As a lot of you know, I live just a hair’s breadth away from the mighty Mississippi River. Well, actually not the REAL Mississippi River, but a smaller river, a canal really, what used to be the Mississippi River a little more than a hundred years ago. The Mississippi River is constantly moving and with that movement often comes course changes. That’s right, the river actually changes course. That’s what happened here in Vicksburg in 1876. The river changed course and left Vicksburg and its very active port, high and dry.
(more…)Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
It’s All So Exciting – ‘Til It Isn’t
Posted in Autumn, Baer House Inn, cruise, cruising, vacation, dessert, desserts, drinks, eating, Family, food, friends, history, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, Mississippi, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, writing, tagged American Cruise Lnes, American Queen, Baer House, historic homes, low water, Mississippi River, paddlewheeler ships, paddlewheelers, river cruises, river cruising, steam ships, tour homes, traveling, Viking Cruise LInes, Viking River Cruises, Yazoo Diversion Canal, Yazoo River on November 7, 2022| 6 Comments »
Tres Kitties
Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, cats, Family, friends, gratitude, humor, Jansen Schmidt, love, pets, positivity, travel, writing, tagged animal shelter, cat towers, cat toys, cats, humane society, kittens, rescue animals, rescue cats, rescue kittens, shelter animals, shelter cats on October 10, 2022| 14 Comments »
Some of you already know that my family has grown by three. Last week we adopted three new kitties from our local humane society. We would have taken the entire lot home, but alas, three was all we could comfortably be responsible for. It’s so tough when you visit animal shelters because you want to rescue everything there. But the reality is, three cats in one confirmed space is the perfect amount of cats. Plus there is the added costs of properly caring for them, which greatly hinders one’s decision when adopting.
(more…)Monument of the Millennium
Posted in blogging, camera, Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, cruising, vacation, Family, friends, history, humor, inspiration, islands, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, trivia, vacation, writing, tagged American Society of Civil Engineers, Atlantic Bridge, bridges, cargo ships, Colon Panama, cruising, engineering, freighters, locks, Monument of the Millennium, oceans, Panama, Panama Canal, Panama Canal cruise, Panama Canal transit, physics, shipping, ships, wonders of the world on October 3, 2022| 4 Comments »
I hope I haven’t lost you. We were cruising and I left you hanging at Costa Rica. Never fear, we’re back on track. The next day of our 15-day cruise was spent navigating the uber impressive Panama Canal, designated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
(more…)Welcome To the Jungle
Posted in Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, cruising, vacation, eating, Family, food, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, rain forest, travel, vacation, writing, tagged aerial tram, Costa Rica, INBio Research Station, jungle, Puerto Limon, Puma waterfall, Puma Waterfall Trail, rainforest, sky gondola, Veragua Rainforest, ziplining on September 12, 2022| 2 Comments »
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been sporadically sharing photos and stories from our cruise last year to the Panama Canal. Our first stop was Jamaica, then Curacao, followed by Aruba. Today, we’re continuing on from the ABC islands headed for Costa Rica. Finally reached the jungle I’ve been expecting. We spent the day at the 3,400-acre mountain reserve known as Veragua Rainforest, which is 100% rain forest and about 30 minutes away from Puerto Limon. Lots to see and do on this exciting excursion.
(more…)Binge Watching Nonsense
Posted in alcohol, beer, blogging, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, desserts, dieting, dogs, drinks, eating, Family, food, friends, health, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, pets, positivity, redneck, soup, travel, weird, writing, tagged binge watching, country veterinarians, Critter Fixers, Disney+, exotic foods, food shows, Gordon Ramsey, Gordon Ramsey Uncharted, National Geographic, National Geographic channel, random, streaming services, traveling, tv, veterinarians, Youtube on September 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A while back I blogged about not being able to find anything to watch on TV despite paying $600 a month for streaming services and having over 10,000 channels at our disposal. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but you get the drift. Finding a new movie or series sometimes takes some trial and error. Unless you’re looking for a little something to watch just for the fun of it.
(more…)Let’s Explore the A B C’s – Part II
Posted in beach, blogging, Caribbean, cruising, vacation, Family, humor, islands, Jansen Schmidt, spring break, travel, writing, tagged Aruba, big rocks, California lighthouse, cruises, cruising, glass blowing, gold mines, islands, lighthouses, Murano art, Murano glass, natural bridges, rock climbing, rocks, ruins, shore excursions, traveling on August 29, 2022| 4 Comments »
Last week we explored Curacao. Today we’re arriving at Aruba and will dive into some of the highlights of our shore excursion across this desert island. As I said last week, the ABC islands are much more arid and deserty than I believed them to be. Aruba is quite flat and there are only a few places with sandy beaches for spring break enthusiasts. Most of the island is pretty desolate. Not tropical. At all.
(more…)Let’s Explore the A B C’s – Part I
Posted in beach, blogging, camera, Caribbean, cruise, Family, friends, history, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, vacation, weird facts, writing, tagged ABC Islands, architecture, cactus, carillon, caves, cruising, Curacao, distilleries, forts, Hato Caves, history museums, islands, museums, musical instruments, touring, tourists, traveling, Youtube on August 22, 2022| 6 Comments »
A few weeks ago I blogged about our trip to Jamaica. That was the first port stop on our Panama Canal Cruise. Today we’re moving on to our second stop. Our itinerary called for us to visit Bonaire next, followed by Aruba. But, because covid numbers were surging in Bonaire, they re-routed us to Curacao instead. No worries for us, we had never been to any of the A B C islands so we were eager to see what all the fuss was about.
(more…)The Broken Lightbulb: A Spooky Tale
Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, Family, Fiction, friends, history, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, Mississippi, Paranormal, redneck, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, weird, writing, tagged Baer House, Baer House Inn, ghosts, haunted, haunted B&Bs, haunted inns, historic inns, light bulbs, locked doors, Mississippi, random, spirits, traveling, unexplainable events, unexplained, unexplained phenomenon, unseen forces, Vicksburg on August 8, 2022| 12 Comments »
Here at the inn, I have a policy: if a room is not made completely up and ready for someone to check into it, I keep the door to that room either shut or locked until it’s ready to go. I don’t like snoopy guests – and they are, every single one of them – to peek in and see a dirty or unfinished room. I just think that’s unprofessional. I’d rather have those snoopy guests wonder what those rooms look like than for them to see an unmade bed or a vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of the room or towels stacked on the dresser. Hey, my inn, my rules. I want to present it in its best light.
(more…)Mystic Mountain Adventure Park
Posted in Caribbean, Carnival cruise, cruise, Family, Jansen Schmidt, love, money, mystical, rain forest, travel, vacation, writing, tagged bobsled, bobsled ride, bobsleds, cruises, cruising, Dunns River, Dunns River Falls, excursions, Jamaica, Mystic Mountain, Mystic Mountain Adventure Park, Panama Canal, Panama Canal cruise, rafamuffin ride, Ragamuffin, shore excursions, traveling, waterfalls on July 11, 2022| 6 Comments »
Shortly after cruising opened back up for travelers, my husband and I booked a cruise that we’ve always wanted to take. It’s a long one and usually an expensive one. But two things worked in our favor; one, we were still (unfortunately) working with pandemic occupancy at the inn (so essentially no guests), and, two, cruises were being offered for dirt cheap to entice folks to travel the high seas again.
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