Ft. Worth Encore

Today is Thanksgiving  and Halloween was a mere 3 weeks ago!  Where did this month go?

I arrived in Ft Worth just before Halloween and made the customary, and much anticipated stop at Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant where cousins, Jerry; wife, Kathy; daughter Chelsea; her husband, Blake; Aunt Louise and I congregated.

 We occupied a table for about two hours and caught up on politics, the state of the nation, plans for the holidays,  the latest conspiracy theories and some juicy gossip.

 

  It had been a year since I sat in this same restaurant with Jerry and Kathy.  I cannot believe how fast the year has gone nor how much I have seen in that time.  The cousins asked, has this Odyssey been what I expected?  

It has been so much more than I expected and I often feel guilty about this blog. (I know it is like an interminable family newsletter--"What I did on my Vacation")  But to all of you 'stay-at-home', armchair travelers--Life on the open road is--well, FUN! There is always something more to see, somewhere ahead to explore, someone else to visit with.   I don't want it to end and I am finding myself getting restless when I stay in one place too long.  If this journal gets boring, well, I am sorry.  But I hope it is a fun trip for any of you that aren't ready to get out there yourselves.   

Is this an addiction that will give me trouble down the road? Is there a cure?  or Is it fatal?  Am I destined to live the rest of my life following the broken yellow line?  Will I always be looking for what lies beyond the next curve? Ohhh, I hope so!

An example of an interesting and unusual place that I might never have explored when time was limited.  Aunt Louise, Cousin Glenda and I did another trip to BRIT...



BRIT is one of those 'below the radar' programs that few people know anything about.



Run by very knowledgeable volunteers whose main goal is to gather, chart and catalog all the flora of the country-- native,  foreign, invasive, heirloom--there are millions of specimens dating back for decades.

Anyone may send a specimen with questions about its properties, its origins, etc.  The plants are then mounted with descriptions on the location, date found, type of plant, and any peculiarities.

The mountings are constructed by the volunteers and stored in a climate controlled vault.

I thought these were so lovely they should be framed and hung on the wall.

 

There are now millions of specimens--including cocoa leaves and marijuana. (I did wonder who sent the pot specimen and what question he might have asked--the volunteer couldn't tell me.)