Send in the Clowns

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April, blockhead, boy, cabin, dot, eating, faire, festival, fool, hearty, marquis, May, mead, polka, renaissance, rosie, scarborough, show, texas, waxahachie

This past Saturday, the husband and I took the day off to celebrate his birthday. Now, we still spent the day in the Renaissance at Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Shopping. Eating. Drinking a yummy sweet glass of mead! Eating and shopping some more.

We ended our day with one of our favorite acts at the Faire. Yes, we saw Fool Hearty’s “Untrained Dog Show” again! It’s a fantastic show for all ages. The troupe consists of two joke-telling humans, Marquis and Ima Nutt, as well as their two border collies, Blockhead and Polka Dot. It doesn’t matter how many times we see the show, it’s magical every time.

Twelve-year-old Blockhead has been the star of the show for years. As with most border collies, Blockhead is highly intelligent and loves to do tricks. Since neither Marquis nor Ima ever remember to train Blockhead, it’s a good thing he’s taught himself some tricks. He does everything from catching rubber chickens to jumping bars to rescuing kitties hidden in the audience.

Saturday’s show was going well until dear Blockhead injured his paw, and had to go rest for the remainder of the show. So, three-year-old Polka Dot took over the performance duties for the day. It’s amazing how much she’s learned in her few short years. For the first time, we saw Polka Dot go through the dreaded Tunnel of Doom!

At the end of every untrained dog show, the multitude of children in the audience get to go up on stage and pose for photos with the dogs. It’s definitely a treat for all!

If you ever come across Fool Hearty at your local Ren faire, join them at their show and tell them that Rosie the Cabin Boy says “hi!”

Mileage Count- May 17, 2013

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airline, count, japan, mileage, miles, tokyo

Just broke the ten thousand mark. Yay!

Celebrate the Achievement of #38!

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2013, baseball, bottle, cafepress, entry, food, game, giveaway, May, pyramid, Rangers, renplanet, stainless, texas, travel, trivia, water, win, winner

Help me celebrate the achievement of #38 See a Texas Rangers Baseball Game off my Travel To-Do List with a giveaway! Follow this blog, and you’ll be entered to win a Baseball Food Pyramid 0.6L Stainless Water Bottle from Renplanet’s Cafepress shop.

Contest ends May 31, 2013 at 12:00 am EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mileage Count- May 8, 2013

Tags

Advantage, airline, american, flying, japan, miles, press trip, traveling

There’s got to be a quicker way to accrue airline miles. Flying…oh yeah. Maybe I should take one of the press trips I’ve been hearing about. Hmmmm.

Miles Needed for Trip to Japan: 165,000

Miles Available: 9,348

That’s only 155,652 miles to go!

Mileage Count – May 6, 2013

Tags

Advantage, airlines, american, japan, miles, online, shopping

Miles Needed for Trip to Japan: 165,000

Miles Available: 8,521

Good news is that I’ve been doing some online shopping through American Airlines Advantage Program’s website, so more miles should be coming soon!

Hopefully, I will be breaking the 10,000 mile mark within the next 4-6 weeks.

#38. Go to a Rangers Baseball Game

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#38, Adrian, Arlington, baseball, Beltre, cold, do, game, Grimm, Justin, list, May, Rangers, texas, to, travel

ACHIEVED! Last Thursday, my husband and I attended a Texas Rangers baseball for his birthday. We had All-You-Can-Eat seats, and it was amazing! We had football weather for our first baseball game. Despite the fact that is was May 2nd in Texas, the temperature was 44 degrees. This didn’t bother us at all! The wind, on the other hand, was killer. Not only did it blow Alan’s hat off his head, it blew some of my nachos straight out of my tray. It also blew Alan’s chicken sandwich out of his hand.

We settled into our seats and bundled up to watch the game. Justin Grimm pitched for the Rangers against the Chicago White Sox. Incredible watching a great baseball game in person. All the vendors walking up and down the aisles, sold everything from cotton candy to cold beer. The poor beer guy wasn’t selling any “cold ones” that night. At first, he tried simply yelling “BEER” but no one was buying. “Well, if I told you it was cold beer, nobody would buy.” Then, he started yelling, “hot beer” but most people were going inside for coffee.

The game progressed quickly. In the second inning, Adrian Beltre hit a homer. Excellent! And we all got a coupon for a free Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast. The game remained 1-0 Rangers until the sixth inning. After two White Sox were walked onto first and second, the third batter hit a homer. Noooooooooooooo!! Score was now 3-1 White Sox. ) :

We happily watched the game until the very last pitch, leading our section in the usual chant of “Let’s go, Rangers, let’s go!” Unfortunately, the score didn’t change.

My feet were frozen and my face was numb but I wouldn’t change a thing (except for the final score, of course!) Alan and I still had smiles on our faces as we trekked back to the car, taking with two free Rangers shopping bags which were that night’s promotion.

It was a night to remember, indeed. Now that #38 is to-done, I look forward to crossing the next item off of my to-do list.

Packed!

Tags

baseball, birthday, game, Packing, Rangers, texas

When we started planning to finally see a Ranger game, my husband said he wanted to go as soon as possible before it gets too hot. Because we all know that Texas can get very hot starting in May. I readily agreed. Well, our wish came true! Record low temperatures for May 2. After all, it was 84 degrees yesterday, and I wore shorts.

This morning I packed the car in preparation: lap blanket, heavy knit shawl with matching hat, sweatshirts, extra long johns, and winter coats.

Yes, welcome to Texas, where Forrest Gump would approve of the weather as it is “like a box of chocolates.” You never know what you’re going to get living here.

Tomorrow!

Tags

birthday, celebration, husband

Can’t wait till tomorrow! The Husband and I are celebrating his birthday a tad early but the weather will be nice and cool.

#38

Tags

Arlington, baseball, Rangers, texas

Tickets are purchased so I can mark #38 off my list after next week. Yay! The husband and I will be attending a Rangers ball game!

New Place for the Wishlist: Bovey Castle

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to stay in an English castle? Well, I’ve found one where I would love to stay! It’s name is Bovey Castle, and it’s located Devon, nestled between Plymouth and Bristol. The Detmar Blow-designed neo-Jacobean style manor house was built for the Viscount Hambleden in 1907. The house became a golfing hotel in 1930 after being sold to the Great Western Railway.

The hotel’s resort desk can hook you up with a vast number of activities, running the gamut from the classic:archery, falconry, and horseriding to the modern: crolf (croquet meets golf,) hot air ballooning, and rock climbing. And of course, there is also an 18-hole golf course.

As for the rooms, well, there’s 64 of them. If that’s not enough privacy for you, or you have up to eight people in your party, then you can book one of the fourteen country lodges scattered throughout the property.

I could definitely see the hubbie and I spending a romantic vacation here. In the meanwhile, if any of you visit Bovey Castle, please let me know what you think. Have a great day!