Is It Christmas Yet?

        I’ve been back in Maryland for a little over a week and it is starting to look a lot like Christmas! Trees are decorated as are homes inside and out and it’s wonderful!  Cookies are filling the air with sweet aromas! This past Friday our family experienced another indicator that Christmas is just around the corner…my youngest daughter’s birthday…number 26!!!  I stayed at her house the night before so I could make her a birthday breakfast before she headed off to work!  Omelet muffins laced with ham!  Yummy!  Later her dad took her out to dinnerRead More

Frustration to Celebration in a Flash

   I arrived in Maryland safe and sound after a crazy trip through Washington DC at 4:45pm on a Friday.  Knowing that my GPS didn’t turn on me…thanks to my son who I called in a panic…was very reassuring as I depend greatly on her directions.    Once I finally got into town I called my daughter and we met up at the Bull on the Beach restaurant for a drink to celebrate.  Megan’s brother got married earlier that day!!!  That was fun…I got to meet some new people!    The next day I worked my way through a WalmartRead More

Kenly, NC Denny’s…More Than a Meal

    Heading back to Maryland for the holidays, I wanted to have a good breakfast because I planned to drive until I couldn’t drive anymore before I stopped to sleep.  I must have missed at least three exits with a restaurant I recognized…I was singing to the radio…oops!  I turned the radio off and decided to stop at the very next exit with gas and food!  Of course, I ended up at the absolute PERFECT spot.     I filled up Van-Go’s tank then I went into Denny’s to fill up mine…lol  There was a little confusion regarding myRead More

Visit with Cuz in Palm Shore, FL

    My last stop in Florida proved to be a lot more fun than anticipated!  The two planned stops before I was going to go to my cousin Steve’s house fell through which was wonderful because that gave me an extra day to play with!  I hadn’t seen or talked to Steve in 7 years ever since he just happened to be in MD on his birthday and a bunch of family got together at his brother Robbie’s home.   Well, thanks to Facebook, we hooked up and he invited me to visit while in the area.  So, Monday,Read More

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

    On my way to the next campground…I stopped at a food store…PUBLIX…to pick up a few things.. I couldn’t find an item, so I asked for assistance.  Bright  Spot – To my delight, a young man came along and made every effort to locate what I wanted.  As it turned out, that particular store didn’t carry it anymore.  So, I thanked him and went to check out.  He was there bagging for me and offered to take my basket to the van!  Well, Dakota and I started chatting.  He has done quite a bit of traveling early inRead More

A Spectacularly Spooky Sensation

    I finally discovered the peace, quiet and beauty I was hoping to find at the last stop.  Because of information about some weird ‘invisible’ insect where I WAS heading, I rerouted to Yogi’s Jellystone Park and Campground.  I had been to the one in PA, so I knew it was probably a safe bet.  I got a spot right on their lake that was absolutely gorgeous!  Less than a dozen other campers and no one terribly close!  These last three days have been blessedly quiet!  I even struck up a fire just before sunrise today where I satRead More

Florida Caverns-Marianna, FL

these are called “curtains”  Next stop…only 30 minutes down the road!  I’ve seen several caverns over the years, but this limestone cavern offered a smorgasbord of visual bliss!!!                                                                                                                                                Read More

Falling Waters State Park…Chipley, FL

    You know how sometimes you think you are going someplace for a specific reason and then discover that you REALLY ended up there for an entirely DIFFERENT reason???!!!  Well, I’m pretty sure that is what happened to me here.  My plan for this location was to experience peace and quiet and Florida’s tallest waterfall…73′!  All the pics I had seen were beautiful.  I was so excited to see it that I drove there in the van before I even went to my camp site.  As it turned out, it was more like a water-trickle!  There hadn’t been muchRead More

Pensacola, FL – Wrapping It Up

     Joe Patti’s World Famous Seafood Market!!!  Wow, there was every kind of fish you can possibly imagine and in any ‘condition’!  With a head or without, bone-in or filleted, full body or sectioned, peeled, deveined…it was awesome!  I, of course, having been told I must try the big reds…very large shrimp that taste much like lobster…did just that! YUMMY just behind the market love the sailboat in the distance  They steam them to order…I felt bold so I ordered MEDIUM!!! Yummy…they did taste like lobster….and for $9/lb they were (de-headed), peeled, deveined and steamed!!!  That wasn’t the onlyRead More