I started this blog to share some of the thoughts I have along the journey of life. I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends. A good meal, breaking bread with those I love, gives my life meaning. So does travel. I adore dreaming of sites to visit, not just to check them off on a list. Rather, I consider myself a student of life, traveling as an explorer, to open my mind to all the possibilities the world holds in store for me and for others. I love to travel to discover how different the world is in terms of climate, cultures, politics, terrain, economy, etc. but also to discover how SIMILAR the people are. Despite language barriers, much can be communicated with a smile or gestures. Language is simply a means to communicate, yet there are so very many other ways to communicate. Once when I was in French-speaking Canada, I realized that my 7th grade French class didn’t teach me the word for “straw”. However, when I thought about it, I was able to communicate to the very French-speaking waiter in a very French-speaking restaurant about my need for a “cylinder through which to drink” in my limited French vocabulary. Travel challenges the mind and soul, stretching us to problem solve and form conclusions about all that we experience. THAT is the type of travel I enjoy best. “All’s well that ends well”, as they say………….”Life is Good” as well.
Food for thought today for all those having difficulty during the corona pandemic, particularly those in the travel industry:
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
-Henry Ford
Life is good; carpe diem, friends…………….
photo/Dreamstime
I love when I stumble upon joy. Pure joy. Today while driving with my daughter, “Teen Traveler,” we saw a whole group of people social distancing a whole different way. In the water, we saw dozens of people kite-boarding and experiencing true joy. I can only imagine how that must feel with the waves splashing beneath your feet while you are pulled literally in whatever direction the wind blows. I imagine it feels free, exciting, peaceful, liberating, and joyful all at the same time. It was almost poetic watching these kites and their owners making a memory today before our very eyes. Made me think of a poster I have hanging in my house that reads:
“Make a memory
Smile for no reason
Create joy
Pay it forward
Dance without music
Wax poetic
Laugh until you cry
Win with grace
East Dessert First
Count your blessings
Say yes to chocolate
Take the high road
Make someone’s day
Celebrate everything”
-Author Unkown
Life is good; carpe diem friends………live fully, live well, and create a memory today.
(Note to self: look into kiteboarding and surfing lessons…………)
Butterflies have always given me reason to pause what I was doing in order to enjoy their beauty. They are such symbols for endurance, change, hope, and life, and their graceful flight is such a sight. We would do well to keep them in mind as we endure our current global pandemic situation.
One of the most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen was at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, which is normally open from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily but has been closed recently because of the pandemic. However, on May 6, the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden will open for limited times during the day and will offer guests two-hour visits in order to keep the numbers of guests low at any given time for social distancing. They have a butterfly conservatory that houses such amazing butterflies. The Morpho butterfly, a bright big blue butterfly with wingspan of about five to eight inches, normally lives in South America, Mexico and Central America and is one of the largest butterflies in the world. It was here that I saw my first Morpho butterfly, and I marveled at its size and beauty.
Blue colored butterflies are said to be symbolic of healing, joy and happiness and are also seen by some rain forest natives as a “wish granters.” At Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, one can see the butterflies up close, and it is magical when they land on your shoulder unexpectedly. Legend has it when a butterfly follows you around, it means you have something in your life that you need to address. If it lands on you, legend tells us it may mean we will undergo some type of wonderful transformation or growth in our lives, some big change might happen, or something new or refreshing might happen in our lives. Some people even think that a Guardian Angel might be sending you a message or a deceased love one might be making their presence known to you when a butterfly lands on you. I’m not sure about the validity of those legends, but it surely is a peaceful and unexpected moment, filled with joy, whenever a butterfly lands on me. It is more likely, though, that the butterfly lands on you for salt from your skin, scientists tell us.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a wonderful place to see butterflies, as butterflies are released into the wild twice a day, an extraordinary experience. Beyond the butterflies, you can take a forty-five minute narrated tram ride around the eighty-three acre gardens to see some beautiful plants and trees.
This time of year the Brunfelsia, the Tahitian Gardenia, the Fried Egg Tree, Frangipani Vine, Siam Rose Ginger (in the Tropical Plant Conservatory and Rare Plant House), and many other beautiful flowers are blooming there. This is a great place to take a book, find a quiet spot, and read a little while or sketch in a sketchbook. Of course, simply meandering about the property is a great way to spend some time there, too.
On a recent trip to a National Park, I picked up a bookmark about butterflies that caught my eye. This bookmark called “Advice From a Butterfly” (By YourTrueNature.com and written by Ilan Shamir) reads……
“Let your true colors show
Take yourself lightly
Look for the sweetness in life
Take time to smell the flowers
Catch a breeze
Treat yourself like a monarch.”
Life is good; “take yourself lightly and look for the sweetness in life”. Think about the butterfly and the healing, joy, and happiness it represents when you think of our future after the pandemic. I hope a butterfly lands on your shoulder soon, if for no reason other than for the magic moment it brings.
Carpe Diem, friends……………get out there and live life well.
Today I got up early to see the sunrise. I am more of a sunset kind of gal, a night owl, who always thought one gets as much bang for the buck with a sunset as one gets with a sunrise. However, today I decided to get up early to shake things up and to step out of my comfort zone and my routine. When I got up this morning, I didn’t realize it was raining until I got into my car at 5:15 AM. When I saw the light rain once I was in my car, I decided to continue along with my plans. ” Life”, as the old saying by John Lennon goes, “is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
I traveled to the beach to see the long-awaited, much revered sunrise and couldn’t believe it when the rains began to come down more steadily, accompanied with thunder and lightening as well. When I finally arrived at the beach and found a creative access to the beach with all the beach parking lots closed here in my county in Florida because of the Covid pandemic, the rain stopped just as I was getting out of my car. I walked to the beach and couldn’t help but think about how lucky I was and how lucky I am.
The sky began to show some signs of light at 6:15 AM, and the sunrise happened at 6:41 AM, but it was hard for me to see the sunrise because of the cloud cover. I was initially disappointed that I couldn’t see the sun actually rise above the Eastern horizon, but I enjoyed the moments nonetheless. I saw a woman with silver hair, much older than me, doing yoga on the beach.
I saw birds flying peacefully above the waves at the shore. I saw several people running along the edge of the beach, and I saw two surfers greeting the morning from inside the water. I decided I would wait and watch the morning gradually unfold before my eyes before leaving the beach. I am glad I did, as I literally saw the poetic silver lining in the clouds above me. What a way to start my day. There is a silver living to this pandemic afterall, it seems. I often tell my daughter that the sun will still rise and set on any given day, despite what happens during the day. The moon will rise, too. No matter how bad something gets, we can always count on that, and life still goes on.
“Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by
You know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good…”
-“Feeling Good” by Michael Buble
Once the sun fully illuminated the beach, I saw all kinds of surprises that I didn’t notice in the dark. Dune sunflowers dotted the landscape, and there were so many beautiful shells beneath my feet.
“Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s all right
Little darling
It’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling
It seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s all right
Little darling
The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it’s been here…”
-“Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles, written by George Harrison
I have decided that there is something special about sunrise, watching the day unfold with endless possibilities and life anew…….
Life is good. Try to see the silver linings anywhere you look today. Enjoy today as a brand new start. Enjoy every day as a brand new start. Today is the day full of endless possibilities if you look for them after the sun rises.
Carpe diem, friends……………
I had always dreamed of visiting Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia since I heard all about it from some people I met many years ago. Another “bucket list” item. Assateague Island is the place where the children’s story, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, takes place. In the story, a family tries to raise a pony that was born to a wild pony on this island. During the summer, usually in July, wild ponies on the Southern tip of the island are rounded up and swim to Assateaugue Island. Here the ponies are auctioned off to control the size of the herd and to raise funds for the veterinary care of the ponies. This week-long event is a BIG deal, with over fifty thousand visitors from all around the United States and Canada. A short youtube clip below, by National Geographic, captures the excitements of the annual pony swim:
Of course I had to make the journey with my family to this special place, where you can camp among wild ponies, a few years back. What makes Assateague Island so wonderful, in part, is the availability of some campsites right on the beach. Imagine looking out your RV or tent only to find wild ponies walking through your campsite. It is magical and like nothing else I’ve experienced before. Part of the Island is managed by the National Park System, and part of the island is managed by the state park system. Camping is only available in the Maryland district of the island. Campsite reservations are required from March 15 until November 15, and the site below takes for reservations six months before then. Most weekends sell out quickly. From November 16 through March 14, campsites are first-come first-served . This is an experience for which you should plan ahead, as even the firewood needs to be purchased within fifty miles of the park.
National Park information can be found below:
Maryland State Park information can be found below:
https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/eastern/assateague.aspx
There seems to be some difference of opinion as to how these wild ponies got to the island, but most say a Spanish Galleon with these ponies aboard sunk off the coast, and the ponies swam to shore.
If you are traveling with children, a stop to Ocean City Maryland, might be a good place for the kids to burn off some energy after being in the car. Ocean City, Maryland, has a lot of beaches and a wooden boardwalk with shops, restaurants, and hotels. There is also an amusement park there, at the Southern tip, called Trimper’s Rides. This is a historic themepark, which originally was opened in the 1890’s. It is under new management now, and there were plans to add at least nine more rides in 2020. I’m not sure what the status of this new expansion is, however, with the current Covid-19 situation. Normally, the park opens from Memorial Day until October, and there are both indoor and outdoor rides.
https://www.trimperrides.com/home
For a unique camping experience, consider camping on Assateague Island. For those of you who don’t wish to camp, you can drive through to see the wild legendary ponies that live there. Keep in mind, however, that both Assateague Island parks and Trimper Rides are currently closed because of the pandemic.
Enjoy a little unique travel to Assateague Island when the travel restrictions are lifted. This would be a great road trip when that happens and something for which to look forward.
Life is good; carpe diem, friends…….
You can read all about the annual “pony swim” week here:
https://www.chincoteague.com/pony_swim_guide.html
It always amazes what I don’t know that I don’t know. With both a whole wide world and a world wide web around me and with access to a barrage of information at any given point in the day, I am always amazed at what I have missed. When I was in elementary school, we were told that Saturn’s rings were comprised of rock. I’m not sure if we even knew there is a great deal of ice in the rings of Saturn at that time. Evidently a whole lot has happened since then. I knew we had sent several probes to Saturn over the last years, but I somehow missed how much information was gathered during the last exploration of Saturn.
It was in 1979 that we first saw Saturn and just a few of its moons in a series of flyby shots from the Pioneer 11 spacecraft. The images were blurry and not good enough to get information about Saturn’s surface.
In 1980 Voyager I did another flyby of Saturn and some of its moons, giving us much better images. We saw the surface features of some moons and atmosphere.
In 1981, Voyager 2 again showed us some more photos and temperature findings as well. We saw that the rings of Saturn had changed as well.
In was in 1997 that the Titan spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral and carried the Cassini craft that was tasked to find out new information about Saturn, the ringed planet that is the seventh planet away from the sun. In 2002, twenty months from reaching Saturn, the probe captured its first image of Saturn. In 2004, Cassini discovered two new moons around Saturn (Methone and Pallene) to total sixty moons around Saturn. Also in 2004, on June 30, Cassini became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, a breathtaking example of technology in action. On January 13, 2005, the unthinkable happened. The Cassini launched a probe, the Huygens probe, which actually landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, for seventy-two minutes, which represented the first time, and only time so far, that anything landed on any outer solar system world. Scientists realized that Titan contains large clouds of water vapor above it. Scientists also discovered that there are geysers of liquid water and organic material that burst from another moon, Enceladus, and decided that they are from pockets of water near the surface of that moon. Fascinating discovery. Scientist also discovered (in 2013) that it rains DIAMONDS on Saturn (and Jupiter, too), as the element carbon is present. Evidently when there are lightening storms there, methane is turned into soot which hardens into graphite and finally into diamonds as they fall to the planet. According to the BBC, there are theorized to be about 1000 tons of diamonds created per year on Saturn. Some sources (Nova series, “The Planets: Saturn”, season 46, episode 15) say the size of the diamonds can range from a small speck of dust to the size of a small apartment! This is absolutely amazing to me. On Earth, diamonds form naturally when carbon is buried about one hundred miles below the surface. After being heated to approximately 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and being compacted under pressure of around 725,000 pounds per square inch, it needs to quickly move to the Earth’s surface with magma in order to cool down. What is rare here on Earth is ubiquitous on Saturn.
If you are interested, Saturn is visible in the early morning sky in April, along with Jupiter and Mars, approximately one hour prior to sunrise or just before dawn in the Eastern Sky. You will be able to see Saturn with the naked eye but will need a high powered telescope to see its rings. Today, on April 15, Saturn and our moon will appear close together in the sky from Earth. Normally, Saturn is visible in the evening sky from July to December, which is something to look forward to after our stay at home orders likely will be lifted.
“Shine bright like a diamond
Shine bright like a diamond
Find light in the beautiful sea, I choose to be happy
You and I, you and I, we’re like diamonds in the sky...”
-“Diamonds” by Rhianna
Try something different. Why not get up early tomorrow to see this wonderful sight in the morning. Find “light in the beautiful sea” and “choose to be happy” during this uncertain pandemic. “Shine bright like a diamond” by helping others, checking in on family and friends, and staying positive during this tough time. Attitude is everything, they say.
Life is good; carpe diem, friends…….
Bored from self-isolation, social distancing, shelter in place, or safer in place restrictions? Close your eyes and find a moment, any moment, where you saw joy unfold before your eyes. Close your eyes and find a moment where you saw someone living in the moment, a simple moment where time stood still. Look as far as you need to when that sliver in time was pure and simple. Now open your eyes and think about that moment and how you can find that same joy right now. Maybe it is experiencing the scent of your favorite flower growing in your own yard. Maybe it is the touch of your baby’s finger wrapped around your own finger. Maybe it is the sound of laughter of the children playing in the next yard. Maybe it is seeing the wonders of that perfect sunset dipping below the horizon from your own window. The French call it “joie de vivre”, or a vitalizing energy, a zest for life and living.
Look around. Beauty is all around us. Enjoy the moment. Consider the little things that bring you that joie de vivre. Find your own wonder even if you are cooped up inside. Carpe diem, friends…..
My daughter “Teen Traveler” and I decided to get out of the house today while we are all coping with the Corona Chaos here in Florida. Luckily we don’t have any symptoms, nor does anyone we know. Here in Florida, it is recommended not to be among crowds of more than ten people at a time, and we decided we can still LIVE while we are living with the Corona Chaos. We began thinking of all the things we can do on a road trip here in Florida and decided we wanted to go horseback riding on a beach with beautiful blue water, so we came up with Tours On Horseback in Fort Pierce. We called them, and they said they could meet us in Frederick Douglass Memorial Park on South Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County. Their website said, “Horseback riding is the perfect way to relax and take your mind off the stress and tension of everyday life, ” and that sounded just PERFECT for us while we take a break from travel due to the US travel recommendations and restrictions during this Covid-19 outbreak. We made the reservation today and for $45.00 per person, we rode along the seashore while a gentle breeze blew in our hair. The temperature on the beach today was only about 81 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was just what we needed to avoid any cabin fever we might feel in the coming days…………
The ride lasted about an hour, which was just the perfect amount of time for “Teen Traveler”, who has never been on a horse that long. The horses walked along the edge of the beach with their hooves in the water but did not go into the water, which would have been fun.
After our beach ride, while we were driving home, we noticed LOTS and LOTS of electric scooters scattered about the island, all for rent. What an unexpected surprise. You can use an app to pay for the scooters with your cell phone.
Along the way home, we enjoyed our day at the beach with its breathtaking blue waters………
What a wonderful day spent together with “Teen Traveler”, soaking up the sun with laughter and reminding ourselves that we will overcome this virus situation eventually….
― Roy Bennett
We CAN create a day full of joy, full of love, full of exploration, full of adventure, full of hope…………
Life is good; carpe diem, friends………………
http://www.beachtoursonhorseback.com/
With Covid-19 positive cases cropping up here in Florida, combined with the CDC recommendations not to visit places with greater than fifty people, I am strolling down memory lane to visit Silver Springs State Park, which was extremely popular within Florida’s tourist industry, until the early 1970’s when some of the large theme parks opened in Orlando. This park was so popular that a tour boat operator released rhesus monkeys there in an effort to make a Tarzan-like attraction. Now, visitors can spot an occasional wild monkey roaming about the park. If you see a monkey, though, don’t get too close. Many are infected with herpes B virus, which can be transmitted to humans through contact with the monkeys if they bite. Sometimes the monkeys are aggressive, so it is better to stay away from them and live life through your lens with photographs.
I spent the day, with my daughter, “Traveling Teen” hiking through the trails, enjoying the moments as they unfolded before our eyes……..
Although swimming is not permitted at Silver Springs State Park, you can take a glass bottom boat ride for only $12.oo for a half hour. You can even see some statues from one of the underwater scenes from a James Bond movie filmed there.
Many movies were filmed at Silver Springs:
The Seven Swans
Never Say Never Again
Thunderball
Legend
Moon Over Miami
The Yearling
Distant Drums
Underwater!
Creature From The Black Lagoon
Don’t Give Up The Ship
Blindfold
Tarzan And His Mate
Tarzan The Ape Man
Smokey And The Bandit, Part 3
Rebel Without A Cause
The Frogmen
SeaHunt (Series)
While coping with Covid-19, you can always take a road trip to Silver Springs to create a memory with someone you love as you get some fresh air. If you want to avoid a crowded boat, you can rent kayaks, stand up paddleboards, and canoes there, too.
Life is good; get out to enjoy it whenever you can. Silver Springs is located in Marion County, Florida, north central Florida, just east of Ocala. The blue waters and this park is “old Florida” at its best. Enjoy today; carpe diem……….
“The best way to explain it is to do it.”
-Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
-Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
https://www.floridastateparks.org/silversprings
Vacationing as a vegetarian certainly comes with some challenges. Finding something good to eat, beyond a basic salad, can be much like a scavenger hunt……In Rhode Island you can find some mouthwatering and flavorful options below:
In Rhode Island, there is a great vegetarian restaurant called “The Garden Grill” in Pawtucket. I especially love the roasted butternut squash quesadilla, because I eat cheese. For folks that prefer not to eat cheese or are vegan, they offer menu items such as black-eyed pea falafels and chipotle seitan. They even offer gluten free items, such as mushroom pad thai, gluten free mac and cheese, and other wonderful things. Their menu changes frequently, usually with the seasons, so check the website often. They are also kosher-certified by a local Rabbi since 2013.
http://www.gardengrilleri.com/
In the heart of the former jewelry district in Providence at the site of the former Imperial Knife factory, you can find a charming, eclectic restaurant that is not vegetarian but is vegetarian friendly with vegan and gluten free options. I have never had a meal here that I did not just love. The decor is intimate, romantic, and chic with funky chandeliers. This place has been featured in “The New York Times” and “BonAppetit”. Definitely worth visiting for great food beautifully presented, great ambiance, and great service. On Wednesday nights they sometimes feature live jazz. Great for a different date night.
Rhode Island style Cantonese chow mein is delicious here, although this is a very simple spot THAT SOMETIMES smells a little funny. Served in hot stainless steel containers with lids, the meatless fried rice and meatless chow mein are winners. Chow mein is served usually accompanied with a side order of white rice. The chow mein is served piping hot over crispy fried chow mein noodles from a distributor in Fall River, Massachusetts. Chow mein , Rhode Island style, consists of usually celery, onions, and bean sprouts with a corn-starch based gravy. King’s Garden also served meat-based entrees, such as chicken chow mein, pork lo mein, and General Tso’ chicken for the ominvores in your party. Simply delicious. The restaurant was updated a bit a few years back and has a bar as well.
https://www.kingsgardencranston.com/
This simple place, first opened in Cranston in 1969, with red and white checkered vinyl tablecloths is home of the famous “Plumpy” spinach pie, which is delicious! The plumpy contains cheese, olives, seasoned spinach, and pepperoni, but you can order it without the cheese and pepperoni if you are a vegetarian. This very large and tasty Rhode Island style “spinach pie” is a variation of what everyone else in the country calls a “calzone.” However, in Rhode Island calzones usually don’t have ricotta cheese in them. This restaurant is adjacent to a shopping plaza and is a no-frills place with green and white walls and a red rug. Not much atmosphere, but you will always find great Italian bread, served with all meals, and great food. Lots for ominivores here, too, like the Italian chicken escarole soup, the hot meat entrees, and sandwiches. Pizza is great, too, and can be ordered without any meat and still is fantastic.
uncletonys.com
This small, charming eatery near “The Wall” at Narragansett Beach serves great, unassuming food. Here, strings of paper lanterns hand from a wooden ceiling in this local favorite since 1995. They serve four types of vegetarian burgers as well as meat burgers and entrees for the omnivores that visit. The sweet potato fries are to die for! They serve breakfast, too.
http://www.crazyburger.com/home.html
While I have never been to this restaurant, it serves vegan & kosher pan-Asian eats in a casual ambiance with dark wood in downtown Providence near the Providence Performing Arts Center and is only a nine minute walk to Trinity Repertory Company (theater).
Location, location, location! This restaurant is directly across the street from Brick Market Place on Thames Street in the heart of the Newport waterfront tourist area, where America’s Cup race is held. They specialize in Northern Italian food and have something for vegetarians as well as omnivores. In fact, they feature a whole separate vegetarian menu with items such as seitan and vegetarian pastas.
http://www.luciarestaurant.com/
This busy eatery is open late night and is right in the heart of Providence’s East Side on Thayer Street. They serve delicious Mediterranean food, such as stuffed grape leaves, falafel, baba ganoush, spanikopita, and vegetarian lentil soup as well as omnivore favorites such as lahamajeen meat pie and gyros. This place is a quick walk to just about anywhere on the Brown University campus and is all about good food in a simple atmosphere. They also serve gluten free options.
https://www.ediningexpress.com/live20/617/1130/
This list is by no means all-inclusive, but in Rhode Island there are many options for places to eat if you are a vegetarian. Vegetarian in Rhode Island can mean no more boring salads while you are traveling. Anyone care to add to this list? Life is good. “Carpe Diem”, friends………….
Carpe Diem with Caye 