Dinner Time!!!

I guess it's unusual for most, but when we travel we miss home cooked meals.   MaryAlice is an incredible cook but .... most hotel/motel places offer very little in the area of cooking facilities.  That is one of the great things about the place we  stay at in Anna Maria; Haley's Motel (http://www.haleysmotel.com/).   Not only are the kitchens in the efficiencies well stocked, there are two very nice grills on the grounds.

The next hurdle is fresh food.  Most tourist stores sell microwave dinners  and prepared foods which just will not do.  Last year we stumbled upon Captain Anthony's Stone Crab Store (http://www.stonecrabstore.com/shop/) .  The Captain and his wife do all the fishing and fileting as well as making spreads and suggesting preparations.

This year has been a rough year on the seas for the local fishers and when we first stopped by we were told that they haven't been able to fish for days because of rough seas.   The next day they were gone all day fishing.... the next day we dropped by and we were in luck.  Not only had they caught hundreds of pounds of snapper ..... Joanne (Mrs Capt. Anthony) caught a 57 pound Cobia.   I had never heard of it but she told it was a very mild fish and easy to grill.  Here is a picture of Joanne and her catch:

We proceeded to enjoy a lesson from the captain on how to fillet the fish and left with 2.5 pounds of dinner!

Just like camping we each prepared food, Gary prepped potatoes for roasting, MaryAlice put together the fish for grilling and made a fresh salad.
Here is how the dinner came together:

Needless to say the feast was memorable ... healthy and great fun. 
Gary and Nancy's room has a dish washer so while the dishes were washing, we retired to the front deck for euchre ......

The restaurants on Anna Maria vary from cheap casual, expensive casual, expensive not casual.  I think this was the best meal of the trip.
More to follow, as I try to catch up on this trip..As usual I have some observations about the life on the road and  our great country.   Hopefully I will post it in two or three days from today

BTW we are planning our next big road trip for August this year following the Mississippi from it's origin to New Orleans which will have it's  separate blog.

Thanks for reading our blog!!

On our way home

As all trips, this one is coming to an end.  We've spent the last days trying to grasp all the warmth, sand and salt water that we could ..... with no time to enter the blog. 
We are now driving home  (as I said on FB: 'why does everyone in Atlanta drive like Bruce Willis')


We are both writing some more for the blog but.... here are some Pictures to hold you while we finish our thoughts.

Sunrise on Anna Maria

Playin' on the Beach

 Surfer Girl

A little wild life

OK... that's all the pictures for tonight.  

Tonight we're spending the night in Lexington Kentucky.....   we'll be searching for food after chillaxing and recovering from the road.... oh yes.... the road.  So many stories there too!

Check us tomorrow!!

Dennis

 

Life on an Island

Our vacation this year has been truly blessed with awesome sunshine and warmth to thaw our Michigan bones.  We have done lots of walking on the beach and we've seen dolphins several times - not to mention the many birds that are not making their homes in my home state.

The attitude here is pretty laid back except for those who are trying to find parking space near good restaurants - they seem a little touchy.  But we found out today that fishing has been very difficult due to high waves and warm water.  Apparently the fish prefer cooler water so they go out deeper and it can get dangerous for the fishi

ng boats.  Crab claws are plentiful so that will be part of dinner tonight.  The above photo was taken Monday night on our way to dinner at the Rod & Reel. 

Yesterday we encountered an anti-greed anomaly.  The only Irish bar on Anna Maria Island was closed even though it was St Patrick's Day!  It seems that their regular schedule is to close on Tuesdays, no matter what is happening that day.  We were puzzled and surprised but kind of thought "good for them!"  They gave up what was sure to be a very profitable day to keep with their regular schedule.

We walk a lot when we are here.  We also take the trolley - it is free and travels around the whole island.  Last night we went out to the beach for sunset.  Here are a few photos.

There are Motels... and then there are destination Motels!

It’s true that when we take our road trips, especially the long ones, we stay at motels.  Our favorite road motel is Drury Inns.  Not only are they reasonable to stay at, they offer their free breakfast as well as their ‘Kick Back’ which gives the guest three free drinks and a great selection of food (hot dogs, macaroni and cheese nachos and  more).  These motel chains can be expected to be clean, safe and quiet.  Still the old fashioned motels have an attraction all their own.  We’ve been blessed to find some great examples of motels as how they should be.  One example was on our trip on Route 66 in New Mexico.  We found a great art deco place called the El Rey (http://www:elreyinnsantafe.com/ )  with classic rooms, and amenities (like a well stocked reading room, great dining area).

This year we opted for a different route down and stopped at Cedar Key and stayed at The Faraway Inn (http://farawayinn.com/ ) .  Right on the ocean, pet friendly, people friendly.  This is a great place to stay.  And it was just by fluke that MaryAlice called and placed the reservation.

Here are some examples of our views:

 

Our trip to Anna Maria, we stay at Haley’s Motel (http://www.haleysmotel.com/ ).  This is a destination motel.  It offers week discounts, has rooms that offer kitchenettes, free use of gas grills,  a wonderful lounge  area for reading outside as well as a heated pool and great staff.

This atmosphere engenders a friendliness that can’t be bought.  Other guests offering use of the BBQ tools, suggestions on local hot spots and just great conversations.  This would never happen on the road in one of the chain motels.  It’s true you sometimes have to take chances and may end up in a dump, but with fellow guest recommendations and of course, the internet you are more likely to find a gem .. Like Haleys and Faraway…..  

Now what did I do with that drink……

Oh... here is how breakfast (ok.. it's 11AM) started:

 

A New Florida Destination

We were driving a new route into Florida through Alabama, so much of what we saw was new to us.  Alabama is a very rural state with a fairly low population.  This was abundantly clear today when we traveled on a US highway (231) south through Alabama and into Florida.  The highway had no slow downs; very little traffic; and not much advertising.  It was a lovely drive through lots of farmland.  The speed limit was usually 65 mph.

When we reached Florida, we turned onto I-10 east and  headed across the panhandle.  A little past Tallahassee, we turned south onto US 27/US 19/US98 toward Perry, Florida.  This was another very nice road that took us through lots of vacant land and many small towns.  We were headed to Cedar Key.  It is an island that is somewhat remote and contains a small village.  In order to reach Cedar Key, we turned onto state highway 24 - the only road onto Cedar Key.  We traveled for 28 miles through completely vacant land.  It was amazing to drive for so long without seeing any people, towns, or advertising.

The island is delightful.  It is very close and personal.  The place we stayed, Faraway Inn, is small and cozy and right on the beach.  They cater to folks with pets, but they took us in anyway.  We walked around the island and went to the wine store to replenish our supply - good prices.  And then we went out to the beach to sit on the swings and sip wine and watch the water - very peaceful.  We walked to "Steamers" restaurant to have some of the local specialty - clams.  Cedar Key produces 95% of the clams sold for food in the country.  After dinner, we walked back and sat in the swings again to watch evening fall over the island and chat with other tourists.  We are thinking that the Adirondack chairs will be a good place for meditation tomorrow morning.  The discovery of Cedar Key has been a real adventure.  We will come back to stay for a longer time and experience all the joys of Cedar Key.

Into Alabama

I would say "sweet home Alabama" like it says on all the signs welcoming us to the state, but I do not know much about this state and do not know if it is sweet or not.  The terrain from Tennessee into Alabama is not dramatic.  It is still hilly, but not mountainous.  It is rocky, but not overwhelming.  It is clearly farm land.

When we travel, I look at the data about the states - I am curious about the differences.  Kentucky and Tennessee are small states - population-wise - and Alabama is even smaller.  When we drive down I-75, it is always crazy.  Driving through Atlanta is the worst!  Kentucky is small and so is Tennessee, but Alabama is even less densely populated.  Birmingham, the largest city, is less than half the size of Atlanta.  So we were right to choose a route that was less populated - it did result in better traffic flow.  But, it is true that every state has experienced a bad winter and each one is doing major road repair.

What makes me wonder is why can we not keep our roads maintained in Michigan?  Tennessee and Kentucky and Alabama are poorer and less populated but they have found a way to pay for road maintenance and upkeep, but Michigan has not.  What is going on?

We chose to stay in Montgomery and were glad of our choice.  We stayed in a Drury Inn - our favorite hotel chain - and looked for a good dinner place.  We found Jan's Beach House.  It was strong on seafood; very local; and had live music.  It was so much fun to hear local musicians playing familiar music and seeing their fans enjoying the music.  We felt right at home.  So much fun tonight.  We are looking forward to our trip on side roads into Florida tomorrow.

Life in the Road Trip Lane

It’s like riding a bike…. Road trips that is.   I remember when we drove Route 66 it felt like a dream.  So much distance to drive, so much to see from landmarks (natural and man made) and so much to experience and digest. 

Now we’re on the road again, kind of like a warm up for the big trip this year.   Our first day on the road couldn’t have gone better.  It was tempered by where we stayed our first night.  It isn’t bad but… just not that good.

The road is a completely different world.  Road trippers are generally helpful and polite.  Open to conversations with strangers and sharing not only information but suggestions.   Sometimes a theme develops for no particular reason.   One can generally pick them out on the road; a custom van, clothes on hangers in the back seat, and, most obvious, out of state license plates. 

As we drove, one of the subjects we discussed was retirement.  When we stopped at a rest area in Ohio, MaryAlice greeted an elderly woman cleaning the restroom.  The exchange went something like this:  Woman: ‘How are you?’  MA ‘Great, how are you?’   Woman: ‘Great!!!  I am 82 and going to retire beginning April!’   MA:  ‘That’s wonderful!  Woman:  ‘I’m looking forward to it.  MA:  You deserve it!  We travelers really appreciate your work.’  From my perspective, in my work-a-day world, most people would never have been so open.  But on the road with travelers, communication of goals, accomplishments and life seem to come more easily.

Later we toured the Jim Beam Distillery.  Our tour guide was a woman about our age.   Turns out she’s a retired Special Ed. Teacher.  She’s extremely proud of her one BA and two Master’s degrees. Yet she is very happy to be so active giving tours and enjoying life.

The final cap on our lesson for the day… as we were purchasing souvenirs:  A woman (probably in her late 40s) was going to cash us out but said something about having to leave for class.  A younger woman came over and said ‘Go ahead to your classes!  I am so proud of you that you have gone back to school! I’ll cash these folks out!’   After the student left, our cashier commented that she knows she could also go back to school, but she’s just not focused  on education and if one is not committed to something it’ll most likely end in failure.’

We agreed with her and then said that her time will come.  She agreed, and we hit the road.

Looking back at all this it seems as though our theme for the day was retirement, education and commitment.  

It gave me something to reflect upon.

Now on to more of the same!!