Author: admin (Page 48 of 66)

It was looking like we would not have a white Christmas, but it started snowing early Christmas Day and we ended up with 4 – 5 inches before it was all over. This gave me an opportunity to fire up the John Deere garden tractor, equipped with a blade, and plow out our driveway, sidewalks, and some neighbor’s sidewalks.

Before I get into our Christmas Day in detail, below is a clip of foster kitten batch #25 featuring Vivianne, Edward/Eddie, and KitKat: (Run time is 3:16)

[cincopa AgEArNcW0kDy]

We had a few presents under the tree, a classical (nylon string) guitar for Pam and a “selfie stick” for me. (A selfie stick is a light-weight monopod with a camera mount on one end. You can put your camera on the mount and take photos of yourself without the use of a tripod.) The RV trailer received a set of wheel covers to help preserve the tires.

Pam cooked an excellent meal and topped it off with a reduced-sugar rhubarb pie. Pie turned out picture-perfect and tasted great. Daughter Felicity Skyped from a house sit in Dublin, Ireland to catch up on events, and Pam had spoken to son Toby on Christmas Eve so the family news was pretty well covered.

We put on Christmas music and relaxed most of the rest of the day. My snow plowing took a few hours – two rounds as the snow got deeper – and the rest of the time was spent eating, looking at small house plans on the web, and trying to video-tape the kittens for the above clip. It was a relaxing day. We hope everyone reading this had a good day as well!

December 26th we braved the roads – still messy but the snow was melting – and did a bit of after-Christmas shopping. Not much; we needed a few groceries and sundry items such as a new pair of gloves for me. Does everyone have a pair of not good but not bad enough to throw away gloves? Mine finally reached the throw-away condition.  J. C. Penney had Isotoner gloves for men at half-price so I bought a pair for driving and another pair for general winter work. The feel of brand-new gloves is quite nice.

We had an unexpected repair just before Christmas…the F-150 blew out it’s alternator, $562.00 to repair at a shop. (Also included changing the serpentine, or fan, belt.) Ouch. The Honda needs a new thermostat; it occasionally turns on the “Check Engine Light” and the code tells me a replacement is needed. I hope to get to that job today or tomorrow. The Honda turned over 350,000 miles yesterday, a record for any car we have owned, so minor repairs are to be expected.

On the medical side, I had a reaction to the original prescription I was on, Metformin, and was switched to a drug called Glipizide. The Metformin gave me severe lower back pain, bad enough that I had trouble standing up and walking. The Glipizide seems to be much easier on my system. Glucose tests are coming in under 140 in the evening before dinner. This is good news as my doctor was aiming for 150 over-all. Tests at other times of the day are a bit higher so I still have a ways to go, but progress is evident. I’ve lost about 10 pounds so far and hope to loose more as I continue the low sugar diet I am on.

I miss my ice cream. I miss my tea. I miss my cranberry juice and Pepsi. I am hoping that at some future point it will be OK to have, in very small quantities and only occasionally, some of these foods again. I have tried Splenda and Truvia as alternate sweeteners but they are not as good as the real stuff. On the other hand, we are eating more turkey and fish, foods I like and are better for me anyway. Life is always a balance.

Last night I had a service call to go into the office as our e-mail server quit passing e-mails through the system, and I am on 24/7 call for these sorts of things (even when I’m technically on vacation). Hours later I had the problem fixed but didn’t return home until about 1:30 AM so I slept in late. As I type this the day looks sunny but cold with a forecast high  in the mid-20s. Later this week we will get into the single digits for lows and will not get above freezing for the next week or more. I guess winter has settled in after a warmer-than-normal first few weeks of December.

I hope all reading this are anticipating a Happy New Year.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Regarding the kitten clip, these kittens are named after characters in the movie “Pretty Woman.”  Observing KitKat (the gray one) as well as attempting to catch her after she’s been running free has convinced me she is too feral for adoption.  KitKat will need to be introduced to our garage cat colony when the time comes.  Vivianne and Eddie will domesticate just fine.  It is what it is; I’ve learned one must accept the animals as they are.

The addition of a six string guitar to the house is my attempt to bring music back into the daily routine.  Although I’ve always wanted to learn to play the guitar, I currently don’t have much time in the day to practice. I also may have waited too long in life to start playing, as arthritis is beginning to slightly swell my finger joints.  We will see.

Happy Trails.

Surprise!

I certainly was when my health office informed me I was suffering from Type 2 diabetes. I have ketones in my urine; this is significant as stored fat is broken down and ketones are made if your diet does not contain enough carbohydrate to supply the body with sugar (glucose) for energy or if your body can’t use blood sugar properly. I fall into the later category.

I had been experiencing some symptoms such as increased thirst and more frequent bathroom trips. Looking on-line I found these symptoms could be indicative of several underlying problems so I decided to get in and get checked.

I was diagnosed by the County’s health practitioner system. We have a service (C.E.B.T.) that covers screenings and routine medical care at no charge. The nurse who did my blood work was qualified to write prescriptions and was quite informative through the entire process.

I was hoping for something simple, like a bladder infection, but alas, I am now one of the 25.8 million people in the US who are afflicted. Of course, the same symptoms could have been the result of cancer, particularly prostate cancer, so in a way diabetes is not the worst case scenario.

I’ve already started to modify my diet and between that and medication my blood sugar levels have dropped over the past few days. While in the health office my count was 338, by the next evening it had dropped to 224 and last night it was 131. (Normal range, depending on who you talk to, is 100 – 140 or 70 – 120.) These are evening readings, taken around 6:30 PM before dinner. Readings at other times can be higher. This morning, before breakfast, it was 193.  I hope to be able to control my condition with diet after getting stabilized with the prescription medicine. I am currently on something called Glipizide.

The health office took several vials of blood and sent them off for testing. Of particular interest will be the results of the “A1c” test which is supposed to indicate you average blood sugar count over the last two months. While the clinic had said they would run this test my doctor did not yet have the results. My regular doctor  formulated an “official” treatment plan to go forward, basically confirming the diet I had already begun and monitoring the effects of the medication.

I didn’t notice any symptoms until we returned from our vacation trip, but diabetes doesn’t happen overnight so I probably have had it for some time. Some people who have diabetes never do experience symptoms.

As part of the treatment I had to get one of those blood monitoring devices. Geez…a lot to take in at once. I learned how to load my  “lancing device” with “lancets” and use this device to prick my finger to get a drop of blood to be wicked into the “test strips” and analyzed by the “glucose monitor.” At least  everything fits into a kit supplied with the monitor.

The lancing device has a depth setting…higher numbers drive the lancet deeper. I’m using the default setting of “4.” The device goes up to a setting of 7. (I can’t imagine using a setting of 7.) The lancets are disposable (single use, same as the test strips) and there is a learned procedure for removing them from the lancing device without damage to oneself. What a pain (literally).

My testing kit

Pam has been helping by going on-line and looking up foods and diets appropriate for diabetics. There is some conflicting information, but all pretty much come down to reducing sugar (for diabetes) and salt intake (for weight loss and blood pressure). Carbohydrates are necessary to get some glucose in your system; the trick is to determine the right balance. We are already planning an uptick in meals of fish and lean meats along with more unsalted nuts and alternative foods.

But, for the short term, I have given up my regular tea (I use a lot of sugar in mine), ice cream, cranberry juice  (kept in my refrigerator at work), crackers, and desserts. (Wouldn’t you know, we have 2 flavors of ice cream in the freezer as I speak.)  Some of these will be replaced by other sweeteners and flavoring substitutes, but it will take a while to get everything in place.

It was a bit of a shock but it won’t slow me down — much. I’m going to try Truvia sweetener in my tea and I’ll adopt a different diet that is probably better for me, and I’ll likely lose some weight, not a bad thing. The questions are more about going forward as diabetes tends to get worse over time, so this will affect me for the rest of my life to an increasing degree. How much so remains to be seen. I am hopeful it won’t be a major factor.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

All retirement plans going forward depend on a modicum of good health for each of us.  This latest diagnosis is a bump in the road, yes, the first in no doubt what will be many medical issues as we continue to age. It’s also a clarion call to move forward with land development for summer housing and to explore winter retirement alternatives.  No time to lose!  Should be an active 2015.

Happy Trails.

Thanksgiving is over and it’s time to catch up on a few things that have happened since the end of our Florida trip. None is of great import but (cumulatively) they do reflect on our daily lives.

The trees have dropped all their leaves, except for a large branch on our cottonwood tree. Several days’ chores have included raking leaves, mulching flower beds, and generally cleaning up for winter. One surprise came to light when a neighbor’s tree became bare: A large hornet nest.

Hornet’s nest in a neighbor’s tree

The nest is large enough to be seen from our house — and there is an empty lot between us. I haven’t noted any activity, the hornets are probably bedded down for the winter, but this may explain the lack of small nests around our eaves which has been common the last few years: all the hornets are now concentrated in this one large colony.

I enjoyed a local ATV trip near Palisade, about 22 miles from our house. I’d heard about this trail, named Chalk Creek, but the only sign I saw indicated the creek’s name was Rapid Creek. In any event, the trail is a loop road that mainly services two large power lines in the area. It is not very scenic but does offer a few views of Mt. Garfield, a local landmark.

Mt. Garfield from Rapid Creek ATV trail

Since this trail is at a lower elevation, under 5,000 feet, it is passable when higher trails are closed. It is also short – 19 miles – which makes it a good choice for a ride in this time of dwindling hours of sunlight. Although not a difficult route, it has quite a few rocky stretches which makes for a fairly slow ride.  I was pleased to finally have a chance to explore this area.

The last bit of activity includes a day-after-Thanksgiving trip to The Lot. In addition to checking the storage shed and general fall wear-and-tear on the driveway, we wanted to get some fresh evergreens to add to our outside holiday decorations. We drove up to the lot and back in a day trip, with the dogs. I knew from checking local conditions there would be some snow, very little in Elkhorn Ranch, and the temps would be in the low 40s.

It turned out to be a pleasant mountain drive, and I enjoyed being in my  mountains again. We arrived early in the afternoon, cut the greenery from the lower edges of some trees (we will need to trim them more fully next year), walked the lot for a while, then headed home. It did seem odd not to have the RV trailer parked at the top of the drive, and, of course, no toilet facilities.

Late November on The Lot

Bare trees and snow-capped peaks = winter

Bare trees and light snow made it clear winter has taken over the high country. We did see one issue; it appears an animal, probably a deer, had tangled with the dog run fence, tearing it away from the gate and bending up a section. We’ll have to fix it next spring, but for now I just rolled up the twisted portion, leaving a gap in the enclosure. Hope the animal wasn’t injured – we didn’t see any hair or hide on the fence.

Otherwise life has returned to its normal routine. Later today we will go grocery shopping and start putting up outdoor Christmas decorations. I’m pretty much done with yard work for this year and our wood cutting ended before our Florida trip, so there will be fewer projects going on in my evenings.

Except — Pam trapped 3 kittens last week that had come to our back deck feeding station with their feral moms. They look to be about 6 – 7 weeks old and are wild, but are getting used to the idea of humans taking care of them. Two of the three can be handled; the third one is getting used to being petted but not yet picked up. Pam hopes to get them to the vet and then off to a shelter for adoption after the new year, which means they will be with us for many weeks to come.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

This little wild litter is foster litter #25 for me.  And I thought long and hard about bringing these kittens indoors, as they were still with their moms.  If it had been summer, I  might have left them outside to live or die as fate dictated.  However, it’s cold here now and small kittens have a very low percentage of making it through the winter outdoors [especially on the mean streets].  Plus, IF they can be domesticated, kittens need to be handled by humans before they’re two months old.

Not my only cat issue this week.  Soot has a draining puss ball on his rump, the second in as many weeks (the previous one was on his neck, maybe he’s learning to run?).  He’s an indoor-outdoor cat, and apparently neutering hasn’t greatly diminished his testosterone output because he has to mix it up with other cats when outdoors.

Always something at The Ark.  The vet pretty much sees me on a monthly basis for something or other.

You  may wonder why we didn’t cut a Christmas tree at Sanderling, in addition to bringing home greenery?  I don’t think there’s a nicely-shaped potential Christmas tree — of the appropriate height — on the entire seven acres.

Happy Trails.

As mentioned in a few of my vacation posts, I have put together a video clip covering various stops we made during our trip. (Run time is 22:22.) The quality is not high as I had not taken into account the humidity and did not keep the camera lens scrupulously clean. My bad. I hope you will find this video informative and entertaining in spite of the somewhat poor quality.

Another link to this, and other video clips taken over the years, can be found on my Appleattic Home Page and is titled “Page to view video clips.” The direct link is Gulf Coast Video.

I’ve put together a Photo Album of the trip and have a link to it from my Galleries page. The direct link is 40th Anniversary Trip. There are many photos in the Gallery that have not appeared in these posts so it may have a few surprises.

We would like to thank our daughter Felicity for arranging her schedule so she could take care of our dogs and cats and make this trip possible.

Felicity and Jer in their Florida and New Orleans T-Shirts

Also thanks to Mary and Jeff Hayes for their hospitality and for putting us up for a few days, and for Jenn, Jeff, and Rowan Gould for making time in their schedules to visit with us.

Here are a few observations about this trip:
Our pre-conceived ideas about the South are not always accurate or complete.
A carriage ride in downtown New Orleans is worth taking.
Houmas House Plantation was the best last-minute addition to the trip.
The panhandle (Gulf-side) beaches are fantastic but the ocean-side beaches are more interesting.
Key West is expensive.
Epcot requires a lot of walking and one can easily spend a full day there and not cover all venues.
Ft. Walton Beach was a great beach stop with St. George Island a close second.
Key Lime pie is not over-rated.
Fresh fish meals are far better than frozen fish meals.
Family and friends are still the glue that hold us together.

Larry asked, in his last comment, if there was a particular spot we will remember after other vacation details have faded, and the answer  would be: Long Beach, Mississippi.

Long Beach was our first Gulf Coast beach stop and came as a result of Pam spotting a small road on  the map that followed the coast line. We left I-10 to follow this road, saw that first broad expanse of white beach, and we just stopped on a spur-of-the-moment. Even though it was after New Orleans and the Houmas House Plantation, this stop made us feel like we really were on vacation. The first feel of warm white sand under our toes and splashing in the surf under a bright sun made a memory that will not soon be forgotten. We have walked many beaches before, particularly when we lived in Oregon, but the Long Beach stop stands out as one of the strongest memories we have from this trip.  It says – “Vacation!”

That’s it for now, Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

As Tabitha noted in her comment, you “pay” for your vacation when you re-enter the normal routine again.  In our case, the Gulf vacation was a hint of a leisure life style we might be able to experience (somewhat more frequently) during retirement.  It gives me the incentive to move forward with retirement plans: develop the Sanderling property for summer use and find a winter location elsewhere.  Having reviewed our pension schedules and with a more firm timetable in mind, onward.

Happy Trails.

This is the 6th and last post describing our visit to the Gulf Coast states including parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Up to this point I have covered New Orleans, brief stops in Mississippi and Alabama, St. George Island on the Florida coast, various beaches, Epcot Center, visits with Mary and Jeff Hayes and Jenn, Jeff, and Rowan Gould, and a quick visit to the Everglades. This post covers our excursion into the Florida Keys, focusing on Key West.

From our hotel in Homestead we traveled the 135 miles to Key West. There are numerous bridges along this stretch (25? 26?) and quite a variety of sea birds, but few beaches and not many places to pull over to enjoy the scenery. Our plan was to get to Key West and work our way back up the Keys, but we ended up staying longer in Key West and made few stops on the way back toward Key Largo.

The weather was great. Lots of sun, lots of islands, and temps in the mid-80s. We made out way into Key West, found a place to park, and took off to view some of the tourist spots. I asked a local about a good lunch spot and she pointed us to this place (Bo’s Fish Wagon) that looks like it should be bulldozed and rebuilt, but it had good food! Really, really fresh fish in the fish sandwich, crispy salads.  Nice.

Pam getting our fish lunch

Our lunch room

Exterior decorations of our lunch place

After finishing our fish we walked around the town for a bit. We had to explore the typical tourist spots, including the “Southernmost Point in the US.”  There was a line to take a photo by this landmark, even in  October!

Here we are in Key West. (Photo by another tourist.)

Within the same block as the photographic southernmost point pictured above, we walked past this “for sale” house (1.9 million) and Pam came up with a hammock rental idea; rent a hammock on the covered porch for an hour or two (+ privileges to use restroom facilities)!  Public restrooms and places to sit back and relax seemed to be few and far between in some parts of Key West; this idea could probably be mildly profitable.

House for sale in Key West

We finished with a relaxing visit to the Fort Taylor beach – which did include picnic tables to sit and relax as well as restroom facilities. We spent part of the afternoon walking the beach and watching the beach activity. “Dear Santa: This year give me a big bank account and a slim body. Do not confuse the two as you did last year.”

Ft. Taylor Beach

jet skiers went past

Para sailing looked popular

If we had stayed until sunset, there is a daily (alcoholic) celebration of the departure of the sun on Key West.  But. it was with reluctance that we departed Key West to drive over 100 miles back to our hotel, reluctant not just because we enjoyed ourselves, but this was the last tourist stop before we began heading home. The next day it was a lo-o-o-ong drive to Tallahassee and the morning after that is was back to Colorado.  We did make one last pit stop in the Keys – we bought a key lime pie at Winn Dixie to take back to the room.  (Dessert and breakfast in one pie pan.)

The following day, return flights were uneventful; first from Tallahassee to Orlando, then Orlando to Denver, then Denver to Grand Junction. (Pam said she should have booked us home straight through the Orlando airport, she was thinking we would have ended up on the Florida panhandle again at the end of the trip instead of the Keys.  Live and learn.  Our car rental return etc. was set up for Tallahassee, back we went.) Upon arrival in Colorado, we made a grocery shopping stop in Grand Junction before heading to the house as Felicity had reported running low on food.  And <snap> just like that we were back again and the vacation was over.

Here is one photo I took over eastern Colorado of a wind farm as seen from the sky:

Wind farm in eastern Colorado

This was a vacation for the books. OK, minimal flight mechanical problems on the way to New Orleans initially, but we also learned some “south of the Mason-Dixon Line” history, visited friends and family, had a few great meals, took many photos and some video, and came back with a new perspective and memories.

Next time: Trip Video and closing thoughts.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

For those who expect Key West to look like Jimmy Buffetville, with quaint fishing cottages (conch houses) and fishing nets strung on fences, surprise! Condos and yachts and upscale everything is the reality.  Also, for being on the Atlantic Ocean, there’s not much in the way of long sandy beaches along the Keys either.  We purposely missed the Fantasy Fest (lots of nudity and sexual content, apparently) but Key West was still hoppin’ on a weekday in October.

Back in Colorado, the dogs seemed excited to see “Mom and Dad” (but the cats could have cared less).  Felicity did an excellent job of giving all animals a lot of petting time and belly rubs.  However, returning from vacation and going back to work was frankly depressing.  Enjoying the glorious weather during our time in the Gulf and Florida (68 – 82 degrees night to day – perfect) meant we missed Indian Summer in Colorado.  We returned to Winter’s arrival.  Both of us quickly reviewed our retirement options with our various retirement plans but – alas – retirement is still not in the immediate future for either of us.  Bummer.

Happy Trails.

The day after our Epcot adventure we drove to Brandon (near Tampa) to visit my niece Jennifer, her husband Jeff, and meet their daughter Rowan. Brandon is not that far from Orlando via the I-4, but the interstate has a reputation for being slow. We were fortunate we didn’t have any traffic delays, making the trip in about an hour and a half, but there were slow downs on the return leg. Still, no major problems in making the round trip.

We hadn’t seen Jennifer and Jeff since their marriage many years ago. (Their daughter, Rowan, is 12, going on 13, which gives you some idea of the time lapse involved.) Jenn is the younger daughter of my sister Carolyn. Jennifer and Jeff live in a neighborhood subdivision that has well-kept houses, large yards, and plenty of trees. We arrived around 1:30 PM and enjoyed a visit of more than 3 hours.

Among the many topics we discussed is the state of education in Florida. Jenn is a teacher and has some very pointed insights into how education is approached by both school systems and parents. It still boils down to the home; schools can do their best but unless parents get involved and value a good education, the best efforts of teachers and school administrators will only accomplish so much.

We also spent some time talking about Jennifer’s father Harry, who passed away a few years ago due to cancer. Although Harry and Carol had divorced many years ago, we had kept in contact with Harry and had been witnesses at his 2nd wedding.  We were friends as well as in-laws, and Harry’s passing was an emotional one. Our visit allowed us to fill in some of the blanks surrounding his last few months in Florida.

No visit would be complete without a photo record. Here is a group shot of the 5 of us.

Left to right: Jennifer, Jeff, Rowan (front) Jerry, and Pam

We took leave of the Gould family and headed back to Orlando (on the infamous I-4) for our last night with Mary and Jeff. The next morning would see us on our way to southern Florida, headed toward the Florida Keys.

We decided to drive down central Florida rather than head for either coast line. For the first time I saw some of Florida’s iconic orange groves, hundreds of acres in some stretches. There wasn’t a lot of activity in them this time of the year, but we could see where younger trees had been planted among older trees and other maintenance had been completed. We also drove past large sugar cane fields and a Domino Sugar processing plant. As in Louisiana, sugar cane is a viable cash crop in central Florida. Who knew?

We arrived in the Homestead area a bit earlier than I had thought, so it was decided to make a brief (2 – 3 hour) visit to the Everglades. We saw many large white birds, mainly Great Egrets and White Ibis, and, just before we left, even an iconic crocodile.

Entering the Everglades

Great Egret

Crocodile near Flamingo Point

One of the oddest signs we saw on the entire trip was at Flamingo Point, southern most point of the Everglades road.

What the heck?

We didn’t see any vultures, but we did see this Osprey nest:

Ospreys nesting, Flamingo Point, Everglades

And, finally, a first for me: Coconuts growing in palm trees.

Coconuts in palm tree

Our trip to the Everglades was short but memorable. In a trip video, to be posted later, I have included some footage of the crocodile swimming  and a Great Egret flying and landing in a tree. Not great cinematic stuff but I found these events interesting.

We returned to our Best Western in Homestead for the night after a full day of travel and sight-seeing. Next morning we would begin our visit to the Florida Keys.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I found the details of Harry’s death, as related by Jenn, emotionally moving.  Harry was a faithful correspondent [once each year ] through most of our marriage; his irreverent Christmas cards were always anticipated.  Harry left us too soon.

There are lots of varieties of palms — and not all grow coconuts.  I noticed several palm frond patterns, various palm heights, and differences in trunk types.  Apparently there is even a species of rat living in these palms.  Who knew?

Happy Trails.

After leaving St. George Island we began working our way toward Orlando. The journey was pleasant but not outstanding. Getting to Orlando was one of two fixed schedule points we had, the other was a meeting with my niece Jennifer and her family near Tampa. Mary and Jeff were expecting us by late evening.

Pam, Mary, and Jeff grew up together and have known each other since early childhood. Mary had flown to Colorado last year as a surprise for Pam’s birthday and our trip was, in part, a way of thanking Mary for that visit.  Jeff and Mary have been busy renovating their Florida “lake house” and this was an opportunity to view the improvements.

The Hayes house has a commanding view of their lake, has a re-done deck, is very attractive and comfortable.

View of the lake from the Hayes house deck

Here are the four of us having breakfast in the sunny dining room:

Hayes and Fields families at breakfast

Jeff’s arm is in a sling due to recent rotator cuff surgery. This has not slowed him down much as he went back to work within a week even though the recovery period will take several months. Mary retired recently but still has an amazingly full schedule. After a nice breakfast we headed out for our day’s destination, Epcot center.

For those not familiar with Epcot, it is something like a World’s Fair. Centered around a lake, various countries have pavilions that showcase foods, beverages, and video presentations that introduce the country to visitors. Food, beverages (lots of beer and wine) and gifts can be purchased at these pavilions. Each features iconic images of the country and we learned the people working at these pavilions had to be native to that country.

In addition, Epcot offers several attractions in the form of simulators and rides. We participated in The First Manned Mission to Mars (space flight simulation), Planet Earth (history of human development) and Universe of Energy (pretty much as it seems…how humans began to discover and use energy.) More on these later.

After parking the car and passing through security where all bags are checked, we stood in our first line to purchase tickets. Once inside we began to walk, and walk, and walk…

We visited several pavilions and had lunch (bratwurst) at the German Pavilion with dessert at the French Pavilion. We watched the Canadian intro movie “My Canada,” projected onto 360 degree screens. That was interesting…look ahead, to the sides, or to the back and see what is going on in those areas, much like driving in a convertible. We did a little shopping, including stopping at the Twinings tea shop in the British area. We saw more types of tea and accessories than we had imagined existed. Some cocoa and tea found its way home with us.

Here are some photos from Epcot.

Epcot Center and fountains

The Planet Earth ride is enclosed in the silver ball that is Epcot’s major icon.

Gardens in the Canadian area

Norsk Pavilion

Posing outside the Space Center

The Space Center holds the First Mission to Mars simulation. (Photo taken by a park employee after my attempts at a selfie proved futile.) The simulator ride included takeoff, the flight, and landing on Mars. Each “crew member” was assigned a task; Pam was Captain and I was Chief Engineer. We were told to push buttons, located on a console in front of us, at various times during the “flight.” The ride gives one an idea of what a flight simulator can do and was fun as well.

We ended the day by sitting on a bench overlooking the lagoon and watching people pass by. (I can’t say I like the way we dress ourselves in this country; some of the clothing on display should have never been created, let alone worn in public.) It was interesting to watch everyone go past.

We were struck by the number of kids, including school-aged kids, at the park on what we had thought should be a school day. We found that Florida schools  have a “fall break” and we happened to hit it. There were some kids on field trips, easily identifiable by their matching t-shirts. Other kids were there with parents or family. We didn’t expect to see so many people at Epcot on a Friday but the place was quite full (lots of lines for everything).

Near dusk we decided to head back to Orlando on the I-4. Although we hadn’t taken the boat trip around the lagoon or stayed for the nightly fireworks, we experienced a full day none the less. We were tired and wanted to spend some more time visiting with Mary and Jeff so off we went, leaving Epcot with many impressions and memories to recall in the future.

Next up: We visit my niece Jennifer and her family.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Epcot is expensive.  The locals buy season passes and amass Disney dollars to use for the special events, parking and entry fees, etc.  For a one-time tourist, the outflow of money in a short time is staggering.

Now that I’ve been to the “lake house” I can visualize where my friend Mary is sitting when she calls, what part(s) of the house are being renovated next round, just generally her world.  Context is always a plus.

Happy Trails.

Wednesday morning we left Foley, Alabama and headed to Gulf Shores. Pam wanted to find the Post Office and mail a few postcards from Gulf Shores (she liked the postmark). A sign off the main road pointed us in the right direction and we found the PO without any problem and mailed the cards.

This was going to be another “driving” day as we entered the Florida panhandle and worked our way south to St. George Island. St. George was recommended to us as having a good place to stay on the beach, the Buccaneer Hotel. On the way we stopped at Ft. Walton Beach, another high point of the trip along the Florida panhandle. Ft. Walton became our most favorite panhandle beach stop, having a gorgeous beach, a near-by restaurant, and a few shops. Here are the photos:

Pam on Ft. Walton Beach

Great expanse of white sand beach and ocean was delightful to see

Jerry with his camera gear

After quite some time spent walking, eating, and observing the beach scene we reluctantly left and began heading toward our evening destination, St. George Island. One thing we had not factored in was the slower speed limit along the coastal highway(s).  Much of the Florida panhandle is posted at 25 mph, and rarely did the limit get up to 55. This caused us to under-estimate the amount of time it takes to get anywhere. After a day of driving, which included crossing many bridges, we realized we would not get to St. George Island in daylight. To make matters more interesting we passed into the Eastern Time Zone and lost an hour of daylight/time. We crossed the long bridge over to the island in the dark, found the hotel and got a room, then picked up a couple of sandwiches for dinner.

Buccaneer Hotel is right on the beach

In the morning we located a local grocery store and got stuff to have breakfast on the beach. (Wow, the island grocery prices were amazingly high.)  We drove up to the east end of the island and entered the state park there. Finding a parking spot we took our food and spread out on a picnic table where we could watch the beach activity. After eating we did some beach walking, keeping on our shoes and light coats as the morning breeze was cool. This stretch of  the beach was more interesting than some — instead of just sand and water there were grasses, sea shells, sand dunes, and birds we hadn’t seen before.

Breakfast on St. George Island

Pam’s favorite beach shot from St. George Island

Thursday morning was off to a great start — we spent some time walking both the gulf side and bay side of St. George Island before we had to get going toward Orlando. Note: The bay side has more trees and grassland marshes making for a very interesting ecosystem. We were surprised at how a few hundred yards over the top of the island could make such a big difference on each side.

We had stopped at a few other beaches but one can take only so many beach pictures. (A few more will be displayed in the Key West post.) I had to get in a photo of the little Sandpipers that feed at the beaches as I like to watch their antics.

Sandpipers are fun to watch

Next time: Mary and Jeff plus Epcot Center.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The beaches of the Florida panhandle.  Nice.  Just about perfect in October.  I miss the beach.

Happy Trails.

I have a few additional comments concerning our day in the French Quarter. The first concerns the cemetery which is pretty much Catholic. There was a Protestant section near the back where burials were below ground. This section was mostly given up (bodies moved and re-interred) when the downtown area was further developed but a small section does remain. (I guess that shows how the Protestants ranked in the social order.) To be buried in the Catholic section now you must be able to trace your lineage to a family who already has a spot in the cemetery. We did see a few newer plaques on some of the crypts.

The second comment deals with just being in the South. The first night in New Orleans we ate at an IHop restaurant and I asked the waitress if there was a house specialty among the waffle offerings. Her response was “They’s alllll good, y’all.” Yep…we were in the South!

On to new material.

We had planed to leave New Orleans and head east into Mississippi right away. but Pam  found a tourist attraction that sounded like it would be a good stop…Houmas House, a sugar plantation that had origins in the early 1700s. We decided to take the tour and  it proved to be a great one.

Before getting into photos and such, a few comments about history. It should be clear by now that both of us have an interest in history and how things got to be the way they are. We learned a lot about the South, particularly Louisiana, that was never covered in our Midwest public education. For example, there were many sugar plantations in the south. (Domino Sugar has a huge plant in Florida, we drove past it.) We usually think of cotton being the major crop, and it was big to be sure, but sugar fueled much of Louisiana’s pre-civil war economy and is still an important cash crop today.

Slavery was common, but we learned there were thousands of free blacks and native (Creole) peoples in Louisiana that worked as field hands, shop keepers, and skilled tradesmen. Women were allowed to own property and many are prominent in the history of New Orleans. Trade was international and sophisticated. This aura of sophistication is not generally the impression one gets from our northern schools, and our visit gave us a new perspective on the culture and social history of the area.

We visit Houmas House Plantation

Circular staircase in Houmas House

Louisiana Live Oak and Spanish Moss

The above photo was taken from the second-floor balcony of the house. Originally the view, and trees, would have extended down to the Mississippi River but the levees, built in the late 1920s, removed many of the oak trees and restricted the river view. Many old mansions, often located on the banks of the Mississippi, were bulldozed during the building of the levees. Of the estimated 1,000 plantations that once existed in Louisiana, only about 30 remain.

Costumed guide and grounds around Houmas House

After the tour of the house we ate at the on-site restaurant (excellent meal!) and then took a tour of the extensive gardens.

Pam near the Tea Room

Front yard of Houmas House

This stop turned out to be a high point of the trip: very informative, beautiful house and gardens, and an excellent restaurant lunch — all enjoyed before we headed off to Mississippi and Alabama. Highly recommended if you ever get in the area even if you are not into the historical aspects as the tour, gardens, and restaurant are all worth a visit.  Future expansions of Houmas House will include reconstructed slave quarters and a steamboat museum.  If you are interested in more information about this place visit their web site at http://houmashouse.com

It was just as well we were not on a tight schedule, but we did have to begin heading east toward the Florida Panhandle. Heading north from Houmas House to Baton Rouge, we then caught the interstate east. After a time, Pam, navigator for the entire trip, noticed a small road on the map that closely followed the Gulf coast. We decided to take this more scenic route and that’s how we ended up making our first beach stop of the trip, in Long Beach, Mississippi.

First beach stop, Long Beach, Mississippi

The beach was amazing. White sand, clear 79 degree water, air temperature in the mid-80s, and ocean views to the horizon. Benches near the road gave us a place to sit and take off our shoes, which we then left near the benches (a practice we found to be quite common on all the beaches we visited).

This was our first beach stop and we regard it as a high point. It was great to get out of the car, walk the beach, and just enjoy being in the moment.

As you can see from the shadows it was getting on in the afternoon, so we had to head off and find a place to stay for the night. Between Houmas House and the beach stop it had been a very, very good day, just what we had hoped to get when planning this adventure. Topping off the day, we spent the night in Foley, Alabama at a newly remodeled EconoLodge (best motel of the entire trip), ready to pass through Gulf Shores, AL the next morning.

Next time: Ft. Walton Beach (lunch at The Crab Trap) and on to Orlando to visit Mary and Jeff.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

My local library will be locating a specific historical book for me to read with info on the Mississippi delta – this particular title was recommended by Susan, our carriage guide in New Orleans.  It’s obvious there are big gaps in my grasp of Southern history, much of which was taken from Margaret Mitchell. The cotton fields of the fictional Tara are apparently a whole different ball game from the sugar plantations in Louisiana.

Happy Trails.