Robbie and I always give each other pre-birthday gifts; small gifts for several days leading up to our actual birthdays. This year was no different, and I had to laugh when I opened Robbie's first gift - a whole bag of chocolate treats for the weekend get-away he planned.
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20. Someone laughing |
There were other useful items as well: Five Crowns (a new card game to play), Paint by Sticker (a new creative activity), nail polish (in FUN colors), chapstick (in a new flavor), bath balls & a loofah, and magazines (which I read on our trip).
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4. A book or magazine read during 2016 |
Knowing that Robbie had planned a trip for us, Mama & Daddy took me out to lunch several days before my birthday and let me unwrap my gift - a Harry Potter coloring book!
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7. A family gathering |
Robbie took off work early on Friday, and we enjoyed a road trip to Brenham, Texas. We spent a couple of nights at the Ant Street Inn, which has a great porch out back.
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5. A porch or deck |
The porch overlooks the gardens where we found a couple of wild hearts.
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1. A "wild heart" - a naturally occurring heart |
After checking in, we spent some time exploring the inn and looking for items on the scavenger hunt list. In the long hallway upstairs, we found an old map of the town of Brenham.
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16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period |
Downstairs near the front entrance, among the flyers and advertisements, Robbie found a lighthouse.
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alternative 1: a lighthouse
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We also found a newspaper at the registration desk.
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21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item. |
Our room was furnished with antiques, like the one I used to set out food and snacks for us to enjoy during our stay.
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14. A buffet of food |
Of course, Robbie had requested that a bouquet of roses and a birthday cake be waiting for us in the room! Chocolate cake is always good with my favorite beverage . . . and Blue Bell Ice Cream (we were in Brenham after all!).
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19. A seasonal cocktail or beverage |
The room was decorated with quite a few pieces of artwork, including this one depicting three girls playing near the shore.
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9. Someone playing with, in, or around water. |
There were stained glass windows throughout the inn. My favorite was the one next to the bathtub.
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12. A window |
We didn't actually see any twins, however Robbie thought this statue outside the Brenham Grill looked a lot like Peter Lorre. What do you think?
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17. Twins |
We only spent a little time wandering around the downtown area (temperatures are well into the 90s this time of year), where we noticed quite a few murals and advertisements on the side of buildings.
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15. A team logo |
And we found large paw prints painted on the sidewalk across the street from the inn.
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2. A footprint or pawprint |
Robbie had searched for a FUN activity and signed us up for a Craft Night at Palettes & Pairings. We were able to choose from several craft projects. I chose to paint a Texas flag and bluebonnets on a piece of old barn wood while Robbie painted a canvas with a barn scene.
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8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you. |
The walls were covered with canvases that the owner had created for previous (and future) classes. One of my favorites is of a bicycle with a basket full of flowers, but I was also glad to find the moon in one of the scenes since we couldn't spot the real one when we walked outside the night before.
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13. The moon |
We took a different route on our way home from Brenham and spotted a camper along the way.
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6. A camper (caravan) |
Our route took us through College Station, home of Texas A&M University. Judging by this bike rack, there are quite a few students on campus this summer.
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10. A bicycle |
We spent a couple of hours touring the George H.W. Bush Presidential Museum, which had an interactive CIA exhibit. The X-ray sensor is showing an image of Robbie at the exhibit.
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3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray |
On the way home, we also stopped at a roadside stand to pick up some tomatoes.
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11. Fresh produce |
Our last stop was at Buzzard Billy's in Waco, where we enjoyed a late lunch. Then we headed out to the deck to feed feed the turtles - big ones and little ones. (I'm sure that one in the top left of the photos is a baby, right?)
It was a FUN challenge hunting for the items on this year's Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt List! (Were you keeping track? I found 22 items, everything except #18 - a supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries.)
Of course, we took tons more photos as it was a great week all around. Here are a few more of my favorites.
WOW Melissa you did really well with all your SPSH finds. Happy (belated) Birthday wishes.
ReplyDeleteNice job on the photo hunt - it looks like splendid birthday celebration!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! glad it was a fun one
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to you! This was such a lot of fun to read, your birthday trip looks wonderful. I love your artwork you did together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very thoughtful couple you are for each other and you did splendidly with all your finds. So many interesting takes on the requirements. The place you stayed in looks beautiful ....
ReplyDeleteWow! What a collection from just one trip! It looks like you had a fabulous birthday---belated WISHES!
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely way to celebrate your birthday, you have a lovely husband.
ReplyDelete