We’ve been stopping in Llano, TX every year on our way south since 2019.
I found the subject for my feature photo during a walkabout on our first visit there.
Blog
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Ahhh … Back to Mexico
This week, we’ve been going over to Mexico for dental appointments.
It’s only a 20 minute drive from our home.
My favourite part of this is that we can once more enjoy authentic Mexican food. We didn’t get across once last winter, so now we’re making up for lost time.
I had some problems with my feature photo because of the shadows cast on the plate. I’ll be sure to avoid that next time.
Each of us ordered our fave dish : enchiladas for hubs and chile relleno for me.
We forgot that we could order one dish, split it, and easily have enough food for lunch.
Practise makes better.
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2016 – The Wrap Up
What started out as an incredible year of long distance travel from January, to and including July, ended up with shorter trips from August to December that focused on weddings of family and friends, my Dad’s 85th birthday party, and lots of quality time with our own small family.
Each part of the year held its own memories and treasures, and the best part was that hubs and I were both now fully retired, so neither of us had to miss a minute of it because of work schedules.
We kicked off our retirement with a year packed with everything imaginable. It’s almost as though we were compensating for all of the things we had to cut short or miss entirely in our working careers.
It was a good year.
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Chicago 2004
For many years, Chicago has been home to giant murals.
It’s pretty easy to capture decent shots of them “on the way by” if you’re passing through during rush hour.
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When in Texas (2) …
Because the price of avocados and the variability of their freshness at home in Canada is more than a bit prohibitive, I look forward to our winters in South Texas.
We live close enough to Mexico that the avocados are reasonably priced, fresh, and don’t spoil in a day.
And … I can make guacamole… my favourite dip.
Easy Guac Recipe:
2 ripe avocados
2 TBSP Salsa
1 Small Red Onion (or 1/2 medium), chopped fine
Juice of 1 Lime
1 TBSP sour cream
Salt and Pepper, as desired
If you like it a bit more spicy, seed, finely chop, and add one small jalapeño pepper.
Mash avocados and salsa together in a medium bowl, then stir in all other ingredients until well blended. Store in tightly covered container in fridge for at least an hour (this will keep up to 1 day in fridge)
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2016 – Gal Pal Road Trip
Carrying on with the incredible travel year that was 2016:
After hubs and I returned from the all-expenses paid vacay to the Mayan Riviera, things calmed down for a couple of months, and then I headed out on a road trip to Salt Lake City with two long time friends who had joined my MLM team.
The purpose of the trip was to attend the annual conference of the MLM company I had signed up with.
In addition to being a learning and team-building experience in SLC, the road trip itself both to and from the conference was fun and interesting.
Even though none of us belonged to the Mormon faith, Temple Square in Salt Lake City provides a great history lesson about the settlement of the state of Utah.
Lenna and I just “had” to pose with this fun sign 
The parent company to our MLM company Sherry, Lenna, and Me 
I tasted French Macarons for the first time 
Temple Square is always an interesting visit 
The famous Mormon Tabernacle 
The amazing pipe organ inside the Tabernacle 
How the Mormon Temple was constructed is a fascinating history lesson 
I spied these “on the way by” and commented about the skinny horses 
An unusual way to make a topiary 
Idaho Falls was a great stop on the way home 
My pals, Lenna and Sherry, hamming it up – “posing” like models 
The falls are in the middle of the city My dear friend, Lenna passed suddenly and unexpectedly just four years after this trip.
I’m so happy I have this trip in photos and in memories.
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A Timely Message
Now that we’ve finally settled in to our winter home, I’m able to resume some of my normal routine for blog posts.
I still have several murals to contribute to my Monday Murals theme, and a couple of other travel posts to add to my 2016 theme.
The M/W/F posting schedule seems to be working out, so my plan is to continue with those days.
I’ll also continue with Foodie Friday posts.
The mural in my feature photo is in Weslaco, Tx (a town a few miles from here that we visit often).
The mural’s message is a good reminder.
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When in Texas …
From our first taste in 2019, hubs and I became seriously attached to Blue Bell ice cream.
Made in Texas, this brand is the next best thing to home made ice cream and we love that every year, new flavours are added to the line.
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The Day the Music Died
Two days ago, hubs and I made another bucket list hit.
We visited Clear Lake, Iowa where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) played their last concert before they were all killed in a fatal plane crash just a few miles out of Clear Lake.
After watching the documentary about Don McLean’s song, “American Pie”, (titled the same as this blog post), we knew we could drive a new route to be sure to visit the Surf (feature photo) and the memorial site in the farmer’s field that has been maintained since the crash on Feb 3, 1959. The memorial is about 3 miles from town.
Because I was introduced to 50’s R&R from the time I was around four years old (by my aunt, who was a teenager at the time), the whole day was powerfully meaningful for me.
This immersive experience building just opened in September and is very well done 
Not Fade Away is a 360° experience about the history of rock and roll music at the Surf 
The museum in the new building houses many great photos and artifacts 
Buddy Holly’s jacket and mic from the last performance of his life 
If you love music, you’d love the Surf Ballroom 
This is the adjacent lounge. The number of artists from every genre of music who have played here is staggering 
The stage and dance floor of the surf. I felt like I had stepped into history 
The booths and tables were numerous 
Enough seating for 2100 people here and another 160 in the lounge 
Standing on that stage for a selfie was an emotional moment for me 
The green room next to the stage. Every entertainer who has played there has signed 
Hubs found the booths a tad snug 
The streets in Clear Lake are named in tribute 
This is the parking lot for the memorial site 
The glasses mark the beginning of the walk to the memorial site. People leave glasses as a tribute. I left a pair of sunglasses 
It’s a quarter mile walk through a field to the memorial 
Memorial to the pilot of the plane 
The memorial to the artists is simple and still very powerful 
This will no doubt be my only visit to a memorial in a corn field 
It was a windy day, and I was quite sombre because of the experience -
Ho-Ho-Ho
We’re enjoying a new route south this year.
Our bucket list hit yesterday was the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota – the home of Green Giant Vegetables.
We enjoyed visiting the giant statue of the Jolly Green Giant, as well as a visit to the museum on the same property, which told the history of this well known brand of canned and frozen vegetables.
That’s me standing between Jolly’s size 78 feet! 
Great info about the statue 
Hubs and Sprout 
Lots of old processing equipment was on display in the museum 
Green Giant Merch from the past was endless! 
I was surprised to see the Pillsbury doughboy there 
Radically Retired 