Diving Into the Cave

On the same day we visited the Hamilton Pool, we continued to travel westward stopping to see the Caverns of Sonora located about 3 hours away.  It's considered a world-class cave because of its stunning array of calcite crystal formations, especially helictites.

These million-year-old shells were found in the cave.

Our guides were Thomas and his younger sister.

On the left is a column, when a stalactite, such as the one hanging on the right and a  stalagmite, the ones on the floor, connect to make one solid piece.  It takes a hundred years for just an inch of either to be developed so imagine how many hundreds of years it took before that column was created.

There are many types of deposits and are named based on their appearance.  Some of these are called straw stalactite because there is a hole in the middle where the water drips through and it creates a long, skinny straw-like stalactite.  

We were not allowed to touch any of the cave.  It was difficult to resist but you really got to get up close to see them.

The guide hits a switch to turn on the lights in front of us and then turn off the ones behind us.  At one point he turned off all lights for about 5 minutes so that we can see how it is to be in the pitch black cave.  It's really dark-- your eyes can't adjust because there is literally no light anywhere.  He said that an adult would become blind in three months if they stayed in the cave and a child would become blind in 10 days.

Many of these formations are similar to coral that you would find under the sea.  Although at one time, this entire cave was underwater.  These formations were created about a million years ago.  

At this depth, the gases mixed with water in the aquifer.  The resulting highly acidic water dissolved out the limestone, forming the cave.

Back Into Our Element

This is where we belong, what we crave for.  The beauty of nature and all it has to offer.  The places we'll be visiting from now through when we get home are more of our style.  Not to say that we didn't appreciate what the cities that we visited had to offer but we really feel at home with nature.  The Hamilton Pool was slated to be closed for swimming when I checked online before our visit but lucky for us when we arrived it was open!

It's a short beautiful 1/2 mile hike to the pool.

When you finally get there you can't believe what you see.
Dakotah jumped right into the 71degree natural spring water to swim to the other side.

My beautiful girl standing underneath the waterfall.

There were fish in the pool.  There were small ones that likes to nibble off your feet and then there were a few of these giant catfish.

Dakotah and I were one of the few who arrived early and had the pool all to ourselves.
In the background you can see the people starting to pile in.

Love this shot!

Yes, I'm a dork with my blue sneakers on but my tender feet couldn't handle walking on the gravel bottom floor.

Here's a cool perspective of the pool.  It's the backside of the wall to the right.

Imagine that this all used to be underwater.

The Hamilton Pool really is a beautiful place to visit.  You'll need a reservation to get in because they limit the capacity.

I loved the look of these trees with their roots exposed in the river, sitting amongst the boulders and the water.

This is, so far, my favorite place that we visited.  I don't think we would have ever gotten the chance if we weren't driving cross-country.  The Hamilton Pool is located in the middle of Texas away from the busy cities in Travis County.  If you ever visit Austin, you may consider taking the drive out to see the Hamilton Pool.

#Shiplap

The HGTV home improvement show, Fixer Upper, put Waco on the map.  The adorable couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines have caught the heart of many and it's apparent that their goodness is not all for the show.  The Magnolia Market at the Silos is family-friendly, the staff are very hospitable and exude enthusiasm for working there.  The venue has a bakery, a shop, space for kids to play, a garden with its own shop and about seven food trucks parked in the back ready to open for lunch.  It seems that we lucked out for not having to stand in line the day we visited.  

We learned from an employee that there are plans for these silos.  One will become a man's shop per Chip's request and the other silo will be all about Joanna.  

This garden was adorable.  Notice the little green house in the back right corner.

This was a cute little sitting place for kids.  I made my big kid sit in this man-made teepee for a photo.

Gotta love the vintage truck!

Dakotah wants one of these swings in our yard.

I can't believe that I didn't take a photo of the front of the shop.  Sorry, you'll have to check it out on your own if you're interested in seeing it.  We did take some 360 photos but I'm still learning to upload those.

We did take a short shuttle ride around Waco.  Not much to see, unless you are interested in the Dr. Pepper Museum.  Even if you're not a Fixer Upper fan, Magnolia Market at the Silos is worth a visit if you're near Waco.

Keep Austin Weird

05-28-2017

We stayed two nights in Austin, particularly because we wanted to visit a special place that required us to get there pretty early in the morning and it's located a couple of hours away.  Stay posted to see where we went.  In the meantime, we got to see a ton of cool stuff in Austin.  Check it out-- 

First stop, Baylor Street Art Walls.

Dakotah's playground.

Cool frame.

Pineapple love.

Anyone can legally graffiti on the walls.

Watching the bats from under the Congress bridge.

It was fascinating to witness but a little underwhelming.  The bats were much smaller than I anticipated and trickled out from under the bridge rather than I giant swarm, as I expected.

This is Vince, the creator of the Cathedral of Junk.   He made his first sculpture when he was 16 years old.  He has been working on the Cathedral of Junk, which his mom named, since 1992.  It's 32 feet tall, which is the legal limit but he can still expand it towards the back of his lot.  You can't tell the enormity of it from this picture.  It actually has three levels and the structure needed engineer-approval.

Here's the view from the third floor.

This was inside part of the Cathedral.

We had a great time in Austin but now it's time for us to move on.
The adventures starting tomorrow are more my style-- nature at its best!  Stay tuned.

Gumbo, Beignets and Daiquiris

05-16-2017
New Orleans was a much bigger city than I anticipated.  I had the same sense of freedom and fun, similar to being in Vegas, but with some added Creole cultural charm and humidity.  Maybe I was reminded of Vegas because we were able to purchase daiquiris at 10 a.m. and sip on them while we walked the flea market.  Or maybe it was the walkability of the city with the mass number of other tourist on the streets checking out the bars, restaurants and shops that lined them.  Although Vegas is one long strip, where the French Quarter is condensed into about a 10 blocks by 10 blocks radius.

We ate lunch at the Gumbo Shop and the food was delicious!
We enjoyed the jambalaya, gumbo and catfish.

We tried the beignets at Cafe de Monde because everyone said we had to try it.
When we first passed by the line was zig-zagged out the door.  Luckily on our way back to the hotel we were able to walk right in and order.

Everything was within walking distance from our hotel on Canal Street.  On our first day we walked from Canal Street, which is the main road, to the French Market about ten blocks away.  On our jaunt towards the French Market we were able to visit St. John's Cathedral.  This is a Catholic Church located behind the Jackson Square.

We loved the architecture of the buildings, mostly intrigued by the ornate railings and colorful doors. There were many street bands, not soloist, that played at street corners.  Of course, we had to take a peak at the famous Bourbon Street.  We walked at dawn, right before the craziness was in full effect.  We did a lot of walking on our first day.  As a matter of fact, my fitbit watch informed me of my 10,000 steps just mid-day!

Our second day in New Orleans consisted of a Garden District and Cemetery tour.  The Garden District was located too far away to walk.  We were able to conveniently take the trolley.  I learned that there are only two moving historical landmarks in the U.S.-- the trains in New Orleans and the trolleys in San Francisco.

Nicolas Cage owned this home but lost it because he "forgot" to pay the taxes on it.
We also got to see John Goodman and Sandra Bullocks homes.

The mold for this original fence is still available for only $150/linear foot.
The original owner of this home had this fence made for his wife who missed living by the cornfields.

This is where Connor, Peyton and Eli Manning grew up.
Their parents still reside in this home.

It is believed that the light blue ceilings kept ghosts away.

The Lafayette #1 Cemetery- Some people thought that the tombs are above ground because of the flooding but it's really from tradition that comes from their European decedents.  Because of the limitation of plots, families are buried in the same tomb.  So you'll have one tablet that has several names and space for more.  In history, New Orleans had 12 consecutive years of yellow fever, which killed many people.  It was sad to hear the stories about families having to bury a child one day after another in the same week.

On record, the most filled tomb within this cemetery consists of 37 people in a single family tomb.

New Orleans didn't keep good records.  The names on the tombstones are all they have.
Sometimes these aren't even accurate.

The different symbols on the tombstones had meanings, such as a handshake means peace, a cut flower means the life was taken too soon, a sheep meant it was a child. 

The limestone tablets used to be held up with copper screws, but they were getting stolen because they could sell them for cash and the limestone could wear away and break easily.  Nowadays they use marble tablets and steel screws.

After the tour we started headed west again and landed in Houston for the night 5 hours later.

Getting Lost in Perdido

03-14-2017
We left Atlanta early morning on Saturday to arrive in Savannah 3.5 hours later in the pouring rain.  We didn't let it break our stride.  The first place we visited was the Wormsloe Historic Site, which has a beautiful live oak entrance.  It really is a site to see.  Pictures don't do it justice.  We drove down this long driveway that was flanked by hundreds-year-old oak trees.  It leads to a Plantation home which is still occupied by the original family since the 1700's!  The grounds also have beautiful trails which we literally walked out in the rain about 10 feet for pictures and then ran back to the car as the rain came down harder.

Wormsloe Historic Site oak tree entrance.

The infamous Candy Factory at the river walk.

This is a bronze statue of a woman who used to welcome  the ships as they arrived.

Beer tasting at the Moon River Brewery.

We stayed at a hotel on the riverfront-- a cobble-stoned street with the river on one side and shops and restaurants on the other.  That evening we checked out a local brewery called Moon River Brewery.  We tasted all ten of their local brews.  My favorite was the Slow-vannah, which was a tasty light IPA.  Dakotah enjoyed the Super-Foxy, which was a bit too hoppy for my taste.




This morning we left Savannah for Pensacola.  We drove through Seville Quarter and then headed to check out the famous lighthouse.  The lighthouse is situated on the naval base.  If you plan on visiting the lighthouse, make sure you don't try to enter through the active duty entrance.  They made us turn around and go all the way around to the other side where civilians are allowed to enter.  The plus side to having to make a u-turn on the base side is that Dakotah got to see one of the Blue Angels fighter jets parked on the lawn.  (Remember when they used to be based in San Diego?)  Dakotah has always been intrigued by the naval jets and one of the reasons why she is studying Mechanical Engineering today.

The Pensacola Lighthouse on the Naval Base.

By the time we left the lighthouse we were ready for an early dinner.  That's when we got lost in Perdido.  (BTW- If you don't know already, google the Spanish to English translation of Perdido.  Then maybe you'll think my title is clever... or silly.) Perdido Keys seems to be a place where many tourists like to visit.  There is one bridge that connects to the island.  We got caught in the traffic getting into and off of the island as we were looking for this 4.6 star yelp-reviewed restaurant located right outside of the island.  As we pulled up to Fisherman's Corner, we questioned our choice.  It didn't look too promising from the outside.  But as I always say, "When in Rome...".  The little place was packed with locals so we knew the food was going to be delicious.  And it was!

I had the shrimps and grits.  Dakotah had a steak pasta.  Both were delicious!

A Boondoggle Adventure

Kudos to you if you get the title!  "Boondoggle" is a new term I learned from this month's GQ article on Brad Pitt.  I'm not an avid reader of GQ, nor am I a big fan of Brad Pitt (BP).  A friend posted a picture of the front cover on FB which caught my attention because I was really drawn to the cool shirt he was wearing, plus I was curious about the location of the shot.  So I clicked on the link.  It opened up to a cool, laid back photo of BP.  

I continued to scroll to find more interesting photos of BP.  Again, it was the scenery which was calling to me.

The above photo not only made me wonder "How the heck did they get that shot?  Did BP actually take a leap on his head?" He couldn't have rolled because if you notice, there isn't much of a mark in the sand.  I read pieces of the article to find out about the locations of the photo shoots-- "the lunar dunes of White Sands National Monument, the underground labyrinths of Carlsbad Caverns and the swamps of the Everglades".  What a coincidence that I'm reading about these places a few days before I'm about to go on a cross-country journey with my daughter!  More surprising is that they lie along the route we plan to drive home towards California.

So, don't be surprised to see these shots again, except with me in the photo instead of BP.  Why not?  We plan to have a boondoggle time anyway!  (If you want to find out what boondoggle means you can read how BP found out during his interview: http://www.gq.com/story/brad-pitt-gq-style-cover-story)