eXtra Big oX

The neighborhood where we live used to be a dairy farm and there's reminders all around. The roads in our neighborhood are named after the dairy owner, his wife and a son  who died young. There's an old milk processing plant that's now a church and daycare, grain silos here and there

And this eXtra big guy.

 I called him an oX for the sake of this X post but I think he's probably a bull or steer. 

Sorry, I may live on an old dairy farm but I know very little about cows...

He stands about 20 feet tall and he has bright red eyes. I have no idea what he's made of but he's been here for as long as I can remember and he looks pretty good. 

It's eXceptionally eXtraordinary to see this eXtra big oX standing eXactly in this same spot everyday.

Want to see more X posts? Check out Jenny Matlock: Alphabe-Thursday

Day 31 - I'm a Turkey and it's Not Even Thanksgiving

I wrote and posted everyday for 31 days and I'm pretty proud of myself!

!!!Yeah me!!!


Three things I learned during this challenge:

•  I learned that I am a writer. Maybe not great but pretty good and with practice I'll get better.
• I enjoyed writing every day and I loved the challenge. I learned that I function better under pressure. I need a deadline!
• I was amazed at how many comments I got on my posts. I learned that what I write about is interesting to other people.

The key to my success:

I believe that the main reason I was successful was the support I received from my husband. I want to say a big THANK YOU to my sweet husband John. He encouraged me to complete this challenge. And he never complained when dinner was late:)

Also thank you to those who visited and commented on my posts. I appreciate your words of encouragement and support. 

To see a few ideas about completed this challenge you can check out this post How I Managed to Complete Write 31

I hope that by sharing my love of walking, travel and life this past month it might encourage someone to lace up their shoes and take a walk!

God gave us a big, beautiful world just waiting to be explored. 

Where will your feet take you today?

See other 31 Day participants at Crystalstine.me 

Walking Tour of Freiburg, Germany

Freiburg, Germany is a University town with 30,000 students, lots of bicycles, a beautiful Cathedral that was spared during WWII and the best bratwurst around. The town is well worth a day visit. 

We love a Rick Steves' guidebook when we travel. I like his style of travel. A kind of go with the flow attitude. Almost every town that is written up in his guidebook has a self guided walking tour. The very best way to see the sights and acclimate yourself to the area. 

Originally we were going to stay in Freiburg but based on Rick's suggestion we stayed in Staufen. A very good choice because Staufen was a lovely town. Freiburg was good for a day trip and a nice long walk but it was a little too crowded for us.

The main reason we went to Freiburg was to walk through the market and eat lunch. A woman we befriended at our hotel in Staufen told us about a place to get the very best sausage dogs. So of course that was one of our first stops. 

Meier's Wurststand

We ordered Lange Rote (Long Red) Bratwurst. Oh my gosh it was so good. The bratwurst was tasty and the roll was out of this world! And only 2,50 euro. What a deal.

Munsterplatz (Cathedral Plaza) and Market

The market was colorful and crowded with beautiful displays of fresh vegetables and flowers.

This is one of several interesting characters we saw in the market.

Cathedral (Munster)

I thought the history of the Cathedral was interesting. During WWII Freiburg didn't sustain very much damage. That is until November 27, 1944 when in just 20 minutes Allied bombers destroyed about 80% of Freiburg's buildings. The Cathedral was left untouched by the bombs. Whether it was by the grace of God or the bombers intentionally avoided the church no one knows. That's pretty amazing.

Add caption

The Cathedral is made from soft sandstone that is easy to work with. But it's fragile and in constant need of repair. 

The inside was gorgeous and we arrived just in time to enjoy a free organ concert. 

Free's good!

Schusterstrassee

This street is typical of old Freiburg. Lined with bachles or small canals filled with water on both sides of the street. Staufen has these as well. They just don't look very safe...

Freiburg is a college town and bicycles seem to be the main source of transportation. This was only a small portion of the bikes we saw. 

And of course the train. There was a big, busy train station in town.

Freiburg was a lively, busy town and made for a fun day trip. 

Walking by Fences - A View of Our Neighborhood

This is my view when I walk in my neighborhood. 

The fence in the background is a three board painted wooden fence and the gate is made of  welded wire. Patch and Penny are friendly and will usually come to the gate hoping for a treat.

Fun Things to Find - Roadside America

We've passed this guy more times than I can count. There he stands rain or shine with his donut, cup of coffee and goofy expression.

Johnny Donutseed

Highway 59

Exit 217 off I-10

Lloyd Florida

It's funny how you can drive by something so many times and never really pay attention. Oh, I'd seen him the many times we took this exit on our way to the gulf. On one of our last trips that way we stopped at the Subway to get a sandwich and take a closer gander at Johnny. 

He's weathered many a storm and the heat of the Florida sun is catching up to him. But all in all he's looking pretty good for an old guy. The roadside oddity is about 10 -12 feet tall, made of fiberglass and looks like the famous Johnny Appleseed if it weren't for the cup of coffee and donut he's holding. 

You'll find Johnny Donutseed at the Big Bend Travel Plaza the longest serving independent travel plaza on I-10 in Florida. Take exit 217 and head towards Lloyd. You'll see Johnny on the right.

Some times you just have to get out of the car, take a walk and check things out. You never know what you might find!

Finding Street Art - Gazebo Mosaic

Yacht Basin Park is a small park located in Riverside on the west bank of Willowbranch Creek. From here you can watch the creek as it empties into the St Johns River.  This park is one of our many favorite stops as we walk this neighborhood. The park is also known as Moms Park. In 2003 the park was dedicated to the memory of Patricia Austin (1934-1996) wife of Mayor Ed Austin. She was a community volunteer and leader and according to the plaque she liked to stroll here. I think I would have like her.

In the center of the park is a gazebo that is covered in a beautiful mosaic. This lovely piece of art was created by local artist Kate Garcia Rouh co-founder of Roux Art, Inc. 

Tired of cleaning up and painting over the graffiti Ms Rouh decided to paint a mural and then later to cover it with mosaic. Now the gazebo offers a quiet place to retreat from the Florida heat and enjoy a cool breeze from the river. 

Unfortunately my photographs don't capture the real beauty of this gazebo. Gives me an excuse to visit this park again...

Yacht Basin Park
2941 St Johns Ave
Jacksonville, FL


I'm sharing this over at Oakland Daily Photo-Monday Mural

Walking Blues - Along the St Johns River

Walking Blues

Riverwalk Downtown Jacksonville, Florida

This is a view from one of our favorite places to walk. Jacksonville has a beautiful walkway on both the north and south banks of the St Johns River. A perfect place to see blue skies and water and to enjoy the Florida sunshine.

The St Johns River is the longest river in Florida and one of the few rivers in the United States that flow north. The river begins its lazy travels in the marshes of Brevard County and slowly flows 310 miles north to mix in with the Atlantic Ocean at Mayport in Duval County. The St Johns river is a focal point of downtown and one reason we're called the 'River City'. Believe me you can't go anywhere in this town without crossing a bridge!

You can cross the St Johns River by walking over the Main Street Bridge (pictured here) or the St Elmo Acosta Bridge. You'll have beautiful views of the river and the city from either bridge, But if it's blue you're after take the Main Street bridge.


Click here to see more of the Riverwalk.

I'm sharing this post at

Sky Watch Friday