Red,
Inhospitable,
Waterless,
Sand full,
Storm-ridden,
Planetary
Neighbor.
Visible,
Identifiable
Even to an
Untrained eye,
225 million
Kilometers
Distant.
Yes, I’d go
In a heartbeat.
Explore placid
Acidalia Planitia,
Marth Crater’s
Western edge, and
Ares Vallis.
Alas, I am
Old.
Not astronaut
Material.
Perhaps, though,
In twenty years
Or so,
Top-rate
Extended care
Facilities for
Elderly
Dreamers
Might open up
On distant
Mars.
Sign me up.
Peace, people!
I’m no photographer. In fact, Mr. Kodak and Mr. Polaroid will come together in Kodachrome Instamatic heaven to weep inconsolably at my ineptitude, but if it reunites them can that be a bad thing?
But even the worst photographer gets a break now and then. This is most likely the most beautiful photo ever taken by anyone. I believe the photography gods were smiling down on me on this one allowing me to capture my niece Hanna on her wedding day in Guatemala.
So take that, Mr. Kodak and Mr. Polaroid. And even that Ansel Adams dude.
Peace, people!
Studly Doright, the love of my life, is a bit of a horse trader. He doesn’t trade actual horses (dear Studly harbors an unnatural fear of farm animals, large and small); instead, he trades cars, trucks, motorcycles, basically anything that is motorized transportation.
On Tuesday he informed me that he’d bought a pickup truck. I nodded and smiled. “And, by the way,” he said casually, “We have to pick it up on Wednesday.”
Again, I nodded, like the dullard I must be.
Studly cleared his throat and I looked at him expectantly. “Um, it’s in Orlando….”
Normally a proposed trip to Orlando would have me jumping up and down like a small child. Universal Studios, DisneyWorld, tacky souvenirs, oh joy! But on the day before we are to host a Thanksgiving meal in our home? Nooooooooooo! For one thing I knew there’d be no dawdling. We’d drive four hours south, in holiday traffic mind you, then turn around and drive four hours back to Doright Manor. But I had no choice. Studly can be an awful bully, I mean, awfully persuasive.
The trip down was enjoyable. In addition to his gifts in persuasion Studly is always entertaining. Once again we drove right by the Cafe Risqué, Florida’s all nude cafe, even though we have a series of running jokes about what’s on the menu. Trust me, you don’t want to know the jokes.
Traffic was interesting. One seriously aggressive driver came lane surfing around us, easily going 20 m.p.h. above our rather sedate 75. (Speed limit was 70.) As we neared Orlando we passed her after she’d hit another car. I’d have cheered, but she ruined someone else’s weekend.
Once we arrived at the car dealership Studly took a test drive while I stretched my legs and looked at cars. The dealership had a gorgeous red BMW convertible that could’ve come home with me if I had just a few more (thousand) dollars in my bank account. After he returned, smiling like an idiot, Studly told me I could start for home while he finished making the deal.
I’ve officially been home now for an hour, and put together another pecan pie that should be done in 10-15 minutes. Studly got caught in a holiday traffic jam on the turnpike. I’m enjoying a Shiner Bock and the Thanksgiving classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Studly is probably cursing at rude drivers. Who knows, he might actually get to check out the menu at Cafe Risqué.
Peace, people!
My vocabulary was enriched this week by the addition of the word, “anagoggle.”
Saint Helen and I were exploring the little community of Colquitt, Georgia, and had walked quite a distance from my car. When we realized we were both fairly tired of walking in the heat we decided to begin angling our way back to our starting point.
“We’ll just have to anagoggle our way back to the car,” Saint Helen said.
“Huh?” I replied in my most articulate manner.
“You know,” she said, demonstrating a zig zag pattern with her hands. “Anagoggle. You’ve never heard of that?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Must be a New Mexico thing,” said Saint Helen.
“Indeed.”
By that time we’d anagoggled over to the car and I’d conjugated the verb successfully: I anagoggled yesterday, we went anagogglin, we can anagoggle.
Peace, people.
Studly Doright took today (Friday) off so he could spend time with his mom before she has to head home on Monday. Studly excels at finding fun locations for lunch, and he outdid himself today.
Just outside of Perry, Florida, is Deal’s Famous Oyster House. People drive for many miles to experience the cafe’s oysters on the half shell along with just about any other kind of seafood one might desire.
Now, Studly doesn’t eat seafood, so we knew there must be some additional reason he chose Deal’s as our lunch destination. It didn’t take long for that reason to be exposed:
This, my friends, is a one-woman percussion instrument. We believe her name is Zodie and her instrument is called the pogo stick. One plays the pogo stick by dragging it along the floor and tapping it in time to a recorded melody, while simultaneously spinning an attached tambourine and drawing a bow across a string. Simply put, my mind was boggled!
Oh, and the seafood was incredible. Saint Helen and I had fried shrimp and hush puppies. The breading was light and didn’t overwhelm the shrimp. Perfection. Studly had chicken. Silly boy.
Peace, people!
Studly Doright, my mother-in-law, Saint Helen, and I made an important discovery on our recent trip home from the Texas Hill Country. No, it wasn’t an actual chupacabra, or a new, hotter than hell type of chili pepper. This was something way cooler and far more easy to digest–the mega convenience store called Buc-ee’s.
I’m not even sure mega comes close to describing just how big these stores are.
Above is pictured a small part of a Buc-ee’s food court.
Coke, anyone?
Buc-ee is a pretty big deal. Even the Travelocity Gnome paid a visit.
Need a souvenir of your Buc-ee’s trip? You’re covered!
I didn’t find a photo of the bathrooms at Buc-ee’s, but trust me on this, it was amazing! I felt like I’d entered the Buckingham Palace of restrooms. It was huge and every stall had its own hand sanitizer dispenser.
Oh, and as we left we heard the friendly, “Y’all come back now!”
God bless Texas. And Buc-ee’s!
Studly Doright and I just returned from a trip to Gruene, Texas, for a reunion of the Floydada High School class of 1975.
Always on the lookout for bloggable material, I had the marvelous idea of posting photos of myself on a variety of stops en route to Texas from Tallahassee.
I started out strongly:
Unfortunately, I quickly forgot all about the idea after the second stop. I might’ve been sidetracked by the quotes on the booths. 
Notice I was incredibly proud of my toenails. They’d been painted green to commemmorate Floydada’s team colors.
Due to heavy rains and cooler temperatures in Gruene, Texas, not a single person got to see my toes at the event. Their loss, right?
The reunion was incredible, though, even without my toes on display.
Peace, people.
I spent my morning doing important stuff. No details, but trust me on this. Important Stuff. By the time I’d finally showered and dressed, it was nearly time for lunch, so instead of grabbing my regular breakfast bar I headed to Tallahassee’s newest and coolest restaurant, The Edison, for brunch.
If location, location, location means anything at all, then the Edison has that in spades. Situated on one side (southeast?) of lovely Cascades Park, The Edison provides diners a front row seat to the park’s ponds, walking trail, a variety of Florida waterfowl, and a dramatic waterfall. I chose outdoor seating on this perfect fall Friday and was just delighted by a pair of egrets landing nearby.
My server was exceptional and knowledgeable about the craft beers on tap at The Edison. I ordered a Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy. When the server brought that she also brought me a sample of Southern Tiers Pumking beer. Oh my! About halfway through my shandy I began feeling lightheaded. That’s when I realized I was essentially having a beer for breakfast. Oops!
My meal was good, not outstanding, though. I had a whole wheat flatbread topped with sundried tomatoes, broccoli rabe, and chicken, among other ingredients my uneducated palate wasn’t familiar with. The flavors blended nicely, but I found it a little dry. I’m no food critic, but I thought it needed a light olive oil or cheese base. The meal was served with a side of fries that weren’t served quite hot enough for my taste.
The Edison is still new. Overall it has great ambience, and I observed impressive looking meals being served. In addition to the multi-level restaurant there’s a wine bar, a casual coffee area, and a great indoor bar with a pair of big screen TV sets. I will definitely give The Edison another try.
Peace, people!
One of the best spots in Tallahassee for running, walking, playing, or just chilling is beautiful Cascades Park.
http://discovercascades.com
From the link:
Cascades Park is the newest social center of our community, enhancing our quality of life by offering one venue that brings together arts, entertainment, education, history and wellness. It is the perfect example of how the one-cent local option sales tax we pay is invested back into our community.
Located in the heart of downtown, Cascades Park offers a variety of outdoor and recreational amenities, including a state-of-the-art amphitheater, interactive water fountain, children’s play area, Smokey Hollow Commemoration and miles of multi-use trails. Constructed by Blueprint 2000 in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and Leon County, Cascades Park is a stormwater facility that doubles as a unique urban park. Designed to flood, the park will offer relief to nearby areas during major storm events. This park was built by the citizens of Tallahassee and Leon County through the use of a one-cent local option sales tax.
I’ve been driving across Tallahassee a couple of times a week to get in my 10,000 steps by walking in Cascades Park, and every time I spot something new.
On Saturday I discovered the Korean War Memorial:
The piece that gives the impression of having broken off lists the names of those from Leon County who died in the conflict.
I sat and read each of the names and thought about the loss to the families, the community, and perhaps to the world. We use the word moving to describe many things. This memorial moved me to tears.
The amphitheater, below, hosts concerts and plays in a beautiful setting. Every time I walk I make a detour through the stage area. Sometimes I dance a few steps, other times I sing a few notes, but I always take a bow.
I’ve still got a lot left to explore! I didn’t even realize how big the park was until I found this map while writing this post.
Come visit me in Tallahassee. We’ll walk.
Peace, people!
I let my 12 year old grandson help write my blog post for today. He picked out this meme:
I picked out this one:
Both are fitting for the start of my long journey home, because this
Is so very true.
It’s been such a fun week with the grandkids. We went bowling, played laser tag, and video games, feasted on junk foods, and acted out scenes from Frozen until I had ice shards shooting out of my nose.
My plan is to reach the southeast side of Nashville on Monday afternoon and maybe relax in the pool for a few minutes. A bit of relaxation might be in order after all the fun. I’ll miss these guys, but Studly Doright is ready to see me.
Praying for Eyebrowz 