Maxx Adventure
Today, a break. Renovations are going fine, normal setbacks, above normal completion rate. Today, no workmen in the house and I run free, I am celebrating.
And how do I celebrate? Well . . . here I am at Barnes and Noble, where I can buy some wireless time to upload some photos, and oh yes, the new James Lee Burke / Dave Robicheaux novel is out so I had to buy that, too, for the next long plane ride.
Earlier, a trip to TJ Maxx. It is a TJ Maxx Home – I’ve never been in one of those before, and oh! what a thrill. I found a carry-on, just like the one I have only a little bigger and at HALF what I paid for the one I have now, and have loved, and don’t want to part with except that it is splitting in some places where I have had to pack it too full. đŚ
And I also found what I was looking for. Remember I told you about the Misto, and told you where you could order one? I found it on the shelf at TJ Maxx, marked WAAAAYYYYY down. I love it. See if you can spot it.
I also thought of you when I saw this sign. Kuwait isn’t the only place with ambiguous, and very funny signage:
What’s in Your Toolbox?
What do you give a young adult, graduating high school, who has just about everything he wants? What do you give him that he doesn’t even know he wants?
It was Christmas, and we were trying to figure out what to give our son. We eventually decided on a tool box, and we had a lot of fun filling it – hammers, fasteners, screw drivers and Phillips screw drivers in various sizes, nails, putty, screws, a level, a measuring tape . . . he like it, but he was a little underwhelmed.
Until he got to college. At the end of the first week, when he called us, we could hear the joyful confidence in his voice.
“Guess what!” he said. It wasn’t really a question, he was going to tell us.
“No-one else has a tool-box here! All the other kids need help putting their bunks together (there was some smart entrepreneur who was marketing loft-like bunk beds and room-customizing kits to all the incoming students, making, I am willing to bet, a fortune) and I’m the one with the tool box!”
We could hear the smile on his face.
And isn’t that life? The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better equipped you are to handle what life throws at you? Even the unexpected – if you have the right tools.
For me, those tools have been varied.
⢠Reading books has introduced me to new ways of thinking.
⢠Learning foreign languages gives me different perspectives.
⢠Living in foreign countries helps conquer ignorant ideas about people of other cultures.
⢠I can eat a wide variety of cuisines without fear
⢠I can swim, use a rifle, cook, and speak in public without my voice quavering
⢠I can laugh. Thanks be to God.
All these tools have been acquired, some, like patience and kindness, at great price.
So what are your tools? What has helped you deal with what life throws your way? What tools have you grown to deal with life’s challenges?
The Real Florida
So many Americans visit Disneyland and think they have visited Florida. Disneyland, and the huge shopping mall that is Orlando is about as close to the real Florida as skiing down an artificial hill in Dubai is to really skiing.
There is a real Florida. You can go there. You’ll need sunscreen, you will need beach shoes, and you will need mosquito repellent.
One of the first places to go is the Florida Everglades. Take a boat ride back into the swamps, take a whole day, or even two. And take your camera. There are alligators, and a million species of water birds. When the motor cuts off, just use your ears and listen . . .the Everglades is an amazing place, beautiful, even a little eerie, with the Ahingas and herons and water birds.
The Florida Keys are a blast. Key West is like it’s own country, a little off-beat – no, WAAAAYYY off beat. Stay in a bed and breakfast, leave your car and just walk around. Take one of the dive boats, if you dive, or the snorkle boat trips if you don’t dive. They provide all the equipment and will take you out to a reef where you can snorkle for a few hours, and see more glorious and gorgeous fish than you would see in a lifetime of searching, in bath-water warm water. It’s like God’s great aquarium, it’s a mystical experience, seeing all the life underwater. Head for the wharf at sundown, for the “green flash” as the sun dips into the water and the reggae plays and humanity in all it’s diversity gathers to send the sun to bed.
Cocoa Beach, where the space shuttles launch, is a totally cool and very funky place. It gets really crowded when the shuttles are about to launch, but there are some very fun and very relaxed restaurants there, and some great surf when a storm is brewing.
Sanibel Island, off season, where you find miraculous sea shells by just strolling the beaches as the tide goes back out, and watch the most amazing sunsets.
Take the family to Crystal Springs, “just north of Tampa” but I remember it being a LONG drive! You get there, pick out the size innertube or raft you want (I prefer the ones with the sealed center, because your bottom can get REALLY cold hanging in the spring waters) and head for the source of Crystal Springs on a bus. You can choose a short route or the long route – you will know your own children, and what they can handle. We like the long route.
You get into your tube, into the water, and . . . you float! You float for two or three hours, and the water is so clear you can see the fish just feet below you. You float through areas of vine covered trees and tannin stained waters, you see what Florida looked like before man. It is WILD and beautiful. At the end, you are pretty cold, but oh, what a grand adventure.
Wakulla Springs is the deepest freshwater spring in Florida, and they have glass bottomed boats you can go on to see all the life underwater. We especially love the old fashioned lodge there, just a few miles south of Tallahassee. Wakulla Springs Lodge
And I am only now getting to the very best part. For a great adventure, we love Myakka River State Park. It is one of the oldest recreational parks in Florida, with excellent hiking trails, over 1000 alligators in the lake, and a boat trip – on a boat driven by a giant fan – around the lake. Adventure Man has always said that if he ever thinks about retiring, he wants to be the park ranger driving this boat and showing people all the alligators. It is a thrillingly beautiful place. It is near Venice beach, famous for fossilized shark tooth hunting.
But we go just a little bit further south, to a little beachside community called Englewood Beach. We have collected thousands of fossilized shark’s teeth on Englewood Beach – it is a treasure trove. We stay at the Weston Resort which is really a conglomeration of properties near the southernmost tip of the barriar island on which Englewood Beach exists, and from which you walk right into the state park where you can’t drive.
I see that they now have parking for like 25 cents an hour – it used to be free, but you only got a parking spot if you got there by around 8 in the morning, there were so few parking places. But you always have a place to park if you are staying at the “resort”. The resort isn’t really a resort, it is a very beachy place, and most people rent by the week, or even, during winter, by the month. They have their favorite units and their favorite buildings. The units all have kitchens, some even with ovens and all with coffee makers and microwaves. It’s a very old time-y Florida kind of place to stay. We love it. We dream of Englewood Beach!
There are still a few other funky Florida places. You have to rent a car, and you have to be willing to go off the beaten track. Take some of the backroads, drive along the Gulf Coast – Florida is a LONG state, and it is really a two day drive – or more – if you start in the Keys and drive to the Alabama border, near Pensacola. The real Florida has its own beauty, you just have to take the time and effort to find it. Once you do – you will be hooked on Florida.
Banning “Unhealthy” News?
Did you see this in today’s Arab Times? My friends, pay attention! This would erode any claim to freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Kuwait Constitution.
Islamist MPs planning bill to shackle Kuwait media; âSet up watchdogâ
KUWAIT CITY: Islamist MPs plan to submit a proposal to the National Assembly to form a Higher Media Council to keep a check on the activities of the media and prevent the publication of âunhealthy news reportsâ. According to these men, the Kuwaiti media has run out of control and it has been tackling issues which affect the national unity and threatens peace and harmony in society. MP Ali Saleh Al-Omair told the Arab Times the establishment of a media watchdog will help the mass media to avoid what he called the negativities which are being published from time to time. He indicated several observations have been made and their publication of some reports in newspapers, radio or television has not pleased many Kuwaitis.
Al-Omair added the establishment of this body became necessary after it was evident a section of the media had deviated from its objectives âby publishing misleading information which affected the national unityâ. He explained freedom of the press is guaranteed but dangers and red lines exist in every society and they must be accepted particularly since this scenario exists even in civilized countries. He indicated the people of Kuwait get upset when they see what is being published by the mass media, particularly the negative news reports which affect national unity. He indicated the proposed council can include media experts, religious personalities, writers, psychologists to talk to the media from every angle to highlight how certain news reports can harm the society.
By Ben Arfaj Al-Mutairi
Special to the Arab Times
What would examples of unhealthy news be? The rising AIDS rate in Kuwait? The transmission rate from men – men vs men – women? Divorce statistics? Reduction of crime reporting, because it is just too embarrassing?
WHO makes that call? Who are the watchdogs? It give me an Orwellian shiver!
Bayou Texar, Early Morning
A warm breeze blows, barely ruffling the mirror like waters of the Bayou Texar early in the morning. The area is like a large scale fitness track, with singles, couples and groups running, walking, chatting and getting fit. Mid-day is brutal, but early morning and evenings are almost perfect. This is for you, R, a reminder of your school days in Pensacola, and for you, Adventure Man, wishing you were here, too. đ
A Day at Home Depot
Those of you who read this blog regularly know I have a thing about hardware stores . . . Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ace . . .I can spend hours.
Right now, however, we are doing some renovations on a Florida house, and oh! I am learning so much. I am learning that the very best contractor can’t guarantee that a project will be brought in during the time he promised, that supply lines get kinked, that when you think you have made a very complicated decision (like what kind of counter top you want) it branches into a whole lot more decisions (electrical outlets, wall treatment, edge treatment, sink choice, faucet choices, hauling away and tearing out of original fixtures, plumbing fixtures. . . ) and oh, my head was swimming. It took two hours just to arrange something I smugly thought I had thought through.
Thank God there are people who know a lot more than I do, and who can make me face the tough questions.
As I was leaving the Home Depot, the skies broke loose and water poured down. I waited at the entrance about half an hour, thinking it would lighten up. When it lightened – a little – I ran to the car, but was totally soaked, shoes, clothing, hair – there wasn’t a try spot on me. And the rain continued to pour down. I thought of how badly Pensacola needs this rain, and how welcome rain is in Kuwait, and Doha, when it comes. I sat in the car another half hour, as the rain was flooding through the parking lot, and you couldn’t see very far.
As I was working with the counter-guy, he asked me how I liked living in Kuwait.
I told him I liked it.
“What are the people like?” he asked.
They are good neighbors,” I replied, “A lot like the people in Pensacola. They are believers. They are kind, and generous in spirit. And Kuwait has it’s own beauty, you just have to open your eyes to seeing things in a different way.”
I didn’t tell him about you, my blogging friends, because I’m not sure he is familiar with blogging. And because even here, I treasure my privacy.
Finally, the rain lightened enough for me to drive, very slowly, home, trying to avoid places in the roads where the drains were stopped up or clogged, and water was a foot deep or so. Made it home safely, al hamdallah!
Film Fest: Pursuit of Happyness
I always learn the newest stuff when I am around my son and his wife. He subscribes to NetFlix, and tries to figure out movies that will be interesting for me, and evenings we watch something.
Occasionally, I just walk out – I’m reading a good book, and it is easy to walk away from a mediochre movie. He was watching The Matador, and about five minutes in, I could figure it wasn’t going to get any better and walked away. Yesterday, we went to the afternoon showing of the new Harry Potter movie. I just remember the book as being so much better, so much more gripping, and we knew more about what was going on in Harry’s head.
Last night we watched Pursuit of Happyness, and all three of us complained half way through “when is this movie going to get happy?” It is a cliff hanger movie, almost the entire movie this man is dancing on the edge of total disaster. Since it is a true life story, we keep hoping it will have a happy ending. Will Smith, always one of our favorite actors anyway, makes this movie believable and keeps us watching, even though it is painful.
Sometimes, his only choices are painful or more painful. It isn’t an easy movie to watch. Chris Gardner has his own struggling business, makes some bad decisions and almost loses everything, even landing in jail on the day of a job interview he believes could change his life. Even when things go right, things go wrong, and you watch this very good man struggle to achieve a life where he can even just pay his bills and pay his taxes.
And, in the end, totally worth it, especially if you are watching it on disk and can look at some of the extras, like the interview with Chris Gardner, who wrote the book on which the movie is based. And one really cool thing is that the son in the movie is played by Will Smith’s real-life son, Jaden Smith. The connection between them is so real and so beautiful.
And tonight is Sunday night, and a new episode of John from Cincinatti will be coming on!
Oyster Barn in Pensacola
When I said I wasn’t that hungry, just wanted a bowl of soup, something like clam chowder or gumbo, my son’s eyes just lit up.
“We could even walk!” he said. “It’s close!”
We didn’t – not that night, because I was really tired, and jet lagging, but I walked back another day to get an outdoor photo for you.
You’d have to know about the Oyster Barn to eat there – it is a tiny marina on a bayou, and out on the main street, there is no indication that this little gem is hidden back along the shore. You just have to know.
And a lot of people DO know. When we got there, the parking lot was packed. We almost went somewhere else, but we decided to give it a try. And there was one booth just emptied, just right for us. It’s the kind of place when you walk in everyone is trying to figure out who you are, because mostly it is packed with locals. You won’t find this place if you are a tourist.
This isn’t a fancy place, but it has great local seafood. The waitress appeared promptly to take our orders, which here, always start with iced tea (“Sweet or UnSweet?”)
My son and his wife had the Jumbo shrimp, which comes with “two sides” – my son had hush puppies and cheese grits, and his wife had salad and hush puppies. The servings are generous, and oh! those shrimp are SO good. They have a peppery-cajun coating that is both spicy and delicious. We finished with a very tart, very authentic piece of Key Lime Pie, all of us so full we all shared one piece with three forks. Life is sweet.
I had the oyster stew – and it was full of plump, juicy oysters. I took a photo of the stew, but it didn’t do it justice – all you could see was a milky looking base with lumps.
My Mom is coming with me next time I visit Pensacola, and this is one of the first places I will take her. I know she will love it. Although it is in Florida, it is very much like the places we used to eat when we lived in Alaska.
Flash for Sparkle: Atlanta 2
More from the Atlanta airport – just look at the texture in these statues!
This one is about the sea:
This one is my favorite. I wish you could stand closely with me and see the texture carefully incised in this piece:
Again, thank you Atlanta, you made my day.
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