Author Archives: Diana

About Diana

Canadian-Vermonter, Texas transplant. Cowboy boot wearing, maple syrup connoisseur, music lovin', wine and micro-brew drinkin', two-steppin' traveler who loves finding all the hidden gems the world has to offer. Come join me on the ride!

Arlington’s Castle on a Moat

Sometimes when we have some free time, we drive around neighborhoods. We check out the houses, “I like this one…”, “A porch swing would look great on that one…”, “Oh my! They need to take care of their yard!” You know how it is. We all do it!
Well here we were driving around a neighborhood that we’ve driven by probably dozens of time but went on in and looked around. Inside, we found something neither of us had ever seen before.
This little treasure was found in Arlington, Texas. Sitting in this huge (for Texas neighborhood standards) three acre lot, on a moat of all things sits the foundation to what use to be a house. I couldn’t believe it. Normally, I wouldn’t just walk onto someone’s property but there wasn’t a real house on the lot and well – it was too intersting to pass up.
To get to, well we’ll call it the Arlington Castle, you need to cross a bridge. A bridge made out of loose plywood that wobbles when you cross it. It was beginning to get pretty dark. The bull frogs were out and the closer I got, the more you could hear their big bodies jump back into the water.
Once across, a small path leads you to what’s left of the castle.
Inside, you can see there use to be tile on the floor.
The fireplace nearly takes up one entire wall which tells you how small this space was.
On the other side of the building, is a small cement porch area that you could sit and relax while overlooking the water that surrounds the building.
(Note: you can see the little bridge in the background where Sy is standing.)
So what is this building? I tried looking online and found nothing except it’s owned privately. Does anyone know? I’d be interested to hear I find it to be so unique. Just sitting there on three acres, on a moat in the middle of Arlington.

It’s May Folks!

Can you believe it’s May 1st?! I don’t know about you but it feels like just two weeks ago the new year began and now we find ourselves five months in! Craziness!
Well a lot is going on this month, most importantly my little niece is set to arrive. She is the first grandbaby on both sides and I’m going to be the aunt that spoils her rotten. She is due on the 19th but I say she’ll make her debut on the 11th. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
I wanted to share a couple upcoming events that maybe folks will want to check out and keep an eye on:
This upcoming weekend is the 3rd Annual Haslet Wild West Fest. We went last year and it was a lot of fun – chili cookoff and a rodeo! The below picture is actually of a high schooler.
  • For the past two years we’ve attended the Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico. You can check out my posts here and here. Seriously, we love it and its pretty much turned into a necessity to go every year. This year I’ve been asked to be a judge (YAY!) so if it’s not an incentive enough to go hang out with some good cooks and eat all day – you should at least go and hang out with me!
And finally Sy’s birthday is this month! We’ll have to plan something fun for him in a couple weeks!

Does anyone have anything planned for this month that they can’t wait to attend?

Beale Street

Obviously, I’ve been in a writing slump. Then I was looking thru pictures and completely forgot to share this with you. A huge attraction in Memphis is Beale Street. I really had no idea what I was missing…
Beale Street is just a party street. The ends of the street are blocked off and watched over by the fine Memphis Police Department. There’s musicians, performers but mostly just people walking around drinking and having a good time. It originally started up in the 1920’s with nightclubs, theatres, shops along with drinking and gambling. Obviously, it has carried on thru to today. The street is still packed.
She’s waiting for customers!
I was amazed at how many historical landmark signs we saw just down this area of what felt like three blocks, although now that I think back about it I really shouldn’t be. The musical history down this street alone is impressive. Elvis was influenced here, BB King made his mark here and artists are still beginning their claim to fame in this area.
Someone was loving this sign.
Now, Beale Street isn’t the only stop in the area. Really, there’s quite a lot to see and all within walking distance of each other. I wish we could’ve had a chance to check a few of these out. Maybe next time…
Sun Studios – Known as the birthplace of Rock and Roll. It’s recorded numerous artists, perhaps you’ve heard of a few guys named Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash? You can still go in and record. How cool is that?
This is just a “Kooky” sign we saw. Sy loved it.
Home of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sy showing his Dallas Mavs pride.
I was more interested in what was diagonally across the street – Gibson Guitars! I would’ve loved to go on a factory tour!
Memphis wouldn’t be Memphis without the Rock and Soul Museum in the area.
The street was lined with these different sports balls along the street. I had to include them. They were fun!
Autozone Park is nearby as well located right in the middle of the city area (at least it felt like it) and diagonally across the street from the Peabody. Checkout the local minor league baseball team – it looked like a nice place to see a game.
Memphis, if only we could have had a little more time to spend together!