Tag: Texas

Galivanting Texas-Style: Granbury for a day trip or weekend.

photo of Lake Granbury

In Texas, there’s a joke about seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer, Christmas. Texans learn early in life to take advantage of that ‘almost summer’ season. Trees bloom quickly and leaf to provide sidewalk cover. Temps can range from the balmy mid-70s to a bit of early summer scorch in the 90s: all in one week. When temps allow – Texans are ready for outside adventures. March, April, & May are prime months for small town exploration. Granbury, Texas from Dallas is a short hour & half drive – depending on traffic escaping from Dallas, and an even shorter drive – generally less than an hour, from Fort Worth. And once explorers hit US Hwy […]

Beautiful Botanical Gardens – Texas-Styled

garden of river stones with large ceramic water pot being fed by bamboo shoot from spring

Do flowers still bloom if no one is around to see them? Absolutely! Just because the Fort Worth Botanical Garden is currently closed doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a stroll through the grounds. Touring the FTW Botanical Gardens doesn’t require a plan . . . strolling, gazing, sniffing the flowers . . . are all perfect ways to spend an afternoon. But for overachievers, here’s a map to ‘plot’ out a strategy for your next in-person visit. There’s loads of shade, but this is Texas, fellow visitors. Keep in mind: afternoon heat, intensely-bright sun, and a fair level of humidity. Wear sunblock. Hats–especially light-weight or loosely-woven–are always a good idea. Water bottles are permitted (except […]

Texans celebrating the SEASON!

Texas state outline, colored blue, red, and white like the Texas flag, with writing God Bless Texas

So many places to visit . . . so many events to stuff into the schedule, it’s hard to know where to start. If you live in the DFW area or are planning a visit, here’s a complied list for your seasonal fun. Grapevine, Texas 1,400 Holiday events packed into 40 days of seasonal celebration. North Pole Express Board the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, visit with elves, enjoy cookies and milk, and meet Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end of the ride, all while sporting your favorite warm jammies. What could be more fun? Entertaining for both kids and adults. ICE! . . . a wonderland of carved ICE come to life as ‘A Charlie […]

Galivanting Texas-Style: Giddy-Up to Galveston, TX

Galveston, TX, a great get-away, Travelling Texas, kmsaintjames.com

Side-note: All links have been verified and are current. All hotels or entertainment options still show an active web presence. However, due to the Covid-19 interruption, back sure to double-check if there’s an activity or hotel that is on your bucket list. While Texas beaches may not often be mentioned in the top 5 beachfront areas across the nation, or boast the pounding Atlantic or even gentle lap of Pacific waves against our Gulf coast, Texans have long found a visit to Texas beaches well worth the trip. Galveston, is a mere thirty-six miles south of Houston (well, Pasadena, which is South Houston). Houston Hobby is the closer airport if you’re planning on flying to […]

Summer Time Fun in Fort Worth — 5 TEXAS bars Worth The Stop!

Scatz Jazz Club, Fort Worth

Travelling to Texas this summer? Then stroll in for a cool (TALL) drink at any of these bars. The heat may bake Texas asphalt, but the sippin’ is easy when you know where to belly up to the bar. Much is touted about the large tourists’ bars and Historic stockyard bars in Fort Worth, Texas. Certainly, if you’ve never strolled down old brick streets, smelled lingering scents of longhorn cattle, meandered among tall cowboy hats and towering Texas hair, you need to visit the Historic edge of Fort Worth. However, there is a great deal more to Fort Worth – not the cosmopolitan feel of Dallas, not the Jazz beat of Denton, or even the […]

Bluebonnet Ballerina by Carol Kilgore — book review

Book Review by K.M. Saint James

Bluebonnet Ballerina is not your average cops and robbers’ type of suspense. Readers can expect characters, both live and the ‘gently deceased’, to appear on the pages of Bluebonnet Ballerina. The cast includes ex-CIA, cops – active to reassigned, a best friend complete with her guiding spirit, a couple of love interests, and even a few decades-old ghosts thrown into the mix. The hard hitting world of human trafficking, guns for hire, and genuine bad guys are counterbalanced by a healthy – and much appreciated – dose of the ‘woo-woo’ factor. Bluebonnet Ballerina is filled with: a plot that MAKES sense – always a pleasant surprise in a suspense novel; characters that are intelligent; and […]

12 Days of Office Depot Woes

Once Upon a Business, to Office Depot I did go . . . ONE executive chair I did purchase TWO hundred $$ did Office Depot over-charge THREE fraudulent Office Depot charges on my account FOUR bank rebuttals against Office Depot I did submit FIVE different Office Depot departments who promised resolution SIX Office Depot managers I did entreat — please return my funds SEVEN regrets for shopping with Office Depot EIGHT Office Depot customer service agents I did beg — please return my funds NINE (90) minutes of typing/faxing/submitting rebuttal letters to Office Depot TEN hours of listening to bad Office Depot hold music ELEVEN broken promises from OFFICE Depot — to date still no […]

To War – fighting back from Hurricane Harvey

I-10 underwater after Hurricane Harvey

Weather is a constant, and ‘whether’ it’s you, a family member, the dearest friend, or the most distant neighbor . . . All of us have experienced terrible storms and their aftermaths. Texan proud – I have lived in Texas all my life and like so many fellow Texans, I feel overwhelmed by the devastation that I see left behind from Hurricane Harvey, and I am completely humbled by the outpouring of day-to-day heroes. In a world where anger is so often the proclaimed answer; where violence seems to be the norm; and words slash with deadly accuracy —- I say, enough. Stop for a moment, look around you right now. There is something of […]

West Texas travels

My husband and I traveled into the west Texas area — not far, by Texas standards, but a lovely distance from the commuters jamming every major thoroughfare in the Metroplex. Did you know cows are darn choosy about who stops at their fence? They don’t come when called? And they’re fairly skittish creatures. Meaning they don’t like the sound of auto-wind on a camera. Who knew? Well, I guess the cows did. Travel out towards Weatherford — stop at this great cafe, if you have a chance.

Texas Roller Derby

Lots of friends were enjoying a class reunion this weekend. Me? I tried something a bit new. Texas Roller Derby. Never been? This event was at Blue Line Center in N. Richland Hills. 4 teams — leagues — skated. Two separate matches. This was at the beginning of the match and the National Anthem. Doesn’t appear to matter what the sport in the good ole’USA. Before a match, everyone hits their feet for the National Anthem. The singer — sorry, I didn’t catch his name, but he’s opened for a couple of local bands — did a great job. And then the crowds, friends, family and I’m assuming spectators simply lined the skating surface to […]