Land That We Love Tour ~ N.C. to Texas

It was way back at the end of September and the beginning of October 2021 that we were on our Land That We Love Tour from Washington State, through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina for the wedding of our niece. That’s where my posts left off in mid-December. Now I’d like to finish the rest of our tour through North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and home again, home again, jiggety jig. I hope to finish by the end of January.

Goodbye to Hickory, North Carolina and our VRBO and hello Tennessee on Sunday October 3rd.

On Sunday after 4 full days in our VRBO home we packed up our car again and had to use our Tetras skills to get it all to fit. We headed west on Interstate 40 through the Appalachians in North Carolina and along the Smoky Mountains into Tennessee and all the way to Jackson, Tennessee for the night.

Dear needed some coffee and we were ready to fill the tank with gas so we got off at an exit that didn’t have good choices for either coffee or gas. We did see Old Tennessee Distilling Co. and stopped in to have a look around. This was in Kodak, Tennessee. Dear had a great conversation with this character who’s grandfather taught him how to run a Still when he was 8 years old. His grandfather’s original Still was on display on an upper shelf in this establishment.

After our time in this store we headed west again on I-40 and a few exits along the way we were able to fill up with gas and then have a nice light lunch at Aubrey’s just outside of Knoxville. Dear had a burger and I had a 1/2 turkey sandwich and soup. Our food was $22.00 plus tax. Gas outside of Knoxville was $2.889 per gallon and we filled up with 17.284 gallons at $49.93.

On the road again we traveled through some incredible thunderstorms and downpours that slowed us way down because of no visibility. Several accidents had the freeway backed up for miles. Most of the accidents were on I-40 going east which was fortunate for us. We were so happy to finally get to clear skies and dry roads. We just zoomed past Nashville only seeing what we could off of the freeway. This was already a long travel day and we didn’t have time for sight seeing.

We thanked God for bringing us safely to our destination for the night at Residence Inn by Marriott in Jackson, Tennessee. We paid a total of $143.56 for the night. On this Sunday we traveled approximately 506 miles, 7-1/2 hours. We filled the tank up with gas again in Jackson for $2.889 per gallon. We only needed 12 gallons to fill up here. We had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that was very popular. There were a couple mix-ups in our ordering and the meal ended up being half the price we expected, about $25.00.

On Monday We drove through Memphis and onward.

We crossed the mighty Mississippi river for the 2nd time on this road trip.

Hello Arkansas!

We stopped for gas and lunch in Texarkana. A town that is in both Arkansas and Texas. We bought gas on the Arkansas side for $2.729 per gallon. We had a fast food lunch at Whataburger on the state line for $13.45.

The Arkansas side of the road has Arkansas flags on the light poles and the Texas side of the street has Texas flags on the posts.

In Texas we are headed to my youngest brother’s home in Dallas. We would be staying with his family for a couple nights before hitting the road on a fast track home.

After 534 miles and over 8 hours of driving we pulled up to my brother’s home. We enjoyed a roast beef dinner around the table this evening. It was good to be in the state of Texas with our extended family for a couple of days.

Posts about our time in Dallas are here and here.

While in Dallas we also got to tour the church and offices where my brother and his dear wife are on staff. We enjoyed good conversation during our time together. Dear was able to help out with a couple home projects and I helped Andrew with one of his jigsaw puzzles.

Thursday October 7th we head north on our Land That We Love Tour.

All the Way to Dallas

On Monday The Land That We Love Tour took us out of Tennessee through Memphis then into Arkansas and on to Texas.

Memphis Bass Pro Shop!

We crossed the Mississippi River to get to Arkansas.

The Mighty Mississippi!

We stopped in Texarkana on the Texas/Arkansas border to fuel up the car and us before heading on to Dallas.

We got off on the main drag which has establishments in Arkansas on the north side and Texas on the south side.

The Arkansas side of the road has Arkansas flags on the light poles and the Texas side of the street has Texas flags on the posts.

We are having good fellowship time with my youngest brother’s family.

We are thankful and grateful to God for another safe day on the road.

Weekend Roundup X

1. A Word with an “X.”

PM1909

An Antique postcard from 1909.

2. A Favorite.

X marks the barn.

3. Looks like “X.”

Our daughter making a snow angel.

Parting shots:

The J.M. and Birdie Nix House in San Antonio, Texas. (mostly the sign and not the house)

Here’s the house which is located in the King William Historic District of San Antonio.

Thanks to Tom for hosting The Weekend Roundup.

We traveled south to the big city of Spokane today to do some shopping. The roads were clear and the weather was dry which was a win win for easy access on streets and into shops. Have a good weekend everyone.

St. Joseph Church

The cornerstone for Saint Joseph Church was laid in 1868 by a group of San Antonio’s German Catholic Immigrants who wanted to worship and hear God’s Word proclaimed and celebrated in their own language.

Over the course of years the German Community constantly improved their Parish of St. Joseph and its buildings. In 1891, four bells with matched tones were purchased and consecrated. They were given the names of Joseph, Mary, Henry and Joseph, by their donors as was the German custom. The Gothic style building was without a steeple until 1898 when the now existing spire was erected to crown and complete the structure as it is today.

This was the second copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta I saw in San Antonio.

Then in 1902, the beautiful stained glass windows were purchased for the unbelievable sum of $3,000, from the Emil Frei Art Glass Factory in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers.

The Stations of the Cross are commonly found in Catholic churches as a series of 14 small icons or images. They can also appear in church yards arranged along paths. The stations are most commonly prayed during Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays, and especially on Good Friday, the day of the year upon which the events actually took place.

In 1945, a crisis arose when the Joske’s Department Store wanted to purchase the Church and Rectory and grounds and use the land for its expansion program. The parishioners, however, voted unanimously not to sell their cherished Church, allowing it to remain as a strong sign of their Faith in the midst of a secularized, historic and cultural environment. As a result, St. Joseph Church stands today and is known as the “Jewel in the heart of San Antonio” close to the famed Alamo, and encircled as it is by the new RiverCenter Mall, Residencies and Hotels.

The Church is the home of the world renowned San Antonio Liederkranz. On the fourth-Sunday of the month, the San Antonio Liederkranz (founded in 1892) donate their stewardship of time and extraordinary talent to express their Faith through liturgical song; a variety of hymns are sung in Latin, German and English, at the 11:00 a.m. celebration of the Eucharist!

When I visited this church on Saturday morning April 30th there were more people and activity than I usually find when visiting during my travels and site seeing. I didn’t feel comfortable taking as many photos as I usually do in beautiful churches like this. It sure would have been a great experience to be at the 11:00 a.m. service on Sunday of this weekend since the San Antonio Liederkranz would have been worshiping in song. We flew out on Saturday.

In Seattle style we are having a rainy Memorial Day weekend so far! I guess I’ll do indoor stuff like cleaning my dusty, cluttered dwelling! What are you doing?

I’m linking later to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally.

San Fernando Cathedral – San Antonio

The 18th-century San Fernando Cathedral is the first church built in San Antonio, the oldest standing church in Texas, and one of the oldest cathedrals in the U.S. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta.

It is disputed whether the remains of some of these Alamo heroes are entombed here but they are honored here.

I’m linking up to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally.

When I uploaded my photos I noticed that my lens had a hefty smudge on it. This was a hot muggy day so it’s no surprise my lens got smudged. This was my last stop on the trolley tour and from here I walked back to the hotel. I visited another church in San Antonio before we flew home that was a beauty. I’ll share that one next week.

Friday was a banner day for exercise at this old house. After Zumba in the morning I mowed our yard and the front yard of our neighbor. During this time Dear and our son in law continued the work on our front walkway. (collage below) In the evening Dear and I took a walk since we were falling asleep too early. Today I might just be sitting around doing nothing until the Sounders game tonight.

The walkway work will continue on the next dry day we have.

Hope your weekend is going well…

Can’t resist…

…showing some more photos of little princess, Miss Hope!

My brother took these photos. We had a wonderful time in Dallas. We enjoyed being there for the excitement the state experienced with the Rangers winning against the Yankees! We got to see tornado warnings flash across the TV screen during college football. We heard the loudest thunder and saw some great lightning flashes. I’m again posting this from 30,000 feet in an airplane. We are almost over Pocatello, Idaho. My battery is just about done so I’ll catch up with everyone later on when I get home!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

A Texas Blue Monday

Coming to you from Dallas for Blue Monday. Visit Sally at Smiling Sally to join in with some blue.

I’m posting this from our flight from Dallas to Seattle. In flight WiFi is a very cool thing! This is a photo of a t-shirt my brother Leonard wore on our trip to the Dallas Zoo on Friday. I’ll be posting more photos from our time in Dallas soon. Have a wonderful Monday Y’all!

The Princess ~

We found out that there is a Princess party that Miss Hope is invited to on Sunday so I’ll be tagging along with my camera and I’ll be able to capture some clearer shots of her in her princess gown. We were at the Dallas Zoo today and I’ll post more photos next week.

Everything’s Bigger in…

…TEXAS!

Dear and I are spending a long weekend with my brother, SIL and little Miss Hope. If you don’t see me in your comments you’ll know why.

We didn’t come to Texas empty handed but brought this little Princess Gown for Miss Hope. Hopefully she’ll want to model it for us so I can get a photo of her in it! It will be fun spending time with Miss Hope on her home turf. Time will tell what mischief we get into.

Round Robin Photo Challenge ~ See the Music!

Welcome to the Round Robin Photo Challenge. This Saturday the theme is “See the Music”

You can be literal with this one, with photos of sheet music, musical instruments, stereo equipment etc., or more abstract, showing something that reminds you of a particular song. Illustrate a Rolling Stones lyric, or photograph your favorite local band, or catch your kid practicing the guitar or clarinet! If it’s suggestive of some kind of music, it counts!

The photos I’m posting are from a trip to Santa Barbara, California and Dallas, Texas…

This sculpture was just off State Street. See the store in the background called Mozart Trio?

This was taken at the Dallas Arboretum.

To see more Round Robin Photo Challenges on this subject visit the Round Robin Blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Texas