Mississippi Royalty

In order to drive from Oxford, MS to Chattanooga, TN, one must drive south to Birmingham and then north again to Tennessee. This traverse took us through Tupelo, MS, the birthplace of one Elvis Presley. Having already stopped on a corner in Winslow, AZ, how could we pass up the opportunity to see the place that shaped The King. After Elvis achieved some popularity (and money) he returned to Tupelo and bought back the house he was born in, which his father built, and the surrounding land. On that land now is a fairly large and nice gift shop and museum that covers his life in Tupelo. The house is a tiny 2 room abode, front bedroom and back kitchen. The church Elvis attended and sang gospel has been moved to the grounds. There were a surprising number of people here, even 3 women from Australia.
The countryside we passed through today was so beautiful. There are hundreds of redbuds scattered through the woods which are just beginning to break with pale green buds. Occasional dogwood dot the woods. As we drove east and north we entered the Appalachian Mountains. Chattanooga sits on Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River. Chattanooga abuts the Georgia border and lies at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. The city is therefore surrounded by various mountains and ridges.
We are staying near the river. The area is filled with restaurants, movie theater and an arts bluff area. As we've seen in many places the restaurants were filled with people, young, old and in between. It's hard to understand the recession. Maybe things really are improving. See more photos at Flickr.

The Sound and the Fury

Oxford, Mississippi, the home of Ole Miss and William Faulkner. Today the temps his 81, woo hoo. We started our day at Rowan Oak, Faulkner's 1844 antebellum home where he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning A Fable's outlines on his study walls. Our research found out that James Lee Burke and Salman Rushdie have also visited there. It's a literary oddity to see those two listed together. It's also a serendipity that we were just in New Iberia seeking out James Lee Burke spots mentioned in his Robicheaux series. The grounds of Rowan Oak appear much as they did when Faulkner lived there with the out kitchen, barn, stable and servant's quarter still standing. Wayne has been reading Faulkner in preparation for this trip. After, we went to the town square to buy more Faulkner. The square's format is exactly like the Magnolia square. The courthouse in Magnolia is more charming. But the stores in Oxford are more upscale and the fronts preserved better. The stores are of 3 varieties: clothing, restaurants and book stores. Oh, and the occasional law firm. Ole Miss was disappointing to me. I expected the university to be quaint and situated walking distance from the town square. However, it is modern and spread out. We went to the museum, which had a paltry collection. Now we have discovered there is nothing else here to see except the Confederate Cemetery. We will dine on the square tonight and make haste for Chattanooga tomorrow. For more pictures visit my flicker

The Ninth Ward

Jackson Square is also known as Place d'Armes. There is a statue of Andrew Jackson sitting on his horse that was cast from melted British cannons captured during the war of 1812. During the Civil War the women of NO living around Jackson Square would empty their chamber pots on the Union soldiers' heads as they passed by. Union officers threatened to melt Jackson down made cannon out of him if the practice didn't stop.
We opted on a tour today. Initially, we booked with a city tour that we mistakenly thought was just for the Metairie Cemetery. Turns out it was a 3 hour walking tour of the French Quarter and a nearby cemetery. So, back to the hotel and the concierge to find what we needed. We found ourselves in a van with 2 people from Oklahoma and a 72 year old guide. He was a talker! Full of facts and figures. Nevertheless, we got a great look at the 9th ward and an understanding of how the flooding from Katrina happened. We saw the houses Brad Pitt has built and the Habitat for Humanity houses for the musicians. Next, he took us to the Garden District and pointed out the homes of John Goodman and Sandra Bullock and the Mannings of football fame. Lastly, we did go to Metairie. It is a fascinating mix of sculpture and architecture.
Dinner tonight was at Galatoire's. Until 1999, the restaurant did not accept reservations, leaving patrons to stand in long lines on the Bourbon Street sidewalk. With the addition of the second floor dining rooms and bar, standing on Bourbon Street is only needed for first floor dining room seats, which are still always first-come-first-served. It was the first and only restaurant where we've been asked if we had a preferred waiter. Tennessee Williams at here often at a table near the window and mentioned Galatoire's in A Streetcar Named Desire. For more pictures visit my flicker

Biegnets, Gardens and Antoine's

The Big Easy. This is our first visit since Katrina. It's very nice to see the city vibrant and full of tourists. Our hotel, The Roosevelt, is a beauty with chandeliers, marble and murals. This morning we walked from the hotel down to Royal St. First, to look for Antoine's Restaurant and second, to have coffee and beignets at Cafe Dumonde. The Cafe had lines that stretched far beyond the door. So, hungry, we stopped across the street at The Riverside. Service was so slow there that we would have certainly made the Cafe's counter by the time we were served. Adding insult to injury, the food was terrible. I won't even begin to describe the bathroom. After breakfast we walked some more, did a little shopping in the French Riverside Market and then returned to the Roosevelt by way of Royal St. where we heard some fine jazz. In the afternoon we got the car and drove to the Garden District where Wayne bought As I Lay Dying in preparation for Oxford, MS. We also bought a walking guide and toured the district on foot. The homes here are architecturally strong and interesting. The District claims to be one of the best preserved collection of historic southern mansions in the United States. They were built mainly by wealthy Americans who did not want to live in the French Quarter with the Creoles. Commander's Palace is located there.
Tonight we dined at Antoine's, the oldest family run restaurant in the United States, established in 1840. The Creole cuisine features original dishes, ie, Oysters Rockefeller of which we had a few. I liked the overall look and feel of the place with the traditional male waiters in tails, but it was somewhat staid. For more pictures visit my flicker

The Big Easy

The drive from Longboat Key to New Orleans can't be done in one day. We chose Tallahassee as a stop over point. It was pouring rain as we pulled in. If it has to rain, it might as well be on a day we have nothing planned. We ate in the hotel and ventured no farther than the parking garage. Although, what we could see of the city was very nice. We arrived in New Orleans after noon. Interstate 10 considerately dropped us right onto Canal Street. Our hotel is one block off Canal and 2 up from the French Quarter. The Roosevelt is by far the most elegant hotel we have stayed in this trip. Thanks to our loyalty to Hilton and our penchant for charging everything with our Hilton card, we were upgraded to a suite. We dumped out bags and headed to the French Quarter for lunch. We stopped at the first place, Desire, for gumbo and jambalaya. A stroll through the Quarter to Jackson Square and a look at the Big Muddy filled the remainder of the afternoon. That night we stopped in the Roosevelt's bar for Sazaracs, a blend of a rye whiskey, bitters, absinth, and herbsaint and the official cocktail of New Orleans. The bar has a fabulous atmosphere. I can do no better than send you to the site for a read and look at it. For more pictures visit my flicker

I Didn't Need Those Pants, Anyway

The camera never does a sunset justice. First, the eye can't move from point to point and the force of the sun darkens the subtle colors of the water and sand. Second, the sound of the surf and the calling of the birds are missing. People never seem to tire of watching the sun set much like they are drawn to watching a fire. Each evening is different, too. Tonight we each carried a cup of wine down, grabbed a couple of lounges and enjoyed watching the pelicans dive for fish and the funny seagulls cackling. Wayne and I crossed gestures and sent wine all over my white pants. It was quite a Picasso effect that rivaled the colors of the sky. Earlier in the day we explored more of Anna Maria. It is very developed with condos, cottages and shops. Tomorrow we begin our journey west and north. For more pictures visit my flicker

Lazy, Hazy Days

The sand here is like silt. It is so pleasurable to walk on and drag your toes through. We read and snoozed all day on the beach. I made sand sculptures with my feet and Wayne took a quick swim, his first in the Gulf. For more pictures visit my flicker

Wasting Away in Margaritaville

Sitting on the balcony of our room simultaneously overlooking the palm decked pool and the sun setting over the Gulf, the band serenades me with sax and voice. We truly vacated all thoughts, intentions and considerations today. After a late breakfast we drove to the end of these keys, a place called Anna Maria. The book Wayne is reading is set on Longboat; much mention is made of Anna Maria. The area is densely packed with condos, cottages, shops of every variety and loads of sand. We returned for a light lunch at the bar and immediately headed for the beach where we spent 4 hours reading, drawing and finally, swimming.
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The Big Top

On this bonus leap year day, we went to Ca d'Za, the home of John Ringling. According to their website, the home is “the last of the Gilded Age mansions to be built in America, Ca' d’Zan has 56 incredible rooms filled with art and original furnishings. With its Venetian Gothic architecture, the mansion is a combination of the grandeur of Venice’s Doge’s Palace, combined with the gothic grace of Cà d’Oro, with Sarasota Bay serving as its Grand Canal." On the grounds is the Ringling Museum built by John Ringling to house his personal collection of masterpieces. It features paintings and sculptures including Rubens, van Dyck, Velázquez, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, El Greco, Gainsborough and more. We were greatly impressed by the holdings and the grounds. Most beautiful was the courtyard filled with casts of original antiquities and renaissance sculptures, including the David by Michelangelo. We ended the day on the beach with all the other sunset lovers. For more pictures visit my flicker

Beach, Stone Crabs and Art

I'm really enjoying these lazy days of sitting on the beach, reading and drawing. This guy reminded me of a beached whale. I'm reading 1Q84 by Hiruki Murakami. It's somewhat surrealistic and too complicated to explain here. In the afternoon we crossed the bridge to Sarasota's Art Center. It was small; the permanent collection was a few pieces by local artists. The majority of the work was a juried show of mixed quality. Later we explored more of the keys and found a large public beach on Anna Maria. Also on Anna Maria was Moore's Crab House which we returned to for dinner. Wayne once again tried soft shell crabs and we shared a plate of oysters. We both agreed that southern water oysters and soft shell crabs lack the succulence of seafood from the cold waters of the North Atlantic. For more pictures visit my flicker

Gulf Coast

We've crossed over the Florida Everglades, stopped by Naples for lunch and an overnight before heading north for Longboat Key, which is across the bay from Sarasota. At one point Longboat was a part of Sarasota, but incorporated when the state threatened to make public some beaches. We unintentionally booked an accessible room. Guest services accommodated us with another room on a higher floor with a balcony overlooking both the pool and the Gulf. The hotel has an island feel with wooden decking and walkways. The beach is at our feet. Overall, it is much more informal than Casa Marina on Key West. Nevertheless, it is better managed and the restaurant is superb. While we waited for our room to be prepared we returned to St. Armand's, the first key in Sarasota. According to Wikipedia, visionary circus magnate John Ringling purchased the St. Armands Key property in 1917 and planned a development which included residential lots and a shopping center laid out in a circle. As no bridge to the key had yet been built, Ringling engaged an old paddle-wheel steamboat, the "Success," to service as a work boat.
St. Armands Key features a large roundabout with a small park in the middle. This roundabout is known as St. Armands Circle. The area is largely commercial, boasting more than 130 stores and restaurants, and is particularly famous for its home-made chocolate, fudge and ice-cream shops. There are many restaurants, tobacco shops, clothing stores as well as other retail outlets in the circle. We had a nice lunch at a sidewalk eatery. So far we are much more enamored of the west coast. Everyone is more at ease and the drivers are far less aggressive. One can actually use a crosswalk without fear of being run over. For more pictures visit my flicker

Blue Moon and New Friends

Checked out of the Waldorf around 11am after attempting to retrieve our snapper for the Limas. Par for the course with this hotel, they lost our fish. We have many complaints about the management of the Casa Marina. The setting is so perfect that we would be tempted to book here again. But we will write the organization with our list of complaints. At their invitation, we stayed with Kathy and John to break up the drive to Naples. They booked dinner at the Blue Moon in Fort Lauderdale and included their friends Helene and Don Resnick. We've heard stories about them for years and were delighted to finally meet them. For more pictures visit my flicker

Groupers, Snappers and Bonita

Today was absolutely the best! We lounged around the beach all morning. Had a light lunch of conch fritters at the SunSun. Then walked to Long Pier to find our charter boat. Billy, our captain, helped us aboard and explained where we would be going, about 7-10 miles south. The ride was fast, fun and bumpy on a center console 34' boat. Initially, we saw large schools of fish on Billy's radar. Nothing was caught and we moved about. Billy put chum in the water and tossed in small bait fish. He explained that the snapper would eventually feed up to the boat. We would see a yellow/golden flashing in the water. He baited a large rod with a 5" live fish. Bang! A catch. A fighting catch. He turned the reel over to Wayne and the struggle began. It was quiet a few minutes of struggles until a good sized bonita was hauled aboard. Not a fish we would keep to eat, though, and the search continued for dinner. We motored around a bit and settled again for a final try. Again, the large rod struck. This time Wayne was really working had and Billy was stumped as to what could be so big. Everyone was amazed and thrilled when a 70 lb. Goliath Grouper was brought in. A beautiful fish, they are protected and had to be returned. But, first, Billy had to puncture the air sac so the grouper could return to the bottom. He stabbed the stomach area, pushed on it, and one could hear the air expelling. Quite a sight. Now, I got a bite and lost it to another predator. Boy, was I upset about that! But eventually the golden school began approaching and we began to catch one yellow tail snapper after another. It brought back great memories of bass fishing with my Dad. Back at the dock, Billy cleaned the fish for us. The hotel cooked them that night and we dined on them with our toes in the sand on the beach. For more pictures visit my flicker

A Litte Art, A Lot of Sand

Today is actually March 3. I've been neglectful with this blog and will try to catch up. Nevertheless, details of the days will be lost, those little funny happenings that make a trip interesting or details about a restaurant or museum. On this day we explored another side of the Key to find the Art Center and Fort Zachary Taylor. The Art Center is one of those lively organizations that I wish for in Wareham. The center is in a former armory. When we entered there was a printmaking class in the main center room with probably 50 people participating. Hung around this room was a show by Marlene Koenig If you go to her site, take a look at the art journals. They are beautiful. The Center also provides studio space for an artist in residence and sponsored space for about 5 other artists. There is an outdoor sculpture garden, too. All in all a wonderful community effort. From here we went to Fort Zachary Taylor. The Fort was held by the Union army for the entirety of the war. Here we found all the locals on the adjacent beach. That night we took our friend Carol's advice for dinner at Kelly's Caribbean Bar and Grill. For more pictures visit my flicker

A Moveable Feast

Key West is known for its roaming roosters. We've heard them and seen a few around Duval Street. Today we returned to Blue Heaven for lunch and ate with a few of them. They are quiet beautiful. Another beautiful item at Blue Heaven was the Key Lime pie. OMG! The meringue stood a good 4 inches. And the filling was just the right tartness balanced with sweetness.
Ernest Hemingway's home is a block away from BLue Heaven. We had visited it a few years ago, but still wanted to return. Ernest didn't have roosters, but he did have cats, 44 of them. There are still 44 of them and they are all polydactyl, and mostly FAT. This visit was more interesting to me because I recently read The Paris Wife about Hemingway's first wife and A Moveable Feast.
This morning we walked through the cemetery. It is noted for quirky epithets, ie, "At Least I Now Know Where He's Sleeping" put on by an obviously cuckolded wife. My favorite and new motto read "A Perfect Woman, Nobly Planned, To Warn, To Counsel, and Command". All the graves are above ground a la New Orleans.



For more pictures Road Trip 2012 on Flickr.

Blue Heaven

We changed rooms today. After 2 sleepless nights of mysterious banging in the walls and halls, the manager moved us. The room is less luxurious, but will be worth it to have a decent night's sleep. Most of the day was spent on the beach recuperating from our night. We had conch fritters, which were grand, for lunch. The long, sleepy day was followed by a night at Blue Heaven, a funky outdoor restaurant filled with live music, chickens under foot and the best yellow tail snapper with beurre blanc sauce. The musicians were from a group we had seen last summer at the Clark. What a serendipity.
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The Little White House

Harry Truman spent 175 days in Key West, some while President and some after. The house is a wonderful southern style home with verandas that wrap both 1st and second floors. Our guide was a charming 74 year old native who had met Truman when he was selling newspapers near the naval base. We walked to the house through a gated area that had really beautiful plantation style homes and smartly manicured lawns. That evening we stayed at the hotel to see the sunset and eat on the beach. The sunset was beautiful. For more pictures visit my flicker

Sun, Sand, Sunsets

We had such a wonderful relaxing day. We started out with breakfast on the patio before going to the beach. The beach is on the hotel property and easy access. We had 2 loungers set up next to a hammock and spent the afternoon reading. Later in the day we showered and drove to Duval Street. We walked the length of it to Mallory Square for the sunset. The square is large and filled with street entertainers and kiosks. There was a Disney cruise ship docked. We had a Corona and enjoyed the people. The edges of the dock were packed with people so I couldn't actually see the sun set. But applause told me it had happened. We took a slow walk to The Grand where we had reservations. I had a delicious plate of grilled snapper. Wayne had Thai chicken curry.

Key West

After a leisurely awakening, coffee, packing and good byes, we got on the road about noon headed for Key West. It was about a 5 hour drive with lunch at the Island Fish Company a place on the water that we realized once we were inside we ate at several years ago. We are at the Waldorf Casa Marina. It is a nice spa hotel sitting directly on the beach. There are 2 heated pools, dining on the beach, and a sunset bar on the beach. We stopped by the concierge and booked a reef fishing trip for the end of the week. He also gave us restaurant tips. We walked from the hotel to Duval street, then the entire length of Duval. The end near our hotel is a bit more sedate with galleries. The far end (where the daily sunset ritual occurs) was very funky with lots of live music, bars, shops and crowds. We ate pizza and drank margaritas on the second floor balcony of a restaurant near the southern end of Duval. It should be a great week with sun, relaxation and recreation. For more pictures visit my flicker

Boats, Beaches and Blue Moons

We drove down to South Beach today. Kathy and John had not been and they really enjoyed the Art Deco architecture. We had a lousy lunch with obnoxious music. But then had a nice walk on the beach. We drove past the boat show and recollected our week there a few years ago. Tonight we drove into north Fort Lauderdale for dinner at Blue Moon, a wonderful setting on the intercoastal waterway. Our table was on the water. For more pictures visit my flicker