How was your day?
Also a very “happy birthday” to one special dog (see below).
Knew that would get your attention but I really meant Manatees, those loveable, large, docile aquatic sea creatures found mostly in Florida. Did you know that they are related to the Elephant? Other than size there’s nothing elephantine about them other than they’re mammals and also vegetarian.
We were so lucky to see six of them this morning in their natural habitat on the Suwannee River. Several years ago in Jamaica by chance I had the opportunity of swimming with one again in its natural habitat. I heard that a Manatee saved someone from drowning so I pretended to drown but I guess it didn’t consider me save worthy because it ignored me. Nonetheless it was a moving experience.
I still want to adopt one. Well not to have at home – where would I put it? Not even room in the bathtub. But for as little as $25 you can help protect this endangered species with the Adopt-A-Manatee program. Funds will go toward efforts to help protect them and their habitat. And unlike a child adoption program here you can even choose a manatee from a selection to match your personality. After reviewing several I’m having difficulty deciding between the following choices:
Elaine – she’s been known to get into her fair share of mischief (so opposite of me)
Floyd – he is a “ham” who has been in films & magazines (the glamour appeals to me)
Lenny – who prefers rest to all other activities. (well lazy can be okay…..sometimes)
Crazy Nick – his behaviour is known to be erratic such as going north, rather than south in midwinter; hence the name. (I’ve never been good with directions either). He’s being tracked by radio telemetry that produces information on behaviour.
Margarito – he can be identified by a number of scars from boat hits and a missing right flipper. I’m leaning towards choosing this guy.
Go to: http://savethemanatee.org/
They’re getting ready for Mardi Gras now but it’s always a party here. History, Music, Culture, Architecture, Food, Fun……………….. .all to be found in New Orleans.
Photos: d. king
Their Motto is “you can smell our pits from miles away”
We’re in Galveston, Texas right now but yesterday we had the BEST Bar-b-que. If you love bar-b-que and are ever travelling to Austin, Texas then The Salt Lick sets the gold standard. Austin has a lot of things going on like a music scene that’s not confined to country but also great rock, jazz and blues bands. It also does not lack for a decent bar-b-que and we were told “The Salt Lick” in Driftwood just 24 miles southwest of Austin was a must. Everyone knows that baby back ribs are the tastiest but their beef ribs were fantastic, meaty & tender. The whole place was quite the sight to behold with its contemporary Western style bar-b-que pit, live music and a short walk outside to get to the wine tasting room where for $5.00 you can sample five (fine) Texan wines. Who knew that Texas is the fifth wine producing state in the U.S.? You can buy a glass (like the Bar-b-que Red, Ranch Road Red or Hill Country Blend among others) or a bottle and take it to the restaurant with you since it’s a BYOB.
To pass the time until our table was ready (it’s a busy place) I decided to sample a few – well five. They usually have some dry crackers available to cleanse your palate before the next tasting but there were 4 women standing next to me snacking on pecans (grown in the area) and some good looking cashews. So I grabbed a handful and started talking with them. “How nice of them to provide these” I said. “Yeah, we always bring our own snacks with us” replied one of the women. Oopsy!
Photos: d. king
Something That You Love Everyday
Some favourite fashion quotes:
“Fashion Fades, Style is Eternal” – Yves Saint Laurent
“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman” – Coco Chanel
“The expression a woman wears on her face is more important than the clothes on her back” – Dale Carnegie
“You’d be surprised to know how much it costs to look this cheap” – Dolly Parton
AND if you have time for just two wineries in Somona make sure to visit Gloria Ferrer Vineyards. They make some incredible tasting pinot noirs – some of which you can only buy on the property. Their 2007 estate grown & bottled Pinot was given a ’94 point rating by the “wine enthusiast” which is one of the highest ever. As a matter of fact i’m having a glass right now as i’m writing this.
Did I mention that we were there as soon as they opened their doors at 10:00 a.m.? It’s always 5:00 o’clock somewhere right? Breakfast consisted of a pour of Chardonnay (just to make sure it was as good as I remembered from the last time) and a wine filled truffle. Biting into the truffle was like those brandy filled chocolates where the liquid just pours out. Wasn’t expecting that – delicious. Hope it’s not true about you are what you eat……….
My new BFF is IN-N-OUT – best fast food fix for burgers – but the fries are terrible.
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