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Tyler State Park

September 24th, 2010

If you are looking for some good family fun that does not include a man dressed up in a giant mouse, or sitting in a dark room glued to a giant television screen, I recommend spending the day at Tyler State Park.

At Tyler State Park there is so much to do for the whole family. If you love to spend time on the water, here you can rent a canoe, or paddle boat, or bring your own. The park has an area that you can swim. Usually the beach area and swimming area are pretty crowded. The swimming area is roped off but it is easy to get to the rest of the lake, so you have to watch your kids closely while they are swimming. If you enjoy biking and walking, Tyler State Park is known for their great mountain bike trails. Some of the trails are pretty hard to ride and some trails are much easier. The walking trails are great for family hikes. It is great to have a place that is fun to take family walks and enjoy the out doors.

On a nice cool night there really is not anything that compares to sitting under the stars and around a warm camp fire. Tyler State Park has some really nice camp sites that include camp fire pits and grills so you can cook hamburgers or hotdogs. The camp sites are either shelter, areas where you can park your RV, or areas where you can put up a tent. The sheltered area is basically an empty building with screen windows, and cement floors.

At the park there are all different animals. The last time I was out at one of their camp grounds we were visited by a very curious fat raccoon. It was pretty scary that the raccoon would not run away after people chasing it away and throwing things at it to get it to get off our camping area. It is against park rules to kill the park animals. The raccoon was use to people and was really well fed. I recommend that you keep your trash bags off the ground while you are sleeping or away from your camp grounds, or else animals like raccoons will get into your trash and make a huge mess that you are responsible for.

So instead of putting your kids in front of the television, enjoy time with them playing on the playgrounds, camping, cooking marshmallows over the fire, or having a picnic at Tyler State Park.

Big Lots by the Mall in Tyler, TX

January 27th, 2010

4400 South Broadway Avenue
Tyler, TX 75703-1303
(903) 581-7477‎

I love Big Lots. I am a huge fan of the concept of selling overstocked and discontinued items at an awesome price. They keep a regular supply of most items you would find in a small convenience store such as trash bags and socks, but a large part of their inventory is constantly changing. They always have soaps and shampoos, but maybe one day you’ll find a really nice brand for cheap and not the next week. 

Big Lots in Tyler Texas

Big Lots near Robert E. Lee High School

 Regardless of the inventory changes, one thing stays constant. The prices at Big Lots are always cheaper than comparable stores. It also maintains the fun feel of treasure hunting almost like shopping at thrift stores.

This Big Lots is located on South Broadway across the street from the Mall and right next door to Robert E. Lee High School. It shares a parking lot with Michael’s, the arts and crafts store, and T.G.I.Friday’s, along with a dozen other smaller single location stores. This location is a great convenience for when you want to go to several stores on the same trip into town. I go to this one when I am looking for gifts, because if I can’t find something good at Big Lots I can head over to Michael’s or the half-price used book store in the same lot. The problem with this store’s location is the traffic. I can only assume that the intersection of South Broadway and Loop 323 is the busiest intersection in Tyler. This happens to be where Big Lots is located. Almost any time of the day, it is hard to navigate through this area. If you are traveling via the loop, you have to be prepared to choose the turning lane a few stoplights before you get to the intersection. Once in the parking lot, you still can’t relax until you have stopped, because this lot seems to be a collecting spot for all of the impatient people in Tyler.

A fun addition to your trips to Big Lots in the Spring and Summer is that right outside of Big Lots going towards Loop 323 there are usually a couple of guys selling produce. They’ll often be selling watermelons and oranges and then whatever else happens to be in season. 

Robert E. Lee Highschool Tyler TX

Robert E. Lee Highschool

 Even if you aren’t in the mood for fruit, these guys will usually give you a huge East Texas smile and greeting just for acknowledging them.

While, the other Big Lots store in Tyler has a full furniture show room, this store location does not. This branch sells furniture to be assembled at home. They have book shelves, entertainment centers, glider rocking chairs, small dressers and other things along this line. Most of these are very attractive and afford-ably but are made of the non-durable press board. Though, for something like a small bookshelf, this store offers almost exactly what you need and will beat the price of most other stores with similar products.

I’ve also been impressed with their small electronics section near the front. They have standard computer accessories like mice and USB cables. This section has regular and rechargeable batteries. My favorite item that I’ve found here, though, is a set of burnable CDs. 

Big Lots in Tyler

Big Lots in Tyler

 A couple of times that I’ve gone, they’ve had incredible deals on blank CDs. The problem is you have to be willing to check and understand that with this kind of store there is not much guarantee that they will have the item you wanted.

One last feature about this location I should fill you in on is their bedding section. If you are in the market for new sheets for your bed, then check out Big Lots first. The section can be a little messy because most of the sheet sets are the only one like them in the store. It should be divided into bed size, but look around in the whole section. You can sometimes find really high thread count sheets sets for less than half the cost of other retail stores. The bottom line is that you should give Big Lots a few shots. Visit the store a few different times and at least see if it is a good fit for your personality and shopping needs. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.