In the fall of 2008, I was a mess and my sweet Mister was helping me with a transition in life. He knew of my love for peaches and planted a peach tree in his yard just for me. It was such a sweet gesture and one that endeared him even more to me. I don't have a picture from that absolutely beginning, but the following spring, I did snap this picture of Mister working in the yard and you can see my baby growing in the background.
Out --- we want out. It's been a crazy, stress-filled week and a bit of a break is desired. With Octoberfest running rampant in the metroplex, checking out the closest bit of un seems okay this early afternoon. Vector has a special event running and even has a small art fair. Why not?
It's a Red Hat Day!!!
The past couple of years have been challenging for me and being active in Red Hats. It seems as though each time I was gone or running an event of my own or somehow missing emails. Today, the planets have aligned and I'm able to pull it all together and attend.
A couple of weeks ago, Mister signed us up for a Member Morning at the Dallas Zoo. Yesterday, Jen asked us to go to Fort Worth and meet them. We now have a very busy day ahead of us.
That means - an early rise and shine -- a stop for donuts and coffee -- and to the zoo right on time. As we are walking towards the hippos, a quick stop to see the penguins swimming and I almost walk into this spider. OMG. As we moved past it, the spider went back up the web, taking all trace of it with her into the eaves. Crazy.
Needing to walk for a bit, I suggest going to see if the pelicans have returned to the lake. Imagine our surprise when this is what we discover.
We have tickets to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience tonight --- we've been waiting MONTHS for this to take place and I am super excited. Come along and share the fun.
Yesterday, Mister and I heard about Big Boy being in Fort Worth and we missed it. What? A little digging found their travel schedule for the next day and we quickly made plans to rise early and be in Midlothian when he arrives.
We've found a great spot under a bridge along the tracks and are pretty much at the front of the pack. Here is our view and as we wait.
Who is Big Boy?, you may be asking. Well, here is a LINK to a site with lots of technical information but the short of it is, "Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were "hinged," or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of "pilot" wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive. The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. There are seven Big Boys on public display in various cities around the country. They can be found in St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years of service. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's Completion.
Mister and I actually saw Big Boy 4004 in Cheyenne, WY (LINK) back in 2013, and we've seen the one in Dallas, but they are just on display, not operating. THIS sweetie today --- the ONLY one actually operating.
