A surprise visitor

[gillumhouse]

Innkeep and I had so much fun yesterday!! I thought I'd bust a gut when she suggested an 'innkeeper intervention'!! Just too funny! We also explored the downtown Central Market (one of the 10 best in the world according to CNN GO.com)
Alas she has departed for points north and east. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!! Stay safe and enjoy the cookbook..

When I saw the title of this thread I thought about some folks I know who had THIS surprise visitor. They sent me the photos today and the little story, which I thought was super cute.
.

When I saw the title of this thread I thought about some folks I know who had THIS surprise visitor. They sent me the photos today and the little story, which I thought was super cute.

As I've mentioned before, our first state nickname was "The Bear State" because we had so many. Then my ancestors and their fellow Arkies ate them all. And I mean ALL. Now the state game and fish commission is bringing in black bears from Colorado to get them established again here.
Then we were "The Diamond State" because we're the only place in North America where you can dig in the dirt and find new diamonds (as opposed to the ones people have found before, but lost). Then we were "The Wonder State" but everybody wondered what that meant, so we became "The Land of Opportunity" (a nickname the state industrial development commission came up with).
For the last 30 years we have been "The Natural State" and that one seems to be sticking. We have no shortage of beautiful nature because we can't afford to plow it under and build parking lots. There aren't enough diamonds here to match the oil in Texas, and the land of opportunity turned out to be the land of poverty...and nature. I like the nature.
By the way, I'm a member of the Sierra Club, and the latest issue of Sierra Magazine has a cover story on The Current River. It's one of the FIVE rivers we have in our county, and just a couple of miles north of my town it merges with The Black River that flows by us.
This little commercial brought to you by PleaseSpendMoneyHere.com with the motto "We need the money more than you do".
.

Yours is not the only one to have changed nicknames. When I was in grade school - way back when before time was actually being kept - we were known as the Snake State (I thought it was because our roads were created by following a snake up the hill) but it did not havef the image - so we are the Mountain State now, and we DO have those.
And the black bear is our State animal. They are starting to come down from the mountains to around here even - too may "summer homes" have taken their habitat. Garbage cans make for easier forage.