A Spontaneous Day

Sometimes spontaneous days are just what we need and yesterday was one of those beautiful days with spontaneous carved into the heart of it.

What shall I do was the big question as hubby was out of town on business for a couple days. Hmmm, A Monday drive and trip to the lake sounded like a grand idea. Better yet how about I check out some restaurants online in that area before I go? So that’s what I did. I found a couple with great reviews and that was all I needed to make my little trip worth while.

I started out with so much excitement and couldn’t wait to see what the day would bring.

When something caught my eye, I took a picture like this.

Along the way I passed this old schoolhouse that was recently turned into upscale apartments. There are 3 apartments on the third floor and all three have around 3,000 + sq ft each.

This is a beautiful sorority home

This stunning arch compelled me to stop along the way and take a moment.

I love the character of this old home

Bet this was a little gem in the day.

I find beauty in the old barns but I’m also a bit sentimental. I wish I could fix up all the old ones to make them whole, complete with candy apple red paint and black trim.

A pretty piece of property in the middle of nowhere, there’s a neat little restaurant there too.

Beautiful old architecture

Here’s a little sample of grand windows/doorways

One last collage of some of the structures I admired along the way.

Moving right along to my first choice restaurant – While looking at the pictures online, I fell in love with the beautiful natural stone walls inside. It looked like the perfect place to have a nice cozy relaxing lunch.

But it was not open for lunch.

I was downhearted for just a bit as it rained on my little parade.

But let not your heart be troubled because I had a plan B. And this is what my plan B looked like as I pulled in.

I parked over to the far left and took this shot before going in. I already had it planned out that I was going to dine near a window or on the patio to enjoy the breeze and water.

But as you know when it rains it pours as it too was closed for lunch and not open ‘til 5. My heart dropped a little more than the first place as my hopes were so high after I arrived. After all there were cars in the parking lot and this was totally what I was in the mood for at this point.

I dusted myself off and put a smile on my face

And walked on the little path that led to the back. There is where I found a nice little comfy bench to sit and enjoy the breeze and view with this little duck as my company.

I sat there for quite some time contemplating what I wanted to do next. I wasn’t quite ready to drive home, I wanted to enjoy the water and day a bit more.

So I got in the car and drove following the water along to the mouth of the lake. Then is when I spotted this.

And this

And drove all the way to the back of the park and sat here for what seemed like an hour or more.

At the time, this was more filling than any of the two restaurants combined. It was so peaceful and calm and the beauty all around was worth more than my choice restaurants had they been open.

After I had my fill of this glorious spring day, my tummy was starting to let me know that I had better think of something. At this point it was around 3:30 in the afternoon and oatmeal was the only thing I had up until this point. Soooo, I thought “Self, I really want to get back home but I would still like to go out to dinner.” It would be dinner at this point as it was about an hour drive back.

So I made the drive back and decided on Red Lobster. I knew I couldn’t go wrong there.

I was seated in a beautiful spot.

And my diet soda and lime were delivered in amazing turn around time. It was so refreshing after a long day.

Then I ordered my meal and made such a nice healthy choice. It was moments after I made my choice that I really wanted to change my order. What I really wanted was the popcorn shrimp and French fries. I know, not a healthy choice but I was so in the mood to indulge and I did. The waitress graciously changed my order.

It wasn’t long before my salad with ranch dressing with lots of ground pepper with their yummy biscuits were served.

This amazing fried popcorn shrimp and fries were so piping hot and fresh that my mouth did jumping jacks.