Beekeepers in the Hill Country

Recently we went to a conference in Kerrville and stayed at the conference hotel because it has convention center facilities. The environment and scenery were very nice and the bathroom looked fairly recently renovated...but sadly the rest of the hotel did not. As long as the bathrooms are clean, we're good. Still, we think they could draw in huge crowds in the hill country setting if they updated the rest of their hotel.

Traveling IH35 to Pearsall, Tx

Here are some interesting things I saw as we traveled from Seguin to Pearsall, Texas, in order to pick up some bee supplies from a 4th-generation beekeeper there (Youngblood Honey) - it's so lovely there! Here's a shot of the land behind the Youngblood property.



We took IH10 from Seguin to SA, then caught the 410 loop to miss some commuting traffic. Then we caught IH35 from there and headed south.

We couldn't decide if this was a Volkswagen or not. Saw this in Pearsall.



And during our long wait on the highway due to a major, fatal accident :-(, we saw these two things -

Hyatt Lost Pines (Bastrop, Tx)

This is a fabulous resort and I highly recommend it. The scenery is lovely, the hotel is AWESOME and the service is excellent. I can't post all the pictures I want to share but I really enjoyed our few days there!

And near by is the Bastrop State Park so you have to drive through there - it's beautiful and made me feel as if I was back on the east coast. The tall pines and needles on the ground cushioned all the noise. The road went on and on and on for something like 13 miles I believe. We went at dusk and totally enjoyed the quiet. We didn't get out since it was so hot and humid but there was a lot to do there it appears (fishing, hiking, camping, etc.).



And if you get hungry and would like to sample some local fare, be sure to check out Gracie's, which is a block off of Main Street. Their little historic downtown are was super pedestrian friendly and while it wasn't a huge area, it was a nice way to spend an hour walking through shops before dinner. Gracie's has awesome home-cooked food and a great, friendly staff. On Friday nights, you may even catch some live music. We did and loved it. We even got to see a saw being played in person. Very beautiful sound. :-)

Sky Watch from Chicora (PA)

Meant to get this posted sooner but trying to get home yesterday took forever literally and I was exhausted. So a little late but I wanted to share with you a sky over Chicora, Pennsylvania, where I spent my week for work. It is so lovely there. This is Leicher Farm, where I stopped to visit because I saw the beehives! :-) Great people - super friendly everywhere I went.

Check out the other Sky Watchers this week!

Marriott (Pittsburgh, PA)

If you're in Pittsburgh and you need to stay close to the airport, then the Marriott is a GREAT place to stay. I loved it! And it's got a bar/restaurant on site as well as great amenities. I love Bath & Body Works stuff so I was a happy camper. The airport is only 15 minutes away and you can fuel up on premises there. Nice!

As seen from the sky...

Flying over Florida - love to see the ocean like this! :-)

Hope, AR

I once traveled to Hope, Arkansas for work in order to deliver some training at one of our locations there. It was interesting. The people are very nice - here are some things I took with me as observations:

1. Former President Bill Clinton was born in Hope! I like him - he's not perfect but he is one smart man. None of us are perfect but I sure wish he could have left office without that certain cloud over his presidency.



2. Everywhere I went, the business had a VERY LARGE watermelon on display and for sale I believe (there was a price on each). I have never seen watermelons as large as these. Very impressive but it made me wonder how the taste was.



3. There was this field, a big one, full of little trailers. I have no idea why they were there, nor did anyone I asked. It was very curious. This was during the Katrina Hurricane time period so I wondered if they'd be used for those poor folks. And if not, then why not.



4. I landed in Little Rock I and drove to Hope. Nice little airport so it was super easy to manuever. AND I got to test out my first keyless car rental. It was weird but sort of cool. The only thing I didn't like was that you had to be careful not to put it near your cell phone or else it MAY cause your key to malfunction. Nice. I was worried the entire time that I'd forget and put both those items next to each other at some point, which is what I'd normally do with my car keys and phone.