In the “sense of adventure” spirit that my husband is so enamored with (and so am I), we decided to take a scenic drive on our way to Topeka yesterday afternoon. A map of gravel road utility type vehicle trails in the Flint Hills has been hanging on our fridge for months. I printed it from a VisitEmporia.com website in hopes that one day we could explore the beautiful area that is so visible from I-35 turnpike through the Flint Hills. So yesterday, at the last minute before leaving the kitchen, the hubby pulled that map off the fridge and said “let’s do this!!”.
Continue reading “Hills, caterpillar, and unexpected nostalgia.”Category travel with B
We go a lot. Come with us!
Comfort and Joy
Just a little preface to this post. You’re not going to find anything that even vaguely resembles what you might read in the headlines or hear on the news these days. My motive is simple stories and encouraging words. No politics, no controversy, no mean stuff. This is Simply B keeping it light and simple. Finding the good. It’s there to be found.
Continue reading “Comfort and Joy”Wintering Elsewhere
If you’ve experienced winter in the Midwest, you fully understand the appeal of going South during the cold months. We decided a few months ago to make late January and all of February our month to head for the warmth of Texas.
Why Texas? Well, that’s a good question. Our first winter trip to Texas was the Cotton Bowl, New Year’s Eve back in 2000 or so. Dallas was a sheet of ice. The game was frigid and miserable, though our team, KSU, won the game. Several years later KSU played in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. So, you know, that’s further south than Dallas. It’ll be warm and sublime. Nope. Temps in the low 50’s and cold rain the entire time. Even on our side trip to Port Aransas on the Gulf.
But January/February should be much better. Right? Much better than Kansas. Right?
Continue reading “Wintering Elsewhere”You’re wrong
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. Words like “mind-numbing terrain”. “It’s so boring”. “There’s nothing to see”. “Longest drive ever”. Any guesses what these words are describing? Well I’ll go ahead and give the answer: Western Kansas. I-70 in particular.
And I have to be very honest, I’ve uttered those words myself over the years. Shame on me.
Continue reading “You’re wrong”‘Sup? oh my….SUP
My oldest daughter has an SUP. Stand up paddleboard, in case you need to know. Her mother-in-law also has one. They rave about how fun they are, how easy they are to use, how great the muscular work-out they provide.
So I sure enough wanted to try and see for myself last November in the bay water of Palacios, Texas. Perhaps I should have received warning signals from the opposing phrases “easy to use” and “great work-out”. But, of course, I didn’t. Read on.
Continue reading “‘Sup? oh my….SUP”Yaks and Origami
For most of the month of November we’ve been volunteering at a faith-based camp on the Texas gulf. Palacios by the Sea is a lovely little spot in the universe. So low-key and friendly. About 4600 folks call Palacios home. It’s bordered by a lovely bay that connects to the Gulf of Mexico. By the way, for those of you word nerds who need to know how Palacios is pronounced: Puh-lash-us
Continue reading “Yaks and Origami”There’s a Lighthouse….on a (really steep) hillside
After a long period of time with no volunteering trips with our RV, we finally finally are able to get back out there and go. As I mentioned in my blog post titled “Purpose and Plans”, everything kinda stopped in 2020 for us due to Rotten Rona. In 2019 we began the volunteering plan, in 2020 it screeched to a halt. Only two projects total for us and BAM, done.
Continue reading “There’s a Lighthouse….on a (really steep) hillside”Traveling south; Gene, Blake, and Olive Ann
Did you know there is a national park in south central Oklahoma? Well there is! Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
We decided to take a little four day camping trip to this park, sight unseen, no idea what to expect. Sense of adventure kicked in while googling Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Our trip was delayed one year because our initial reservation was in March of 2020. Need I say more? ‘Rona ruined that plan.
Fast forward to 2021 and life is kind of good-ish again. Things are opening up, so we rebooked some campsites and hit the road with my sister and brother-in-law.
Continue reading “Traveling south; Gene, Blake, and Olive Ann”Long in the (Blue) tooth
Today I’d like to just share with you some observations on aging, really growing up a lot, becoming long in the tooth. It’s hard to come up with a palatable description for, uh, getting old. We’ll stick with the “tooth” phrase for my purposes today. You’ll see why later.
Embracing embraces. And the number 28.
Are you a hugger? I wasn’t as a child. It wasn’t our family’s “thing”. That’s okay, I suppose. Pretty sure all you non-huggers are tolerating the COVID-19 restriction policies better than us huggers. Though I’ve grown into being a hugger (with a few limits), during these pandemic days I truly treasure all the human interaction I can get. Smiles (that you can actually see on an unmasked face), hugs, elbow bumps, conversation. Anything, I tell ya. Growl at me even.
Continue reading “Embracing embraces. And the number 28.”Purpose and Plans.
We’re retired. It’s been two years now. Since we love to travel and have a fifth wheel, we looked into ways we could incorporate both of those into our life plan. Doors opened for us to volunteer at faith based camps while living part-time in our fifth wheel and in the fall of 2019 we had our first stint in eastern Oklahoma. After the first month we loved it so much that we quickly signed up for another month.
And it seemed we’d found our purpose.
Continue reading “Purpose and Plans.”Would you like some whine with that cane?
Unless you are blind, you are fully aware that my husband and I do not have athletic looking bodies. No one looks at us and concludes that we must work out many hours each day.
We don’t look like we would be hikers. We look like walking to the fridge is our exercise of choice. (oddly enough, as I typed those words, the hubby strolled by from the fridge with a nice bowl of ice cream in his hand) Continue reading “Would you like some whine with that cane?”
Texas, the final chapter. For now.
Tyler State Park. Our final campground in Texas. This picture was taken on a hiking trail near our campsite.
There’s no end to Texas. I’m certain of that. It is vast and so diverse topographically.
Our stay in Texas was initially going to be 6-8 weeks. Due to various circumstances we were only there a bit shy of 4 weeks. But even if we’d spent all 8 weeks touring Texas we could never have seen it all. We shall return. I want to see more. Continue reading “Texas, the final chapter. For now.”
Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.
Texas in the spring. This was our first experience with camping in Texas, and oh my it’s been so very nice. Bluebonnets rule the fields. And sometimes Indian paintbrush rule the fields: Continue reading “Hills. And flowers. And friends. And adventure.”
Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?
Fort Worth has never been a place I dreamed of going. On this particular extended trip to Texas, I assumed it would just be our first stop on the way to somewhere better.
I was wrong! Continue reading “Does Ft Worth ever cross YOUR mind?”
Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.
For the last several springs and summers we’ve taken frequent camping trips to local lakes. And the Mr. worked remotely from our RV. While he worked, I did, uh, very little. Mainly spent time outdoors in exquisitely beautiful surroundings, hanging out with the Creator. Continue reading “Where’s your sense of adventure? Stay tuned.”
Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.
With the hubby’s retirement date approaching with alarming swiftness, I opted to travel with him this week on what will be most likely his last travel trip to a luxurious location. No offense to St Louis, where his current project is, but Huntington Beach California appears to be decidedly more appealing. Because of one word: ocean. Continue reading “Pools of antacid and looking ahead to the future. Subtitle: So Cal, the grand finale of work travel.”
Recreational Vehicle? Depends on your definition of "recreation".
As I’ve mentioned countless times, we are campers. Outdoorsy folks. With limits, of course. You will never see us riding a mountain bike up a 20% grade through thick forest and jumping the bikes over large boulders. Or rappelling up a vertical slab of rock above a river of whitewater below. We like to walk around on easy paths and occasionally flex our muscles in order to hoist up our smart phones and take a picture of some beautiful scene. Yeah, that’s our style of “outdoorsy”. Continue reading “Recreational Vehicle? Depends on your definition of "recreation".”
Energizer Bunny? Hardly.
This past summer I accompanied my husband on a work trip to Seattle. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit what I’d heard is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
I heard correctly. It is. Beauty everywhere you drive. Continue reading “Energizer Bunny? Hardly.”
Fences and Fear
Let me just preface this post with this unfortunate fact: I failed swimming lessons when I was a grade school child. Dropped out before the session was even close to being complete. The configuration of my body parts didn’t lend itself to really being much of a swimmer. 😜 But I was able to float (on my back) and potentially avoid drowning. In my mind that was close enough to success. Mission accomplished. Sort of. The failure stayed with me and put a dent in my level of confidence around water.
Simply B 