It's a BEAUTIFUL breezy 81 degrees today---we hit the books and then we hit the trails!! This is our second trip to the trails--last time we went, a nice day in March, it was low 70's, but the snow was melting and the trails were muddy, and of course the trees were still dormant--so we wound up leaving the trail for a paved road-side path. Also, last time we hit the trail, my four year old Fairy girl was still using training wheels--and now she's zipping around like she's never had them!! So--today we tested her new skills on the crushed gravel---the only spill she took was in the parking lot, where it's not so crushed, but rather chunky and slippery. The trees of course are now beautifully in bloom--the sun went down, and the skies turned cloudy, just in time for their ride (I walked; I have a very hard time riding in slow motion--though they aren't all that slow anymore:)---the winds really picked up, which sounded really cool, as it was howling too! And there were lots of birds and bugs and tree frogs---LOVE the sounds and breezes of summer!!
-2 cups of flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour, 100%)
-2/3 cup sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup milk
-4 tsp butter, melted
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1. in a small bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk egg, milk, butter and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberres.
2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes or til toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan--serve warm!!
yields 12 muffins (I doubled the recipe, cut completely in half for 6 muffin yield). These are really good!!!
So, here's what happened---the girls and Piper and I went to central Florida for almost three weeks (stayed with my parents). J. drove us down a few days before Easter--had dinner with us (his dad and his dad's wife came up from Clearwater for the weekend too)--and flew out Easter night. Then two weeks later he flew back down, stayed a couple of days, and then drove home with us. Pretty cool eh:) Of course we felt bad that we got to go down and have all the fun in the sun while he stayed up in the frozen tundra and slaved away! So, we left him a surprise basket to find when he got home-- it contained some gourmet food snacks, a couple of other things and this beautiful artwork from his little girls so he would know somebunny would miss him:)
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When we travel---the destination (in this case a wonderful three weeks in central Florida) is not the only part of our vacation, we try our best to make the road trip an adventure as well. This trip was no exception. We stopped in Savannah and Beaufort, and took a wonderful drive through the Blueridge Parkway and Smokey Montain National Park (we vacationed there last May and LOVED it!). Beaufort is a coastal town, located very close to Hilton Head, surrounded by the Atlantic Coastal waterways (rivers). We enjoyed hanging around the historic downtown district, eating an outdoor lunch at the Magnolia Bakery and Cafe' right on the river front. Historic downtown also houses a WONDERFUL playground right on the riverfront, where the girls enjoyed playing for awhile. We also enjoyed meeting a the owner of The Butterfly Shop. He was originally from Chicago, and moved to Beaufort and opened this shop in the trendy downtown area. He was quite a character, trying to make the girls laugh and smile. You could tell he genuinely loves kids---he kept giving them free merchandise (I did however buy some books, mostly because of his fun personality and generosity; otherwise I hadn't planned on any purchases there, so I guess his "tactics" worked on me:)
We had a splendid day at Homosassa State Park on the gulf coast of Florida--what a really neat place if you ever have the opportunity!!! This is probably the most "civilized" state park I've ever been too, and I've been too many:D It started with a beautiful art gallery and gift shop. Then we hopped on a tram which took us to The Wild Life Cafe', which was also the start to the state park. The trails were completely wood planed with lots of seating; along the paths are rescued/injured animals protected in captivity. The first guy we met---get this--a hippo! He just had his 50th birthday on January 26th (about the lifespan of a hippo in captivity)---though he looks like he'll have a few years left. He was officially given Florida residency by the state:) We also so many many birds, a black bear, deer, a Florida Panther, some manitee and much more. After our beautiful day in the park, we took a pontoon back to the start point--it was a terrific ride where we spotted much more wildlife, including the gator and turtles on the log, and the owl, and many more birds. I highly recommend this state park for anyone in the area. By the way, we did have lunch at their cafe' and were surprised at how very delicious it was!!! http://www.floridastateparks.org/homosassasprings/
It's a BEAUTIFUL breezy 81 degrees today---we hit the books and then we hit the trails!! This is our second trip to the trails--last time we went, a nice day in March, it was low 70's, but the snow was melting and the trails were muddy, and of course the trees were still dormant--so we wound up leaving the trail for a paved road-side path. Also, last time we hit the trail, my four year old Fairy girl was still using training wheels--and now she's zipping around like she's never had them!! So--today we tested her new skills on the crushed gravel---the only spill she took was in the parking lot, where it's not so crushed, but rather chunky and slippery. The trees of course are now beautifully in bloom--the sun went down, and the skies turned cloudy, just in time for their ride (I walked; I have a very hard time riding in slow motion--though they aren't all that slow anymore:)---the winds really picked up, which sounded really cool, as it was howling too! And there were lots of birds and bugs and tree frogs---LOVE the sounds and breezes of summer!!
