Texas, Arkansas, Alabama...oh my!

After our day of rest in Austin we visited our way through Texas stopping in Jarrell (small town where I grew up) , West (zech town with great Czech treats like kolaches and pigs in a blanket) and McKinney (north of Dallas). My oldest friend, Pam, lives there with her husband, 4-yr old son Noah and brand new Logan (baby boy, born 5 days prior to our arrival).

Babies always seem to make visits more fun.

Isn't he tiny?!

Big brother proudly holding Logan (this lasted ~20 seconds).

After a few hours, Pam and Ken sent us on our way to....Texarkana. Well, it was a place to stay for the night. The next day we crossed the border into Arkansas and veered North from I-30 to near Hector, AR. Back in the day (i.e. prior to my birth), my parents bought a piece of land in rural Arkansas, built a home with no electricity (no power tools) and lived there with 2 children, goats, pigs, a few snakes and more than a few bugs. Eventually they decided to move away and sold their home to their friends, which still there today.

Nice work, mama and papa.

Hans and Susan are very committed to living off their land from keeping goats for milk and cheese to growing enough vegetables to eat throughout the chilly winter. Yum...and very inspirational for me.

We also checked out where my fam bathed (spring-fed)....looks chilly, eh?
(It only looks sinister due to my flash.)

They have a really lovely farm and it was great to meet this extension of my family.

Hans sandwich: Susan Heaney, Hans Heaney, Susan Rain

Next day, onward ho! We spent another day in the car speeding through eastern Arkansas, across the Mississippi River into....
Then across the state of Mississippi and into Alabama and FINALLY arrived in lovely Birmingham:

What a trip! It was great and now my next adventure will be.....
my apartment.