Fun at the Pittsburgh Zoo!

We just returned from a short visit to Zelienople, PA where one of our daughters lives. (Don't you love that name? Zelienople is near Mars and Cranberry. And Mars actually has a flying saucer in the middle of town.

But I digress. The Pittsburgh zoo is wonderful. We spent the afternoon visiting most of the exhibits, riding the tram, playing (or sitting) at the playground, and enjoying all the antics of the animals. I describe some of them here.

But the best part of the day was the company. What a delightful group of little girls (and their mom).

Escape from Winter

Goodness this has been a hard winter. And so we decided to escape for just a little while and drove down to Florida to camp on St. Edward Island near Apalachicola. What a glorious place! The state park on the east end offers large campsites and decent bathhouse facilities. We spent the week biking, hiking, shelling, and eating. Did I mention eating? My favorite places were Cafe con Leche in Apalachicola for their fabulous coffee. ( I think she said it was Muddy Creek.) Omigosh, best coffee I ever drank. We had to go back a second day just for the coffee although the breakfast sandwiches (arepas) made on a cornmeal version of an english muffin were also good.

My favorite dinner place was Caroline's River Inn on the water. We went the day before Valentine's Day since we'd be traveling home the next day. Larry was tired of seafood after a week so he ordered steak, but I ordered stuffed scallops which was an arrangement of large scallops top and bottom with a crabcake between them all in a flaky pastry with a delicious cream sauce. I could have ordered that every day for a week. I traded some with Larry for a little steak, but I definitely had the better dinner. I can't wait to go back next year. And the waitress said their breakfasts are wonderful so that will definitely be on the menu as well. Good place to go after Mass! Although the little church in town, St. Patrick's only had a daily Mass on Monday and Tuesday. Next closest Masses were in Panama City and Tallahassee both an hour and half away. That was the only big drawback to the location since we like to go to daily Mass.

Well, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some of our pictures from our winter escape. I have more on my phone but haven't figured out to get them off yet. I'm too dumb for the smart phone. LOL!

The beach in the early morning. We're off to collect shells.

This doesn't do justice to the beautiful sunset!

A sidewalk in Apalachicola. What a charming little town!

Love those pine trees. Here I am on Carabelle Beach.

Everywhere we went we saw mountains of oyster shells. 

We also saw the oystermen out in the Bay with their long tongs.

Carabelle lighthouse: passed up the chance to climb to the top. 

Went on a hike instead.

What a Country!

I've seen very little of New England so a trip to the northeast was very appealing. Larry and I started in Auriesville, NY at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs. What holy ground! To walk where men were actually struck down and killed for the faith is to be linked directly to those saints. The ravine at the shrine is just such a place and like Rene Goupil and St. Isaac Jogues who prayed the rosary there, so did we. Rene was killed by an Iriquois brave because he had made the sign of the cross on the head of child and the superstitious Indians thought it was sorcery. Fr. Jogues held him as he died fully expecting to be the next victim, but God had work for him to do still and he was spared.

Rene Goupil instructing an Indian child

One of my favorite spots on the grounds was "Theresa's rosary." Theresa was a young Indian girl who learned the faith from the Ursulines in Quebec. She was captured along with Fr. Jogues and his companions and Indian guides. Theresa was staunch in her faith and when her captors confiscated her rosary, she made another from rocks so she could pray it walking alongside the "beads." She later married one of the braves from the tribe, but never abandoned her faith. Like Kateri Tekawitha, she was one of the beautiful Christians baptized and taught by the blackrobes.

Theresa's rosary

First chapel at Auriesville

We also visited the Shrine of Kateri Tekawitha in Fonda. Kateri was born in Auriesville, but was raised in the Indian village located in what is now Fonda. The shrine includes the excavated site where metal posts mark the actual double stockade and the outlines of the long houses where Indian families lived. Not far from the site is "Kateri's spring" where she would have gone to get water for washing and cooking. Our two days in Auriesville were an opportunity to begin our trip as a pilgrimage. We prayed the 20-decade rosary both days and attended Mass at the second chapel built on the grounds in the 1800s. The first chapel is tiny, like a small gazebo, but it is lovely and reminds one how eager people were to honor the martyrs even when they could only build a tiny shrine. 

From Auriesville we visited Vermont and Maine passing through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What a testimony to the glory of God. If Auriesville was like being with the saints washed clean in the blood of the lamb, driving the highways and byways of the northeast was like watching "the word" creating in all his glory. I'll post just a few pictures to illustrate. The glories of God's world made me pause often to sing How Great Thou Art! 

Sailboat on one of Maine's "ponds"

Scene from an overlook in Jamaica State Park, Vermont

One of the amazing examples of Vermont flora

Nature "reflects" the glory of God!

We met this German biker who visits the U.S. twice a year to bike around our wonderful country with friends. (There were half a dozen of them.) He said his favorite trip was following the Lewis and Clark trail from St. Louis to Portland. 

A New York honeybee collects nectar from asters. Beekeepers say aster honey is terrible, so the bees can have it! LOL!

When Camp Kreitzer is in Session even Rainy Days are Fun!

Camp Kreitzer is in session and it's hard to blog at Les Femmes with five pretty princesses calling for attention. So I haven't been  Instead, we've been doing all sorts of things. Yesterday morning we went to Mass, then the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. After we got home it was clean up time, then into the pool about the time the two little cousins arrived.

After swimming and cousins left we decided to do a secret something related to their mom's birthday which is next week. (I'm not telling her age, but I'll just say it's a prime number which means it's REALLY SPECIAL!) Everybody contributed, but you'll have to wait until Saturday to see what it was in case mom is watching. Shhhhh!

But other things aren't a secret -- like going to the potato chip factory and the  library on Tuesday which was a rainy day and required some inside activities. The parking lot was jammed because the River Bandits Baseball Team was reading to kids in the library lecture room and giving away free tickets. I don't know if we'll make one of their games, but the girls enjoyed the cozy kids' room and almost everybody came home with a few books for quiet time. Even Gramma found a some craft books to give her some good ideas for Camp Kreitzer activities.

Route 11 Potato Chips are the best! (Try the Dill flavored.)

Just ask the potato who makes the best chips. He never lies!

The library was lots of fun too.

It's always great to make a new friend!

 

Free books? All right!

Celebrating Grandkids

We began a week with our oldest daughter's five girls by going to Mass together this morning. For more about our day go here.

A Visit to the Vineyards and Wineries along Lake Erie

Last weekend we enjoyed the company of our daughter and her husband in a birthday tour of vineyards and wineries along Lake Erie. The wine and cheese weekend offered a choice of 23 establishments with food and wine pairings. In two days we managed to visit seventeen (and stay sober). We took a little vote at the end on the best food, the best wine, and best atmosphere. It was a delightful weekend with two of our favorite people. And here are a few photos.

Best Food! Tomato, bacon, smoked cheddar soup...yum.

Flowers everywhere...a second Spring for Larry and me

Bed and Breakfast on the lake...friendly hosts and lovely surroundings!

Our companions on the adventure

We didn't dream up that pink elephant!

Just one of the lovely tasting rooms

Time out from wining for a walk in the park

Is that the road more traveled? Vineyards everywhere.

Beautiful stonework at this vineyard and a friendly winebartender

Lemon cheesecake...just one of the yummy dishes served with wine.

The Chihauhau Living Desert

One of the two bobcats

Our last adventure in Carlsbad was to visit the Living Desert Museum and Zoo. It was fascinating. While the desert looks so arid with little life, it actually has many more life forms than greener pastures. 

For example, the Chihuahua desert has hundreds of types of grasses, many more than in wetter areas. Fascinating! We enjoyed meandering around the Living Desert and enjoyed our first sight of a roadrunner. We didn't see the cougar, but saw two handsome babcats and some gray wolves. Most of the animals are there because they were rescued. 

One of my favorite displays was the small botanical garden filled with beautiful flowers, cacti, etc. I was amazed at the wide variety of cactus and the wonderful names!

organ pipe cactus - very fitting name I think

This looks like a type of hibiscus. I don't recall its name.

barrel cactus - love the pink spines!

These wild pigs are the same type in a child's story, The Lion's Bed. But I can't remember what they're called. 

This photo was a miracle. The roadrunner never stands still and I had a heck of a time catching him! 

The Scenic Carlsbad Loop

After our visit down under, we took the scenic loop on top. It was fascinating to think that below us another world existed. I'd rather live on top, though. The nine-mile loop was on a rough road, but it was worth the hour it took to travel around. We ended our day with a delicious dinner at Yellow Brix in Carlsbad which is about fifteen miles north of the caverns.