A Lesson Learned

The first photo is a lesson in why you should never, never, never wear your orange leather sandals to the beach. I meant to put on my fake crocs before we went out on the sand, but I forgot them in the hurry of gathering up everything else we needed. After wading in the surf, I put my sandals back on and later, at the pool, we noticed my orange-colored feet. It took several showers and much scrubbing to remove the dye.

We went to the

NC Aquarium At Fort Fisher and saw some interesting things. At the entrance is this pool with some fish sculptures. At first glance, they appear to be on stilts, but the "grasses" are holding the fish up as if they are swimming among them. While we were there, a gull kept drinking from the pool and when we were sitting by the hotel pool, a crow kept standing on the top step into the pool and drinking the water. I guess the chlorine doesn't bother them enough to keep them away.

This scary guy is only a statue (he may be stuffed?), but in the next batch of photos, you can see the real thing, up close and personal.

We had the most gorgeous weather today; low to mid 80's and no humidity with a light breeze. Perfect! Too bad it can't stay that way all year long. Problem is, we are nearly 8" low on our rainfall this year. If you get rain, send it up/over/down here!

More from the Beach

The only good thing I can say about the 2nd place we ate dinner is that they had a nice bathroom. These hand-painted tiles graced the walls of both the ladies room (and the men's - according to mr. kenju.)  I ate scallops, which had been fried to within an inch of their lives and with a gallon of grease, it seemed. My stomach rebelled and  I won't name the place, lest you forget and think I gave it a good review. This is looking north. Low tide on an almost cloudless summer day - perfect for sitting on the beach! Someone asked yesterday if I swam. I went in about thigh deep, but the undertow was strong and no one was in the water with me - so I didn't venture further out. It was warm, though!

Below is a monument on the grounds of Fort Fisher, which was erected in 1921. It has fared well through many storms to be so old. I hope I look as good when I am 89!September 11 - May we never forget.

The Beach ~ 2010

Our hotel, the Marriott Courtyard in Carolina Beach, NC; a very nice, small hotel (160 rooms) with free internet in the lobby and a good breakfast buffet!

Morning Has Broken

I loaded these in the proper order, but they didn't post that way. The 2nd photo should be first.

We just returned from three days at Carolina Beach; a well-deserved respite after my heavy work last week. The sun rise was incredibly beautiful both days, and I was lucky enough to record some of it. Enjoy!

Before long, it will be beach and pool time (yay) and soon many of us will be on the yearly treasure hunt to find a bathing suit we can live with (or in). Since beach attire doesn't resemble the ones in the photo at left anymore (and in many cases, it's a real pity they don't), we have trouble finding something that minimizes our bad points and maximizes anything we have that may qualify as good. As we age, there are fewer and fewer points to emphasize and more and more we ought to cover up. Don't you find that to be true? Will you be shopping for a suit this year?

This old photo was in my parent's collection, but as most, it was not marked with names or dates. It is really too bad, since they are almost surely relatives - and we will never know who they are. Don't make the same mistake - label all your photos before it is too late.

***

As usual, I had several more ideas for blog posts over the last 8 hours, but not one of them comes to mind now. How typical. By the time I get to a pen and paper to write down the idea - it has left my brain - never to return.

***

The plumber had to be called yesterday. Mr. kenju thought he detected the sound of a drip under the house, and went down to check it out. He was right. My ears are so useless that I couldn't hear the leak, even though it was somewhat obvious through the air vents in the guest bathroom.

***

Spring usually mobilizes me to get busy with heavy cleaning of the house. Ordinarily by this time of year, I have washed some curtains, cleaned windows (inside), polished the silver, and washed all the colored glass bibelots in the dishwasher. So far this year I have "Spring cleaned" exactly one thing - my kitchen window and the things that sit in it. I need motivation, but so far it eludes me.

***

Yesterday I accomplished at least one thing of value. I went through several plastic bins of stuff/junk/memorabilia and found most of the Eastern Star photos and booklets I had promised to a woman in my hometown. I contacted her several months ago, asking if there would be any interest in this stuff my mom collected in the 50's. It turned out that the chapter my parents belonged to back then is having their 100th anniversary this summer - so my donation of memorabilia from the 50's is right on track. The best part is that she remembered my mom and dad. I will take the stuff to her this summer when I go back home for a visit.

Day Three in VA Beach + The After-effects

For the past two days I've been lethargic; an after-effect of the food poisoning (?) I got while on our trip to Virginia Beach. More about that later.

I had to go out Tuesday since we were out of food and some medications. Just as I loaded $125 worth of groceries into the car, I discovered that the stupid battery had died. Luckily I was only a parking lot away from a good gas station with a car repair shop. I walked over there and got the owner to bring his portable battery charger to my car. It didn't take long to discover that my battery, which was over four years old, had outlived its usefulness. If I didn't laugh about it, I would have cried. I told the owner that just about the time I get my gas card paid down to a manageable amount, something like this happens and it jacks up again! There is a silver lining to it though. I am so grateful that the battery died here at home rather than during our trip. Part of that road trip takes us through some rather barren areas, and had the battery died there - we would truly have been up the creek without a paddle. The battery incident unnerved me to the extent that I forgot to pick-up my photos from the trip. Oh, well, there's always tomorrow.

Reginella's was highly recommended to our friends as a place that made killer pizza from scratch. Joe had been craving good pizza, so we agreed to go there Saturday night. I wasn't really in the mood for pizza, so I ordered a veal parmesan sandwich, thinking the portions would be smaller and I would be unlikely to overeat. Mr. kenju ordered a meat ball sandwich, and Joe and Fern ordered a "garbage" pizza with nearly everything but anchovies, which they seemed to enjoy very much.

I have what I euphemistically like to call a "jumpy" stomach, so I have to choose my meals carefully, and avoid too much cheese, oils or animal fats. Too bad I didn't take into consideration the copious amounts of melted Mozzarella cheese that would be present on the sandwich, or that the veal would be akin to "shoe leather". It was not good, but I was hungry, so I ate 1/2 of the sandwich (a portion large enough for one human female) and mr. kenju ate part of the other half, pronouncing it inedible.

For obvious reasons, I cannot recommend Reginella's. I will say they were full of diners on Saturday night and empty tables didn't stay that way for long. It was apparent that some people think they are worthy of patronage - but I am, sadly, not among them.

The after-effects which I mentioned? Suffice it to say that I spent the hours between 9:30 pm and 3:00 am in the bathroom. I have seldom been as miserable as I was that night. We had made arrangements to go to Denny's for breakfast on Sunday morning, prior to leaving for home. After only 3 1/2 hours of sleep, we met for breakfast. I was loathe to mention my troubled night, and I ate only 2 pancakes with no extras that morning. It was not a problem for me, thank Heavens!! The return trip home was uneventful, except that I missed an exit of Rte. 95 and had to go 2 more exits down the road to pick up the route I needed to get back to Raleigh. Much to our surprise, it resulted in five miles off the original trip and a savings of at least 20 minutes. Color me amazed!

It is now 11:20 pm, and I am still in the nightgown I wore to bed last night and all day today. The lethargy I felt led me to lie in my recliner for hours on end; alternately dozing and staring at the TV. I tell myself I am just recharging MY batteries......

In Virginia Beach ~ Part 2

On Friday afternoon, the two people on the left joined the mini-reunion. We had never met Christie, Charlie's wife, and she was delightful. Jim and Joe had not seen Charlie for 45 years, but it was as if they had never been apart. The jokes and jibes began immediately; the locker-room camaraderie of days gone by resurfaced quickly. This photo was taken just before we went out to dinner, at the place below.

Click to enlarge!

Waterman's was also recommended by the desk staff at the Marriott Courtyard. We had reservations for 6:30pm, but due to heavy Friday evening traffic and the misty rain that morphed into a downpour now and then, we missed our time by 30 minutes. We had to wait, but they have a nice gift shop at the front of the restaurant and while we women shopped, the guys talked shop (so to speak.)

After 30 minutes, we were shown to a huge booth, where all six of us fit fairly easily, despite the three men (and me) having long, long legs. Since I had eaten excessively the night before, I ordered only calamari and salad for my meal, and I shared crab dip appetizer with Fern and Joe. It was really good! The others seemed satisfied with their choices as well. Once again, I didn't photograph the food - I simply forgot. The only downside to the evening came midway into the meal. They tout the coldness of their beer on the menu, which they keep at 22 frosty degrees. I do love me some cold, cold beer and so I ordered one. The otherwise excellent waitress (who looked to be about 16, and confessed to be 24), forgot to bring it. By the time I realized I hadn't gotten it, I didn't want it anymore.

Waterman's was pretty good. Steinhilber's (see 1 post back) is a 15 (on a scale of 1 to 10) and I would place Waterman's at 7 or 8. The views would have been spectacular had it been earlier. They sit right on the beach and we could see the surf rolling in at high tide, but the coming night cloaked it all too soon. When we go back to Virginia Beach, I'll make reservations there, and ask for a table at the windows. Then, I'll be sure to get there on time, and order the cold, cold beer first!

In Virginia Beach ~ October 2009

(Click to enlarge - I hope!)

Here I am with Fern and Joe in front of the statue of King Neptune on the strand in Virginia Beach. Neptune wasn't there back when we lived in that area; he's a more recent addition to the boardwalk. Fern and Joe were our Best Man and Matron of Honor (in 1964). Prior to this trip, we had not seen them both since the early 90's, when we both visited mutual friends in WV. Joe visited about 8 years ago, on his way back from Florida with his grandson. It is really too bad they don't live closer to us; if they lived next door, it wouldn't be too close for me.

A side-shot of Neptune, looking down the strand. It was a misty, gray and cloudy day.

The first night, we went to Steinhilber's Restaurant (see the cards below). Fern chose it, on recommendation from the desk staff at the Marriott Courtyard where we stayed. I remembered the name, and knew that the restaurant had been there when we lived in Norfolk, but we had never eaten there. It always had the reputation of being excellent - and pricey - too rich for our purses back then. (And probably still is...LOL!) But talk about good seafood??!! This place has it, along with excellent service, nice views, white linen and did I mention GOOD food? If you are ever in Virginia Beach, I heartily recommend this place! And do click on the link and read the history of the place that was opened the year before I was born.

I did not pull out the camera and photograph the food, although I wanted to. It would have drawn too much attention to our table in those low light surroundings. I ordered half a lobster tail, with shrimp, served in a small casserole of crab meat. It was to die for and the serving was larger than I could eat, so I shared it with Joe. It was accompanied by a twice-baked potato and served with home made cornbread and lots of real butter. The salad which preceded it was fresh and crunchy. We had no room for dessert, although the menu made us salivate!

The Galapagos, Part 4

A blue-footed booby; surveying his domain. It's very odd to see that aqua color in an otherwise drab landscape. Click to enlarge.

But you see aqua in the water, too.


A Sally Lightfoot Crab; supposedly found only in the Galapagos Islands. This one needs to turn over.


The ever-present iguanas blend into this rock scape.

Here they stand out a bit more.


A booby with her fluffy baby.


Very interesting scenery here. It resembles some photos of Australia's east coast that my daughter took when she was there.

Leftovers

Edit below!

Storm, on my sandals while I sit at the computer.

Are you sensing a trend? I have taken at least 8 photos of her in the same place all with different shoes.

My miniature crape myrtle has powdery mildew this year, which is odd, since we haven't had much rain. I didn't know what to do for it, but the article I found says to remove all infected plant parts. That means I have to cut back to the central stem, and since this plant is over 5' tall, I'd lose all of it and get no bloom this year. This variety blooms in late July and August. I really hate to cut it all off. What to do?!

An old friend sent this photo of a double rainbow over her home in Colorado. Beautiful!

These tiny blossoms, which look like lily of the valley, were blooming on a tree in my backyard this year. It is just off the deck at the place where the foxes came onto the deck back in the spring, so I had a hard time getting over there to take the photo. I don't know what kind of tree this is, do you? Edit: I did some research; it is a sourwood or wood sorrel tree.

Last but not least, another of my granddaughter's original art. She gave this one to her aunt because they both love the beach.

Here's hoping that each of you had a great Fourth of July and the rest of the weekend will be even better. We stayed home and read/napped/blogged/cooked/ate and will probably do the same thing tomorrow.

Another Sunrise Series

Virginia Beach...late November, 2008




Yes, there is a ship right in the middle of the sun!






A reminder: I am working all week long. We are now decorating the NC Governor's Mansion for Christmas, and I will eventually have photos to show you.

Lights on the Boardwalk

Starting before Thanksgiving, on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach, they have hundreds of colored lights on the beach, arching over the boardwalk and to the left of it. You pay $10 per car load and drive the length of the boardwalk (I'd approximate 30 blocks or more) to see the designs. I don't know if they are the same every year, or different, but we enjoyed them, especially our two granddaughters who were with us. Above: Yo-ho-ho and a bottle o' rum!!

Treasure chest on an island. My son took the photos since I was in the wrong part of the car. We didn't have the camera on the correct setting for shooting pix from a moving car - but I'm posting them anyway.

Lighthouse.


Lobsters, playing musical instruments.


A spouting fish.


Welcome to VA Beach!


Santa hooked a whale!


Schools of fishies



Santa water skiing.

[[]][[]][[]][[]][[]]

Thanks to all who have said they like my new December header photo. It is from a Christmas card I received several years ago from my cousin and her husband, and it came from Easy Street Publications in New Jersey.

It is a takeoff on the 1942 painting called "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper - my favorite American painter.