Adventures in the USA Archives

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

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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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Have You Ever Heard of the Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown, Texas?

January 19, 2018 By Tam Warner 12 Comments

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Have you ever heard of the Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown, Texas? It’s time you did! Make your plans now for three days of family festivities!

(GEORGETOWN, Texas) Georgetown, Texas, the “Red Poppy Capital Of Texas,” will celebrate spring and its signature red poppies with the 19th Annual Red Poppy Festival April 27-29th, in and around The Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas.

The town’s association with the red poppy started when Henry Purl Compton (aka “Okra”), who served in the American Expeditionary Forces, sent poppy seeds from Europe to his mother at the end of World War I. She planted them at her home near the square and they were eventually spread throughout the area by birds, bees and people.

Have you ever heard of the Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown, Texas? It's time you did! Make your plans now for three days of family festivities! — The town is painted red!

In 1990, Georgetown was certified by the Texas Legislature as the “Red Poppy Capital of Texas.” Georgetown is one of the few places in the United States where red poppies grow naturally every year, and the town embraces their vivid blooming with three days of live music, a grand parade, classic car show, 5K run, contests, art, food and family fun.

WHAT: 19th Annual Red Poppy Festival; Admission is free

WHEN: Friday, April 27th starting at 6 p.m. through Sunday, April 29th; check website closer to date for specific daily times and full listing of events

WHERE: In and around Downtown Georgetown, along the historic town square. Directions available on festival website from Austin and Waco/Dallas/Fort Worth.

DON’T MISS IT!!!!!!!!!! I’ll see you there.

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