Weekend Update: Caddo Lake and Other Fine Things

On Saturday morning, as we feasted on blueberry muffins and coffee with Coconut Creme creamer, we watched a little TV. Truth be told, I love watching the Saturday morning line-up of That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody. I do realize that I've seen most episodes at least four times, but when you don't have cable for several years, you adjust to the programming on the free channels. And sometimes you like it. A lot. Since Husby was watching with me, I didn't know how much more Hannah Montana he could handle, so I offered to let him change the channel. Wouldn't you know we found the BEST show on PBS?

(I would like to point out those things in the above paragraph that could cause you to pass judgement: Coconut Creme creamer, my preferred Saturday morning viewing, and choosing to watch PBS. Go ahead, judge. Although I DON'T HIGHLY RECOMMEND the television line-up, I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Coconut Creme creamer and some shows on PBS.)

The show we watched--and set to record future episodes--is The Daytripper. It's this guy out of Austin, Texas, who travels to different cities around Austin that make for perfect day trips. I was all ready to get in the car and do this day trip: a stop in Luling for BBQ and a watermelon; then to Gonzales to see the "Come and Take It" cannon and onto Shiner, Texas, to visit a little brewery. Then I remembered that a day trip for him would require a weekend for us. Still itching to travel, by lunch, I decided that we WOULD GO SOMEWHERE. And that somewhere was Caddo Lake.

Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in Texas. Let me tell you, if that's what you get with natural down in the South, I'll take artificially made lakes. And by artificially made lakes, I sure do mean swimming pools. Although mysterious with the cypress trees and Spanish moss decorating the trees, I was a little hesitant that the map given to us had an alligator prominently on the front of it. I really don't do alligators. Oh, and did I mention that we took Crickett? A 14 pound dog would be just the perfect sized snack for a gator. We didn't go too close to the water so that she'd be guaranteed another day. Although, I suppose it would have been fine since people were actually SWIMMING IN THE WATER THAT LOOKED LIKE CHOCOLATE MILK. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it!

Since canoeing was out of the question, we decided hiking through the nature trails would be a good outdoors-y activity. We had a great time, and Crickett loved it! I felt like I could become a little more outdoors-y. After a bit of walking around, it was time for lunch. We came prepared with our cooler filled with sandwich makings, cherries, Pringles, and Mini Oreos. Once we felt refueled, we decided to escape the heat of the day with a side trip to Jefferson, Texas. Filled with antique shops, Husby stayed in the car with Crickett and read his book while a perused some of the stores. As we'll have kids one day, we've worked to build a children's library. I found a used bookstore and scored several Dr. Suess books. Then we headed back to Caddo Lake.

We hiked around another trail for a bit before we decided to set out our chairs and blankets for an afternoon read. All was well until Crickett came and stood beside me, at which point I DISCOVERED TICKS ON HER. OH.MY.GOSH. I had a mini-breakdown, since neither of us has had experience in tick-removal. We immediately packed our things and headed home. We received many tips for removing the parasites, but decided to go with the recommended light-a-match-and-burn-it-out-then-touch-the-tick-with-it-before-removing-it-with-tweezers. AND IT WORKED! Hallelu!

So after discovering ticks, I decided that the outdoors could be for others who enjoy sweating. I don't mind it, as long as I know there's some relief. Ha! I much preferred my morning coffee with a great friend, followed by making a Memorial Day dinner of chicken and dumplings with chocolate chip cookies for dessert.