Life after 50 with a dash of Healthy Adventure

Image via Wikipedia

Soon to follow will be a post about historical locations in New Orleans. Yesterday I visited the very interesting Voodoo Museum and met the interesting John T Martin, druid and voodoo priest. Today’s trips include St Louis Cathedral and St Louis Cemetery #1. I may have a photo or two either her or on our page at Ghosthunters.me. During our stay we chose the St Pierre Hotel to rest our heads. It is made up of several buildings including former slave quarters. Part of hotel was built in 1790. This sounded like a place that may have some stories.

Related Articles

• Hurricane Katrina, five years on (guardian.co.uk)

This is a sponsored guest post written by Memphis Travel on behalf of Memphis CVB. Post powered by Sponzai.

More than just the home of the blues and barbeque, Memphis gives you plenty of ways to play around, with fun things to do no matter who you are or what you like. Of course, if you’re into Elvis, rock-and-roll and mouth-watering ribs, you’ve got to check out Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Rendezvous. But Memphis has much more to offer than this holy trinity of southern culture, with enough to see, do and eat to make it the perfect location for your next long weekend getaway.

The families out there (or the wild at heart) should be sure to check out the Memphis Zoo, one of only four U.S. zoos with giant pandas. Recently ranked the #1 zoo in the U.S. by TripAdvisor.com, the Memphis Zoo lets you get up close and personal with the animal kingdom. And with the recent addition the Northwest Passage, home to Polar bears in a see-through underwater exhibit, and the zoo’s newest section, Teton Trek, kids and adults alike are certain to have a blast.

Don’t let your midtown experience stop at the zoo; the Cooper-Young and Overton Square neighborhoods are just down the street. Ask a local Memphian where to find a tasty bite to eat, great local music and ice cold beer, and they will probably direct you here. Speaking of beer … the environmentally conscious visitor can enjoy a locally brewed beer by Ghost River Brewing or walk through the natural landscape and educational facilities at the Lichterman Nature Center.

Memphis has museums for just about everything. From the Civil Rights Museum, Cotton Museum and Fire Museum in downtown to the Brooks Museum, Children’s Museum of Memphis and the Pink Palace Museum further east, the number of places to have fun while you learn are as bountiful as the barbeque restaurants. Families, friends, sports fans, history buffs, self-proclaimed food critics – Memphis has everything you need to keep everyone happy.

So when you visit Memphis, stay a few extra days. Even the locals don’t run out of things to do. And to make it easy, memphistravel.com is launching a new travel guide to help you plan your next vacation. Simply choose from a list of interests and you’ll be given a sample itinerary with lots of great ideas. You can also register for a chance to win one of twelve trip packages that include tours, gift certificates to Memphis’ favorite restaurants, hotel stays and more. Go to itinerary.memphistravel.com to get started.

Recently I was lucky enough to drive from ETX to the valley – McAllen, TX. On the way down we found an interesting mostly French restaurant in a little town. That was quite a suprise. However, we drove back home a different way and found some of the best BBQ I have ever had. We stopped at Black’s Barbecue  in Lockhart. It had been a fun drive, but we had begun looking for that unique and special little place to eat probably 50 miles SW of Lockhart.

I am so glad we waited for the perfect place to eat. We arrived just about sunset and were already half way home. There was a large sign for Black’s Barbeque we spotted and I decided to follow the pointing hand. When I pulled up to Black’s it turned out to be a quaint Texas eatery that promised to be inviting and interesting. Especially when we saw the nice outside eating area. Inside Black’s looks like a Texas BBQ place should look and it smelled divine. There were plenty of tables and all kinds of Texas memorabilia hanging from the walls.

You should have seen the juices flowing when the brisket was cut. Holey Moley! The restaurant is owned by Edgar and Norma Jean Black. The Black family established the restaurant in 1932 and seems to be the place TX BBQ legends are made. You can find them at 215 Main St and they are open 8 days a week.

A neat little tidbit of history about Black’s is that President Lyndon Baines Johnson selected Black’s to represent Texas barbeque at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, according to their website.

Don’t worry, if you can’t get to Lockhart they can come to you. Just go to their website and order online. You can even find Black’s on Twitter.

(Author’s note – this is not a sponsored post, just a story about a good place to eat with a little bit of Texas thrown in for good measure)

Sit back and relax

Medieval ruins and a picturesque chapel

 

2. Lake Gruyère is surrounded by the most enchanting countryside. Embark on a one-hour boat trip on the lake and all you have to do is lean back and enjoy – and be astounded, too; at Rossens, for example, where nature herself has carved the head of an elephant in the cliff face, or at the medieval ruins and picturesque chapel on the tiny Île d’Ogoz.

Is this cool or what? To stare an elephant in the face? What a small enchanting island, especially to explore. I would love to spend a few hours wandering here. Don’t think I could get lost either. 

Climbing a 4000-m-high peak

Patrolling with the night watchman

5.  Imagine what it feels like to have 480 horsepower at your command, nothing but snow as far as the eye can see, a pale moon in the sky and only the hiss and crackle of your colleagues’ radio messages for company. That is the world of the Pistenbully operator. Those who want to experience it live can hitch a lift on one in Zermatt. They will even have a chance to pilot the monster caterpillar and to prepare part of the glacier piste ready for the next day’s skiing.

And you say you enjoy four wheeling? I think this takes adventure riding and driving to a whole new level. Wouldn’t it be fun to pilot this big machine?

Switzerland has many opportunities for fun and adventure. It is an interesing and diverse place with manythings to do. I’ve listed five gems, but there are many more than are waiting to be discovered. Hope a plane, train or boat to make the visit. Grab the link in this post to discover new places to see.