danger zone

years ago- about eight weeks before I was about to leave for a planned trip to Egypt and Jordan fresh violence broke out in the middle east.  my father was adamant that I would be crazy to even think of going.  I asked my mother what her opinion was and she told me "I would go."  and so I did- and not only did I go and have a superb trip, I met my friend Jennifer on the trip. 

small group travel is good news and bad news- if you get a good group like the one we had in Egypt - it adds to the experience- a bad (like our China group) detracts.  the Egypt group was made up three couples and ten single folks traveling either alone or with friends. 

so you might be thinking- where is this leading?  well my friend Jennifer (from the Egypt trip all those years ago and later SE Asia - just the two of us- and even later Austria and Venice for opera etc.) and I are scheduled to leave for Tunisia on March 24th.  and you might have noticed the dictator of Tunisia fled the country yesterday after extensive rioting.  I thought I would see what the State Department had to say on the matter and their alert expires well before we are scheduled to leave- phew! no dilemma. 

my mom and I - and I will bet Jennifer as well- will be heading in that direction in the not too distant future. 

meanwhile I will leave you with some photos of the first trip with Jen.

one of the highlights was a balloon adventure at dawn over the Valley of the Kings- we had two balloons and Jen and I were in the yellow and green one.

 Jen - in the beige knit cap - looking out (facing away from the camera)

views from the balloon over excavations and planted fields through the morning mists

on another morning we went early to the tomb of Nefertiti - there are a limited number of tickets available for the entrance to the tomb, which was incredibly well preserved - these were low light un-retouched photos from the inside

and one further memory.  we stopped one day for lunch at a place where this young lady was making flat breads - we consumed "mass quantities" of these breads with various mezzes- I still remember how good they were (and I bet Jen does too.)

and here is a photo of part of the group- Jen on the left and me third from left- we were visiting a temple along the Nile and our guide suggested we dress in local garb that day- we certainly got stares from pretty much everyone.

I apologize for the pre-digital photos- they certainly lack the resolution we have today. but I think the sense of the trip comes through. 



relativity

was described by Einstein in terms of pretty girls and passing time.  here at the River Cottage we describe it in terms of weather.  we have been here nine days and already are complaining about "how cold it is"- LOL.  it is only 52 degrees for a high today and with a fairly brisk wind we need jackets when outside.  and boy isn't that the essence of relativity- if we were home we would be shivering in the cold and snow. 

we have been busy-busy working so far this week and so we took a bit of time off for lunch today to try a sushi place not too far from the cottage.  it was quite good and they had lunch specials that helped keep the price reasonable.  we tried the Tampa roll- crispy fried grouper in a spicy sauced roll.  it was very good- a worthy repeat order item. 

our gator has gone into hiding - or hibernation due to the cool weather - as we haven't seen him since the first sighting.  however, we have seen about a dozen sizable turtles several times - when they sun themselves in the afternoon right across the river from where we are.  we spotted them through binoculars so a photo is not possible- you will just have to take my word for it.

here are a couple of photos from warmer weather- maybe they will help us feel a bit warmer vicariously -

swimming in the beautiful blue Adriatic - I can assure you the water was a perfect temperature.

and  some outdoor cafe time in Corfu Town on Corfu - where it was so warm everyone went for the shaded tables!

also - some kids playing in the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia.  as you can tell from the clothing they wear, it was warm that November day when Jennifer and I ran into the little trouble makers - LOL.



Saturday is scheduled to get warmer and we are looking forward to being able to sit outside on the deck and watch our river wildlife up close and personal.  even better, Phil's brother Larry is coming for a visit and will be here Saturday morning. 

we have scheduled a new place (Ortygia) to try for Saturday night and an old favorite on the island (the Sign of the Mermaid) for Sunday night.  we used to go there to celebrate my mom's birthday virtually every year (2002 through 2008) after my dad died but when she still lived on the island.

gator sighting!

today we have been at the River Cottage one week and this morning I saw my first alligator swimming in the river.  I saw him as he was headed away and then had to go grab my camera.  I was kind of bummed I didn't have my SLR with the telephoto lens but - well - I didn't really think I would need more than a pocket point and shoot camera for the time we were here. 

I outlined the gator in a yellow circle but I couldn't figure out how to make the line heavier on the make-shift photo editing software on the work computer. he is pretty much in the center of the shot.

when I came in from getting the NYT at the end of the driveway I saw a Gallinule or Moorhen (a duck like bird with a red shield on its forehead) and it was shortly thereafter that the gator showed up- maybe the bird was breakfast...  yesterday we saw an Anhinga on our dock - during a brief rain shower.  I know the photo is kind of blurry but I had to take it through glass so I didn't disturb the bird and lose the shot altogether.

it might sound a bit geek-like that I am so impressed by the wildlife but remember we are city folk.  our idea of wildlife amounts to a few squirrels and an occasional feral cat.  this is real nature for us- LOL and thank god the owners of River Cottage have kindly provided a guide to the waterbirds of Florida so we actually know what we are looking at instead of saying things like "look at that big black bird with white feathers" or "over there, see the little duck with a red bill."  keep in mind that we are the kind of people who can't tell farm crops from the expressway - not that stops us from discussing and endlessly speculating on what they might be.  and this to round out the post is our own version of wildlife (camouflaged by the ottoman she thought she was hiding under)

yes- it's Penny (or rather the tail end of her...LOL)

linger lodge

is the name of an "old Florida" place up the river from the River Cottage.  it is an "old time-y" fishing camp where they have a restaurant that specializes in gator-   today we went for lunch to sample the fare and make an evaluation of it as a possible place to take our friends when they come to visit us.

here are a few of the photos- this is a real DART (disappearing America road trip) style place and TB and I would be thrilled to have discovered such on any of our trips to "the past" on the various DARTs we have done over the years.

note the lodge script is spelled in stuffed snakes - LOL

gator head above and gator bites below (they were excellent as was the gator chowder!)

the screened porch of the restaurant

instructions on the toilets (located in the combined shower/ laundry room)

wall art (gator nose just peeking in the photo)

entrance- with the lodge spelled out in rope script (somewhat in need of repair)

the wall of FISH trophies

a million years ago- when I was around ten years old, our family took an ill-fated trip with neighbor families to a similar facility called Lake Riley.  Lake Riley was located somewhere in West Virginia.  the first night we stayed, there was a sizeable rain storm and the cabins leaked.  one family turned hide and left immediately the next day.  we stuck it out with the other one of the three families who started the journey, moving into a large cabin shared by both.  and the vacation became legendary in our family.  it turned out - of course I didn't get this as a kid- that this was a place guys usually came to toss back the brews and booze and get in a little bit of fishing- and could hardly be considered a family vacation spot.  

we all lived to tell the stories and this visit to the Linger Lodge brought back the memory of Lake Riley all those years ago... so how cool is that?

continuing on

with the Asia temples I found some of my Myanmar and India photos to include in the group I started yesterday:

Notice the people in the upper right hand- it gives some perspective on this combination well and temple complex in central India.  known as a step well because in contained access to the very lower reaches of the well via steps- it also housed a temple dedicated to Ganesha (the Hindu god who manifests as an elephant.)

below is the Jamid Mosque in Delhi India- said to be one of the largest in the world

next in Myanmar-  temples on the Bagan plains  and then a buddha from inside one of the 4400 temples on the plains of Bagan (an area the size of Manhattan - per Lonely Planet)

and another from Myanmar- this from the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon.

and since I accessed the India photos I found some great ones that bring back special memories- and will probably post some of those stories later.

wild life

not ours- LOL- but here are two photos that show the range of the fauna here at the River Cottage.

first a water bird (a heron I think) feeding in the shallows across the river from our deck

and second- the exotic Chicago domestic short hair cat lounging on the dining room table- LOL

social network

LOL- OK so ours isn't exactly of the tweet type but we firmed up some plans yesterday for our social calendar and things are looking pretty darn busy over the next seven weeks. 

one friend asked us what on earth were we going to do in Florida for two months.  I did actually bring the AAA guide in case we got some extra time to be tourists but between working and our social engagements I don't think that will happen. 

starting this coming weekend we have company three times over the next seven weeks and starting later next week we see friends - five different couples/singles over the seven weeks and then we also are taking a trip to Key West for my birthday (not on my birthday but "for" my birthday) - haven't been there in a few years

the first time I went to Key West was way back when I was married to my first husband (1973-1983) - it was close to the end so probably 1982 or 1983.  the next time I came with my friend Brad and my then boy friend Darren in 84 or 85.  then I came with my then boyfriend Kevin for friend Jon's 40th birthday party at La-ti-da in 90 or 91, I think.   at some point in the early 90s I came with my friend Chris - before I met Phil and she met her now husband Jim.  and then I went with Phil and my brother-in-law Larry in the late 90s or early 2000s.  and the last time I was there, was with my buddy TB a few years back now - when we worked together on risk management stuff. 

but since it has been probably six or seven years I asked to return for my birthday this year. Key West is the only place of 100% island mentality in the continental US.  it stands alone - like N.O. LA in being in the US but not OF the US.  so you can look forward to photos from our trip before the end of the month. 

meanwhile let's go back to some of the ones I have been working with in the past few weeks. a selection of temple photos from "my favorites"

a worshipper spins the prayer wheels in Thimpu, Bhutan

tourists make a circuit of the temple of the Jade Buddha in the Grand Palace complex Bangkok, Thailand

Ta Prohm temple ruins in Siem Reap Cambodia

My Son temple complex in central Vietnam not far from Hoi An

 a temple in Luang Prabang. Laos

the Man Mo temple in Hong Kong, China

the Cao Dai sect "Holy See" north of Saigon, Vietnam

so that is my Sunday report- a lazy day- read - hung out on the deck outside, along the river and relaxed.  I am thinking to transfer a few more photos since I know I have some fab Myanmar and India temple photos to round out these Asia temple photos I included above-

another note

from someone who just learned of my mother's death.

your mother was one of my favorite friends and yes, a remarkable woman. I talked with her briefly several times while she was in the assisted living in Ohio. She sounded so cheerful, talked about playing bridge and her other activities. Always said she was feeling fine.  I called a few times when she had visitors (you) or had to go to one of her activities. Then for awhile there was nothing and I saw the brief obit in the Islander.  I called Faye and talked with her daughter, and Faye sent me your e-mail.  Jane and I first met at the Island Chamber of Commerce, where we both volunteered. We hit it off right away. Her history on the Island was very much like mine, her parents having come here long ago, as did mine'  I missed her so much and always will. The ashes idea is true Jane. She talked a lot about you and your travels.  You certainly did have a remarkable mother and she had a remarkable family.  What can I say, but condolences for your loss.

I replied to her note- 

I send my condolences to you as well- I know how much you cared for my mother and she spoke of you frequently.  She enjoyed the Chamber of Commerce and her work there. 

Anna Maria has always been a special place for our family - as you may know my parents came over the "bridge street" bridge in 1951 on their honeymoon trip (they came to visit her uncle Bruce Cox and his wife Irma, who was the postmistress of Bradenton Beach for many years.  they then lived along Gulf Drive in a cottage my grandfather eventually bought from his brother in law and where we spent many vacations as children.  Now of course - fifty plus years have passed and the bridge street bridge is a fishing pier and the cottage is long gone turned into condos. 

eventually my grandfather settled in Holmes Beach on 70th street and as you know my parents also ended up on the island as well on Ivanhoe Lane in Key Royale.  my mother went to work in the elementary school with 1st and 3rd graders and also at the Chamber of Commerce.  she enjoyed pretty much everything she ever did but as you know her first love was travel. 

she lived a fairly long and very happy life and we are all grateful for the time we knew her and shared her love and friendship.  thank you for your lovely note.  I know your loss is also a big one and send a hug your way. 

******

today we went by another old haunt... the red barn flea market off 301.  this is a place I went fairly regularly with my parents when they first moved down here.  they have everything you could ever imagine or want.  we went for the fresh fruit and veggies and to just see what else was there.  on the way to the flea market we took a route that took us by the Pompey's Seafood Shack.

after doing our flea market shopping we headed back there for lunch of garlic shrimp, fried shrimp; hush puppies and lemonade.  a worthy establishment in our opinions.  we picked up a menu and made plans to stop by again on the way to the market or on the way home.

old haunts

today we had to find the local locations of the banks we do business with at home. so since we located both my bank and Phil's close together out near where my mom used to live (and other family members back through the decades) we went in that direction.   there are two roads on and off the island where my family spent decades either as part-time or full-time residents.  the southern one is called Cortez and the northern Manatee.  the island is Anna Maria and it is the northern most island south of Tampa Bay. 

whenever I would visit my parents when they lived there and then my mother after my dad died, we went out to lunch virtually every day.  frequently we took the Gulf of Mexico drive to the top of Longboat Key to a small neighborhood called Longbeach.  there were two of our favorite places at the first turn on the left, the Mar Vista (a mostly outdoor place) and Moore's Stone Crab (a mostly indoor place.)

because the weather was cool today we chose Moore's - we also picked this one because my husband LOVES stone crab (it is right up there on his list with Montreal smoked meat- LOL)

you can come by boat or by car to both of these restaurants

as you can see from the photos we had no takers for the outdoors, but we had a nice meal of chowder and stone crabs and key lime pie for Phil and chowder and fresh shrimp for me. 



as we left the restaurant we saw a blue heron right along side the parking lot - just waiting to have his picture taken.

after lunch we did the obligatory drive through the neighborhood to find where the peacocks were hanging out.  it didn't take too long to find them as it is a very small area.

there was something quite comforting in the ritual of this short trip.  I don't think there was ever a trip I made to the island in the last 20+ years where we didn't go down to one of these places and we always went to look for the peacocks.  it was as if my mom was right there in the car with us, traveling along silently in the back seat.

penny at work

penny is loving her new job in Florida! here she is working at her computer. (and I see her sister is hiding behind her - probably telling her what to do)

meanwhile we have been enjoying the view- here was last night"s sunset which I caught the tail end of- was busy in the house but hope to see many more of these before we depart.

I have been watching the water for an alligator to photograph...no swimming here for us! too cold for that anyway.

arrival again - again

this time to our new home away from home in Florida.  We arrived late last night after two days in the car with our two cats.  they did extremely well - Lucy only complained a little on and off for about an hour and Penny said not a word.  they found the night in the hotel room a complete lark because they got to sleep with us and walked around all night at intervals.  we didn't get tons of sleep but after 11 hours in the car I felt they needed "bathroom" access - although they hadn't eaten or had any water since well before noon. 

the second day went even more smoothly and we started out earlier so we drove directly to our cottage and got them in and unpacked the car before we grabbed dinner and came back to unpack.  we fell into bed fairly late but awoke this morning on the early side.  I got my computer set up for work and found my camera to take a photo of the morning view on the river.

and here are our kitties lounging around on the chair tonight...LOL

 as you can see - they do not appear overly stressed...

we spent our day setting up our offices and getting a few groceries and finding out where things are way out here in the country - we are way east (more than twenty miles) of the island where my mother's family lived for more than 60 years. 

but I will save that for another day's story.

finally

a new year!  everyone keeps saying this one HAS to be better for me.  from their mouths to god's ears for sure.

many posts ago I said one door closes and another opens- that seems to be especially relevant to new years.  we are headed south for a while.  get some warm weather and some sun.  we are taking the cats - LOL - big adventure - you remember them from the "kitties birthday" post I am sure.  they are five and good natured so I am sure the will tolerate the twenty hours in the car very well (please please- LOL)

so tomorrow starts a new chapter in my semi-free life.  going away for the winter weather to sunnier climes.  we are looking forward to visiting my brother in law Larry and our friends, the now infamous CBGB! Several friends have promised to visit.  so it will be fun and busy.

we had a really super surprise last week when Jeremy showed up with sympathy flowers on Tuesday night unexpectedly.  he stayed for dinner before going off to visit with friends.  we didn't know he had come in from NYC so this was completely a surprise!

so in honor of Jeremy's visit I thought I would post a few photos from the trip we took with Jeremy in the summer of 2009 to Vermont.  time flies - I was going to say last summer, but it is already the summer before last.  Vermont was my 49th state and when I had a business meeting in Boston, we decided to spend the remainder of the week in Vermont.  Jeremy and his friend Kate joined us, taking the Chinatown bus to Boston from NYC and then, when they had to return home to work, taking the train from Burlington back to NYC.

so here are a few photos:

Phil and Jeremy at Ben & Jerry's

 Shaker hats from a community we visited in NH

 horses (big kitties) at the Billing's Farm in Woodstock VT

 worms for sale at the general store

the last day

of the year- finally!  my new year's resolution is not to have anyone I love die this year but I can tell this will be one that I can't keep.  mostly because I can't control it and then because our dear friend Joe entered hospice yesterday.  I cried because I thought he was going to make it for a while longer- like my sister he has lung cancer that has gone to his brain, but unlike my sister, who was gone in a little over three months from being diagnosed Joe has lived two more years. (later note- Joe died 12/31/2010)

tough year and I am ready for it to be over. 

but bringing my focus back to the positive for the year there were some great times and many blessings in no particular order and certainly not an exhaustive list:

I have a really really wonderful loving supportive husband who has been incredibly steadfast during the roughest of years.

my friend Tom and I got to spend a week together just driving and talking and exploring the byways of Tennessee.

we made great new friends in Sheila and Mary and our friends Laure & Arno, who introduced us to them, have been such loving support for me throughout the year.

we had a fabulous trip to Argentina with Chuck & Georgia and a lovely trip in the spring to Paris.

I was honored by my colleagues with several awards in July as I moved into an Of Counsel role at work.

my mother had another year (and a half) after her last brush with death and it was a good one up until the very end. 

we had a really fun long weekend in NYC for our anniversary and saw the kids as well as an amazing magic show by the Millionaire's Magician at the Waldorf Towers.

we had wonderful times with friends Dick & Ali and our wine group folks for Memorial day, the 4th of July and Labor day and probably a few more I forgot to mention.

it was whirlwind year in a lot of ways- last year we were in Tel Aviv for New Year's eve - which of course is not the Jewish new year and so the rag tag group at the Hilton was more like a Fellini movie than our usual new year's group but we had a good time watching the "show"

the last five months of my working full time were also a busy time- preparing for going part time.

going back and forth to Cincinnati an average of once a month kept me busy as well - I thought when I went from full to part time I would have all kinds of extra time- LOL- well I am still hoping for some more of that so that I can catch up on projects I have on my list- but so far my one project (cleaning out the third floor) has stalled for months- I got about 90% done and then couldn't figure out what to do with the left over junk- so that one will have to wait a bit longer.

anyway - I seem to be rambling on this rainy morning of thunder storms (which woke me at 5 AM) and so I will close with a few photos-

one year over Christmas and New Year we went to Singapore and Hong Kong.  I took this photo from our hotel room window in Hong Kong I liked the way the pool at the hotel next door looked and the curving lines of the lights at street level. 

and here is a view of Hong Kong from the water as we were taking the Star Ferry across from Kowloon.

lots to do to get ready for our time away in Florida - along with entertaining our guests from Germany.  so I better get back to cooking - and the sun is rising - well truth be told it is getting lighter but since it is raining I don't yet see the sun.  The thunder storms have passed through though and it is supposed to clear up today.