What I'm Loving Wednesday

Well, 2022 hasn't been that great so far, but I want to try and focus on positive things, so I decided to try and get back into my habit of blogging more than once a year. I'm falling back on my old favorite, What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving...

That I've stayed on track with my workouts so far this year. Yes, I know, we are only three weeks in, but still, it's a start. I know I've mentioned it on here before, but I LOVE the app FitOn. It's free, and you get so many workout videos by different trainers (that way you don't get bored doing the same workouts over and over). You can select what type of videos you want: the area you want to target (abs, legs, arms) how long you want the video to be, the trainer you want, etc. I HIGHLY recommend them. All of the trainers are great, but my favorite is Kenta. He's amazing and he's so encouraging. 

I'm loving...

This Etsy shop: Crafty Crutch Stuff. I discovered them last year when I was on Etsy searching for Atlanta Braves stuff. I found a Braves gnome they had made and decided I needed it. I loved the quality so much I reached out to the owners to special order a Rangers gnome (which they made and sent to me in less than two weeks). The owners are super nice. I recently purchased some of their kitchen towels and another gnome. In one of my purchases, they threw in a free bar of their homemade soap, which smelled AMAZING. I highly recommend this shop. If you know me, you know I'm all about supporting small businesses. If you want a gnome with a specific sports team or design, you can reach out and ask for it. If you order anything from them, let them know that Rachel sent you! :)

I'm loving...

Mr. Ballen's YouTube Channel. My neighbor introduced me to Mr. Ballen last year and I binged watched all of his videos in like a week. If you are a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in storytelling format, Mr. Ballen is for you! Here is a sample of his videos. And yes, he really is a former Navy Seal (the second video will explain that).

 
      

I dressed up as Mr. Ballen for Halloween at work last year. Lol.

I'm loving...

The Jurassic World Exhibit-I went last week and had a lot of fun. The last day for the Dallas exhibit was this past Monday, but if you ever see it near you, I recommend going. It is something that is enjoyable for people of all ages.

I'm loving...

That I'm finally working on all the scrapbooks that I've been talking about completing for the last 100 years (okay, maybe not that long). I've had stuff in a box for twenty years from middle school and high school and am excited to get it cleared out and in an album. 2022 is the year of organization for me!

8th grade Pep Squad Officer Rachel

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Cooperstown 2018

The only good thing about being SO LATE with updating my blog with my 2018 trip recaps is that I get to reminisce while going through all the photos. So many fun memories- I love it.

So, last July some friends and I went to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame for Induction Weekend. Cooperstown had been on my bucket list since I was a kid so I was BEYOND excited to go. I lucked out that not only did I get to go during Induction Weekend (probably the best weekend of the year there), BUT I got to go when Chipper Jones was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is my second favorite Atlanta Braves player. If it wasn't for Steve Avery (who stole my heart first), y'all would know me as Chipperfan. Lol.

I made the trip with my friends John, Corina, Rodger, and Irene. They were amazing travel buddies, we had such a good time. I wasn't sure I would be able to go on the trip until a few months before we left, so by the time I purchased my plane ticket, there were no seats available near them. Part of my 40 Through 40 list was to fly first class at least once, so I splurged and bought a first class ticket (pinkies out). This proved to be a big mistake because now I'm a plane snob and want to fly first class all the time. Lol. 

They gave me a Dr Pepper before we even took off

We flew into New York City and rented a car to make the drive to Cooperstown (which is about three hours from the NYC). We flew in on a Thursday and arrived in Cooperstown about 5pm. The Hall of Fame had extended hours for the Induction weekend, so the museum was still open when we arrived. Everyone else had been before, so they decided to hit up some shops while I went to the museum. I lucked out because it wasn't that crowded, so I got some great photos of the exhibits without a ton of people in the background.

Fun story. When I got to the front door an older gentleman was walking up the ramp with a walker. I decided to wait and hold the door for him. He thanked me as he walked in and I thought to myself, that man looked a lot like Rod Carew. I decided I would check out the gift shop before touring the museum and as I walked over to it, I noticed the older gentleman sitting on a bench with a small crowd around him. I was like, okay, that's DEFINITELY Rod Carew. He was happily talking to everyone, so I walked over to him (I'm not shy). When he saw me, he was like, "it's the young lady who held the door for me." We made small talk (because of course I just make small talk with a Hall of Famer). When I said I was from Dallas, he was like, "My heart doctor is from Dallas, I like people from Dallas." He was a sweetheart and he even took a photo with me.

Hall of Famer Rod Carew. I didn't notice his shirt until I sat down to take a photo with him. It literally says Rod Carew. Lol.

The Hall of Fame was amazing. I honestly felt like little kid at Disneyland or something- I was that giddy. I spent a few hours in the museum on Thursday night (because I'm the person who has to read everything in a museum). I only got through the first floor and half of the second floor on Thursday, so the next day I went back to finish my tour. It was a little more crowded then, but that was okay. The best thing about Cooperstown is that everyone there is a baseball fan. You don't care what team people around you like, you all are fans of the same sport. Cooperstown is a place where even Yankees and Red Sox fans get along. :)

The street that the Hall of Fame is located on has a ton of gift shops and sidewalk sales. It has a small town feel and I loved it. During Induction Weekend they closed off part of the main street so visitors didn't have to worry about cars driving up and down the road. That weekend there were a ton of former players at different locations signing autographs (for a fee, but some were fairly inexpensive). And most of the players took a photo with you after the autograph. I lucked out and ran into a few players just walking around the town, and got photos with them that way.

Top (l-r): Darryl Strawberry (for the record, he approached me and my friend and started talking. We just asked if we could have a photo and he said yes); Bert Blyleven (he played for the Rangers in 1976-77); Frank Thomas (he calls himself the original Frank Thomas. He was a peach-he played for the Pirates in the 50s and I mentioned meeting Phil the usher when I was in Pittsburgh. He said he was good friend with Phil); Bottom (l-r) Pedro Sierra (he played in the Negro League); Dan Gladden (he played for the 1991 Twins, who sadly beat the Braves in the World Series that year); Pete Rose (who isn't in the Hall of Fame, because well, you know why) 

In one of the shops, an artist named Justyn Farano had set up a bunch of his paintings to sell. He's an amazing artist- check out his website here. His paintings were great, but were out of my price range (and also it would have been impossible to get on an airplane), so I opted to buy a print of three of his paintings (which were MUCH cheaper, and easier to put in my carry on). 

He said he almost didn't bring the Beltre prints because he didn't think they would sell, but he almost ran out of them (granted me and my friends purchased four of them). Lol. And of course I got the Chipper print and the Class of 2018 print. 

Saturday was parade day but we had a full day of autographs and sightseeing before the parade that evening. We purchased lawn chairs at a local Dollar General so we could mark our spot for the parade. That's another great thing about Cooperstown, people respected other people's property. We set up our chairs on Friday night and no one had touched them or moved them on Saturday morning. 

Saturday was also Braves day for me, mainly because I had an autograph session with former Braves manager Bobby Cox. I wore my Steve Avery shirtsey and received SO MANY COMPLIMENTS from other Braves fans who passed by me. 

The guy in the photo made these amazing baseball signs (it was out of my price range for that trip, but maybe one day I'll get one). When I walked by and he saw my Avery shirt, he was like, Steve is a good friend of mine. He asked if he could take a photo to send Steve. I said sure but was like, oh, he knows who I am. Lol. I think I've mentioned before on here that Steve and I are Facebook friends. :)

My friends and I once again split up (because they had autograph sessions that I didn't), and I walked around checking out the various booths. I passed by the booth of Dan Schlossberg. He has written many books, including one about the Braves of the 90s and early 2000s (that caught my attention). He complimented my Avery shirtsey as well and said he knew Steve too (EVERYONE KNOWS STEVE AVERY HERE- I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE). I opened the book and the page I happened to turn to had a photo of Steve Avery. SOLD. 

There was another book booth set up next to Mr. Schlossberg's (because I'm the girl who goes on vacation and buys books). The book was about the legacy of Babe Ruth. Since I visited his museum in Baltimore a few months earlier, I stopped to hear more about it. I made small talk with the author and then he introduced the gentleman sitting next to him- that man was Babe Ruth's grandson, Tom Stevens. Of course I had to buy the book. I'm gonna need a bookshelf for just my sports books at some point. 

The man standing next to me is Babe Ruth's grandson Tom Stevens. Next to him is the author, Jerry Amernic

It was almost time for my Bobby Cox autograph session so I made my way to the shop where he would be signing. The ticket information said he would be signing outside on the sidewalk in front of the card shop. When I got there it was organized chaos. Pedro Martinez was also signing at that same shop, on the same sidewalk. No one knew where lines were beginning or ending. I saw some guys wearing Braves shirts so I assumed they were there for Bobby Cox. We made small talk (yes, I tend to do that with everyone). They were from New York but grew up watching the Braves on TBS (like me). We joked that we were the TBS kids that ESPN did a story on a few years ago. Anyway, Bobby Cox was outside for about 3 minutes when they realized it was just going to be too hot for him (the man is 78 years old after all). So they moved him inside. So they had to move the autograph line inside. My new friends and I made a conga line so we didn't get separated and made our way inside the shop. They were nice enough to take my photo when Mr. Cox was signing for me (they weren't allowing posed photos with him). We decided to celebrate surviving The Bobby Cox Autograph Signing of 2018 with some beverages, so we went to a restaurant across the street. 

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my new friends. They decided to get Leo Mazzone's autograph (former pitching coach for the Braves), and they offered to pay for mine. When Leo saw my Avery shirt, he was like, I love Avs (same Leo, same). John Smoltz (former Braves pitcher and Hall of Famer, for the non baseball people reading) was sitting at a table next to Leo. Smoltz was charging $199 for an autograph so I had passed on that opportunity. I just wanted a photo but you had to buy an autograph in order to get a photo. Smoltz didn't have a line at that moment (I think he was on a break), so I took the opportunity to just walk up and say hi. He was very nice. I apologized for bothering him (he said it was no bother). I rambled on about growing up watching him play and thanked him for being there that weekend. I then asked if I could just have a photo, and he smiled and said absolutely. Boom. Free photo with Smoltz.

My new friends. And some former Braves. :)

At this point, it was almost parade time. I took video instead of photos during that, so I don't really have photos of the parade. I'm having issues getting a video to post on here, but just trust me when I tell you that Chipper waved at me as he went by. :)

After the parade ended, our time at Cooperstown was sadly coming to an end. I said goodbye to my new friends (after becoming friends on social media, so we could keep in touch), and my peeps and I headed back to our AirBnb (which was about 40 minutes from Cooperstown). It was a super cute place in the middle of nowhere, but during Induction Weekend, rooms are hard to find near Cooperstown.

My baseball peeps!!

We left the next day for New York City, which is where we parted ways. My friends were going to head on to Cleveland from there and I was going to stay in NYC for the week visiting some friends. I'll post my NYC trip recap in another post. :)

XOXO!

Atlanta Adventures

Just when y'all thought I had done all my summer traveling this year, I sneak in another quick weekend trip on y'all. Last weekend, some friends and I made a quick trip to Atlanta (and I mean real quick, we were there only 36 hours). I went with my friends Aaron and Mel. Y'all might remember them from my Mini Epic Road Trip last year. This was a VERY last minute trip (so last minute that no one really knew about it), BUT, regardless, we still found a lot to do in the short amount of time we were in Atlanta. And I should probably split this recap up into two posts because we did SO MUCH, but I'm not going to. You just have to bear with me. So grab a drink, sit back and relax and enjoy my insanely long recap. :)

Our flight left early last Friday (once again with the early flight to start my vacation). We had to get up about 2:30am to be sure we were at the airport in plenty of time. 

All smiles at 4:30am

Our flight landed in Atlanta a little before 9am EST. My sweet friend Paul (who lives in Atlanta) picked us up at the airport and was our chauffeur the rest of the day. I'm so glad he joined us, it was great to hang out with him. Our first stop was breakfast at the CNN center. We didn't do a tour, but we did pose for a quick photo by the CNN sign. 

#FakeNews

After breakfast we headed to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. As you know, I'm trying to see all of them (and at least three that I haven't seen by the time I turn 40- see 40 By 40 list). The landscape of the library is beautiful. I bet in the springtime it's really beautiful with a lot of flowers (seeing that it's the heat of summer, there weren't many out, but the grass was very green despite the heat). There was a great 15 minute video at the start of the museum that I found very informative. I'll be honest, I didn't know much about him or his presidency (I was only alive for 18 months during his term in office). Lol. I know him mostly for his work with Habitat for Humanity. Fun fact. Mel has actually met Carter and has a picture with him- she met him while on a trip in college. Like most presidential libraries that I've visited, there are artifacts from his childhood all the way up until he was in office. I liked hearing about his relationship with his wife- they have been together for so long. And, like all the other presidential libraries and museums I've visited, regardless of your political views, it's a great museum to visit.

Not gonna lie, I literally laughed out loud at the "pardon me Mr. Ford" bumper sticker. To the far top right is the final copy of his inaugural address- one of the shortest in American history

Replica Oval Office. They won't let you pose for a photo in this one. So far the Bush libraries are the only ones that let you take a picture at the Oval Office desk

There is a path out back of the library that goes around a pond

After our library visit, we went to Peachtree Dr. to find the home of Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone With the Wind). It's called the Margaret Mitchell House when in honesty, it had been converted into apartments by the time she and her husband lived there. Our tour guide was a sweet woman named Margaret (she swore that was her real name and she wasn't just saying that). She was a great guide- she knew so much information and she had a great story-telling voice (sometimes you get a tour guide who is very monotone and that makes for a boring tour- but she was outstanding). I learned a lot of things I didn't know. I didn't know Ms. Mitchell had been a journalist. I also didn't know that Gone With the Wind was the only novel she had published, I thought she had written something else. She tragically died at the age of 48 after being hit by a car. It was written in her will that all her papers, journals, letters, and manuscripts be destroyed after her death. Her husband honored her wishes, so we have none of her writings except the published articles from her journalism days and Gone With the Wind. As much as I respect her husband for honoring her wishes, the history nerd in me is like, WHY?? She might have been working on another novel or at least had an outline of a future novel. We will never know. I also learned that she didn't like the fame that Gone With the Wind gave her. She was ahead of her time- being a female author and writing a book where the protagonist is a female. Her book sold over a million copies in the first six months. For the longest time it was the second most published book (only second to the Bible). The upstairs was dedicated to the premiere of the movie. I saw the movie when I was a kid (so many, MANY years ago). I was finally inspired to read the book, so I bought a copy there. I plan to read it before I watch the movie again.

The typewriter on the bottom left was actually hers when she was a journalist. The furniture in the apartment didn't belong to Ms. Mitchell but it's from the same time period as when she was living there. It was still cool to stand in the apartment and know at one time, she stood in that exact spot. The lady sitting down is our tour guide, Margaret. And yes, I touched the wall. Stop judging me.

Seats from the Atlanta theater where the movie premiered

This is how the original house looked when it was first built. It has been added on to in the back

A southern belle relaxing on the front porch

This is the actual painting from the movie

Be honest- who wore the dress better? Lol

We headed from the Margaret Mitchell House to SunTrust Park, the new ballpark of the Atlanta Braves. I went to a Braves game when they were at Turner Field, but since they have a new ballpark, I had to go back to cross that ballpark off my list. If teams keep building new ballparks and stadiums, I'm never gonna get through my list. Lol. Last weekend was Braves Alumni Weekend. Sadly Steve Avery was unable to make it (insert super sad face here), but I was able to get autographs and meet several Braves alumni, thanks to my buddy Paul. Paul was a bat boy for the Braves in the 90s, so he knew a lot of the guys there. He said all of the players were always so nice to him and were genuinely nice guys.

Proudly wearing my Steve Avery shirtsey

Paul is also a Rangers fan (which is how we became friends). It was great to finally see a game with him!

Just a few former Braves I received autographs from- including former pitching coach Leo Mazzone

Yes, I posted this yesterday, I'm posting it again. 1995 World Champion Ryan Klesko

Former pitcher Pete Smith

SunTrust Park is nice. I like that you can see the field from the concourse (that's a big plus with me for ballparks). I was sad that the Braves museum that they had at Turner Field isn't at the new stadium. I don't know if they are going to add it on or relocate it someplace else. I was also VERY disappointed in the lack of Steve Avery memorabilia. I'm not saying there needs to be a statue of him (although that would be nice), but they could have had a plaque or banner or SOMETHING. And the number 33 jersey they had in the alumni area wasn't even for him. Rude. They didn't even have a Steve Avery bobblehead in the gift shop. Super rude. Speaking of the gift shop, THEY WERE OUT OF MAGNETS. HOW DO YOU RUN OUT OF MAGNETS!!?? Paul said next time he's there he will look for one for me. I have to add it to my collection. Although I don't know where I'll put it. My fridge is totally covered with magnets. Our seats were lower level in the outfield. We were under a covered area but could see the jumbotron. Braves fans are great, despite the attempt to start the wave- come on people. I'm going to assume those starting the wave were Marlin fans. 

Mel and I continuing the tradition of attending a baseball game together but NOT in Texas. Lol

Yet another ballpark that provides lids and straws with their drinks. RANGERS- WHY CAN'T YOU DO THIS???

I noticed while going through pictures for my blog that they put Dodgers instead of Marlins on the scoreboard. Lol

After the game, Paul dropped us off at our hotel. We couldn't thank him enough for driving us around all day. By the time we got settled into our room, we had been up for close to 21 hours. Needless to say, we were tired but the next morning we didn't want to waste too much time by sleeping in, so we were up early for breakfast at the hotel and then we headed out to the World of Coca-Cola Museum (which was just a few blocks from our hotel). It was a pleasant morning so we made the 15 minute walk. 

I found Captain Planet. Lol

We walked through Centennial Olympic Park on our way to the Coca Cola museum

My nephew Jacob and his beautiful fiancee Amber just happened  to be in Atlanta, so they decided to meet us on Saturday and spend the day with us (again, we lucked out and had someone willing to drive us around). Like I said yesterday, I proudly wore my Dr Pepper shirt at the Coca-Cola museum. I show my soda allegiance wherever I go. Lol. The museum was bigger than I expected, it took us almost three hours to tour the whole thing. Towards the end right before you get to the gift shop, there is a room with hundreds of different Coca-Cola products from around the world. You are able to taste as many as you want. I tasted a small sample of a few. There was one from India that wasn't too bad, but there was one from Italy that was positively disgusting. Blek. It's called Beverly. I don't recommend. Ever. You've been warned.

You can't take me anywhere

I find it funny they had a section about impostors and imitators when they have Mr. Pibb- A POOR IMITATION OF DR PEPPER. Hmph. The picture on the top right is me by the vault that contains the only written copy of the Coke formula. I guess they trusted me enough to stand that close. An alarm sounded if you crossed over the line. I won't mention any names, but someone in my group stepped on the line and set off the alarm (and it wasn't me). Lol

I enjoyed the different Coke bottle artwork around the museum

Our souvenir photo highlighted any red in the picture. It makes my Dr Pepper shirt stand out even more. :)

The room with the different Coca-Cola products. This is about a third of the room, it was pretty big

By the time we were done there, we were starving, so we decided to check out a place called The Vortex because we read that they had good burgers. Word of warning: If you are easily offended, do not go there. EVER. The burger was good, I will admit that, but let's just say the atmosphere isn't a place I would want to take my folks to. I would say it's not kid friendly (because it's not) but you have to be 21 to get in, so kids aren't allowed. Also some of the decorations (for lack of a better word) are a little on the odd and slightly inappropriate side. But again, two big thumbs up on the burger. Oh, and they served Dr Pepper. REAL DR PEPPER. Not this Mr. Pibb crap posing as Dr Pepper. 

Some of the more "appropriate" decorations

Nothing like eating a burger named coronary bypass. For the record, I did NOT get the burger that was 9606 calories

After lunch we had just enough time to head to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. This is part of the U.S. National Park Service. Sadly by the time we got there, all the tours for his childhood home were full, but we were able to go by and see it from the outside. We were able to go to the visitors center which chronicles the American Civil Rights Movement and the path of Dr. King. That exhibit isn't terribly big, it took us about forty minutes to get through it. It was well done though. 

From there we headed to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King was baptized and where he and his father served as pastors. Ebenezer Baptist Church is still in existence today- but in 1999 they moved to a modern building across the street. The original church still stands but it is solely for people to come and visit as a landmark. Honestly seeing this church meant more to me than seeing the inside of his house. Since we only got to see one, I'm personally glad it was this one. There was something very moving about standing in the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. had worshiped. Just thinking about all the messages he had given, all the prayers he said- it was very moving to me. Maybe it has something to do with me being a Baptist preacher's kid, I don't know. But I'm glad we went. There was a sweet older park ranger and his name tag said Bruce Lee. We asked him how many times a day was he asked about his name. He said more than he could count. There was another park ranger inside who knew so much information (I guess they have to if they work there). I didn't know that Dr. King's mother was killed in that church in 1974. How did I miss that in history class? So much tragedy in his family. A year after he was killed, his brother drowned. The park ranger said his sister Christine still attends church there. She is about to turn 90 and they are having a big celebration for her. After paying our respects at his grave site, we also went by the King Center which had a large display of personal items of Dr. and Mrs. King. I highly recommend going to this national site if you are ever in Atlanta. Words can't describe it. Even my photos can't really describe it. Just go see it for yourself. It's all so moving.

We swung by our hotel to pick up our bags (that way we weren't carrying them around all day). We made two quick stops- one at the Georgia state capitol and one at Hard Rock. If you remember the road trip Aaron, Mel, and I made last year, we made it a point to see the state capitol in each state we visited. We decided we couldn't be in Atlanta and NOT go by to get a picture.

We stopped by Hard Rock so Mel could buy a charm (she buys one at each Hard Rock whenever we travel). We didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food or wait staff, but the gals working in the gift shop were SO NICE. We told them how rude the staff in the Seattle Hard Rock store had been. Funny story, I said something like, "we were fixin' to go back home" or something like that, and one of the staff members freaked out. She said her manager didn't believe that anyone ever said "fixin' to" so she asked if I would say it to him. It was an odd request, but I said sure, so they paged him. They even gave me a free souvenir and some water. BTW, the manager laughed when I said it. 

This motorcycle and jacket once belonged to Elvis. :)

Tammie- the sweet lady in the gift shop who loved that I said fixin to. Lol

We made one last stop before the airport at The Dwarf House, which is the original location of the first Chick Fil-A (of COURSE we would stop here). :) Y'all- part of it is a diner. The original Dwarf House was a 24 hour diner (except it was closed on Sundays) so half of this location is a diner, where you are waited on and can order your Chick Fil-A favorites plus a lot of other items (including burgers- the CFA Cows are probably so disappointed). Lol. The diner is still 24 hours so you could technically get Chick Fil-A at 2am on a Tuesday if you wanted. Our waitress said they close at 10pm on Saturdays and reopen on Monday mornings. 

I'm just a girl, standing outside a Chick Fil-A, wanting a chocolate milkshake

Y'all- Chick Fil-A opened on May 23. MY BIRTHDAY!! :) Just 32 years before I was born. Lol

God bless Mr. Cathy

Yes, I went through the little door

My nephew dropped us off at the airport two hours before our flight was supposed to take off. Once we got there, we found out our flight had been delayed by 30 minutes. No big deal, we just were now going to leave at 11pm instead of 10:30. Once we were on the plane, we seemed to taxi a long time to the runway (a good 15 minutes). I then realized that we were back at the gate. And we could see emergency lights. After a few minutes the door opened and a police officer walked on. Someone in first class stood up and walked out. It was maybe 15 minutes before the captain finally came on to say there had been a medical emergency, but we would still be going to Dallas. At one point, the whole crew was off the plane (it's a little weird seeing the cockpit door open and no one in there). We found out they were having to give statements. I'm sure there is so much more to that story and my curious self wants to know it. But alas, they didn't share. We FINALLY took off about 12:30am EST and got back to Dallas a little before 2am Texas time. 

Aunt Rachel's sweet boy

Waiting for our shuttle at the DFW airport at 2am

I know, that was lengthy- MAJOR PROPS if you made it all the way to the end!! I THINK I'm done traveling for a while, but who knows, I might get the urge to take another weekend trip someplace! :)

XOXO!!

40 by 40 Update: 

-Visit three presidential libraries on my Presidential Libraries to Visit list (1)

-See a game at four different ballparks on my MLB Ballparks to Visit list (3)

-Visit five national parks (1)