More Sunsets

 

Had terrific dinner with new friends at their traveling house or motor home whatever you might call it on the Ochlockonee Bay which is east of Carrabelle.  Judy collected more great sunset photos before we hit the road.  

This is Katey's 37 year old self portrait fully assured in her self and moving thru her life and careers.

She had a great birthday yesterday.  We are winding down with this visit getting ready to pack and go.  Not really looking forward to the long drive.  We will stay in Cleveland TN like before.  

Going to try and reciprocate with our friends with a Shrimp Scampi dinner tomorrow night.  I will have to make about a bucket of this stuff.  Kenny knows how to eat.

 Thats if for now

All for now

stay safe

(hoping for decent temps when we get back.....this is the end of this blog, it was fun to write)

Bug season has arrived

 

We have fallen prey to the dreaded no-see-ums.  a little biting bug that blooms around here this time of year.  We were sitting outside of Harrys as sunset approached, and I felt my legs getting itchy.  Little bug bites emerged.  These little guys are unrelenting.  They aren't supposed to get here till March.  I guess they didn't consult the calendar and showed up a few days early.  So I continue scratching away.

Had occasion to visit a restaurant on their last day of operation last night,  much to our surprise of us all.  The food was ok but not great and too expensive.  We went with our new MN friends all us learning more about each other.  We were inside to stay away from the bugs.  The owner of the place came over to talk with us and relayed details of the sale of the place to investors.  These guys are planning a fancier venue.  It may yield a disappointment.

Nothing else today

stay safe

all for now

****Today is Katey's birthday!!!! I miss her a lot*****

Too Much talking

I can pretty much talk to anyone in nearly every setting.  It is a trait inherited from my father.  He definitely had the gift of gab (there's an old phrase for you).  He was a salesman and I was a salesman.  We both traveled around doing our jobs, him, in the state of Michigan and me throughout the midwest.  He never let traffic conditions deter him. " You get there when you get there" he would say.  Even though I never wanted to be late for an
appointment,  and sometimes got lost,  I was not deterred either.

This is sort of a preamble comment to meeting people on this trip.  We have met folks locally, from Minnesota and from Wisconsin, just regular people in similar circumstances, retired and fortunate enough to be able to get away from the cold climates we originate at.  I take none of this for granted.  

This is somewhat off topic but we have been viewing the  apocalyptic  series The Last of Us  on HBO Max.  While most of the episodes are full of mutated people and destruction, the third one is the uplifting story of two men that find each other and build a life together.  In one of the more touching scenes, strawberries are planted and the fruit emerges.  The first taste off the vine brings them both to gales of laughter.  In my life, I have had a similar experience at a farm with strawberries and felt joy of the first bite as a kid.  There were so many berries, I completely ate my fill in the field.  Anyway, if you get the chance to catch this series,  give it a try.

Harry's has an upside down boat hanging from the ceiling over the bar.  It was worthy of a photo.

We went on a side trip to Apalachicola.  Looking around, saw this amazing Aloe plant in front of a store.  

Not much else to report on today.  

All for now

stay safe

Scrabbled again

Played Scrabble yesterday with the same results as before yesterday.  This is a photo of a small minded man searching for words.  Went to Apalachicola for lunch yesterday which as a good plate of fish and chips.  In an emporium for wealthy tourists saw the jacket of my dreams, a glove leather vest with a shearling collar.  I could wear to my divorce hearing due to its purchase with nice a neck tie.  The fit on the size medium was perfect, only $475, maybe I will get two.  

Miss Martha is an old wood shrimp boat in the harbor there.  Shrimping was big business at one point in the history of the area along with turpentine and resins for boat building.  

Judy hated the last photo I used in this blog.  But she approved this one at the docks at Apalachicola.  

Had a foggy walk home last night from Harry's after some fun conversations with new friends Kathy and Kenny from Minnesota.  

Not much going on today.  Still foggy, humid and moist.  Will go on a wet 

sand walk on the beach later.  

that's it

hope your power returns soon if you lost it in ice storm.  

stay safe

 

Normal

On this trip, I discovered and became comfortable with a different definition of normal. This is a very un fancy place.  There are no lawns only scrub grass.  People are living in trailers and houses in various states of disrepair or development.  There are dead palm leaves scattered about.  There is an Assemblys of God church down the street with lively Wednesday services,  parking lots filled with Ram and Ford F-250 trucks.   Not really much traffic so you can walk on the road.  Folks are friendly always ready to start a conversation,  the length of which depends on your level of interest.  There are lots of beards and ball caps. pea salad and a treat called a Casanova which is ice cream and orange juice.  Different, very different than my life in Berkley.  I really like this place.  Very comfortable here,  realizing this is a  different normal.  For the first time 

on a vacation, really feel like I know this place. 

Judy took an impromptu shot of me in front of Harry's.  This is her payback shot yesterday afternoon in the same spot

I had to snap Bonnie, our favorite bartender.  She was the first on to greet us on the day we arrived in Carrabelle.  We went to play Trivia last night.  Every one in town had the same idea hence, there were no seats available.  Bonnie called me by name and tried to locate seating with no success.  We sat outside with some Wisconsin folks we met in our previous travels with a King Charles Spaniel chatting away and bitten by small bugs. 

Our scheduled boat ride in Wakulla Springs got cancelled due to mechanical difficulties with the boat.  Will have to find something else to do.

Ice is everywhere back home.  Kids have had two days off from school.  Everyone be careful.

all for now

stay safe 

 

Peas for lunch

 Had lots of good food while have been here in Carrabelle from a variety of places, Cubano sandwiches, shrimp Po Boys and wonderful homemade pastries.  Yesterday, however, at lunch with my "Blue Plate Special",  part of the meal was Pea Salad = awful!.  I told the ladies at the luncheonette, and they laughed. I gagged my way through childhood on peas. 

This is another view of the Carrabelle River that feeds onto the Gulf of Mexico as an estuary.  This town has a series of docks that are in the process of being rebuilt.  

Janine has not been feeling well for the last few days.  I took her to the Urgent Care in Crawfordville.  Good idea to be seen by a competent P.A.  After a couple of days all should be well.

Going to the beach for another walk with the dogs today.  It is a little overcast but warm.  Should be good.  Trivia tonite at Harry's.  We will see how we do

all for now

stay safe......no slip sliding!

Harry at Harry's

 

It's a quiet morning thus far, but not for long, Harry and Pippa are fighting on the couch.  We took him on our walk into town and to his namesake bar, a place we frequent.  I got the Carrabelle Junction lady to smile and laugh yesterday and now feel quite accomplished.  Sent the photos to his girlfriend Joyce a the Penitentiary. 

Got up earlier than usual and delved further into my book.  Grisham has painted his characters into a corner and it will be interesting to see 

how he pulls it off. 

Had a wonderful lunch at African Spice Cuisine.  Spicy fish tacos served by the engaging proprietor and her husband.  Judy had a  Pina Colada smoothy.  Both were tasty and filling.  Gave them a good review and plan to visit again.

Visited Harry's with new friends from Minnesota early in the evening. Good time with a large lab as a nuzzler and looking for French fries.  This place like many of the local businesses are dog friendly which is a change for me.  It goes along with the relaxed atmosphere around here.

all for now

stay safe