The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas,my fun travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you are looking for fun road trips in north Texas. Also, for a *FREE* 50-page guide to ghost hunting groups and haunted history tours in north Texas, sign up for my infrequent-but-interesting newsletter by clicking here: Located at the junction of US highways 80 and 69, Mineola is situated in Wood County which, true to its name, is a highly-forested section of the East Texas Piney Woods. Early industries included lumber, farming and…
Tag: Nature
This Week’s #BiteSizeMemoir Prompt: Camping THE PLAN: I intended to spend the week reading books, swimming, stargazing, and sailing our little 12 foot boat. My sister had a tan to perfect, and fish to catch. My parents, I’m sure, simply wanted to relax. THE DISASTER: The August sun held out until we reached the lakeside campground. First came the splats of big fat drops. This crescendoed to a steady downpour as we frantically pitched our tent. THE REALITY: No swimming, fishing, sailing, or tanning. Instead, we told stories and read books. We played card games and Scrabble. Mom won the…
A Little Island You’ve Probably Never Heard Of Some of my family members live on Lummi, a lush island off the coast of Washington State. Every time I visit, we walk the beach at least once a day. We always try to make it down for low tide. That’s the best time to find agates and seashells, the best time to peer into tidal pools to see what they reveal. No Palm Trees Here Of course, we’re not talking tropical style beaches with palm trees and pale sand. This is the Pacific Northwest, folks. We’re talking a different kind of…
For today’s Friday Photo, I’ve decided to post the most popular photo from my 2013 Instagr.am feed. (If you’re on Instagr.am follow me, @TuiSnider, and say hi. I will definitely follow you back!) Here’s the story behind the picture: My husband and I were on a tour of the Caribbean island, St. Maarten, when our group decided to stop by the seaside. As we stepped out of the van, the driver warned us that part of the area was clothing optional, so if we were offended by this, we should pay close attention to the signs. I’d never been to…
Beautiful Reflections along the Bayou Today’s photo essay features shots I took with my iPhone while floating down the Big Cypress Bayou in Jefferson, Texas. It was hard to restrain myself to only sharing six pictures with you because I could not stop taking photos. It was that beautiful! If, like me, you enjoy dreamy reflections, then a cruise with Turning Basin Riverboat Tours is made for you. East Texas History & Lore Our boat was captained by John Nance, who kept us entertained with a mixture of historical information, local lore and facts about nature. After showing us a…
The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas,my fun travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you are looking for fun road trips in north Texas. Also, for a *FREE* 50-page guide to ghost hunting groups and haunted history tours in north Texas, sign up for my infrequent-but-interesting newsletter by clicking here: Mineola Overview History of Mineola, Texas It’s unclear exactly how the town of Mineola got its name. While some claim a railway official named it after his daughter, Ola, and her BFF, Minnie, others say the name…