PEARL FRYAR AND HIS TOPIARY GARDEN

Hilton Garden Inn
Titusville, Florida
September 30, 2014
As we traveled through country roads today from Rock Hill to Bishopville, South Carolina, we saw one real plantation home, 2 little deer in the road, and a very large dam structure which created a nice lake.  Two hours later we arrived at the home of Pearl Fryar, "star" of the documentary, A Man Named Pearl.




At first when he moved into the neighborhood, he was not accepted, but he used his artistic talents to create a fabulous topiary garden and won many garden club awards. The metal structures and fountains that grace the very large gardens display his talent further! He is a very humble man, and speaks around the country about his belief in people. Pearl has created scholarships to encourage young people without financial means to go beyond high school. We spent at least an hour in the gardens--I'm having difficulty uploading photos.




From the gardens we drove through Georgia and arrived in Titusville, Florida at 7 p.m. The cheapest gas was $3.03/gallon. Of course we stopped for our complimentary Florida orange juice at the visitor welcome center.


Our goal in Titusville was Dixie Crossroads, a favorite seafood restaurant! Red shrimp are in now and that is what Tim enjoyed. I had their fresh fried shrimp. Love their corn fritters dusted with powdered sugar!

ROCKIN IN ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA!

Hilton Garden Inn
650 Tinsley Way 29730
Rock Hill, SC




After 10 hours on the road we arrived in Rock Hill. The hotel is great-2 bed suite. After a short visit at the Flatwoods Fiesta outlet, we stopped at New River Gorge, West Virginia which has become a tradition.


Today's trip was not extraordinary--warm weather/70s--sunny. Light traffic until Charlotte, NC. We listened to a Greg Iles book, Blood Memory. Dinner at Chili's across from the hotel--very good!


MJ's Takes About TK: He makes great tuna fish sandwiches! And his driving was flawless today!

OUR FALL TRIP 2014!

On Monday we are leaving for Florida for several reasons--and of course one is to cruise! Our first stop will be Pearl Fryar's topiary garden in Bishopville, South Carolina. I saw him speak at Mercyhurst University a few years ago and have wanted to see his gardens ever since. He was featured in a documentary, A Man Named Pearl. Check out www.pearlfryar.com

THREADS OF FEELING

LEARN SOMETHING NEW IN WILLIAMSBURG! THREADS OF FEELING…

Monday, February 24, 2014
Williamsburg, Virginia
Sunny, 56 F

Excitement alert warning to Randy and Brian. We purchased our single day ticket for Colonial Williamsburg this morning for $25 per person, soon to be 43/per single day. We had a couple things in mind that we wanted to see and CW was not busy today. 

The Capitol—our own private tour. There we learned that our part of Pennsylvania was once part of Virginia, something we may have known before, but forgot.  We learned that Williamsburg’s population in the 18^th century was about 1800-2000 people and 52% were slaves.

The Charlton Coffee House---our own private tour.  In the mid-90s we saw the archeological dig here when the CW Foundation started researching and excavating a new site. Now there is a reconstructed coffee house on the site, not far from the Capitol. Virginian men in politics met here to discuss the topics of the day (1767 is being reenacted here). We had coffee today with 34 year old George Washington. He told us he had been to LeBoeuf and Fort Pitt in the north near where we liveJ.

Apothecary---we talked with Robin, the daughter of a Travelers Rest resident, who has worked at CW for 30 years!

Silversmith---now they have sterling silver beads for my bracelet!

King’s Arms Tavern—lunch!  I love eating as if it is 1775. Tim had fried chicken, I had a ham and cheese sandwich with homemade chips, and we shared excellent bread pudding. A violinist entertained.

Public Armoury Kitchen---this is where a blacksmith, a tinsmith, a carpenter, and other tradesmen worked together to make the ammunition and weapons for war. The kitchen was used for cooking meals for the tradesman and the manager of the armoury who lived onsite with his family.

John Greenhow---a city store that sells goods of the day, e.g. soaps, candles, pewter, games, toys, period clothing, etc. Always a favorite stop to look.

****Public Hospital and DeWitt Wallace Museum---First of all, I don’t like visiting the hospital for the insane for fear Tim will leave me. J J But, we had not seen it in a while and we visited quickly. Fortunately things have changed and people with mental illness are treated differently now.

THREADS OF FEELING at the museum.  This exhibit was so moving and heart rending, actually very difficult to view. 

According to the website, “The exhibition, which was originally curated and displayed at London’s Foundling museum in 2011, showcases fabrics never shown before which illustrate the moment of parting as mothers left their babies at the original Foundling Hospital.

In the cases of more than 4,000 babies left at the London Foundling Hospital between 1741 and 1760, a small object or token, usually a piece of fabric, was kept as an identifying record. The fabric was either provided by the mother or cut from the child’s clothing by the hospital's nurses. Attached to registration forms and bound up into ledgers, these pieces of fabric form the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving in Britain from the 18th Century. A selection of the textiles forms the focus of the Threads of Feeling exhibition, along with examples of the kinds of garments made from them, and the stories they tell us about individual babies, their mothers and their lives.

Visitors to the Colonial Williamsburg Museum in Virginia, USA, now have a chance to view this moving collection as the exhibition remains in situ until March 2014.  This will be the last time these objects can be exhibited for the foreseeable future, because natural dyes fade if exposed to light for too long. Two years on display is considered the maximum exposure that is safe.
The process of giving over a baby to the hospital was anonymous. It was a form of adoption, whereby the hospital became the infant’s parent and its previous identity was effaced. The mother’s name was not recorded, but many left personal notes or letters exhorting the hospital to care for their child. The pieces of fabric in the ledgers were kept, with the expectation that they could be used to identify the child if it was returned to its mother. In reality, very few of the children were ever reclaimed.”

Actually information in the exhibit noted that there were over 16,000 babies left in this hospital and only 152 children were reclaimed by their mother. Reading the notes that the mothers left with their babies really tore at my heart—there were so many circumstances, economics, unwed, the mother died. Actually the hospital still exists today, as an orphanage.

 

I just cannot imagine a mother having to leave her child like this. The heartbreaking circumstances that would lead to giving up a child.  The last act of leaving a token, like a piece of cloth or a note, or some token. I asked the Colonial Williamsburg curator if there were any records indicating how these children grew up and had families and did she know of anyone to trace their family back to a foundling baby. She said that the babies, with new names and christened, stayed with a wet nurse until they were 5 or 6 years old. Then they returned to the London Foundling Hospital and School for school and then to learn a trade. She said a CW employee has traced his family back to a foundling who learned a trade, came to America, and had a family.

 See http://www.threadsoffeeling.com/ 

That exhibit ended our day at CW. We went to dinner at Uno Chicago Grill (aside to Friend H—do you remember the one in Denver?) I love their deep dish pizza!

Today was cooler, still wearing sandals! We are thinking about whether we will stay an extra day because of the weather.

TK’s Take: we got a call today from the owner of the Park Model in TRR—she ended up selling it today to her neighbor’s daughter. We knew she had first dibs, but the owner was not sure she could get financing. Oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILLIAMSBURG, A FAVORITE STOP!

WILLIAMSBURG, A FAVORITE STOP!

Hampton Inn, Williamsburg, Virginia
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Partly cloudy, 72 F

We meandered to Williamsburg in about 5  1/2 hours. The roads were free of traffic congestion and we made a few stops. Now when we come to Williamsburg we are reminded of our great family visit several years ago when we all went to Great Wolf Lodge, Colonial Williamsburg, and other favorite places around here.

For dinner we went to Captain George’s Seafood restaurant. The cost has gone up to $31/per person, but on Sundays it is $27. Tim loves the snow crab legs (the Captain serves 1 million pounds of crab legs per year in 4 restaurants). I like the lightly breaded fried shrimp (125,000 pounds per year) and the scallops (300,000 pounds per year). This restaurant gets great reviews on Trip Advisor.

We spent some time in the large Yankee Candle shop and the Premium Outlets. I even scored a TB swim suit for 70% off, in my favorite style.

Today may be the last day for capris and just a top. The rest of the week will be cooler in Virginia, and we sure know it will be in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow will still be a good day for outdoor activities in Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.

NORTH, HERE WE COME!

NORTH, HERE WE COME!

Hampton Inn, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Sunny, 70s F

After another quick look at the Breckinridge Park Model home, we said our goodbyes to Scorchy and Mary Lou and off we went about 8:30 a.m.  We took a detour to a showroom for RVs and other park homes along Rt. 301 just to do a little research. We already found out that our friends in Charleston were in California and the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville was only open till 4 p.m. on Saturday, closed on Sunday, so this would be a travel day.

We used Randy’s new travel app, Waze, and it showed us how to avoid big traffic logjams along the Interstates. Bravely we got off the highway twice and took the new bypass route Waze suggested. One time we could even see traffic completely stopped for 5 miles on I-95 while we traveled parallel to it.

By 7 p.m. we stopped in Fayetteville for the night. It is so amazing to travel now with cell phones, GPS, and apps like Hilton, Marriott, Trip Advisor, Gas Buddy, and Waze, and more. With two phones I can look up something on one and call on the other.

We are about 4 ½ hours from Williamsburg, our destination tomorrow. Coleen texted me a photo of B2 at her first gymnastics practice meet (so professional looking), Friend M texted me about the weather in Erie, Friend MJ told me about her impending trip to Florida, and all suggested we either stay in Florida or delay our return! By the time we get to Erie on Wednesday if all goes well, it will be single digit temperature. Oh no! The upside: we see our family and friends again!!!!!!!

I kept forgetting to mention that while we were in the Dade City area we saw whole orchards of oranges being razed---there is a mite invading the trees and destroying the citrus farming.

GARAGE SALES AND HOMES FOR SALE! STAY TUNED!

GARAGE SALES AND HOMES FOR SALE

TRR, Dade City, Florida
Friday, February 21, 2014
Cloudy, rainy, 81 F’

Excitement alert / caution for Randy and Brian. J This blog is going to be about more fun and foodJ. Early this morning we headed to the Garden Club booth for coffee before we set off through the community to see all the garage sales. Next door neighbor Gene (retired FF from Michigan) loaned us his golf cart. I only bought books, but it was a good opportunity to meet a lot of the people who live here, full and part time, and see the various residences.  There is a good mix of northeastern U.S. residents and 14% Canadian.

We jotted phone numbers down for some homes in the “TRR Villages,” where there are manufactured homes.  Soon enough we were looking at three homes. The first one (2007) was quite large, with tiled floors, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, beautiful kitchen, two living rooms, laundry room, a Florida room, large lanai, and two very nice workshops, which I would use for my study, about 2000 sq. ft. Priced at $120,000, including a golf cart. At TRR one owns the home and land, pays taxes ($800 for Florida residents, $1,600 for non-residents), plus $3000 yearly park fee, plus insurance. Scorchy said to offer $80,000. The size was perfect, but the lot abutted others with less privacy than our house in Pennsylvania---although the houses are well-spaced and not on top of one another. 

House #2 was much older and smaller and would need a lot of work. Mary Lou said to have floors inspected because they often need replacing.  It had two bedrooms and two baths, smaller kitchen, laundry, separate dining room, large Florida room/lanai, living room, and a small workshop area. $80,000. The lots in the TRR Villages are valued at $35,000-$40,000, although there are no lots available anymore. This lot was much more private.

House #3 was older too, 1977. Two bedrooms, two baths, nice kitchen, huge living room, huge Florida room, laundry, small lanai, and workshop, but to get to the Florida room and the lanai, one had to go through a bedroom. The nicest thing about this house was the lot—backed up to a creek and trees, with deer included. $89,000.

All three houses had RV hookups, too.

In the past 5 years we have looked at a lot of places, from southern Georgia to Estero, Florida. We have many friends and family who live in Florida full or part time. Some live in condos—high condo fees which increase yearly, living very close to others; gated communities---high yearly fees (we have seen up to $800/month—no land ownership); manufactured home communities—high yearly fees and one owns only the home, not the land (up to $800/month). Some have golf courses, most have activity centers/pools. I have to say the best deal seems to be here at TRR where one owns a share and has a vote in the community. Mary Lou said that about 1000 people live in TRR, full or part time. There is an emergency services department too, as well as a post office. She also said that RV parks are being bought up and turned into subdivisions. When a community becomes non-solvent and that happens, an entrepreneur buys it and raises fees. Some have gone bankrupt. TRR is solvent. 

If we ever did buy, we sure would know to find one where we owned the home and the land. Since we have our almost maintenance free house in Pennsylvania, we sure do not want a second home that needs lots of maintenance either! Another option is just buying a home like we do in Erie, but if we only stayed there 2-3 months, we would worry about which neighborhood, security, and so on.

The other thing we are noticing is that people ARE buying in Florida again!

After such a busy morning, we drove to Zephyrhills for dinner, another great restaurant, Sunrise Eatery. Since it is our last day in Florida, I opted for shrimp, which came with a very tasty authentic Greek salad. Tim had a variety of seafood-shrimp, fish, and clams.  Even at 2 p.m. there was a line for this restaurant (we did not really eat breakfast or lunch, as usual, so we have early dinner and a snack about 6 or 7).

Now we are preparing to leave Dade City tomorrow morning to head to Bishopville, South Carolina and the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden.

Last night we got to “Facetime” with B1 and Denise, a real treat!! We miss our family! While they were cozy in their house, we were sitting outdoors in shorts talking to them at 9:30 p.m.!

Update: OK, maybe a change of plans: While we were having strawberry shortcake at Mary Lou’s, we looked at the TR Times and saw two “Park Models” for sale. We made some calls and went to see them. A Park Model is a sort of transition between an RV and a home.

Park Model #1 was a 2011, very neat and clean, tasteful colors, electric kitchen, one bedroom, one bath, full kitchen, living area, study area, screened in porch, and a shed. $60,000, no golf cart, no TR Share. No washer and dryer.

Park Model #2 was a 2007, very neat and clean, tasteful colors, gas kitchen, one bedroom, one bath, full kitchen, living area, study area, screened in porch, and a shed. $28,000, includes newer golf cart, new washer and dryer, and a TR Share ($2700+---this is what I mentioned before, one has to have a share in the park to live here). Owners (from Maine) told us they leave the air on in the summer while they are gone and the electricity cost is $20/month. That prevents moisture and other problems.

 And so here we are, will we stay another day and take another look? We saw the sites at night. Could we live in a smaller space for 2-3 months a year? They are bigger than a balcony stateroom on a cruise ship. Stay tuned.

 

CHEFS DE NAPOLI AND CABANA HAPPY HOUR

CHEFS DE NAPOLI AND CABANA HAPPY HOUR

TRR, Dade City, Florida
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Sunny, 84 F

Scorchy and Mary Lou are so busy in this community! Scorchy played 9 holes of golf early this morning and Mary Lou’s Garden Club met again today (they actually meet twice a week I found out). More planting, more clean up with a coffee break now and then!  There was a wedding in the gardens tonight so the club wanted to make sure the garden was at its best. By the way, the azalea bushes are huge and their flowers are very big too.

So while Scorchy and Mary Lou worked, I read a book while sitting in the shade of a live oak in their backyard. When they got home we headed to Chefs de Napoli in Brookville for lunch---an authentic Italian restaurant we enjoyed last year. The fresh warm homemade bread was sure tasty. I had cheese ravioli, Tim had the Tastes of Italy dish—cheese ravioli, lasagna, and “some round thing.” Mary Lou requested a stop at Publix for snacks because tonight was the cabana area happy hour.

By the time we got home it was time to go to a neighbor’s yard with chairs, drinks, and our snacks (I bought little cream puffs). There were about 30 people there—what nice conversation! We were introduced to everyone. When we told one new friend that we were headed to Williamsburg, she told me two of her daughters work there-one in the millenary shop, the other in the apothecary. The two daughters have worked there for 30 years! She gave us their names and was going to call them to say we would be there soon. I truly think Williamsburg would be a dream job!!  Anyway, this is a very friendly community.

Back “home” we could hear the wedding music in the garden (Mary Lou’s site backs up to an area of the garden (the garden is at least a half-acre, if not more, not including the lake).

Because of Tim’s tech savvy and our Dish Network set up, we watched the 10 p.m. Erie’s FOX 66 news last night and there was my brother talking about maple sugaring! I called him today and they are busy tapping the sugar maple trees. He and Marge advised us that it will still be cold next week when we get home. We are trying to soak up as much sun and warmth as we can before we get home!!

Janie’s Take: We did not win the Powerball Lottery, but Scorchy won $4.00 with his ticket!

POWERBALL AND LIVE UNION

POWERBALL AND LIVE UNION
TRR, Dade City, Florida
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Sunny, 80 F

Amazing weather! Sunny and warm again!  Our field trip today was to Brookville for supplies for the Garden Club coffee booth at the park’s block sale on Friday. We stopped at Sam’s Club, Publix, and a dollar store. I spotted Walmart and many small plazas along the way---a version of Peach Street here.  B1 would be highly amused that Poppy happily drove his sister around through the traffic and all the stores without one complaint. J

While we were out we had lunch at Buffet City, a Chinese buffet restaurant. In Erie I do not do Chinese buffets, but this one was clean and the food was very good. Our fortune cookies told us our lucky numbers, so we all decided to play the Powerball at Publix and use those lucky numbers for our picks. I have never bought a Powerball ticket on my own, but it was easy. The PB is up to $400 million today.

Tonight we went to a concert at the main community center, “Link Union.” Link Union is a musical family that stays at TRR when they are performing in Florida.  Tonight’s show was filmed for A & E, from what I understand.  What a musical family!

There are 4 brothers, aged 14 to 26, their sister, about 25, the mother, the oldest brother’s wife, and the father. The young couple has a darling 1 ½ year old daughter. The musical talent goes back 6 generations, originally from Missouri. When the children in this family (surname Link) were very young, the grandmother and mother taught them the piano. The children started picking up other instruments so the mother took them to perform at nursing homes. Then churches started asking them to perform, as well as fairs and other venues. Now they perform year round across the U.S. and Canada.

Instruments included violin, cello, electric guitar, guitar, banjo, recorder, keyboard, and mandolin. They started with Elvis, then country, Johnny Cash, bluegrass, Celtic, and more. They played my favorite, Ashokan Farewell. Others: Devil Goes Down to Georgia, Dueling Banjos, Dixie, two hours of delightful music.  www.linkunion.com

 

TRAVELERS REST RESORT--SUN AND CLOUDS ARE OK!!!

TRAVELERS REST RESORT

Dade City, Florida
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Sunny, 75 F

What a beautiful day!  The golf course is open for cyclists and walkers on Tuesdays until noon, so Tim and I took a walk around the course. We saw a hawk, an anhinga (water bird with long snake-like neck), and a 7 ft. long alligator in a small pond. He did not look too hungry! We also walked along the “Villages,” the area where the permanent homes are. Tim and I talked about looking around for something. There are homes for sale, but one has to be very careful. Banks won’t give a mortgage if the house is more than 25 years old, and older homes need more maintenance of course. I do think we like this area and what it offers. It is not as congested as Tampa, Fort Myers, or Stuart. Zephyr Hills is 12 miles away, Tampa and Tarpon Springs are not far. Most people who live around here are well-off (like George Steinbrenner). There are horse and cattle (even Brahma) farms. The smaller towns are old Florida charming. Plenty of restaurants, a large movie theater, other cultural activities nearby. Some would say it is not warm enough in Central Florida, but there is no snow. Anyway, we had a nice thoughtful walk this morning.

OUR NEW FRIEND ON THE GOLF COURSE

 

FOR SALE--PALM TREE IN FRONT!

 

Mary Lou and I went to a fashion show, “Have a Colorful Day,” at the main community center this afternoon. I loved the way the style committee organized it. First, the fashions were white, e.g. an 85 year old lady wore a wedding gown! Black was featured. Three ladies wore the primary colors, then introduced ladies wearing their combinations—purple, green, orange, along with indigo. A rainbow of color! A male trio sang a beautiful rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”

Patterns and designs were next. Our friends Norm and Gene participated in this segment while walking their little dogs. After that a lady brought out the others who wore black and did a makeover by adding colorful accessories. Others showed fashions in all the holiday colors, e.g. Halloween, Veterans Day, Christmas, and so on. Finally, several team colors were shown, e.g. Michigan State, Ohio State, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Each member of the audience received a colorful bag. Cookies and punch were served after.

Mary Lou and I took a golf cart ride around the complex to look for sites for sale. The sky was so beautiful today—the clouds resembled lamb’s wool and feathers, or ocean waves.

For dinner we went to Steph’s Soul Food Kitchen in Dade City. Oh my gosh!! Southern fried chicken, black-eyed peas, the best mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread and even heavenly strawberry shortcake (in season).  Mary Lou remarked that I am on a cloud kick. I said my new Dansko shoes were like walking on clouds, the biscuits at the Black Eyed Peas restaurant were like eating a cloud, and now the mashed potatoes were like eating a cloud. I really don’t know where that all is coming from, but I must love clouds!

As we were driving home after dinner, we spotted a sun dog in the clouds (a rainbow that tips a cloud). So pretty!

Finished the night by helping Scorchy with his tablet and Facebook.  And, I am reflecting on Sunday night when we used Facetime to contact Randy and Coleen and B1 and B2. I loved seeing them and they are growing so fast!!! I do miss them! We have decided to leave TRR on Saturday and head for Charleston. Then Sunday we will move on to Williamsburg. That’s the plan so far. I sure hope the weather improves in Erie!!!!!!!!!!

STROKE LECTURE AND FISH FRY

STROKE LECTURE AND FISH FRY

Travelers Rest Resort, Dade City, Florida
Monday, February 17, 2014
Sunny, 70s F

In case anyone wonders what there is to do at a camper community like TRR, here we go! To be fair TRR started out as an upscale resort for people who owned Airstreams. The place has evolved considerably.

Now any large camper can be located here. People who live here seasonally own a share of the land as opposed to renting. Every “land owner” has a say in how the place is run, sort of like a city with votes, a president, and a board. One section of TRR is reserved for temporary campers, those who stay for short periods of time. Some people have cabanas—Scorchy and Mary Lou have a cabana with two rooms and a bath where we stay, in addition to their 34 foot camper. Another section of TRR has beautiful manufactured homes. TRR has a 9-hole golf course, a lake, a very large garden area, several activity centers, a heated (87 F) pool, a fitness center, and so on.

Activities include garden club, photography club, genealogy, model airplanes and boats, carpentry, sewing, quilting, computer workshops, and on and on!

First thing this morning we went for coffee and muffins at the main community center where a heart surgeon assistant from Dade City medical center was giving a presentation on preventing strokes, recognizing the symptoms, and what to do if one has the symptoms.

 After the lecture and while Scorchy was golfing, Tim, Mary Lou, and I took a long walk along the TRR gardens and lake. Mary Lou is a member of the garden club and they plan the layout, compost, plant, prune, and really take good care of the gardens. Tomorrow is a garden club work session to plant replacement bromeliads—they meet once a week. Palms, gardenias, poinsettias, bamboo, hydrangea, snake plants, shrimp flowers, and more populate the area, as well as a variety of birds. We saw an egret and a hawk today.

Our next project was breading fish for a neighborhood fish fry. Scorchy brought walleye from Lake Erie for this purpose. We went next door to Geri and Gene’s “home” (from Elk _____, Michigan—retired firefighter and teacher) and soon Norm and Lois (Milton, PA), and Stan and Sharon (Canada) joined us. The menu was fried walleye, grilled walleye, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and sweet potato fries, none of which I ever eat. But, I stepped up to the plate and tried all of it. Not bad and I didn’t starve. Sharon made delicious pineapple upside down cake. These neighbors are fun and we have met them before. A fun afternoon and evening.

 

 

 

ESTERO TO DADE CITY, FLORIDA

ESTERO TO DADE CITY, FLORIDA

Saturday, February 15, 2014
Sunny, 70 F

We all met at Tom and Carol’s and decided to go to the 50 % off sale at the Goodwill store. Clothing was separated by color and type (jeans, capris, sweaters, tops, etc. An Ethan Allan chair and ottoman in great condition was priced at $30! I bought 5 books for $.50/each. The store was CROWDED and there was no parking which left Tim in a good mood. J

We finally left Estero about noon (two cars)—I-75 was busy and by the time we were outside Tampa there was a first class jam. We wanted to go to a big mall there and by the time we left the mall the traffic was even worse. Our decision to go to another mall (Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel) to eat was not a wise one, but we had dinner at Cantina Laredo. It was about 9:30 p.m. by the time we got to Scorchy and Mary Lou’s at Travelers Rest Resort and organized ourselves. We were tired. Everything was set up in the cabana an after a couple words on Words with Friends, we went to bed.

 RENNIGER’S ANTIQUE SHOW ROCKS!!

Sunday, February 16, 2014
Sunny, 70 F

Admittedly it did get cool last night, but we had blankets and a heater and slept very comfortably. We were off early to Renniger’s Extravaganza Antique Show about an hour and a half away in Mt. Dora, after breakfast at the Black Eyed Peas—fresh southern cooking at its finest. This antique show, which we have gone to now for at least 4 years, is the largest I have ever been to. I loved looking at the garden items (wrought iron, wicker, wood, twig), glass, pottery, primitives, vintage clothing, buttons, textiles, lamps, antique eyeglasses, Bakelite, Fiesta, Franciscan, collectibles like Coca Cola, toys,  and even old architectural features like fencing, doors, and stained glass windows.  Most of the show is open air, but there are little shops and a couple buildings that are open year round. This year I did not see all of it due to the time allotted (3 hours) by my companions. J  I did meet Tim at the food vendor who makes gran arepas—my absolute favorite Colombian food, a grilled corn cake “sandwich” with melted mozzarella cheese. She even grinds the corn to make the cake patty.

The drive to and from Mt. Dora is scenic, cows, horses, mansions, gated communities, orange orchards, tree farms, fruit stands, lots of lakes, with small communities along the way-and little shopping plazas.

Tonight we four went to the Sunday night show at the Busch Hall stage at Travelers Rest Resort (TRR). Irish comedian, George Casey, entertained us grandly for no charge (paid for by TRR)—he just finished a gig as comedian on a Holland America cruise ship and has worked Las Vegas and other venues. He lives in Branson, Missouri. A joke I remember: “My wife hates to cook and I hate her cooking.”

p.s. as soon as I stop having so much fun I will try to attach some photos---

Note: Mary Lou and Scorchy have a Verizon “hot spot” they pay $50 a month for. Now there is no problem getting on the Internet!!

 

 

BACK ON LAND!

AT SEA

Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Sunny and 80s, water temperature 76 F. The captain said the water depth was 40,000 feet at one point. THAT IS DEEP WATER, like between 7 to 8 miles deep.
 

We knew that today poolside was going to be very busy, so we went straight to the pool by 8 a.m. The lounge chairs were fully saved by 8:45 a.m. As I mentioned before there are at least 150 “groupies” for the rock n roll band, as well as at least a group of 100 square dancers. I suspect everyone turned into a groupie for the rock band because everyone knew they were playing poolside from 3 to 5 p.m. today.  We have stayed in the shade all cruise—Dr. Mink would be pleased with me! Tim does go in the pool and he is brown.  So, today I spent 9 hours reading by the pool and listening to Calypso Trio and then Spike and the Bulldogs!

Spike and the Bulldogs: Today I spoke to one of the fans. Most of the “groupies” are from Indiana near Fort Wayne, some from Ohio and Kentucky. Spike is retiring and moving to Utah, so this is his farewell tour. The Bulldogs are proceeding forward with the band and will continue to do rock n roll cruises. There are five members of the band: Spike-the vocalist; two electric guitars, a sax player, and a keyboard. Others do sing, but Spike is very good.

Some songs: At the Hop, Palisades Park, Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On, Louie Louie, Let’s Twist Again, Charlie Brown, Run Around Sue, Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman, Mustang Sally, Hang On Sloopy, Peggy Sue, Twist n Shout, Surfin Safari, Shakin All Over, Stand By Me, Light My Fire, etc.

This whole experience makes me want to be a groupie for a band back home. Tim said we already were, back in the day (Tennessee Back Porch). All these Spike fans are about our age and they are STILL singing and dancing.

Tonight we returned to Il Adagio for Italian dinner.  Excellent! 

 

LAST SEA DAY ON THE SUN

Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Sunny, 82 F, water temperature 78 F

By the last day of the cruise everyone is wise. Tim was lucky to find two lounge chairs on the pool deck in the shade at 7 a.m. I am not going to go overboard about this, but a man next to us had towels on FOUR chairs at 7 a.m. and NO ONE but him sat there until 2:30 p.m. Earlier, at noon, he said his wife and daughter were still sleeping! #&*! His wife showed up at 2:30 when I was leaving. Four chairs reserved????

At 2:30 I went back to the room to start packing, fearful that our old and new belongings would not fit in our suitcases. With a lot of huffing and puffing and stuffing, I made everything fit. Thank goodness. Four of our suitcases will be ported dockside for customs purposes. (We will leave them outside our room in the hallway tonight. We will be responsible for our carry-ons and my tech gear tomorrow---thank goodness for the bag bungee—I hope to attach the tech gear bag to my carry-on—easier on my back. I asked Tim if he has a strategy after we retrieve our bags. He planned his strategy when we docked in Miami 10 days ago—I will find a porter while he locates our bags. Then we will ask our porter to help us get a taxi to our hotel and the truck.  Last December when we cruised, we did not ask the porter about the taxi part and he just unloaded us among about 200 other people outside the terminal area looking for a taxi to the airport. We hope for the best!

Tonight after dinner we ran into Kevin and Linda (Sim—“Scotnadian”), our Scottish-Canadian friends. We decided to go to dinner with them (we did not eat)—it was the last night and we hadn’t seen them for a while—a lovely couple also on the ship for two cruises.  Linda told us that they met one of the comedians—as a joke in his show he had said, “How do you know if bagpipes are out of tune?” Everyone laughed. When Linda met him she told him she was from Scotland, and SHE knows when bagpipes are out of tune! After that they became friends! I liked that story. 

After good byes, Tim and I finished packing and set four bags outside our room in the hall. I even took a picture of our bags, no repeat incidents for us anymore!

 

MIAMI, FLORIDA—GOOD BYE SUN!

Miami to Estero, Florida
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Rain, then sun, cooler, 68 F
 

Tim’s plan worked perfectly. We were in our taxi headed for the hotel within 15 minutes of getting off the ship, already through customs (I was a little worried about the nutmeg I bought at the market in St. Lucia). We were at our hotel by 9:30 a.m.  One of the smoothest debarkations ever.

We shopped at Miramar and then picked up Tom and Carol for dinner at Miller’s Ale House. Thirty five shrimp, fries, and salad for $10. Then we went to Jeff and Carmel’s----Jeff told us that a lot of national sports figures hang out at Miller’s, e.g. Boston Red Sox. We found out that the Red Sox and one other team train here and tickets for spring training games run $200/per person, if you can get them.  He said Boston fans buy houses and come down just for Spring Training season.

We saw on the news that the east coast was pounded with snow again---we heard that many of our cruise friends did not get home.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Estero, Florida
Friday, February 14, 2014
Sunny, 70 F (no snow!)

We picked up Tom and Carol and drove to the Fleamasters Flea Market. This market is worth going to!! We spent about 2 ½ hours there then returned to Tom’s. About 3 p.m. Mary Lou and Scorchy arrived from Dade City to play Trivial Pursuit with us—a family tradition. Even though we drew for teams it turned out to be the girls vs. the boys and the boys trounced us twice! Alyssa, Jeff’s daughter, and her boyfriend Kyle watched the Koenig family antics during the game.

I was able to speak to B1 and wish her a Happy Valentine’s Day this afternoon—she sounds so grownup! She told me about Patriot’s Day at her school—every class did some sort of Medal of Honor project and today service veterans visited the school and students had a chance to talk to them. Friend H was there to help. I really hated to miss this event.

 

 

 

 

ST. MAARTEN ENCORE!!!

CASTRIES, ST. LUCIA
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Partly Cloudy, 82 F

Our ship docked at Pointe Seraphine in Castries, St. Lucia, right in the middle of a small shopping area. The last time we were here in 2009, we went on a fabulous tour by Cosol with Angel and Bill and several other NCL friends. Cosol took us to a spice farm and we stopped at his favorite bakery for fresh bread. I asked today’s tour operators about Cosol and they said he is still around and had already taken off with his tour people.

Tim and I walked around, purchased a few things, and went back on board the ship for lunch.  Tim took a photo of a cocoa tree. On the pool deck we placed our lounge chairs so we could look out into the prettiest little cove with palms, seagulls, sailboats sailing, catamarans and charter boats, and even a small airport in the background. We saw a DC-9, small planes, and a helicopter fly in and out. Every day the Sun’s “Calypso Trio” plays poolside. Another afternoon in the warmth of the Caribbean. 

Speaking of which, on this morning’s news we saw that Lake Erie is 93% frozen over, Lake Huron is 65% frozen, and Lake Michigan is 83% frozen. The other day I learned that the Erie School District has already had 4 snow days. I think we are in the right place.

Tim and I agree that the Sun’s buffet on Deck 11 is nothing to write home about, for lunch or dinner. The food is OK, but not extraordinary. The space itself probably needs some spiffing up. I will say that the made to order omelets and waffles are available for breakfast. There is ice cream (hard and soft) available all afternoon, and about 5 p.m. one can get a crepe made to order with a choice of strawberry, lemon, blueberry, Nutella, or chocolate.

I did want to note the Bar Manager’s Specials:

Morning: Bloody Mary, Screwdriver, Mimosa--$4.25
Drink of the Day: Cherry Lime-Aid---$6.95 (I have no idea what that is) (yesterday--Blue Lagoon)
Sail Away Special: Long Island Iced Tea (souvenir glass included) ----$8.95 (yesterday: Sea Breeze with souvenir glass--$7.25)
Martini of the Day: Citrus Gem--$7.50

Tonight’s towel animal: a turkey! But Tim accidentally sat on it. I got a photo first. Should have taken a photo of Tim sitting on the poor creature.

 Finished reading:

Janet Evanovich: Explosive Eighteen (a silly Stephanie Plum novel I got in the library. SP is a bail bond enforcer with strange friends)
Robert K. Tanenbaum: Escape (a long detailed NY District Attorney Butch Karp novel with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim intrigue, a mother who kills in the name of God, and a jihad in a NYC synagogue and the NYSE)
James Patterson: Gone (Michael Bennett must find a Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison and is looking for Bennett’s family) (loaned by Bill’s mother, I have run out of books and there aren’t many English titles in the library)
James Patterson: Merry Christmas (loaned by Bill’s sister Debbie) (Alex Cross has his hands full with a father threatening to kill his children and ex-wife on Christmas Eve –not finished yet)

 

PHILIPSVILLE, ST. MAARTEN
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunny, 80s F

We caught the water taxi into town on this beautiful sunny day. We are having lunch at Green House--we found out at the Green House in St. Thomas that there were two more in St. Maarten.  Tim decided to go local and has conch soup and bango shrimp. He really liked it. I had a great grilled cheese sandwich.

We are wondering about B2's loose tooth and B1's games!!!

BARBADOS--HOT!!!

DOMINICA, THE NATURE ISLE OF THE CARIBBEAN

Roseau, Dominica
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sunny, 81 F

We disembarked for a short time and bought a few souvenirs in the market. This port is not commercialized like many of the others. There is a fenced in area for the NCL approved tour vans and taxis, but if you go outside the fence, the vendors are relentless. Some cruise people just can’t handle their perseverance, but we do all right. We toured this island in 2009 and still remember sitting in the backseat of the van and all the twists and turns up steep, narrow windy roads. This is a rainforest type island with high peaks, waterfalls, and lush foliage. Angel and Bill went river tubing and had a blast—next time we may do that! It sounded like so much fun.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. It was a quiet afternoon. After a great prime rib dinner we went to the show “The Look of Love—the Music of Burt Bacharach.” It was a cute skit with Bacharach’s music with the Sun’s show band, singers, and dancers.  Tim likes this music.

 

TK’s Takes: We saw dolphins and tuna as we were leaving the port and we were in the dining room.

Janie’s Take: We have had a window table for two in the dining room almost every night—delightful! I miss my family, especially B1 and B2.

Tonight’s towel animal: A mama snail and a baby snail. Too cute1

 

Bridgetown, Barbados
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Hot and Sunny

We are in  the terminal--free wi-fi for all without passwords so I don't want to spend too much time. Hope it's safe.
Update:

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS

Saturday, February 8, 2014
Sunny, Cloudy, some bursts of rain, 82 F

Our daily paper reminded us that smoking is strictly prohibited in all public areas in Barbados. Also, “guests are asked not to wear camouflage, military fashion, or offensive writing on clothing.”  This has been the rule since we started coming to Barbados in 1995.

It was a treat to see two masted ships in port today—the Royal Star ship had FIVE masts and the Windstar ship had FOUR masts! I know that Windstar offers “cruises,” but I will need to look up Royal Star lines. The ships were beautiful, even without sails up.

The Sun docked at the freight shipyard, so we took a free shuttle to an area where we could catch a taxi to town. One could walk, but with jitneys moving all around, cranes, and freight cars (the kind on trains), I think it was safer to shuttle.

Tim and I walked around Bridgetown, along a canal, and over a bridge to a park area. Bridgetown was not bustling like usual, probably because it was Saturday.  We spent about an hour downtown before we took a taxi back to the ship. Barbados is not as hilly as some of the other islands.

Angel and Bill went on a catamaran today and snorkeled. Tim said he does want to snorkel again. Maybe I will practice in our pool at home. I have gone snorkeling several times in the Caribbean, but I’m not good at it. Tim is like a fish.

We spent the afternoon at the pool—in the shade. A Barbados steel band, “Anderson Sealy Orchestra,” played beautiful Caribbean music poolside while we read our books. Aside: I am sure this does not sound like the most exciting life, but I love reading while listening to live music, having the chance to do absolutely nothing. I also enjoy sitting on our balcony as we leave a port, watching the palm trees sway in the breeze---the pilot guiding the ship through the right channel, the tug nearby to make sure there is no emergency.

We get ready for dinner and usually we have had a window seat to continue our view of the island just passing by as we leave. I do love having our “hotel” move on across the sea to another adventure.

Tonight we did not go to see the hypnotist’s show. Not our thing. For a while we sat in the Atrium and listened to tunes by Iurri and Yuliyana, keyboard and vocalist.