Adventures in a Red Ford Fiesta

So Thursday turned out to be one crazy busy day! My cousin Kathy, who I've talked about here, let me know that she would be home for a few days. I jumped at the chance to have a nice visit with Aunts and my mom!

Arrangements were made for us to have lunch at The House of Memories in St. Paul, Ne. I rented a red Ford Fiesta to drive there because my car is having a radiator issue right now.

The Fiesta is smaller than my car so I was a little nervous about taking it on the interstate. Turns out it's a fun car to drive. I thought so anyway, until I was almost pushed off the interstate by a semi! Yikes that was scary!! Thankfully, nothing bad happened. The trucker saw me (after I was already driving on the shoulder!) and pulled back into his lane. I floored it and zipped that red Fiesta around the truck! Whew!

 I made my way to St. Paul without any other mishaps. I pulled up to the House of Memories and there was my family standing on the porch! 

The entry has a beautiful staircase and chandelier. 

The lunch menu that day included chicken tetrazzini or taco salad with a yummy apple cake a la mode for dessert. 

Above our table was this chandelier. This place has some serious florals going on. Even the ceiling is wallpapered!

Here we are after lunch. I love hanging out with these people!

The house of memories is also a gift shop, so we looked around upstairs to see what kinds of gifts were for sale.

I guess I didn't take pictures in the rooms but there were many things for sale including home decor, baby things, kitchen towels and potholders, scarves and jewelry. A little something for everybody! 

I really enjoyed chatting and looking around in this neat old house!

After we purchased our goodies, we decided to go drink some wine..

Next stop, Miletta Vista Winery! It's located just outside of St. Paul.

We enjoyed a couple different red wines and took in the view.

What a lovely afternoon! 

But the day wasn't over yet..

Mom and I said our goodbyes, made a quick stop at her house and hopped back in the car to drive back to Lincoln.

I had to snap a couple pics of Betty's Garden first, of course! So pretty!

The trip back to Lincoln took longer than expected because of an accident on the interstate. The single file line of cars stretched on for miles. The Fiesta and I inched along. Mom had driven her own car, so I called to see if she was stuck in the slow lane too. Yep. I saw two different beat up cars on the side of the road, both having the sticker that stated "Rusty but Trusty." Haha! Those cars are probably only trusty if there is air moving across the radiator. Which made me thankful that I had rented the red Fiesta instead of driving my car. I would have been on the side of the road too!

 Eventually, meaning at least 30 minutes later, we were directed off the interstate. I decided to take a gravel road to try to get back home. Wouldn't you know it, two deer ran out right in front of me. Ack!!! Luckily, we all avoided each other. 

After several phone calls and finding the interstate again, we made it back to Lincoln just in time to see my brother Chris and his fiance, Jenny, play a show at the Zoo Bar.

Chris played a solo set and Jenny played with her band, GloWorm.

After this photo, my camera died. And I was pooped! But, I'm so glad we made it in time to see them play! It was a great ending to a fun day. If you ever get the chance, check out some of these businesses in Nebraska. You might even want to drive a red Ford Fiesta!