Tuesday, December 2, 2014

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Yes, I know it is December.  Like I said in my last post I have had a few posts in mind for a while. Perhaps this time of year we can reflect on last summer's activities. I used to hate it in school when the teacher would assign a writing assignment on the topic of 'What I did on my summer vacation'. We used to move every summer or two, my dad was in the Army. 

Last summer I attended the Garden Bloggers Fling in Portland....a great trip that warrants multiple posts, none of which is this one.  I did enjoy seeing the mountains out the airplane window.  Mount St. Helens, Mt. Hood and ??? 


This post is a little closer to home. Do you explore your area as if you were a tourist? All too often we don't explore unless we have company. I am glad I was able to join a neighbor and her grandson on a short excursion up to Greenville. Our destination was Falls Park, in the center of downtown. Too often when going to Greenville I hadn't had time to walk around the Falls. The Reedy River runs right through the center of town. 


 Various restaurants, apartments and shops have a front row view of the river.  The river runs under Main Street and through Falls Park.

Breath taking views are at every turn. Picturesque walking bridges cross the river, restaurants on the left and the Peace Center, performing arts venue, to the right.


Additional water features dot the streetscape.


A large cantilevered bridge takes you away from Main Street to the Park. Liberty Bridge, built 10 years ago, it a one of  kind bridge.



It is as if you are in the treetops.



View back up to the bridge. 


Back around and under one of the bridges....


A wonderful outing. I plan on going back and taking more time to explore the trails. We dodged some heavy downpours, luckily it didn't spoil our day and I came home with some good pictures.

One item from Portland I wanted to share with you was one of my winnings from our banquet night. I won a Seed Sprouter from Botanical Interests. Last year I had hoped to win one when we were in San Francisco, but I didn't. This time I put many of my raffle tickets in for the drawing of the Seed Sprouter. I won! And I won again, and again....it was pretty funny. I passed on the second and third time my name came up. 

Once home I pulled out my seed packets and followed the directions for sprouts. 
Step 1- Soak the seeds in a diluted bleach solution to disinfect them. (can't be too safe) 


Directions and equipment all laid out


After disinfecting, you rinse the seeds.


Set up the Seed Sprouter, I had one kind of seeds on one tray and another type on the other tray.


The seeds are sprouting! They need to be rinsed every day to keep them moist.



In pretty short order we had sprouts.  A wonderful addition to a salad or sandwich. 


The sprouts are a little peppery... and tasty! 


After our first round of sprouts I put the Seed Sprouter away for the summer. In our area we are light on mosquitoes but heavy on fungal gnats coming in on the seasonal fruit. Rather than fight the gnats I figured I would bring it out again this winter.

So, short trips, long trips and prizes....a great summer.



©Copyright 2014 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

21 comments:

  1. ...Mount Rainier. You took some great shots of Greenville. Looks like a rainy day, but clouds always make better photos. Love the seed sprouter. Never seen it before, but now I want one. Have a good time at Arbor Day on Friday; wish I could be there.

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    1. Marian will you were going to be coming to the Arbor Day event. We will have to get together soon. You would enjoy the Seed Sprouter.

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  2. Hey Janet! Great pics of Greenville! Next time you find yourself in my neck of the woods, give me a shout! I do love Greenville and I do love just strolling around downtown and Falls Park. It was a great addition to the area. Cheers! ~Julie

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    1. Julie, I will give you a head's up. We should get together! Thanks.

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  3. It's a gray day in Middle Tennessee, so the summer scenes from Reedy Falls are much appreciated! Thank you, Janet!

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    1. Gloria, seems there have been a lot of gray days this winter. Know Nashville really saw a lot of winter. Time for spring!

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  4. That first photo looks familiar--I always wished someone could tell me which mountain was which, too:) But you're right, Janet, that so often we forget about places much closer to home. This is a beautiful park; I'd love to walk on that cantilevered bridge--what a view!

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    1. Rose, I am not sure which mountain is which...but we don't live out there, so we are forgiven.

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  5. You obviously needn't go far afield to experience mini-vacations. I'm sure glad you came to Portland, though.

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    1. Ricki, I am glad I came to Portland too. It was a great trip and I always enjoy meeting more of the bloggers I have only known through the internet.

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  6. Janet great to hear from you and a wonderful post...I don't get out enough and explore our local area but I plan to this year. I have one of these sprouters too and love it but more for winter too.

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    1. Donna@GEV, thanks - once again a long time in between posts.

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  7. Wow, what a gorgeous river and waterfall! I need to explore around here some more. Always a good thing.

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  8. Wow! Greenville is a gorgeous town! And those sprouts look delicious!

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    1. Kim and Victoria, Greenville is really energizing their downtown area. It is a great place to explore.

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  9. Thanks for the tour of Falls Park! Really spectacular!
    Have a wonderful week-end!
    Lea

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    1. Lea, Thanks for stopping by. Falls Park is really a great spot to visit.

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  11. In the years we lived in SC we never made it to Greenville. Now I realize what we were missing! What a pretty town. :o)

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    1. Tammy, you will have to come and visit and we will go up!

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