It pays to be nosey. I saw a man in the Aldi grocery store with his cart piled high with fruit. Nothing but fruit. Of course I had to comment “you must really like fruit”. Then he said it, “It’s for my monkeys”. Anyone who knows me, knows that monkeys are my ALL TIME favorite animals! Turns out he has 8 Lemurs! He told me he lived on Lake Gladewater and I could come see them. Like any monkey crazed normal person I got his address. Turns out he owns 5H Bait and Country Store. Not only do they have monkeys, but talking parrots, tortoises, chickens, bunnies and ferrets. Score! I was in!

This past Sunday my family and I made the 20 minute drive out to Lake Gladewater. I think my husband was a bit skeptical about my “monkey man I met in the grocery store” story, but honestly, he should be used to it by now.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

It was such a fun day. The family that owns the little store are so nice. The granddaughter brought out one of their ferrets named Slinky. I didn’t get a pic because I was having too much fun holding it.

The lake area and beach are so clean. We didn’t bring swimsuits this time because a storm was coming in and we knew we wouldn’t have the time to swim and see everything else.

The store boasts pictures of fish that were caught in the lake. There are piers that look like you could definitely have some fishing fun. We are planning to take our rods out soon to see if we can have some luck.

If you live in east Texas or are planning a trip out this way, you should definitely stop by Lake Gladewater. If not to swim or fish, for sure you should see the animals and meet the nice people who own the store.

Spreading my love of east Texas,

Stacy