Chinati Hot Springs

Chinati Hot Springs is definitely off the beaten path.  It can be reached from Marfa, Texas either by a long and lonely gravel road of two hours or by a longer and mostly highway road that leads to about 11 miles north of the border with Mexico.  However, it is a beautiful find.

The first night we stayed in El Patron which had its own tub in an enclosed patio.  Jim is a happy guy now.

There is a communal tub for anyone, and a pool is open during the hot summer.

The setting is really beautiful with gorgeous cottonwood trees.

Chinati has a communal kitchen/dining room where you can prepare your own meals.  There is also the friendly resident cat.

You can walk for miles either south or north in the nearly dry arroyo.  The first afternoon we hiked south towards Mexico.

The second night we stayed in El Presidente.  This room had its own tub, too, but it was inside in a separate, attached room.  It is the primo room.

The next day we walked north in the arroyo.

Seminole Canyon State Historical Park

If we have been driving for some time, we always pull off to stretch our legs, especially when we see we are approaching a park or other place to walk around awhile.

This is the view from outside the extremely detailed visitor's center of Seminole Canyon State Historical Park.

You could spend a lot of time here exploring and camping, but we only hiked for about 4 miles on two loop trails.

From the trail head this was the view.  You would hardly know there were extensive canyons anywhere.

Surprisingly, there were iron benches scattered along the numerous trails.

I loved this stylized depiction of a previous inhabitant of the area.

Mumphord's Place Restaurant

Deciding that we would take our time on our way home this trip, we ventured off the interstate highways to see what we could see.  That also means we get to find great places to eat, especially with the help of our smartphones.

Once we passed Houston and were heading southwest, Jim found Mumford's Place Restaurant in Victoria, Texas,   It was delicious.  If you are in the area, find them and go eat Bar-B-Q.

New Orleans This Time

Jim and I figured out that we have driven from Tampa, Florida to Santa Cruz, California at least eight times.  Only once have we driven the reverse.  During more than half of those trips, we have been fortunate enough to stop and spend some time in New Orleans, which has become our second favorite city. This is some of what we saw this time.

Jackson Square from the Mississippi side is dominated by the St. Louis Cathedral.  There are many horse drawn carriages for hire.  The statue of Andrew Jackson is the focal point of the predominately pedestrian area.

There is always a lot of art to view as we wander around the city.

Our favorite music venue, The Spotted Cat, was undergoing outside renovation, but it was still open to catch the music.  We even got to see our favorite group, The Smoking Time Jazz Club, and new wall art.

Sarasota Chalk Festival 2014 in Venice, Florida

When we go to Florida, we leave the resort usually only to buy food these days.  Sometimes we actually go somewhere to see something.  Maggie wanted to go see the Sarasota Chalk Festival. WOW!  A lot of it was in 3-D.   (If you click on an image once, it will enlarge it for better viewing.)