Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

     Rachel and I had the opportunity this weekend to go to the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show. We had a great time watching all the shows, but the Blue Angels performance was most definitely our favorite!

  

The Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

 The captain's tent

 A show plane

 The crowd was HUGE! It was funny to half the crowd standing on their chairs so they could see better.

 Kirby Chanbliss - He has won 5 trophies in the past 3 years. 

 The Blue Angles C-130 cargo plane

 It is MASSIVE! :-)

 Demonstrating its short field landing capabilities.

The Diamond

 Number 5 and 6 flew solo

 Flying in the inverted position

 They got so close it looked like they were going to crash!

All six of them!

One of the planes on display. It is huge!

Our afternoon would not have been complete without a stop at a coffee shop. 

 We walked around for a little while and enjoyed the evening before we headed back home.

As for man, his days are like grass;

    he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,and his righteousness to children's children. Psalm 103-15-17 

~Lizzy

The Melting Pot

From the St Louis Edition:

No, the title is not referring to the United States!  Haha

It's actually a restaurant...a special kind of restaurant.  It specializes in fondue of all kinds.

We went there on a double date with Dustin and Jessica.

The reason for the night out was the fact that Steven and Dustin won first place in the corn-hole tournament at their work.  They're champions!  Seriously!

This is their corn-hole throw!

Now this is not a place for little kids so we found babysitters for all but this adorable baby.

Dinner started with an appetizer of cheese fondue.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures as we were so hungry we just dove right in, I mean dipped right in.  Basically, the waitress made a cheese dip in a fondue pot kept hot on our table and we dipped veggies and bread in it. 

Then came the main course...

This is mine:

That's chicken, shrimp and filet mignon!

First, you cook it a couple minutes in a broth that has come to a slow boil,

This is the fondue pot. 

then you eat it with sauces.

Oh my, it was SO good!

We got on top of the game and cooked multiple things at once. Everyone had a different colored "fork".

Then came dessert.  Chocolate fondue...

This is dark chocolate raspberry and white chocolate.  (We all had to agree on the type of cheese dip and chocolate.)  There were different kinds of fruit, brownies, marshmallows and rice crispy thingys to dip.

My favorite, oddly, was the strawberries.

The whole meal took three hours.  Yes, you heard right.

Dustin bought Jessica a rose.

We had a lovely time.  It was quite an experience.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.  Psalms 100:5

Brought to you by: Rebekah Benner

Continuing On...

On the road again. But today is the day we arrive...

A valley of farms. Maybe it should be called Hidden Valley Ranch. :)

This is the very first snow-capped mountain I have ever seen. I was really excited about it. :)

     We are crossing the bridge onto Whidbey island. Out in the distance was my first glimpse 

of the Pacific Ocean. Now, at this time, I had seen both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but 

had been to neither. 

Welcome to Oak Harbor!

     Oak Harbor has quite the Dutch community thus the Dutch Motel. I thought it looked like it could be a fun place to stay.

SHE'S HOME!!!

It's a really cute place...

...with a beautiful view.

    On a clear day you can see snow-capped, Mt.Baker as well. Sadly, none of the days I was there were clear enough. It was always very hazy from the fires.

   Skip two days, now, I'm back with Karlynn. Those two days I was with the Berkemeyers. Coming up in a later post. 

    The rest of my time there, I helped her do a little unpacking, we hung out together, visited her family, went on a walk, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. 

Enjoying blackberries

  All along our walk, there were huge rows of wild blackberries. They were everywhere. They were so delicious and made a really good mid-afternoon snack.

This is very typical of the way we dressed. I was always cold and almost 

never took my jacket off. Karlynn was fine, British Columbia girl here. :)

This property was for sale if anyone wants to move up there.

At the end of our walk, enjoying the view and the evening sunset.

On my last day, Karlynn took me to see her school.

In front of her classroom

I thought this clock was SO neat.

Right before I left

Where Roads Diverge 

  "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of you deeds, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:3,5

Coming up next, A Visit With the Berkemeyers. Stay tuned.

The Traveler,

     Esther