A little holiday down south....

I have all good intentions to post weekly but stuff gets in the way. Like the 5 pumpkins from my garden that needed to be processed and frozen (anyone want pumpkin muffins?), the huge tomato harvest that also needed to be frozen, and the last-minute article that had to be written to meet deadline. Little things like that.

Then I ran away from home, flying down south to get some sunshine and excellent seafood. Since Husbeast has been working in Louisiana for the past 2 years, I have become addicted to grilled oysters and mango daiquiries. We usually head for the French Market early on Saturday, grab breakfast at a local bakery/eatery, then head for the market to see what's new. This week the satsumas were around so we had to have a bag of those, and we found a few things to give to family at the holidays. Then there's lunch.....J's Seafood is directly across from Organic Banana. Yes!! Grilled oysters and a fresh mango daiquiri, while Husbeast prefers to experiment with different daiquiri flavors--I believe it was coconut lime this time?

The downside of the visits to Husbeast is that there's only one car so if I want to go shopping I have to ferry him back and forth to work on the construction site (he's an engineer and it's a very large steel operation they're building). This is the drive to the construction trailer. That's not swamp grass, that's sugar cane ready to be burned, cut, chopped and trucked to the processor.

Entering the site

Some truck trailers and bulldozers for size comparison

That large brown mound is processed cane. A VERY strong molasses smell hits you right about now.

Egrets hanging out around the cane.

The final turn toward the trailers, and it's a sugar cane tunnel!

On Saturday, we took a drive over the causeway that crosses Lake Ponchartrain. I've flown into NOLA over the lake a dozen times but never crossed the causeway. It reminds me of Westdyke in Holland, sans the grazing sheep on the sides of the dyke. The causeway has pelicans hunting the waters, but I couldn't stop to get a photo so you'll have to use your imagination.

There are sailboats out there somewhere....

And a couple of 'bumps' in the roadway so ships can pass under.

After a stop at the local yarn shop, McNeedles, we found lunch at the Abita Brew Pub. Abbey Ale is delish!

Followed by a Sunday brunch with sweet potato pancakes, seafood omelet and bottomless mimosas! Not saying how many empty bottles left our table, but we were certainly happy when we left.

I am relaxed and rested and brimming with new creativity. Amazing what a week of wonderful seafood and good company can do for a person's outlook on life. I am a lucky lady!

European vacation, Part 2--Bloemendags and tulip fields

Tuesday, May 3–On recommendation from both our Dutch friends, we drove over to Limmen to see the displays for Bloemendag ("flower day"). The residents use just the blooms from hyacinth and other spring flowers, pin them to backgrounds to make pictures, and leave them up for the week. Everyone rides/walks around to see the displays, which are sometimes political, sometimes sports related, sometimes whimsical.

Afterwards we drove over to Volendam for lunch at the St. Catherein where I love to sip beer and watch the ships, bought some tulip bulbs which we are assured don’t need a certificate because there’s less than 50 bulbs and they are clean, bought a couple of scarves because I just can’t resist them, and Skip bought a piece of painted porcelain HE couldn’t resist. Then we returned to the hotel to nap in the late afternoon because we were still suffering the effects of jumping ahead 6 hours, had dinner at the hotel, and spent the evening on the patio, knitting and watching the sunset.
 
Wednesday, May 4–Skip and I chose these dates for our vacation because we wanted to see the tulip fields. 

Two different pink tulips here

SO RED it hurts our eyes!

We also drove over to Anna Palowna for their Bloemendag displays and stopped at a little restaurant/deli on the corner for lunch.

In celebration of Mothers Day on May 8

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Gre’s again to have dinner with them. We thought, Fons wouldn’t be able to join us for a take-out Chinese dinner because the church choir was singing at the war memorial in Akersloot–May 4 is the Netherlands’ Remembrance of the Dead, the day they honor armed forces members and civilians who died in wars or in peace-keeping missions since the outbreak of WWII.Between this and the Queens Birthday on April 30, the entire country was swimming in orange!  However, the ceremony finished early and Fons was able to enjoy yummy hot Chinese food and good conversation with us again.

European vacation, Part 1--Wijk an Zee and Akersloot

Sunday, May 1–We landed at Schiphol Airport, picked up our rental car (an Opal Corsa) and drove to Wijk an Zee for a walk on the beach. While we were living in Heemskerk we used to drive over to the shore on nice days to enjoy the breezes and watch the inhabitants out flying kites and playing with their dogs.

I'd always wanted to stop in a little hotel just near the beach but they were closed for the season when we were living there. This time they were open and we had a lovely brunch. I just love the European habit of serving a biscuit (cookie) with coffee!

We drove the short distance to the Akersloot Valk hotel where they allowed us to check in early (I made sad eyes at the reception desk and told them we were sooo tired from the flight). We took a nap and decided to just sit in the evening sun and drink beer for a while before dinner and bed. There’s something about the Dutch love of the outdoors and sunshine! I called our friends to let them know we’d arrived safely and to set up get-togethers.

Monday, May 2–We drove over to Akersloot (just a few minutes drive but we’re lazy Americans who would rather drive than bike–actually, bike rental was too expensive for just the short trip) to visit with Gre and Fons. I consider Gre to be my "Dutch sister" because we have so much in common and just chatter like two magpies when we're together. I wish we could see each other more often--maybe I'll win the lottery and be able to buy a small house in North Holland?

We spent the day walking in the bird preserve which borders the Alkmaardermeer and were almost run down by the local artist artist on his bicycle, who then proceeded to talk our ears off. What an interesting man.

It was lovely to spend some some with our friends' grandson who we hadn't seen in 3 years and to meet their third daughter when she joined us for dinner (we'd met their other daughters on our previous visits) We had wonderful macaroni and cheese with sausage and homemade banana ice cream for dessert.

Next up--Bloemendags and tulip fields

Going missing this week

Sorry, no blog post this week. We're packing up and heading to Idaho Falls to visit our youngest son. There will be much eating, hiking, and laughing, hopefully a trip to Yellowstone again (we've never seen the park in the off-season), and general lollygagging about the countryside. I've been busy getting everything ready for our absence--teaching the catsitter how to use the security system, doing laundry, finishing dyeing some superwash wool, yak, and tussah silk, packing the sock knitting, etc. Of course, the last thing I do is pack the clothes; travel knitting is ALWAYS packed first!

Sock yarn has not been started yet, but it's on the To Do List for later today. I'm off to buy catfood so HRH Mercury has a decent selection for the coming week. Enjoy the week, and keep on spinning!

Vacation again!

We're off to the wilds of West Virginia for a little peace and quiet and bicycling on an old railroad line. The guard cats (and Guardian Security) are in charge of the house while we're away. We'll be in Marlinton, WV at the Clark Hotel if anyone is in the area. It's a lovely B&B in a great little town. Last time we were there, the hotel owner clued us in to the chimney swifts and their sundown behavior--it was awesome to watch. Stay tunes to this channel for news and photos when we return......