Local Tourists

January has been so much fun that I am just now getting caught up on all the going-ons here on the blog! If you want to know what we've been up to the rest of the month, scroll through the last few posts, which will walk you through our adventures of the new year so far.

As you no doubt know by now, travel is our passion and what Jeff and I wish we were still doing full-time. However, that isn't really possible at the moment, so we've determined to make "staycations" a priority. As time allows, we are trying to discover our immediate surrounding areas and to see them through travelers' eyes. We had a blast exploring in Denton and Dallas this past weekend.

On Saturday, after Ruth's riding lesson and Weston's buddy's birthday party, we headed over to Denton for a brewery tour and beer tasting at Audacity Brewery. We didn't love any of the beers, but we sure did have a good time! Later, we made our way to LSA Burger Co. where we enjoyed some very delicious burgers and chili cheese fries along with the funky atmosphere. Our day ended with a viewing of "Sing" at the theater, which was entertaining for all of us.

Our first stop on Sunday was the Dallas Farmer's Market, where shopped and laughed and indulged our senses. After that, we visited Reunion Tower and enjoyed a bird's eye view of the city. When it was time for lunch, the vote for sushi at Sushi Bayashi in Trinity Groves was unanimous. Afterwards we walked across the street for a beer tasting at Four Corners Brewing Co. Finally, we headed over to SMU to see the George W. Bush Presidential Museum. On the way home, the boys even worked in a playground visit, while Ruth and I did a little shopping. And back at the house, we watched a documentary about the JFK assassination to expand on some of the knowledge we had gained during the day.

It was such a fun weekend, and we truly had a great time being "tourists" in our own backyard. If any of you live in or have visited the DFW area, please share your recommendations of things to do or see, so we can keep growing our staycation master list. And for anyone living anywhere, I encourage you to get out and explore your immediate surroundings. You never know what kinds of gems you might find!

Audacity Brew House

LSA Burger Co. in downtown Denton

Watching "Sing" from cushy seats

Dallas Farmer's Market

Reunion Tower

Sushi at our favorite sushi place

Four Corners Brewing Co.

George W. Bush Presidential Museum

First IEA Show

One of the main reasons we chose Flower Mound as a landing place was so Ruth could ride on a competitive IEA team. She has been practicing with the team since late July, and they had their first show today. IEA particularly focuses on riders' abilities, rather than the appearance or breeding of the horses. Riders often have no previous experience with the horses they ride, since the horses are selected randomly by the riders just before they ride. Riders are judged individually, but points are also collected for the team. Ruth looked beautiful, and, though she didn't win any individual prizes, she had a great time, and her team got 2nd overall. This is all new to us, and we all learned a lot and enjoyed the whole experience.

A Farm Zamboni

Our team has a dedicated hair lady. She is awesome!

So proud of this beautiful young lady!

The girls have to line up by height for the draw, because certain horses can't be used for the taller girls. 

First time to enter the show arena

Rooting for rider 120

Ruth and Bowie in the Walk/Trot Class

Ruth and Towne in the Walk/Trot/Canter Class

Zealong Tea Estate

Yesterday, we got to spend several lovely hours at the beautiful Zealong tea plantation, celebrating Ruth's birthday a little early. We had a private tour of the grounds, participated in a super-cool tea ceremony, and had lunch at the onsite cafe, which utilizes tea in a variety of ways in its dishes. It was a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience! We all have a new appreciation of tea and hope to experiment more with it in the future.

Zealong Tea Estate

The story of tea in sculptures

This series of sculptures, made of teapots and tea cups,
with a dragon head on the first pot and a dragon tail on the last one,
represents the spirit of the plantation, since "oolong" means "black dragon."

So happy to share this experience with my people!

The trimming machine is the only machine
that touches the plants while they are in the field.
All tea leaves are picked by hand.

The oversized chairs at the function center were a big hit with the boys.
(And, even with plenty of room to spread out, they are still touching each other!)

Trying on the tea picker hats

Everything about the tea ceremony was awesome--
from the table and chairs, to the process, to the five varieties of tea we got to try.
We tried a green tea, a pure oolong, an aromatic oolong, a dark oolong, and a black tea.
There are very specific ways in which the varieties of teas are prepared
and specific rules of etiquette to follow when participating in the ceremony.
The little picture in the middle on the right shows the two cups used in the ceremony.
The tall one is the scent cup, used only for smelling, and the short one is the drinking cup.
When it's time to drink, you are supposed to drink in exactly three sips:
the first for taste, the second for warmth, and the third for thirst.

A special treat:
passion fruit macaroons infused and sprinkled with aromatic oolong tea

This is not the variety of camila used for making tea,
but they are scattered throughout the plantation to give a pop of color,
as the plants from which the tea leaves come are never allowed to bloom.

Winterval in Waterford

This afternoon, we took the short ferry ride over to Waterford (as in Waterford Crystal), to take in the sights and fun of their winter festival (that's winter + festival = "Winterval," see?), where we ate junk food, rode carnival rides, and found a little Christmas cheer.  Our first stop was a night club/bar that has given itself a day job during the holidays. They have free showings of the movie "Elf" throughout the day while Winterval is going on. If popcorn, hot chocolate, and a giant elf named Buddy can't put you in the Christmas spirit, then nothing really can. From there, we headed over to the Helter Skelter slide--a twisty slide two stories high, which the kids descend on a mat, to maximize velocity. I couldn't even look at it without thinking of one of my favorite scenes in "A Christmas Story."

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

When Clay and Max had finished on the slide (of their own volition, and not because Santa kicked them down with the two of his boot), we all took a ride on a vintage Ferris wheel, which was a huge hit with all the kids. After that, we allowed ourselves a quick peek in the Waterford Crystal showroom...from the outside, because contrary to how I sometimes feel or act, I have not quite lost my everloving mind. Our last stop was the tiny carousel, that just happened to be sitting in front of the churro stand, which we felt obliged to patronize. It was such a fun outing and just almost more fun (and junk food!) than we could stand!

Little Clay with a big Buddy

Winterval Fun

Zooming down the slide

Ferris Wheel Riders

These two goofs deliberately refused to look at the camera.

 My Ferris wheel partner and I, getting ready for lift off

Look, but don't touch!

Riding High

Silly Clay on the carousel

Churros!

Warming up with hot chocolate in a very odd seat

This sign at the ferry landing made us laugh.
Fortunately, we made it onto the boat, without driving into the water.

Dyfed Shire Horse Farm

The Shire horses are huge and very sweet.
The big guy pictured in the bottom center and top right measures about 17 hands.

Pedal Go Karts

You know it's going to be a fun day when there is a tractor involved!

Other Diversions