Category Archives: Travel

Day 1653 – The Best Mexican Restaurant In Tulare, California

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On the way to our new years eve celebration at Bret’s cousin’s, we stopped for a beer.

I tried to find a place and where we arrived…it wasn’t a restaurant….or anything. So, we kept driving and found a little place called Alejandra’s Mexican Restaurant in Tulare, California.

We sat down, ordered our beers and started chatting. A little while later, we started chatting with our waitress. Come to find out it was the end of her shift on a day off. She came in to just help out. We then talked about life, money and work for about 15 minutes. What was really awesome about this was that the manager/owner came by to give us more salsa and chips and just to check on us a few times. He never “gave her a talking to.” This was really refreshing to see! Granted, she was technically “off.” But I know other managers would have looked down on this. I felt like I was hanging out with a friend and it was a very friendly environment. It was also really cool to see the manager/owner helping out. That speaks VOLUMES to Bret and I. I know we’ll be stopping by the next time we’re in town visiting Bret’s family. 🙂

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Day 1651 – Traveling From Texas To Georgia – San Antonio, Austin, Duck Commander And Southern Cookin’

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We stayed the night in San Antonio after visiting with the Currans. Bonus points? The hotel upgraded us to a suite! If you ever make it out to San Antonio (and you really should!) stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites Near Medical Center. Also, if you join ChoiceHotels.com and book your hotel over a week out, it’s even cheaper!

So, we had a wonderfully relaxing stay, slept in and watch TV until almost check out! We got in the car and tried to figure out where to go next. We were planning on stopping by Duck Commander (where they film Duck Dynasty)…but we wouldn’t make it before they closed….and they didn’t open until 9 a.m. the next day. We were also going to visit another of our couples…but they lived in Georgia and past DD. So, essentially, we had about 12 hours to kill.

A few people mentioned going to The Alamo and Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. We were kind of iffy about it. But I said, well, let’s see how far The Alamo is and if it’s close, we’ll go. When the GPS said 5 miles, we decided to go. I am SO glad we did! It ended up being the highlight of the trip (for both of us).

This sign welcomed us at The Alamo. I personally LOVE American history, so this was a great stop for me!

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After The Alamo, we walked down to the Riverwalk. Oh. My. Gosh. Can I just say it is the most magical/beautiful place we’ve been to? I NEVER expected something so awesome in Texas…no, this country! WOW! While walking, we ended up in this small town just next to the Riverwalk…how cute is this church?

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Now, if you know Bret at all, he’s very frugal with his money. It’s been a very good addition to my life….lol, I’m the one that accumulated our debt…heh heh. Anyways…Bret had such an amazing time, that he said he wanted to stay at this hotel someday. I looked it up, and it’s over $200 a night! But he still said he wanted to go back one day! WOW!

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But I mean, come on! Look how beautiful this is!

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We stopped at a Mexican restaurant and had a wonderful time! Great view!

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We even had some company! 🙂

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After a few hours in San Antonio, we drove up to Austin. It was a fun little stop. We walked up to the capital, did a walking tour of the building and enjoyed the nice view on the grounds. We had a few drinks at a rooftop bar in downtown Austin. They had GIANT sized Jenga!

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Oh, and I won! 🙂 But it was very close. lol.

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After a few hours of letting our drinks settle, we got back on the road. We drove about 4 hours and then stopped off for a nap. We parked at a truck stop for a few hours. Ahhhh, car naps. 🙂

At this point, we were just a few hours away from Duck Commander! It was a nice little stop on our drive! I got a few trinkets….but we didn’t see anyone. 😦 Ah well.

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Since we didn’t see anyone, we figured we’d at least go where they’ve gone…..so we got donuts at the same place they went to in the show! Mmmmmmmm. So good!

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About half way from Louisiana and Georgia, we got a little hungry. We found a little place just off the highway. Oh. My. Goodness. SO good! Seriously the best sweet tea I’ve ever had! I also tried their catfish. I mean, cus obviously! Now, I want to say I’m normally a super dipper with fried foods. Give me chicken tenders and I’m using 2-3 packs of ranch dressing. This catfish? Yea, NO dipping sauce was needed! The flavor was sooooo good. The baked beans were also fantastic. I’m pretty sure there were bacon bits in there. Mmmmmm.

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Day 1649 – Traveling From California To Texas

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What a fun drive from California to Texas we had! We planned on taking our time driving home this year and visiting a few clients. We also wanted to actually SEE some of the awesome places we’ve driven past/near a bunch of times.

One thing we did was stop at an Applebee’s for a late night beer. We made it JUST in time for last call!

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Very funny story to share at this point…

We sat down and didn’t really look around too much when we first got there since we were rushing to get our drink orders in. But a little later, I looked up and noticed that I was sitting under the Baltimore Raven’s banner! There were football teams all around the bar. And Bret sat under the Oakland Raiders! (That’s his team by the way….even though he’s almost won over to Baltimore). It was too funny.

Oh, and look at this, we actually took a picture together! 🙂

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Day 1648 – My Adventures In Disneyland

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The day before we left California, I went to Disneyland with our friend Crystal! I cannot put into words how much fun it was, but I’ll try with a few words and pictures!

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So cool seeing Mary Poppins after just seeing Saving Mr. Banks a few weeks ago!

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I want to say here that it was awesome going with someone who had been to Disneyland many times. She was able to walk me through everything….and talk me into things I didn’t realize I wanted. Thanks Crystal!

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The first thing she talked me into was Mouse Ears. I’m obviously very happy with this decision.

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What was even better was that I could get MY name on them! I don’t know about you….but my name isn’t very common. Even a shortened version (Jen or Jenny) is rare to find on those personalized racks. I love Jennifers, I do….but that’s not my name. Soooo happy Jennilyn is now on something I own. 🙂

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While we were waiting for my hat, we rode the teacups! I had a blast! Laughing like a little kid. My friend has the video, so I’ll have to bug her about that….for now, here are a few pictures!

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After the teacups….she said I had to see this Jedi training thing….ok, cool! I love Star Wars. It’s training for kids 4-12…after a few minutes, I’m like, eh, I’m ok if we move on. Crystal said, oh….you don’t want to see Darth Vader? At this point my mouth was hanging open and I quickly said, OH! Nevermind!!!

Then this happened….

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And this happened….

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At this point I screamed in a “I’m seeing some pop star and screaming like a girl”…..”THAT’S DARTH MAUL!!!! HE’S MY FAVORITE!!!!”

I tried to get some pictures, but he was too far away….so I’m like, I gotta go get a closer shot!!!

I did…

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I later found out that my friend thought I was going to run out and interrupt the show….heh heh, nahhhhhh. 🙂

Then we saw the Haunted Mansion….decorated for Christmas….Oh wait, I forgot to mention! The whole park was decorated for Christmas!!!

Anyways, the Haunted Mansion was taken over by Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas! Too cool!!

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Then we went to toon town and Crystal put me in jail!

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I got to see Pluto! He didn’t see me, as you can see.

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I got to see Chip and Dale’s tree house!

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Sleeping Beauty’s castle all ready for Christmas!

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It’s A Small World…also ready for Christmas!

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On the tram you get to see the Grand Canyon!

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Disney at night! Beautiful!

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Day 1647 – The Most Magical Moment At Disneyland

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For this story, I need to start about 15 years ago.

When I was 16 and my brother was 14, our grandparents took us to Hawaii. We had amazing adventures and saw great things. It was a wonderful trip and I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to go. One of the highlights for me (don’t laugh!) was the pineapple whip at the Dole plantation. It is really just this frozen yogurt/pineapple thing….but the taste is amazing. I really cannot put it into words, but hopefully the fact that I still remember how amazing it was after 15 years is description enough.

This March, you may remember, my grand father passed away.

While I was in California, I went to Disneyland!!! It was an AMAZING day! I felt like a kid again and have a whole lot of pictures and stories about that! But this story is the most important and deserves its own post.

At some point during the day, my friend mentioned that she HAD to stop at this pineapple place for a pineapple whip. I gave her a “mouth open/shut up/are you freakin’ serious” look. I then explained about the experience in Hawaii and that it MIGHT just be the same thing!

In the evening, we finally got in line for this potentially SAME thing! While waiting in the 20 minute (or more) line, I told my friend about how my grandfather had passed away in the spring.

We got up to the counter, ordered and stepped out of line. I was a little nervous to try it, because it had been built up in my mind for 15 years.

I took a bite. It was the same.

I closed my eyes to really focus on the taste.

As soon as I did, I was transported back to Hawaii. I felt the spray of ocean air. I smelled the smells of the pineapple plantation. I felt the hot sun. I remembered my grandfather.

I opened my eyes, full of tears. My friend asked if I was crying (I want to insert here that I teared up a LOT during the day from sheer joy….so she wasn’t surprised or worried about that). I said that I was and to give me just a moment to explain why. I knew if I explained why at that moment, I would burst into loud sobs.

So we walked to the next ride and I enjoyed the whip. Remembering my trip to Hawaii, remembering my grandfather, and remembering that even a 31 year old can have a magical moment at the happiest place on earth.

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