Robert Toombs & Civil War Recipe

A couple of years ago we went on a business trip with my husband to Washington, Georgia.  While we were there we took a day to visit the Robert Toombs house & made it part of our history study.  His home has been turned into a museum for the public to view. 

Robert Toombs was an attorney & was instrumental in helping the South secede from the Union during the Civil War.  He became Secretary of State for the Confederacy, however, he really wanted to become president.  When Jefferson Davis was chosen for that position Toombs was not happy.  He eventually resigned & lived out the remainder of the war at his home in Washington.

While we were there I picked up a recipe that was made by Mrs. Toombs.  If you are doing a Civil War study this might be a neat project to do with your kids. 

Georgia Snow Days

Thursday we went to Dahlonega, Georgia with my husband who was working there.  This was the third week in a row that we have been traveling!  I hate to complain because I realize how fortunate we are that we get to travel with my husband's job, but I was really wanting some time at home. 

However, I love Dahlonega so any chance to go I take it.  It is such a picturesque town with the historical square & downtown.  Unfortunately, we got there & found out yesterday that my husbands schedule had to be cancelled due to the impending snow storm.  We stayed overnight since the hotel was already paid for & came on home today.

After 4 inches of snow, which is a lot for Georgia, the roads were in pretty good shape. Just a few slick spots but nothing dangerous...DOT did a great job!  If we had stayed we would have been hitting the gold & gem mine.

If you have never been to Dahlonega it is worth the trip!  Quaint downtown with shops, galleries, antique stores, & restuarants.  Plus there is a gold museum to visit right on the square.  We have been to a couple of the gold mines there before & have panned for gold & gemstones.  We even went to a location once outside of town where you mined right in the river...awesome fun in the summertime!  Plus there are premier outlet stores not too far away in Dawsonville for those who love to shop.

After returning home, my son & his neighborhood friends played in the snow. My husband got out with them & built a snowman.  I happily watched from the windows of my heated house!  Looks like what is left from the snow will refreeze tonight so I don't know if we will be able to go to the church in the morning.  Plus our homeschool classes may be cancelled on Monday.  Oh well, we can always play in the snow!

Andersonville Prison Camp

 My husband travels with his job & two weeks ago we went with him down to south Georgia.  He was working in Hawkinsville, a very small town, but only 45 miles away was .  In case you are not an American Civil War buff, Andersonville was the site of the most notorious Confederate prison camp for Union soldiers.

So while my husband worked, Noah & I went to Andersonville for the day.  It was a cold & windy day so we started out by going through their museum hoping the weather would warm up as the day went on.  Not only do they have a museum for Civil War POW's but for all American POW's from all the wars.  

Noah is only 11 years old but his grandfather was a POW in Germany during WWII (don't ask me how old I am...Ha!), so it was of great importance for me.  It also gave Noah a chance to see what it was like for his Papa during the war.  He passed away before Noah was born so we make sure all of the family stories are passed down & he knows the importance of their sacrifice.

After going through the museum we watched a 30 minute documentary on POW's  from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, etc.   It was difficult to hear some of the things they had to go through but also inspiring at the same time.  Their courage & love of country was amazing to see.

After that we bundled up & headed outside to see the site of Andersonville prison.  They have some reconstructed walls to show you what it was like & the site is laid out with markers so you can see the size of the prison itself.   There are still some original earthworks left that are amazing to see as well. 

You can see where prisoners dug tunnels trying to escape as well as deep holes where they tried to dig for water.  When they were brought there nothing was provided as far as shelter.  They made tents or lean-twos out of anything they could find.  If they did not have that they just slept & lived out in the open.

The prison was originally 16.5 acres but was later enlarged to 26.5 acres.  The prison was intended to hold 10,000 prisoners but its average occupancy was 26,000.  At its fullest peak it held 32,000 at one time!  The Confederate government was weak economically & could not provide adequate food, clothing, or medical care.   So it turned out to be horrific for anyone who was imprisoned there.

The park is 10 miles northeast of Americus on Ga. 49.  Along with the museum is a visitor center where rangers can answer questions, as well as a gift shop to purchase items from.  My son chose an Andersonville build-a-fort set.  He loves putting forts together & setting up scenes with all of his toy figures.

The amazing thing was that admission is free!  I wasn't expecting that so it was a nice surprise.  If you are going south on I-75 from Perry you would take a right off the interstate onto Highway 26, then left on Hwy. 49.   It is really easy to find.

After we left Andersonville we headed back to Hawkinsville.   We were hungry so we stopped at Yoder's restaurant on Hwy 26 to eat.  It is a Mennonite restaurant & bakery with fresh from scratch food...yum!  They also have a gift shop which we did not go in.  It is out in the middle of nowhere with great views of pecan orchards & pastures.  So if you are passing that way on any trip to or from Florida, it is worth the short trek off of the interstate.

Hunter Museum of American Art Homeschool Classes

The Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga offers home school workshops for home school learners & their families.    Each session includes a museum tour, studio art experience, & a take home packet to extend your museum experience.

Workshops are for kids age 5 - 13 years old & their providers.  Providers can explore the museum & participate in a studio art experience while their children attend the workshop.  There is no additional cost for providers who participate in the workshop.

Workshops coming soon are:  "Art as a Mirror",  February 10th, "Museum Buildings & their Architecture", March 17th, & "The Elements of Art", April 14th.  All classes are 10am - 12pm & cost is $10.00 for members & $12.00 for non-members.

Workshops are limited to 30 students so register soon to reserve your space.   Go to http://www.huntermuseum.org/ for more information.  They are also having their homeschool day event this coming Wednesday, November 18th at 10 am.

Smithsonian Magazine Day!

Today is Smithsonian Magazine Day!  You may not know but the Smithsonian museums in DC are free to the public every day.  Since today is Smithsonian Magazine Day thousands of museums & cultural venues all across America are offering free admission on Saturday, September 26th. 

Go to http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/about.html to see the list of museums in your area & to download a museum day admission card which will give free admission to you & a guest.

Birthday for my 11 Year Old

Last day of summer!! I am a little sad but in reality I am ready for school to start. These last weeks have been long & drawn out like the school year just would not get here...my view, not my son's.

My son's birthday was last weekend & he is at the age (11 now) that I don't have to come up with the theme birthday with party games, etc. We did not even order a birthday cake because my son & most of the kids hate that kind of icing. So we just bought a chocolate cake & threw some candles on it. We had salad, sandwiches, hot wings, & chips for dinner along with some ice cream & the cake for dessert.

This was a sleep over party so the boys played outside until dark & then I pulled out some board games. They decided that they wanted to make their own game so I supplied cardboard & art supplies. They sat for hours drawing & making a game...they named it "World Attack". They played until bedtime & had the most fun with that.

Six of his friends came to the party but only four of them spent the night. Monday morning another friend of ours met us with another boy & we all went to the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. We had been earlier this year but none his friends had been so it was exciting & fun for them. We had a great time & was able to give him a memorable birthday.

I had looked at venues for the party but everything was too expensive & the museum did not offer any type of birthday event, so I just did it myself. It was less expensive than doing a planned event & granted we didn't get the behind the scenes stuff, but that was OK...the boys had a great time!

So if you can't find an affordable birthday venue...just do it yourself!

Macon Museum of Arts & Sciences

Saturday we were in Macon, Georgia & visited the Museum of Arts & Sciences. We had been there before but it has been a couple of years so we decided to go one more time. They have visiting exhibits as well as their permanent displays, so there is always something new to see.

As we were paying at the admissions desk they were announcing their planetarium show, "My Backyard", which was about to begin. So we hurried in to get our seat. They had some interesting information but it was really geared to younger elementary children. My son who is now grown (in his mind) at the old age of 10, groaned through most of it. It had some snappy tunes & when I joined in snapping my fingers...well lets say he is getting to the age where your parents embarrass you. Ah...the wonderful tween years!

As we exited the planetarium they had an exhibit of minerals & sea shells. He liked this more because he loves anything that can be dug up, but he especially loves the ocean. They had a wide variety of sea shells along with some small plant & animal specimens.

We then heard an announcement for an animal show in their mini zoo (which is indoors). The volunteer brought out a cockatoo named Georgia who stole the show. Georgia refused to be quiet & really showed off by displaying her feathers & loud voice! She had the whole group laughing.

Next was an opossum that cannot live in the wild due to brain damage. The poor thing can only walk in circles! She put it down on the floor & it slowly made its way to us...made us dizzy to watch.

Next she brought out a boa that had been shot in the face & is now totally blind. It was very docile & is safe for the volunteers to handle. The kids were able to pet the opossum & the snake. My son loves animals so he enjoyed this.

There are three stories to the museum so we went up to the third level which houses the hands on art area. There are tables & supplies for the kids to draw & be creative.

Next we headed to the basement which houses the hands on science area. They have a dinosaur dig, telescopes with specimens for you to view, & other activities dealing with magnetism, gravity, etc.

We then went to view the visiting exhibit which at this time is an artists display of glass work. There is blown glass globes, paper weights, vases, & display plates. They were absolutely amazing! The globes & vases had a 3D effect & the main theme was the ocean floor. The plates looked like ocean waves...very pretty. The gift shop has some smaller pieces available for sale with the average price running around $250.00...worth it for an original piece of art. Alas, I could not afford it. The gift shop has a lot of other items for sale geared to the kids so we always have to hit it before we leave.

So the next time you are in the Macon, Georgia area stop by for a visit. The admission for the museum is $8.00 for adults & $4.00 for children. For more information & directions go to http://www.masmacon.com/

Museum of Aviation

Tuesday we visited the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia. Our son knew we were taking him to a museum but had no clue what it was like. As we drove up on the street out front he saw the huge planes outside & said, "Whoa". He didn't realize that was the museum & as we turned in he said, "We're going here?" He was excited to get out & explore. The first thing you see is the stealth bomber outside the main building.
This plane is huge...you can see Noah standing under it here.

We then walked over to the B52 bomber. The stealth was big but the wings on the B52 were amazing. The wing span on this plane is wider than the length of the plane. A whopping 185 feet in width...almost the height of a 19 story building. The tips of the wings have their own landing gear with wheels to help land the plane.

After looking at this we went inside the first building. There are four hanger style buildings with more planes, helicopters, artifacts & information on aviation military history. My son enjoyed watching some of the documentaries on WWII.

Some of the highlighted exhibits are: "Down to Earth" in the WWII exhibit hangar, Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, America's Black Eagles: The Tuskegee pioneers and beyond, The Robert L. Scott Jr. Story: "God is my co-pilot", Robins AFB & WWII Commemorative, 483rd Bombardment Group, & The Korean War: The Forgotten War.

I think we could have stayed there for a long time but we had a time budget since my husband had to be at work in the mid-afternoon. We breezed through the four buildings & still spent over 2 hours there, so if you go plan on spending at least 4 hours. They have a theatre as well in the WWII exhibit hangar which has a nominal fee, otherwise the museum itself is free of charge. There are also picnic shelters out front which will accommodate large groups, so pack your lunch & enjoy the day with your family.

For more information visit their website at www.museumofaviation.org

Macon, Georgia Roadtrip

Last Friday we went to Macon, Georgia where my husband was working. We took him to work & then checked in at our hotel, which was the Quality Inn on Chambers Road. It looks like the public areas have been updated & everything was very clean, but the room itself had seen better days. The furniture was worn & chipped, & the chair had a small rip in the fabric.

The room did have WiFi so I checked my messages on my laptop & then after I was done we went swimming in the pool. It was an extremely hot day with a heat index of 106 & it looked like bugs had come looking for a place to cool off as well. The pool apparently did not have a good filtration system & dead bugs floated on the surface of the water. Most of the bugs were from the beetle family, which I am not squeamish about, so we went in anyway & would push them away if they floated towards us. This has happened in several hotels that we have stayed at that have an outside pool, so I don't know if it is something that is easily cleaned.

After the pool we came back to the room, took our baths & then I talked to my mom & sister on Skype. If you have family far away you must get Skype. It is free to join & if you call other people who are also members & they are in your contacts, it is free to call anywhere in the world 24/7! In case you do not know, Skype allows you to call via video on your computer so you actually get to see the people you are talking to...it is awesome! Later that night I tried to get internet connection again but it would not let me get on. I also tried again Saturday morning before we checked out but it would still not give me access. So all in all I would not recommend this hotel because of the condition of the rooms, the WiFi, & the breakfast was not very good.

Saturday Noah & I went shopping to buy my husband a Father's Day gift & then we went to see the movie "Up". This was a really cute movie! There were some parts that were slow & a little boring for kids but most of the movie has action & a plot that will keep them entertained.

If you are ever in Macon you need to visit their Science Museum. We did not go on this trip because we have been there several times in the past, but it is a great place to take kids. We have enjoyed it each time we have gone. I wish that we would have had more time there to check out new places but we were only there one night & then back home....maybe next time!

Historical Rome, Georgia

Rome, Georgia...do you know how it got its name? It's funny that in the 11 years I have lived in Georgia I have never been to Rome, yet this past week I have been there twice. Wednesday night we went to see the Minor League "Braves" play & yesterday we went on personal business.

As we drove into the downtown we saw the Rome Area History Museum & when we finished our business decided to walk over & check it out. It happened to be Greater Rome Bank Customer Appreciation Day, so it was Free Admission & they also had free refreshments.

The workers, I assume volunteers, were extremely friendly & helpful. They gave our son a scavenger hunt paper to work on as he worked his way through the museum. I love it when museums offer scavenger hunts because it makes the kids focus on the information they are reading while they are trying to find answers to questions on their sheet. My husband loved it too, he loves absorbing new information...never play him in any trivia game!

When we were in Rome for the ball game the other night we were discussing with our friends that were with us, how did Rome get its name? Well we found out...it was drawn from a hat! The other names in the hat were Pittsburgh, Warsaw, Hamburg, and Hillsboro. Rome fits it though because like Rome, Italy it sits among seven hills.

The Museum has a wealth of information on Rome: Native Americans in Floyd County, The Georgia Land Lottery, The Founding of Rome (that's where we found out how Rome got its name), The Civil War, The Clock Tower, The Flood of 1886, Home Life, War, Education and Athletics, Cultural Life, Medicine, & Industry.

I also discovered that President Woodrow Wilson's wife was raised in Rome & that one of the writers of the popular cartoon "Popeye" was from Rome. I read about all kinds of home medicinal cures which seem funny today...moms did you know that if you had put an ax under your bed it would have "cut out" labor pains?

So if you happen to be in the Rome, Georgia area stop in for a visit. Today, June 6th is also Free Admission all day. There is also a Clock Tower tour today at 12:00 (meet at the Clock Tower).

The Clock Tower, which sits atop Clock Tower Hill, provided Rome with water from 1871 to 1960. The tower held a 250,000 gallon water tank. There is also a clock on the tower & the face of it measures 9ft in diameter. In 1883 Rome's first public school was built next to the tower, Tower Hill School. It was later named Neely School but was torn down in 1961.

Wednesday, June 10th you can receive free admission to the museum if you bring a recent church bulletin. Thursday June 11th anyone over 60 gets free admission all day. Friday June 12th is general free admission all day. So if you are in the area stop in on these days & enjoy the museum. For more information you can go to their website at http://www.romehistorymuseum.com/

Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum

Explore the earth & search the stars at the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Tellus is a world-class, 120,000 square foot science museum located just off I-75 in Georgia at exit 293. Tellus features four main galleries: Weinman Mineral Gallery, Fossil Gallery, Science in Motion and Collins Family "My Big Backyard". A digital planetarium and an observatory are also located at Tellus.

For years my husband & I have been taking our son to the Weinman Mineral Museum in Cartersville, Ga. It has always been a great place to explore rocks & minerals plus they have a geologist on staff. We would take our rocks in & they would take the time to look at them & let us know what we had. It has always been a great place to go for minerals plus they had fossils from different areas around the world & discussed Georgia geology from prehistoric times to the present day.

They have been building a new science museum addition for the last couple of years & it was finally opened early this year. Wednesday we finally got the chance to go & boy has it changed! They didn't just add on, they totally revamped the mineral museum & built an awesome facility.

So take the tour with our photos as we go through the museum. We will start with the Mineral Gallery since that is the one that started it all. Featured exhibits include over 50 cases of gems, gold, and some of the world's most prized minerals.

A hugh piece of copper boulder.

Stare into the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus rex, catch a glimpse of a saber-tooth cat and discover how life on Earth began in the Fossil Gallery. This walk through billions of years of history takes visitors past skeletons of dinosaurs, reptiles and mammals of all shapes and sizes that dominated the land, sea and air.

I think this one is the Elasmasaurus.

Take a stroll through history & discover the early break-throughs in automobile manufacturing featuring electric, steam and gasoline-powered cars. A special portion of the gallery is dedicated to the men who first traveled into space. A replica Apollo I capsule, a Mercury capsule and a replica of Sputnik are all on display in the Science in Motion Gallery.

Noah in the space suit.

They have a fossil dig & gem panning room where the kids can become miners & paleontologists. They can uncover fossils to take home & the precious gem stones they find are theirs to keep as well.

We went with a homeschool group & this is Noah with some of his friends.

There is also a room called "My Big Backyard". This is a hands on room where kids can experiment with light, rainbows, mirrors and more in the greenhouse. There is a shed filled with sound experiments, a garage where they can discover properties of magnets and work with electricity. A really fun room which we didn't have much time for...next time we will have to hit that first.

We skipped going into the Planetarium to eat at the Cafe. We were with a large homeschool group so the shows were running around 15 mins each. My friends who went in were not impressed with the show but I think they shortened them so that everyone would get a chance to go in. Normally Planetarium shows run every 45 minutes beginning at 11am on weekdays and 10:15 on weekends. So we will have to go on our own one day & see how the show is on a normal day.

If you are ever in north Georgia (north of Atlanta), plan on stopping by the Tellus Museum. It is open everyday except major holidays. The admission is $12 for adults, Seniors (65+) $10.00, Children (3-17) $8.00. You can also become a member & then admission is free. For more information go to http://www.tellusmuseum.org/ -

Touring Opelika

After we got up & changed hotel rooms we went sight seeing in Historic downtown Opelika. We walked around the town square which has a fountain in the middle. There are a couple of streets to wander down that have shops, galleries & cafes.







The downtown has been renovated & there is still work being done & signs out for new businesses that will be arriving soon.

On the first street we went down there was a school resource store named "The Apple Tree" & they do sell to the public & homeschoolers. They do not sell curriculum's but they have everything else that you would need to complete your school room. Art supplies, curriculum supplements, charts, bulletin boards, etc., a wide selection.

We then went to The Museum of East Alabama & was greeted by Glenn, a very nice gentleman with a wealth of information. He told us that Opelika had a German POW camp there during WWII. That interested me because my father was a POW in Germany for 9 months during the war until he was liberated by the Russians. The museum is free but they do take donations.

In the 1800's visitors came to Opelika to drink from the downtown mineral wells...the water reportedly had healing powers. There was also a bustling cotton trade. This also interests me because my mom grew up in Alabama & they grew cotton. She has told me stories where they picked cotton, loaded it into horse drawn wagons & would take it to the gin. They would have to go either late at night or real early in the morning & the kids would climb up on the cotton in the back of the wagon & sleep as they waited in the long line of wagons for their turn to get it weighed in.

My grandparents were share croppers & would move from farm to farm each year. They lived in Opp, Alabama back then before moving to Florida to work in the juice industry. When my grandmother passed away we took her back to Alabama to bury her. The interesting thing about that is that the cemetery she is buried in is located on one of those cotton farms she worked. The cycle of life....

Wow, I got sidetracked there! Anyway, we did walk over to the old train depot which has been refurbished. It is not open to the public & is empty inside from what we could see. They are still doing some construction work at the site.

We then ate lunch ate Jim Bobs Chicken Fingers on 1st Ave. near downtown. They had a busy lunch crowd so we assumed it must be a local favorite. It is the type of restaurant where you go up to the counter to order your food & then they bring it to you. They did have burgers on the menu but as you can assume their specialty was chicken. Chicken fingers, chicken wings, chicken salad sandwiches, salads with grilled chicken, etc.

The food was good but not awesome. I can make killer chicken wings & both my husband & son like the ones I make at home better. My husband likes hot wings & their hottest ones still did not have the kick he likes. I had the chicken salad sandwich which came with chips. It was good but again not awesome. It was served on Texas toast style bread which was nice & soft with a good flavor. My son & I shared a small side salad which ran about $3.50.

All in all the food was in the average range. The locals seemed to like it & I found out that it is a small chain with a few in Georgia as well. One thing I can say about people in Opelika is that they are friendly & look you in the eye. Even in the restaurant when people walk by your table they will either look & nod their head or give you a small wave & smile. So a nice place to visit.

Etowah Indian Mounds

I had posted this field trip that we took last month, but in being new with this blog I accidentally deleted it so I am finally getting around to posting it again. We took a trip to the Etowah Indian Mounds in Cartersville, Georgia.

The Etowah Indians started building the mounds in 1000 A.D. & it took several hundred years to complete. Their village was built compactly on a field or plateau around the mounds. There were three altogether & the photo to the right shows one of the smaller mounds looking down from the tallest one.

They built their houses with a wattle-and-daub construction, consisting of a post framework, clay-plastered walls, and probably cane mat or bark roofs.

The mounds were built by digging up the clay close by & the ditch were they dug it from remains today. The tallest mound is approx. 63 feet high, covers 3 acres around the base, & is 1/2 acre on the top (which is flat). This mound is where the Chief lived. The second highest mound was 25 feet high & another leader of the tribe lived there. The 3rd mound that is still visible today is 19 feet high & this was the burial mound. A ramp with steps of clay, with log risers, led to the tops of the mounds.

The original steps were unearthed by archaeologists in 1994, but they were recovered & the modern stairway was built over them.

The Etowah were part of the Mississippian Culture which began around 700 A.D. These mounds were used between 900 - 1550 A.D. The Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto & his men visited the site in 1540. They brought diseases such as smallpox & measles which the Indians had no immunity for so a drastic amount of the population died. The rest fled & joined other groups & they eventually became known as the Creeks. The Creeks however did not pass down their history & soon later generations along with the Cherokee who came to the area had no idea where the mounds had come from. Research is still going on today & only the burial mound has been fully excavated.

If you would like to visit the Etowah Indian Mounds it is not far of I-75 north of Atlanta near Cartersville. For an enjoyable visit allow 1 & 1/2 hours. There is a museum which displays 400 specimens. A video is also shown in the theatre that seats 100 people. This is a State Historic Site so there is a small fee to view the museum & mounds (the Georgia Park Pass is not valid for this site). For more information go to www.gastateparks.org/info/etowah/ or call them at 1-800-864-7275.

Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History

This is our official spring break week but since we went to Texas a few weeks ago I decided to at least do some school. Monday we used as a field trip day & went to the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History. This is located in Kennesaw, Ga on Cherokee St.

We have been several times in the past & have enjoyed it. They have a homeschool day once a month which includes extra activities for the kids. On this last trip they were teaching about the games that children played during the Civil War era, as well as some weapons demonstration. I actually let my husband take our son & took the day off so I do not have all the details about what went on. They have a homeschool day once a month & the next one is scheduled for May 4th, so take your kids. You don't need a group to get the homeschool rate so if it is just your family go ahead & check it out.

If you do not homeschool but are looking for a fun family activity the Southern Museum has something for everyone. They have Children's History Workshops, the next one is April 25th & will be teaching Civil War Tactics. They also have Mommy & Me classes for those of you who have younger children.

For more information, directions & prices go to http://www.southernmuseum.org/
They are not far off of I-75 north of Atlanta, so if you are passing through plan to stop by & pay them a visit.

Booth Western Art Musuem

After our visit to the Etowah Indian Mounds (read about it in my last blog), we drove to the Booth Western Art Museum which is only about 5 miles away in downtown Cartersville. Our home school group was greeted by the tour guides & then they broke us up into 2 different groups. The younger kids were taken to the basement which has a hands on activity area & they also did crafts. I went with my son in the older group to the Presidential Gallery which has portraits & information on all of the presidents (Obama has not been included yet). The kids were given sheets of questions about the presidents & they worked in teams going around the exhibit & finding the answers to the questions. It was fun for them plus they learned a lot from doing it that way.

Next we went & did a hands on question & answer session on Teddy Roosevelt & then the kids worked on the three branches of government. They were given pieces of paper with information & had to place it on a poster either under Legislative, Judicial or Executive. It was challenging but the museum volunteers were there to help those who needed it.

After our guided session we took the older kids to the basement to play (after all they still love make believe). Then we went through the art galleries at our own pace & of course hit the gift shop on the way out. So if you are looking for a field trip or just a day out with the family, check out the Booth Western Art Museum. They are closed on Mondays. For more info visit their website at http://www.boothmuseum.org/

Travel to Texas

Never did get to finish my blog about Texas yesterday, so here goes. On our third day there we drove to Plano to visit the Heritage Farmstead Museum. It is the former home of sheep farmer Ammie Wilson. This Victorian homestead was built in 1891 & there are gardens, old barns & other out buildings along with farm animals. There are self-guided tours on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 10am-2pm. Docent-guided tours are Thurdays and Fridays at 10am, 11:30am & 1:30pm as well as Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm & 2:45pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $3.50 for students & seniors, and children 4 and under are free.

Front of Victorian homestead



One room schoolhouse Another home on property

Barn with old vehicles Indian camp



Some of the farm animals Smokehouse

Outbuilding with cellar View of side of house look

We went on Friday but was too late for the last guided tour at 1:30, so we called ahead of time to see if we could still do the self-guided tour. They said it was OK but when we got there we were not able to go into the Victorian home because it was locked. We were able to go into some of the outbuildings but another home on the property & the one room school house were also locked. So I suggest if you want to do the self-guided tour you need to go on the times stated above. Apparantely there is a country store with handmade crafts and gifts but we never saw that & none of the staff there ever approached us or spoke to us. Anyway, it was an inexpensive outing for the day & the kids liked running around & playing (even though they complained the whole way there "no more old stuff...nothing historical").

My friend, Flor, used to live in Dallas & her husband made her promise she would bring back some food from a local Chinese restuarant that they used to eat at. They would go there at least once a week, so it is a definite local favorite. Not sure of the exact "city" it is in, sort of North Dallas & I think it is Reynolds or Reynoldsville (starts with an R anyway). It is on the corner of 15th & Greenville & the name is First Chinese BBQ. BBQ??? Yes, & it is excellent!

When we walked in the door there were whole roasted ducks hanging by the neck in a display case (reminiscent of the Christmas Story), along with roasted chickens. Chinese woman were cleaning vegetables out in the dining room on one of the tables & the menu showed it was truly an authentic Chinese restuarant. There were items I would never dare to try, but a wide variety was available for those of us who liked safe choices. There were 8 of us & we ordered Orange Chicken, Roasted Chicken, BBQ Pork, noodles with seafood, mixed vegetables, Chinese brocolli with Oyster Sauce & several other dishes. The food is served family style in big bowls & the food is placed on a lazy susan in the middle of the table so you can easily try all of the different dishes. I was totally amazed at the speed that our food came out...I am honest when I say we had ALL of our food within 10 minutes (if not faster). It was not cooked ahead of time but was freshly prepared & it was the best Chinese I have ever had! All of the food came to around $58.00 which feed all of us plus we had plenty of leftovers to take home. So if you are ever in the Dallas area & want to find a great local Chinese, you must try this!!!

Oh, & there is a Chinese bakery next door with fresh items baked daily. We purchased big pastries filled with custards, coconut fillings, & onion & meat...all awesome! So try it out & let me know how you enjoyed it. Well, I need to go eat my breakfast...hubby is home today & he cooked sausage gravy & biscuits..yum.

The Stockyards in Ft. Worth, Texas

Good evening everyone! I finally get a chance to sit down & continue my blog about traveling to Texas. Like I wrote yesterday, we arrived there last Monday. Tuesday was a relax & unwind day after driving almost 900 miles out there.

Wednesday we drove to Ft. Worth & visited "The Stockyard". It is an historic part of the city where cattle was brought to be sold at auction & loaded on trains. There are a lot of shops & restaurants to choose from, so the first thing we did was go eat lunch at Risques' BBQ (not exactly sure if that was the name) but close. (If any of you know the name & need to correct me let me know.) They have all you can eat BBQ Ribs plus a variety of great options to choose from. They even have BBQ spareribs on the kids menu which I thought had a better flavor than the adult ribs. My son did not want the kids meal, so I ordered him the kids spareribs & ate them myself. My son ordered a combo appetizer which had cheese sticks, corn fritters, BBQ shrimp & stuffed jalepenos. He loves shrimp & spicy peppers so this was a great option for him. Surprisingly he liked the corn fritters which is rare because he does not like corn, but he liked these. I tried some & I have to say they were some of the best corn fritters I have ever had. What really made the ribs tasty was the BBQ sauce which has great flavor with a touch of sweetness. The restaurant also had great decor & ambience....so we recommend this for your next visit.

After eating lunch we headed to the mechanical bull where two of our group decided to give it a try. My son was one of them & half way through he looked in distress but never yelled out for them to stop. He was finally thrown off but apparantely he obtained a slight muscle pull & limped around with a stiff leg for about an hour, but not long after that time he was off and running again. The cost for riding the bull is $5.00 per person, so a little pricey seeing that you spend less than a minute on the ride, but for a kid to get to be a cowboy for a brief moment it is worth it.

We then went to the Visitors Center & purchased a self guided tour for our group. For $15.00 you receive a GPS system which guides you around the Stockyard & takes you off the main road. As you arrive at each location on your tour it tells you the history & even has videos & photos that appear on the GPS screen which brings to life things that happened in that very spot. Since it is self-guided we were able to go at our own pace & hit some of the museums & gift shops along the way. In the Livestock Exchange building there is a musuem that is free for kids & adults are asked to pay a $2.00 donation. In that musuem is a light bulb that has been burning, without ever being turned off, for over 100 years. They even have T-shirts about the lightbulb, which my son just had to have.

After hitting another gift shop, to buy the all important cowboy hat, we finished our tour. One of our last stops was Billy Bob's, the largest Honky Tonk in the world?, or at least the country. It is a kid friendly place with video games, pool tables, food, etc. The only problem is it is not smoke free, it is a honky tonk after all, so take that into consideration before taking your kids. Regardless, it was a nice place to sit & relax. There is a $1.00 cover charge to go in but it is free with the tour. One of the last parts of the walking tour was following the footsteps of Bill Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, so there was a lot of history we would have missed if we had not had the GPS system with us.

The tour took us several hours so by the time we were done it was time for dinner, so we decided to eat at Habenero's. This restuarant has only been open for a couple of months (it used to be Risky Rita's). The service was excellent & the food was great. It is really fresh, original Mexican which was a nice change from what we get in Georgia. So I would also recommend this if you are in the mood for Mexican.

Well, it is late. Tomorrow I will try & finish up with the trip to Texas & will be telling you about an authentic Chinese place you MUST go to if you are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. So sign up to be a follower of my blog so you don't miss it.

Trip to Hartswell, Georgia

My husband is a traveling photographer & last week was working in Hartswell, Georgia. We arrived on Wednesday evening & checked in at the BestWestern. The next morning we went sightseeing in their downtown. We went to the Holland House (I need to check my info to make sure that is correct), but it is an historical home there that houses the Chamber of Commerce & the towns historical musuem. We learned that Hartswell is named after a Revolutionary War heroine by the name of Nancy Hart. She was a spy & captured Torries that tried to take over her home. She was 6 feet tall with red hair & a freckled face. The musuem is free so stop in if you get a chance & with only 3 rooms to view it is a quick stop if you are in a hurry.

We also love antiques so we walked around the square looking for an antique store but did not see one. They also have a road right off the square (Depot Dr.) that has some interesting stores & restuarants. It looks like it used to be the old main street of the town. There is also an old train depot there, thus the name. Sorry that I do not have more details or photos but I did not know at the time that I would be blogging about this since I just started my blog yesterday. In the future I will have photos & detailed info.

We then went to Fletcher's, a local restuarant that serves a lunch buffet. It was not a huge variety but the food was fresh & really good, so I recommend you go there to eat.

It had snowed 5 to 6 inches the Sunday before we arrived & there was still snow on the ground, so my son, Noah, & my husband had snowball fights & Noah got to jump around in ankle deep snow. We then drove to Lake Hartwell at the Hart State Park, which is only maybe 5 miles from downtown Hartwell. The water is still a little low but it is very pretty there. They have cottages & campsites available for those who would like to stay at the lake.

My husband then went to work & Noah & I started our homeschool day in the hotel. We are home this week & speaking of homeschool I need to go & get prepared for the day, so I will chat more later. Thanks for reading our post!