On our way ...

Thankfully our wonderful friend and house-sitter arrives as we leave this afternoon. After stopping over in London for a couple of days we are off on a Baltic Sea cruise (M/V Discovery - The Timeless Baltic).

http://www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk/voyage_details.php?cruise_id=18465.

Our ports of call are Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), St Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia) and Warnamünde (Berlin), Germany.  With over a month of high heat each day, including many days above 100 F. (37 C.), it will be lovely to be in the cooler climate of Europe.

First though we are looking forward to our visit with Gwen, Dave, Tanya and Sophie in London .....

Brazos Bend Texas State Park

With temperatures reaching 105F/40C degrees over the past two weeks it has been hot. So hot that it is hard to believe it is not summer until June 21st.  It is still only Spring!  Today we visited the Brazos Bend State Park.  With the Spanish Moss hanging on the Live Oak trees and the beautiful water lilly's on Elm Lake it felt cooler, and actually, it was five degrees cooler in the shade. 

The sign warn folks but it was a quiet day for alligators today .... we did not see one, not even eyes in the water. Thankfully no snakes came our way, I am sure there are rattlers and cotton mouths in this area.

Hearing the bird songs from many different birds made stopping here extra special.

The water lilly's were blooming making the lake look very pretty. From a distance the view was beautiful but it does not photograph as it looks to the naked eye.

Many trees have Spanish Moss on them giving an old southern feel to the area.