Athens and Rusk Texas

Well, the Turners got a wild hair over the weekend. In order to get away from the phone, TV, and (almost) Internet, we decided to leave the house together and head to East Texas.
Even though we are winging it, we did plan on two things... The Athens State Fishery and the Rusk to Palestine Steam Railroad. Tonight we are in a cheap hotel, where our kids thought 65 degrees and early spring weather was enough of an excuse to go swimming in the pool.
We enjoyed the fishery and took a nice nature walk around the grounds. I was very impressed. I have always wanted to go here since it opened years ago. I bet it is even more beautiful in the late spring. We had a blast feeding the catfish in one of the outdoor tanks. My kids finally got the nerve to touch the fish on their heads. Every once in a while, a fish would start to flop and got the crowd (and us) very wet. It was a neat opportunity to see these big fish up close.

We then went to a local seafood place on Lake Athens. After a short drive to Rusk, we went to a long "footbridge" in a small park in downtown Rusk. We just dried off the kids from their swim and have their lips almost back to red. Mandy and I feel a little bad, as I have missed church for 4 weeks now. But we figured that God is with us and we really needed the uninterrupted family time. We plan on having a small church service in our hotel room, provided the Gideons did their duty. I'm hoping to pull a good tithe as gas is $3.20 in this area.

We played a game as we drove. Girls vs boys in a game of "I-spy." Each team received a point as you spotted one of the above: Yellow car, white horse, green Corvette, oil well, red barn, Dalmatian, Great Dane, fireworks stand, blue tractor, or working windmill. So far, Zander and I are winning 26 to 21.

Take a look at the pictures of our travels today.

And Addison's Cold Swim. (Yes, she says "In your face" at the end.) Public Schools!