Adventures in the USA Archives

A Beautiful Morning on the Guadelupe River

March 31, 2018 By Tam Warner 24 Comments

I recently had a Beautiful Morning on the Guadelupe River, near the quaint town of New Braunfels. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a water girl. Whether I am diving in it, snorkeling in it, swimming in it, looking at it, kayaking in it, or rafting in it, I am happy. That’s not to say I haven’t had a mishap here and there, and my beautiful trip on the Guadelupe had some exciting moments, but hey, that is par for the course!

My gracious hosts at In New Braunfels set me up with Rockin’ R, and I was so lucky to have Woody Welch as my guide. Woody is an expert on the Guadelupe, and is writing a book about it. He is a professional photographer, conservationist and fellow water enthusiast, so I was very excited to be with someone so experienced. The Guadelupe is low, but there are still some rapids and waterfalls to navigate. The second waterfall we went through was the one I fell out of the boat on, Clutter Falls. I was cluttered all right! But after a few moments I was able to steady myself against a rock, work my raft/kayak free, and float down to where I could get back on. A few colorful bruises and scrapes, but happy to be back paddling the river.

We were paddling for 3 and 1/2 hours, and we did not see another human being the entire time. We saw blue heron, red hawks, peregrine falcons, geese, ducks, cormerants, and deer on our journey. It was absolutely peaceful and spectacular at the same time. I had no idea it was so beautiful! The water was teal! New Braunfels is a beautiful place, and one you should make time to visit! I hope you enjoy my photographic journey on the Guadelupe!

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My Exciting Adventure in New Braunfels, Texas!

March 28, 2018 By Tam Warner 9 Comments

adventure in new braunfels, new braunfels texas, new braunfels, spass walking tours, farmer's market new braunfels, farmers market — I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott New Braunfels, the nicest Courtyard you’ll ever visit!

I’ve always wanted to have an adventure in New Braunfels, Texas, but I had no idea just how fun and exciting it would be! I’ll be posting several blogs on this amazing Texas town, so consider this PART ONE. Thank you to In New Braunfels for hosting me!

Last year I made myself a promise that I would be exploring more and more of Texas during 2018. My husband and I drove through Gruene (pronounced Green) Historic District several years ago, but didn’t explore the area other than a quick walk and meal in Gruene. Gruene Hall is where the country dance scenes for the John Travolta film, “Michael” were shot. Fortunately, I recently spent a memorable weekend in New Braunfels, and had an amazing time. There is so much to do in the area! Two rivers to raft and kayak in, Schlitterbahn (a family owned park that has been the #1 Waterpark in the World for the last 20 Years. Located on the banks of the spring-fed Comal River in New Braunfels, Schlitterbahn’s flagship waterpark has 51 attractions on over 70 acres!), Landa Park, the cutest downtown filled with one of a kind shops and restaurants, a Saturday morning Farmer’s Market, and of course, Gruene. The offerings were more than I could do in one weekend, so you can be sure I will be going back!

New Braunfels is famous in Texas for its festivals, especially Wurstfest, a 10 day German festival in November. The town was named and founded by Prince Carl Solms-Braunfels from Braunfels, Hesse, Germany, and the German flavor is deeply embedded in the town and its people. During 1844, German settlers came with Prince Carl to the place where the Comal River and the Guadelupe River meet. New settlers in 1846 from Germany founded Fredericksburg, Texas, another place I want to visit!

I visited restaurants, bakeries, the Farmer’s Market, Krause’s Biergarten, and enjoyed the various historical murals of the town. I spent an afternoon with Judy, VP of the Chamber of New Braunfels, and a morning with Jan Kingsbury of Spass Walking Tours. When you go to New Braunfels, you should absolutely contact Jan! The walking tour was so much fun, which is what Spass means in German. I had such an interesting time with her. Check out my fabulous walking tour!

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1 Amazing Reason to Visit Dallas in the Springtime!

March 22, 2018 By Tam Warner 10 Comments

There is 1 amazing reason to visit Dallas in the springtime and that is Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden! Located adjacent to White Rock Lake in the city of Dallas, anyone visiting Dallas must take in this special event. Locals love to visit the arboretum. I visited last weekend, and photos will say more than words ever could. Enjoy Dallas Blooms!

visit dallas in the springtime, dallas arboretum, Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum, visit dallas — A fabulous open Tulip! Gorgeous!

visit dallas in the springtime, dallas arboretum, Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum, visit dallas, tulips — The colors are amazing

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I Had a Great Trip to Las Vegas and Paris!

March 14, 2018 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

las vegas, PH, Planet Hollywood, suite, panorama suite, paris — Hello McCarren airport!

What a great trip to Vegas and Paris! I went off to Vegas two weeks ago with my daughter and a friend who were there for a photographer’s convention. I had a great time! I gambled and hung out in a Panorama Suite at Planet Hollywood while they were off networking and taking classes. I am a video poker player, and I receive a lot of perks from the Caesar’s Group, so I started out by requesting the Batman suite. It turns out that they redecorated, and there are no more themed rooms or suites. The suite was beautiful, yes, but truthfully, I missed the Hollywood flavor of the themes. I loved the Batman Suite! It was soooo cool with the 1960s Batman show memorabilia. Things change, and not always the way you want them to. Of course Planet Hollywood is an awesome resort with a great casino and miracle mile shopping, but I did miss the memorabilia! And I still miss the money I lost. Ouch! We did eat at the Paris Resort’s Eiffel Tower (unbelievably yummy, and no I didn’t photograph my food there) and also PH’s new restaurant, KOI. It was fantastic as well! Going to Vegas? Decide how much to lose, choose a great place to stay, and enjoy the show!

Introducing You to Two Small Towns with Texas Charm!

February 12, 2018 By Tam Warner 13 Comments

I want to introduce you to two small towns with Texas Charm!

Texas has everything. World class cities, southern hospitality, amazing nature reserves, and history. One of my favorite travel themes in Texas is that of the small, hometown, downtown! Texas is full of small town gems, and I would like to share two of them with you! Don’t worry, there will be more!

First, Georgetown, Texas, just an hour north of Austin off I-35.

visit Georgetown Texas, georgetown, texas hill country, poppy festival — Love this old guitar shop!

small downtowns, texas downtowns, texas town squares — Georgetown is town square proud!

visit georgetown texas, georgetown, Texas Hill Country — These facades are so pretty! Did you know that in the late 1800s they actually ordered these facades from a catalog???

visit georgetown texas, texas hill country, georgetown — And here is a statue of the famous Three Legged Willie! I just have to include this in any blog about Georgetown! Check him out!

Carrollton, Texas surprised me with its renovated old downtown! It is full of fun shops and restaurants.

*All photographs of Carrollton, Texas were taken by Alexandra Minton, www.alexandraminton.com

historic downtown, texas square — Historic downtown Carrollton, Texas has shops and restaurants you won’t want to miss!

downtown, square, texas — Adorable building of YUMMY Monkey King Noodle Co!

It really took me back to a time before my time!

Confession: I spent so much time in Blooms! It really took me back to my childhood with its candy, soda pops, and crazy gifts!

Hey Boomers, recognize these????? and taking our pop bottles back to the grocery for a dime?

Stay tuned for more Texas Towns!

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You Must Dine at the Amazing Monkey King Noodle Company!

January 25, 2018 By Tam Warner 5 Comments

monkey king, carrollton, downtown carrollton, monkey king noodle company — The Monkey King Noodle Co in downtown Carrollton, Texas! Is this cute or what? **All Photos courtesy of Alexandra Minton Photography.**

I had never heard of Monkey King Noodle Co until they contacted me on Social Media! As a matter of interest, I wanted to head over to Carrollton, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) and check out their old Main Street, which has been incredibly revitalized. Interestingly enough, one of the Monkey King Locations is in downtown Carrollton. I think it was meant to be, so I grabbed my daughter, a professional photographer (Alexandra Minton Photography and @SweetSweetDallas on Instagram), and we headed to Monkey King Noodle Co, camera and hunger ready.

My daughter informed me that it was her favorite noodle restaurant in its Deep Ellum location, and since she is a foodie, I was excited to try the Carrollton location. I was not disappointed!

Carrollton, downtown Carrollton, monkey king, monkey kind noodle company — Photo courtesy of Alexandra Minton Photography.

Adorable customer drawings. Photos Courtesy of Alexandra Minton Photography

First, the building is adorable. It is in an old garage, a Mercedes business, and it couldn’t be any cuter. It has an indoor space, but in the summer or on warm days, they open the glass garage doors and they have an outdoor seating area with picnic tables and an ordering window. I was so impressed with its originality, it truly is one of a kind. We were greeted by Xitlalli, and my daughter ordered for both of us. Since I am a vegetarian, she ordered me Spicy Garlic Peanut Noodles, which are wok-toasted peanuts and garlic, house chili oil, super-fresh cilantro and green onions. My daughter ordered the pork version of Spicy Garlic Noodles. We also had their scallion pancakes and Edamame Dumplings. Everything was very tasty and perfectly served. Monkey King Noodle Co is a northern Chinese food based restaurant, with hints of Chinese street foods and Taiwan cuisine. Their noodles are hand pulled, and absolutely amazing. Obviously, we took plenty of food home!

Angela Pellacchia, Manager, tells us that they also have pint nights and awesome Happy Hours! There are locations in Deep Ellum, Legacy Plano, and Carrollton downtown, so be sure to go to one, or all, of them.

Thanks to Angela and Monkey Noodle King Company for hosting us!

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Adventures in the USA

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