Blind Date with a Book

We ventured to Inverness, FL on Saturday to check out "Market at the Depot" at Liberty Park.  The city venue is fabulous. The property is located near a bike trail and in addition to the large pavilion, has a "stage" under the water tower and a café with a game room. 

A squall came through just after we arrived. The outside vendors, and even some of the inside vendors, had to deal with blowing rain. 

There was a large variety of wares being offered for sale. 

This was my favorite:

This clever lady acquired a variety of books of different genres. Each was wrapped and included a brief synopsis. For example, one synopsis stated:

Historical Fiction

- Contemporary  - Cold War 

- Troubled marriage  - Lies

- Kept secrets  - Love

- Twist  - NYC

Rating: 4 stars on Amazon

The pretty packaging also included note paper, a marker, some stickers, a tea bag and other ephemera.

Who doesn't love a brown bag mystery?!

Clever idea!

 

Treasure from MCMXIV

Oh, I am so glad that we no longer use Roman numerals. It takes far too much brain work to figure out that MCMXIV is 1914. That is the year that my Great Great Grandfather, Spencer Kellogg, published his book, From Boyhood to Manhood: Father. A postscript indicated that he had 100 copies of the book printed in Buffalo, NY. I recently came across books No. 10 and No. 38 while helping to clean out my sister's house.

Spencer wrote, in the preface of his book, that he was considering writing a book about "Capital vs. Labor from the viewpoint of a capitalist according to the definition of Socialists"when his youngest son, Donald, suggested that his children would receive "much pleasure" if he would write a book about his boyhood days. I think Donald had a good idea. I would much rather read of a boy's life than the first proposed topic!
In the book Spencer covers all bases. He writes about schools, friends, holidays, Sunday school, fire engines, stealing apples from old Mr. Clisby... and carving his initials in the ball atop the steeple of the new Second Presbyterian Church in Amsterdam, NY!

He sounds like quite the character!

Spencer & his sister Marion

Spencer Kellogg

1851-1922

Off the Beaten Path

B is for Book

.... and for Benson
.... and for Bats
(This month I will be participating in the A to Z Blogger Challenge. Each day my post will be inspired by successive letters of the alphabet. Click here to see links to other responses to this challenge.)

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At our advancing ages it is sometimes difficult to find gifts for each other. We don't need more 'stuff'! So, as Christmas approached I wracked my brain to find something that was useful and something that might be a bit of a surprise for Mr. Dreamy. I decided a travel book might work. I visited our local bookstore and perused the books on the shelves. "Off the Beaten Path" was one that caught my eye. What I like about the book is that it has a section for each state in the US, arranged alphabetically. The opening page for each state has a map with numbers for each suggested place to see. A brief description about each suggested venue follows. This helps me 'see' where each suggested attraction is located in relationship to where we are driving. More than once the book has led us to an adventure we might have missed otherwise.

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Benson, Arizona was one of those adventures. We were driving west, heading for Casa Grande, AZ, where we planned to meet some of our friends. Our timing was off. If we continued to our final destination we would arrive after dark. Something we detest. In looking through the book I found a reference to the Kartchner Caverns State Park and their cavern tours. A quick check online provided more information. (I LOVE the fact that I can access the Internet and all of its information with our iPad while we travel down the road!) I was able to make reservations for a site at the campground, as well as reservations for a tour of the "Big Room".

This is one of two tours at Kartchner Caverns. This particular tour is only available during winter months as this cave is a maternity ward for bats. In addition to the awesome cave formations, the guide pointed out areas where the bats will roost through the summer months.

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B is for Beautiful, too!

Soda straw formations.

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A typical camp site at the park.

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Gypsy and Tucker on the loop trial in the park.

They were very impatient and wouldn't wait for

me to take a decent photo... 

nor would they turn around and smile at the camera!

This is a map of our 2.7 mile trek on the trail.

The trail actually goes around the hill where the caverns are located.