Merry Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving

So far today we have had rain, freezing rain, sleet, more freezing rain and finally snow. Welcome to Thanksgiving in the Ozarks. It is a good day to eat and then curl up with a good book. Hope all of you are having a great Thanksgiving Day.

Bay Cafe Fort Walton Beach, FL

Bay Cafe, A French Restaurant

I had lunch at the Bay Cafe in Fort Walton today. The Cafe is tucked out of site just below the Brooks Bridge. I had asked where to get really good fish and the Bay Cafe was recommended. It was great. I had Grouper Meuniere. It was pan seared and served with a white wine and lemon sauce and it was fish as it should be prepared. I also had the French Silk Pie which melted in my mouth. I wish it had not been my last day in Fort Walton Beach. Next time I am here I will have lunch there every day. There is inside and outside dining. I sat outside and watch two barges come by flanked by dolphins. It was a great site.

Sunset Cruise Destin, FL

I went on a sunset cruise last night. The pictures are of me at the wheel where they take pictures to sell (The girl taking the pictures used her camera and mine; my camera took the best picture so I did not buy their's). They gave out chips to feed the gulls and you can see how many showed up. There is a great little shopping area where the boat was docked. I purchased some starfish crystal earring at The Special Touch Gallery after we docked. They were made by Dr. Meow, an area vet who does glass beads. There is another picture of a sunset, this one out in the Gulf. The last pictures is of a small sailing ship that we passed when we were back in the bay. There is also another picture of a heron that was on the shore as we left the harbor.

Some of the birds on the beach

The pelican had just dived for a fish and was taking a rest. The other guy has been on the beach every day. He ignores the people and keeps all his attention on his fishing.

Another sunset

I might not have gotten a sunrise on the beach but I did get another sunser.

Bait for fishing

The two pictures are of men getting bait to fish. The ones with the nets are getting bait fish. The man with the metal scoop is getting some kind of flees for bait for a specific fish.

Sunrise on the Beach

The sun rises here at Fort Walton around 6:30 a.m. This is probably the closest I will get to a sunrise photo. I leaned out my balcony to get this one. I had just gotten up at 6:30 a.m.

Sunset on the Beach

I took these last night. It was a really great sunset with great color. This was the first trip to the beach for the six week old baby. I just had to take his picture along with his Mother.

Fort Walton Beach

I left Little Rock after the reunion and drove to Fort Walton Beach on the Florida panhandle. The pictures are from the balcony of my room at the Sheraton Hotel. The beach in great. No sign of any of the oil we kept hearing about.

Little Rock Central High 50th Class Reunion

I went to my 50th High School reunion this week-end. The picture is me in front of the school mascot, the Central High Tiger. High school was a very difficult time for me. I had only lived in Little Rock a year when and I started high school the year Central integrated so it was not a typical high school experience. The next year high schools were closed so I went someplace else my junior year returning to Central my senior year. I was surprised how many people remembered me. With all the change I felt like an outsider at Central. I had really dreaded going but all in all it was a good experience.

Chef's in the Garden

Last night was Chef's in the Garden at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. I was one of the volunteers selling drinks, but I also got to sample all the great food from the different chef's that participated. Chef's in the Garden had great food in a great location. This is a yearly event so if you missed it this year you can plan on going next year.

Polo in the Ozarks

Susan, Barbara and I went to Polo in the Ozarks last Saturday. Held for the past 21 years at Buell Farm in Goshen, the proceeds from Polo in the Ozarks go to Life Styles. We sat out in our lawn chairs enjoying the great weather, the tailgate party and all the food from 12 different restaurants in the area. I had never been to a polo match before so when this came up I put it on my very fluid bucket list. I enjoyed seeing the how the riders and their ponies worked together to play the game. There are pictures of some of the spectators, the ponies and riders, and people stomping davits at half. Wells Fargo was one of the sponsors and the Wells Fargo stage came out on the field at half time. We had a great time and all agreed that we would go again next year.

Natchez Trace Parkway

I traveled on the Natchez Trace Parkway from the Tennessee State Line to Tupelo, MS on Friday. A lot of the old Trace has vanished but there are places along the route where you can take a short walk and still find portions. I hit the Parkway around 11:00 a.m. and left it at Tupelo around 3:00 p.m. That part is just about 70 miles long but has a lot of pull offs with short hiking trails. I took all but one along that route. There are numerous springs along the Trace, Indian mounds from 1200 + years ago, and sites where the stations along the route were located. I waded in most of the springs after I hiked. The cold water was great after walking the 90 degree + temperature. One of the first springs is located in a pond created by a large beaver dam. The beaver lodge is visible on one side of the dam. Below the first dam the beavers built a second and created a smaller pond. There were a few wild flowers blooming around the path. The Park Service has built a stone crossing to get across the creek below the dams. I waded the creek there. People on the Trace had to cross the Tennessee River by ferry. There is a dam below that site and it is is underwater now. I don't recommend August a time to travel the Natchez Trace Parkway but I do recommend taking the Trace. There is a lot of history along the way. I did take pictures of the springs, the beaver dams, the flowers and the original Trace.

Point Park

Point Park is a National Military Park. I visited it between my visits to Rock City and Ruby Falls. Lookout Mountain was the site of one of the battles during the Civil War. The Park has a Visitors Center, displays and trails detailing the battles to control the mountain. There is also a great view of Chattanooga from the top. If you are there try to stay for a Ranger talk. It will add a lot to your understanding of all that was a stake in the fight for the Mountain and how the battles played out.

Ruby Falls

I visited Ruby Falls in Chattanooga in the afternoon. Ruby Falls is underground where on a hot day you can find cool weather. The elevator was broken so we took a bus to the emergency route and walked in from there. With the added distance it was a about a mile and a half walk. The route to the Falls is narrow and filled with interest formations. Ruby Falls was named for the wife of the man who discovered and explored the cave. The ruby lights on the Falls go with the name. I got pictures of some of the formations and the Falls.

Rock City

Chattanooga is very hot right now so I arrived at Rock City as soon as it opened. They run a sprinkler system at night and when I first walked down among the rocks at 8:30 a.m. it felt cool. By the time I left it was very warm. I did not know what to expect. Rock City went on my Bucket List (a very fluid list) after I read Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I had been to House on the Rock in Wisconsin (another place featured in the book) and so I wanted to see Rock City. I really enjoyed the visit. Rock City originally was billed as Rock City Gardens. It opened in 1932 and started as a private garden filled with native plants. Looking at what was planted I think the best time to see most of the flowers would be in the Spring. There were some summer flowers but not many. The rock formation were the star at this time of year. The paths have been laid out to take advantage of the rock formations in the area. Part of the time I was down between large rock formations and some time the path took me up on top to see other interesting formations. Part of the path took me between narrow openings and in at least one place I was by a opening filled with cool air. All in all I recommend a trip to Rock City if you are in the Chattanooga ares. I did take pictures and an attaching a few.

Tennessee Aquarium

I got to Chattanooga, TN about noon today. My first stop was McKay's used books store. It was right by the freeway and I spent about an hour looking and buying. Linda told me about the store so I was looking for it as I drove into town. It is very hot here so after I checked into the hotel I took the free shuttle to the visitor's center to get information for my trip to Rock City tomorrow. I wanted to stay out of the heat so I got a ticket to the IMAX and watched a 3-D movie about the Hubbell Telescope. I also got a ticket to the Tennessee Aquarium and spent 2 hours touring. If you are ever in Chattanooga I recommend the Aquarium. It was really well done. My two favorites were the river otters and the penguins. Both were out and swimming. I could spend hours watching the otters and two of the penguins were letting everyone know how fast they could swim. There were also birds, butterflies and of course many displays showing all manner of water life. One of the unusual examples were the fresh water sting rays. I was even able to get a few pictures.