help them try to find a cure for lupus so someday people won’t have to go through what my family has gone through. I don’t know if I’m just lucky or if I carry it, but I would not want to give any lupus through my blood.

Original image: 'The Best Gifts' http://www.flickr.com/photos/17731548@N00/2620495354 by: Bart

My Favorite Childhood TV Show

Blog Prompt - Did you have a favorite TV show as a child or youth? Or radio show?

I think my favorite show as The Wonderful World of Disney which came on Sunday nights at 7pm. I loved to watch the peacock feathers change colors to let us know the show was in color. My whole family watched this together (except my father who was working on Sunday nights) and I didn’t have to go to bed until after it was over. All of the stories were so family oriented (kids today would call them hokey) and I loved them. During the week I would pretend to be one of the characters I watched and add to their adventures. I wish they made more family shows like that today.

Original image: 'The Magic of Disney' http://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00/459418289 by: Trey Ratcliff

Comfy Clothes

Blog Prompt - The clothes that we wear some what describe our personality. Tell me about your favorite clothes.

During the cold months I love wearing my blue jeans and a long sleeve tshirt. If I’m still cold I through on my hoodie sweatshirt. During the warmer months I love wearing shorts and a tshirt. These are my most comfortable clothes now that I’m retired. It is so nice not to have to dress up every day. When I had to dress for teaching, I couldn’t wait to come home and put on a tshirt and blue jeans.

Original image: 'the blues' http://www.flickr.com/photos/71815015@N00/2824472748 by: Susanne Koch

Pickles

Blog Prompt - It's International Pickle Week and I would love to hear about the pickles you love best.

I like sweet pickles better than dill pickles but I really like them all. I like pickles on my hamburgers and chic-fil-a sandwiches. If I have a hot dog, I love to put relish on it but if there is no relish, I will just eat it plain. I really like sweet pickle cubes in my tuna or chicken salad. If I go to a salad bar and they have sweet pickle slices, I will get a spoonful of them to eat. Sometimes though, I will eat a dill pickle as a snack because they are good for you if you are trying to lose weight.

Original image: 'Home Made Dills' http://www.flickr.com/photos/22281867@N04/2977032140 by: Rosemary Bliss

Military Thanks

Blog Prompt - This weekend is Armed Forces today. This holiday is celebrated by many countries and I would love to hear about someone you know who you admire in the Armed Forces.

I have a couple of online friends whose husbands are in the military (Monica and Meg). I appreciate the sacrifices that these men are making for me and I can see this through Monica’s blog: Daily Dwelling and Meg’s blog: The Pages of Our Crazy Life. Both women are alone with their children on a daily basis while their husband’s are away missing this time with their families. I truly admire both families for doing all they do and sharing their lives with me through their blogs. I have never had to be away from my husband except for 2 times in the 30 years that we have been together and I don’t think I could do it. All I can say is Thank You Monica and Meg and your families for all the sacrifices you make to keep me safe and free. I could never say in words how much I appreciate you!

Original image: 'First Phasers' http://www.flickr.com/photos/46042146@N00/1065156117 by: Randy

Mouse Trap and Mondays

Blog Prompt - Today is Frog Jumping Day. Was there a favorite game you use to play when you were a child? Describe how you played the game.

I remember the game called Mouse Trap. You played the game and put the mouse trap together. At the end I think you rolled the marble that set off the whole contraption and trapped the mouse. I loved to play it but it was hard to get anyone else to play it with me since my sisters were 10 and 12 years older than me. I think they had come out with it again not too long ago but it wasn’t as popular as when I was a child.

Blog Prompt - I’m taking a survey. What is your favorite day of the week and tell me why?
I have always enjoyed Mondays, which I know makes me an odd ball from everyone else in the world. After teaching for 30 years, I have looked forward to my regular routine on Mondays after the weekend. I worried about my students and their weekends so I was glad to see them on Mondays and I think they felt the same way. Mondays were always a good day in my special ed classroom because I think we were all glad to see each other. I am the type of person who loves routines so weekends and holidays were actually stressful for me. I loved the time away from work but I was glad to go back.

Now that I’m retired, I still like Mondays. We don’t do a lot of hiking or fun things on the weekends because it is more crowded or there are more people on the road. We wait until Mondays when we know people are at work and school. Even grocery shopping is easier on Mondays than the weekends.

Original image: 'Congo Tree Frog' http://www.flickr.com/photos/87578095@N00/99497027 by: Nick Hobgood

Cherished Memories

Blog Prompt - You are spring cleaning and you find something that has been hidden for a very long time. It's something you cherish, but you are wanting to get rid of things that are clogging up your home. Will you have difficulty letting go?

No, I would not give it up. I have trouble giving memories up and you can tell if you saw my house. I save lots of things and love looking at them to reminisce about the times in my life from that item. I have an attic, office, shed, and rented storage building full of memories (not just mine, but my husband’s too). Now that I’m retired, all of my classroom stuff is in my formal diningroom. I keep promising that I will go through this stuff as soon as I have time. This summer I hope to clean out the shed and put our “yard sale” stuff in it (if we ever have a yard sale). This will give me room in the storage building for my classroom memories. We’ll see…

Mother’s Day

Blog Prompt - Let me know what special thing you did for Mothers Day.

We didn’t do anything special for Mother’s Day which suited me perfectly!

We arrived home late Saturday from our 52 day trip so I was feeling pretty tired. We had planned on going hiking in NC for the day but decided we were too pooped and had to go grocery shopping or we wouldn’t have anything to eat. We ended up with almost $200 worth of groceries but that was okay since we were replenishing a lot of basic things we needed. Now our pantry and refrigerator is stocked so we should be good for the week.

Then we spent the day watching movies and I knitted. That is, when I wasn’t eating! I also got Mother’s Day well wishes from my daughters, and other family members.

In the evening, my next door neighbor called and wanted to go walking which we did. It is a great way to get exercise and catch up on the stuff that has been going on.

It was a wonderful Mother’s Day.

(I posted my trip reflections HERE if you are interested in them.)

Original image: 'Mom and the two Kids.' http://www.flickr.com/photos/80835774@N00/125300323 by: Vearl Brown

Foods and Adventure Day 51

Blog Prompt - List a few types of foods that you have never eaten and would like to try.

I have to admit that I love food and there isn’t any food that I want to try unless I don’t know about it yet. I’ve eaten lots of food that I know I don’t want to try. Sometimes we watch Andrew Zimmerman on the travel channel and I know that I don’t want to try some of the disgusting things he eats. When he can’t eat something, I know it must be pretty bad! I think I’m a pretty picky eater but my husband is more adventurous than I am. He will try practically anything at least once. If I don’t like the looks, smells, or expressions on other people’s faces, I’m not eating it!

Travel Notes:

We headed towards Springfield, IL this morning and went to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I really was surprised how technology advanced this museum was. We went to two shows that used special effects and technology which really enthralled the audience. Since there were school groups in the theater, I was able to see how fascinated they were by the show. One show explained the importance of a presidential library and I thought it was explained in a very interesting way. Many of the exhibits were life sized which really help put scenes in perspective. Lots of exhibits involved action and sound which kept my attention. This was actually one of my favorite libraries that we have visited.

After leaving the library we headed towards Kentucky but hit lots of traffic and rain along the way. I’m ready for sun, warmth, and home, I think. Not sure when we will be home, but it is nice to be closer.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Say Cheese and Adventure Day 50

Blog Prompt - When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say? So what do you do to get your kids or group of people to say when you are taking their picture?

I usually offer to take pictures of groups of tourists so that everyone can be in the picture. Of course it is nice when someone in the group offers to return the favor. While I am taking the picture, my husband is usually standing behind me making weird gestures around my head which makes everyone laugh.

Travel Notes:

Today was a rainy day and it rained off and on most of the day. We arrived at the Hoover Presidential Library around 10am and toured the museum. It was a pretty good museum and I would recommend it to others. I was surprised how brilliant he was and how many good things he had done in his life time. Whenever I had heard about him, he was always connected with the Great Depression. It doesn’t seem like he was the cause of it but had to deal with the results of the causes.

After lunch, we found some antique stores to investigate and that took a couple of hours. My husband found some more treasures so he was happy. Then we headed down the road towards Springfield, Illinois. We ended up stopping for the night in Lincoln, Illinois.

At least I had time to start knitting my socks in the car. I got the cuff done and I like the way it looks but now the hard part begins. I can only hope that I get home soon so I can meet my knitting group to ask for help!

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

School Nurse and Adventure Day 49

Blog Prompt - Today is National School Nurse Day. Do you remember your school nurse and do you have a story about her.

We had a wonderful motherly school nurse at the high school where I taught. She was very motherly and nurturing which is why I talked to her every day. It was about that time that my father was dating and I was glad see him happy and recovering from my mother’s death. When I called him and his girlfriend, I suggested that they move in together instead of paying for two separate homes. Instead of agreeing, they said that they wanted to talk to me and my sister in person to make an announcement. Of course, the first thing I thought of, since I taught high school, I immediately thought of pregnancy. I rushed to the school nurse to talk to her about it and she almost rolled on the ground laughing. You see, my dad was almost 70 and his girlfriend (now my step mom) was 65! She told me that I had nothing to worry about and to calm down. That summer, they announced that they were getting married in December.

Travel Notes:

Today was an okay day. We drove to the Strategic Air and Space Museum which was nice. While we were there, it thundered and lightning which scares me. When we left, the sun had come out. We headed east on I-80 and stopped in a little town called Walnut, Iowa which had a bunch of antique stores. Don enjoyed going to a lot of them and he found old postcards to buy. When we left there we headed towards Des Moines for the night since it was getting so late.

After getting a hotel room, we looked for a Walmart to get our oil changed on the car. Usually we have no problems with Walmart so felt confident that we would have no problems. It started out bad when the guy didn’t speak English and I had to take his little machine and fill out the information myself. Then he couldn’t start my car or find the odometer. He wanted to start pressing all the buttons he could find to try to read the odometer and I practically had to yell at him to stop. Then he wanted to know what oil he should put in etc. and we got such a bad feeling about the situation that we decided to cancel the request and leave.

Then I decided I wanted to go to PFChang for dinner since it was on the map that the hotel gave us. Unfortunately I am directionally challenged and it took us forever to find the restaurant. While we were there, a huge lightning and thunderstorm occurred. Of course going through 2 in one day was not the best feeling.

When we returned to the hotel, I found a guest laundry and it took forever to wash two loads of wash. They only had one washer and dryer so I was in and out of the room a bunch of times. Now I’m pooped!

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Comedy and Adventure Day 48 (SD, MN, IA, NE)

Blog Prompt - Sunday was World Laughter Day. Tell me about your favorite movie that makes you laugh out loud.

My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci really makes me laugh. I think the main reason is that the judge in the movie reminds me so much of my husband and his court. We really like to watch it and get a good laugh. It is really funny that the funny parts in court are things that really happen.

Travel Notes:

We left Oacoma, SD this morning and stopped in Mitchell, SD at the Corn Palace. It was a really cool place! The building is decorated with real colored corn. Every year they have a new theme and the building is redone in corn which costs about $130,000 each year. I’ve never seen anything like it before! Don also found some antique stores to go to so he was happy. Down the street from the corn palace was Ben Franklin crafts where I found some yarn.

After we left South Dakota, I decided rather than heading south, I wanted to go a little ways into Minnesota. When we got to the visitor center, the lady told us that Pipestone National Monument was only 30 miles north and since we had never heard of it or been to it, we had to go see it. Of course she was really excited that we might see some bison who were calving. She mentioned how excited she was to see a bison with the afterbirth hanging down when she drove by (not my idea of a great sight but I may be weird.) Pipestone National Monument is a sacred Native Indian place where they quarry the pipestone to make the peace pipes. We did a short hike around the nature trail and then headed south.

We went south to Le Mars, IA which is the Ice Cream Capital of the World. It is the home to Blue Bunny ice cream so of course we had to stop and eat some of course! The Wells Dairy sells more ice cream for one company in one city than any other place in the world.

After that we headed to Sioux City, IA where we will spend the night. I didn’t know that this city is actually on the border of Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Grocery Items and Adventure Day 47

Blog Prompt - Standing in a grocery line you notice bizarre or unusual combination's of things people buy (for example: toilet paper, kiwi fruit, and a package of manila envelopes). What has been the weirdest combination of items you have bought at the store?

We always buy weird stuff because we have been grocery shopping once a week. I usually try to buy the stuff we need for meals and include healthy things for snacks. Then my husband throws in all the junk food he thinks he might want at any given time. So when the clerk rings it up, usually the fat free yogurt is beside the chocolate cake and the skim milk is beside the ice cream. Sugar free stuff is usually by the potato chips and so on.

Travel Notes:

We got to the Minuteman Missile NHS headquarters early so we went to the Badlands and did a short hike. It was very pretty but the wind was blowing. Then we met at the headquarters for our 9am tour. Chris, the ranger, was wonderful! He really knew his stuff and seemed very enthusiastic about his subject. We drove out to the Launch Control Facility and took an elevator down to where the capsule is. In the capsule two people, on 12 hour shifts, had the power to turn the keys that were part of the missile launch. Two other people at another location had to turn their keys too in order for the missile to actually launch. It was really amazing to see this. Then we drove to the missile silo and saw a test missile down in the ground in the silo. It was really scary to think these missiles could have ended our world. The ranger mentioned that there are still about 450 missiles in the US.

After our tour, we returned to the Badlands and did some more hiking. The terrain was very different from the other national parks that we had been to. I’m glad we took the time to see this but it wasn’t my favorite national park.

After the park, we headed east on I-90 and crossed into the Central time zone. We ended up stopping in Oacoma, SD because Don saw signs for antique stores. We ended up spending a couple of hours in the stores so we had to get a hotel room in town. We like to get a room by 6pm before it gets dark and we get tired and cranky.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Adventure Day 46 – South Dakota

Today we headed up the road and had our last look of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We stopped in Rapid City but most everything was closed since it was early Sunday morning. We went to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum which was right outside Ellsworth Air Force Base. It was a free museum and really interesting. If anyone lives near here or is going by, it is worth stopping to look around.

After lunch, we headed to the Badlands National Park. We stopped in Wall to see the famous Wall Drug store (they have ads along the interstate like the old Burma Shave ads). Then we drove the scenic loop around the Badlands. It was really different than the other parks we have seen. We stopped at the newly renovated visitor center in Interior, SC and watched the movie about the park.

After the park, we headed back to Wall which was the closest place we could find with lodging. It actually makes my town of Fountain Inn look like a big city! We needed to stay close because tomorrow morning we have reservations for the Minuteman Missile NHS. They will take us to the launch facility and the launch control room.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Adventure Day 45 - South Dakota

We spent the night in Hot Springs which is known for The Mammoth Site which is an ongoing archaeological dig famous for digging up Mammoths. This morning we went to Wind Cave National Park and took the Natural Entrance Tour ($9 per person) and it lasted about 1 ½ hours. The passageways were very narrow but we got a good lot the box work up close. There were only 20 of us and it was a nice group. We met one guy from Kentucky who moved to Hot Springs and would be working at this park. After the tour, we went to Custer for lunch.

Then we headed to Jewel Cave National Monument to see how this cave differs from Wind Cave. Since we had a National Park pass, we took the Discovery Tour for free and we got an overview of the caves which lasted about 20 minutes. While we listened to the park ranger, we saw lots of stairs and levels that went deep into the caves. So, when this tour was over, we bought tickets for the Scenic Tour into the cave which went deeper into the cave and was supposed to last 1 hr. and 15 min. But 2 hours later, we returned from the tour which was wonderful. I took way too many pictures!

We got a room in Custer, SD outside of Mt. Rushmore. We saw Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial. I had imagined that Mt. Rushmore would have been bigger than it was. For dinner, we ate at the Elk Canyon restaurant and the food was really good. We hope to do Devil’s Tower in Wyoming tomorrow and then spend the night in Rapid City.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.

Aunt Het Day and Adventure Day 44 – Colorado/Wyoming/South Dakota

Blog Prompt - Today is May 1st and is Lei Day in Hawaii. When I lived there it was a day off at school, lots of parades, everyone dressed in traditional Hawaiian clothing and our school put on a pageant. Tell me about your favorite local festival.

Our town has a festival the first weekend of October every year called Aunt Het Festival. Aunt Het is a character in a comic strip created by Robert Quillen, a Fountain Inn native. Main Street is closed off and lined with vendors of all kinds. Since We are such a small town, it is neat to see everyone you know and visit in the streets. I especially like it because I live one block off Main Street and we just walked to the festival which lasts all day Saturday.

Travel Notes:

Today we drove downtown Denver to refill a prescription and found the only CVS pharmacy in the state of Colorado. Thank goodness! It was filled without any problems and we were on our way before 9am. As we headed north on I-25, we came to Ft. Collins around 10am and the brewery tours just started so we stopped for the tour. While waiting for it to begin, we shopped in the store and found a train car for Don. It was the only one that they had and it was on sale so we bought it. The tour was nice and we got free samples of beer at the end. I tried a Bud Lite Lime which was really very good.

Then we headed into Wyoming which was a long, boring ride. There was nothing to see or do for a long time. We finally found a small town to eat lunch in. On the way, I called the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and made a reservation for a tour on Monday morning. I was so excited when the man told me that he would fit us in even though at first he told me that he thought they were full. Then we drove some more on a long boring road until we crossed over into South Dakota. In fact, it was so boring, I got to finish crocheting my first baby sweater! We finally stopped in Hot Springs which is right outside Wind Cave National Park. Tomorrow we will try to do the cave tours!

To see more pictures on Flickr - Click HERE.

Honesty and Adventure Day 43 (Colorado)

Blog prompt: Today is National Honesty Day. How do you feel about honesty? Do you feel like there are times that it is okay to be dishonest? If so, when?

Honesty is very important to me. It goes hand in hand with trust. If I ever find out that someone lies to me, I don’t think I am able to trust them ever again. I would rather have honesty that hurts than a lie. Once trust is broken, it can never be repaired. If I don’t feel like I can be honest, I usually try to phrase my answer in a way that isn’t a lie. For example, I would rather say something is interesting or challenging or different rather than saying I didn’t like it.

Travel Notes:

We had a glorious day today! We got up early and had a bagel before we hit the road. Then we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park which was about a 90 minute drive. When we topped the mountain and looked down at Estes Park, we were speechless. It was a fantastic view and we even saw Elk run into the middle of traffic. We got to the visitor center at 8am when it opened and was pleasantly surprised that the Trail Ridge Rd. had just opened to Rainbow Curve yesterday. Today the road to the Alluvial Fan opened. So first we headed to Bear Lake and hiked on the snow to the lakes. It was a lot of fun but really slippery. We passed people who had snow shoes and others with skis, but we were able to hike without them. It got a little scary when we weren’t sure where the trail was and where the lake was but all was okay. The views up the Trail Ridge Rd. were awesome. We even met a mother and son who were from South Carolina. We saw lots of elk and even bighorn sheep today! We left the park and had lunch in Estes Park before heading to Boulder.

We went on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder, CO which was free and fun! Before the tour started, we were able to sample all of the tea we wanted and I tried about eight different ones. This was a lot of fun because I tried some that I wouldn’t have bought without trying them. I liked the Echinacea, Diet Partner, and Cinnamon Apple. I tried the Red Zinger and the Chocolate Caramel Chai but I didn’t really care for them. On the tour, we were brought into the room that stores the peppermint and spearmint leaves and it cleared out my sinuses and made my eyes tear. It was about 45 minutes long and really interesting.

After the tour, we headed back to Golden, to stay at the Holiday Inn again. Tomorrow morning we will stop at CVS to refill a prescription and then head towards Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

To see more pictures on Flickr – Click HERE.