Obligatory Sunset Picture

This is off season and a Sunday. Panama City Beach is almost empty compared to what it is during Summer or Spring Break. Looking up the beach, there are more trash cans than people. And they still pay a guy to drive up the beach and empty the trash cans every day.  Well, that's what we wanted...a place just to chill out.

We are on the 3rd floor of a 16 floor high rise so we are almost on the beach. The surf is pretty loud which is cool. The weather is really nice. People are swimming in the gulf and hanging out on the beach. We have a nice balcony so we can just sit and enjoy it.

I'm not complaining but the combination of the bright sun reflecting off the water and white sand means that sunglasses are mandatory...and I left mine at home. One of our first stops today was to get sunglasses so I didn't have to squint all the time.

We ate lunch at Sharky's, a local tiki bar on the beach, They had football on the TV so we watched part of the Titans - Texans game. The food was good and the beer was cold.

I took a walk on the beach in the afternoon. There were a couple families out playing in the surf or in the sand. Some kid named Luke wrote his name in the sand in several places. I guess he wants to be noticed. There were several young guys out on paddle surf boards. They made it look effortless. I don't know how they kept standing up. They used long-handled canoe paddles (sort of) and managed the surf with no problems.

I walked about a mile up the beach and ran into only about a dozen people. The pelicans were busy diving for fish and the shore birds and gulls were busy working in the shallow water.

The sun sets here about 4:30 and by 5:15 it is pretty dark. I managed to get several pictures as the sun was going down and then my camera battery died. Probably a good thing...but I got the obligatory sunset picture.

We went to Shuckum's Oyster Bar for dinner. Lots of advertised places seem to be closed until next March.

We stopped off at the local Winn Dixie for a few groceries and then headed back to the condo and watched some TV.

This was a quiet day -- what we wanted -- and it was good not to spend hours in the car,

Have You seen Anybody Who Looks Like Me?

Brookhaven looked better in the morning than it did at night but not much. We took advantage of the "continental breakfast". We were located next to the Walmart and discovered that, for a mere $4.00, we could take a carriage rides around the Walmart parking lot. The carriage was pulled by miniature mules or ponies...we couldn't decide which.

We headed south on I-55 looking for the junction with I-10 which would take us east. Too bad that we didn't have a map...Note to self: next time bring a map. We crossed into Louisiana and kept going until we were in the middle of New Orleans.

New Orleans was not where we wanted to be...we missed a turn somewhere but, oh well, here we were.

Anyway, we found I-10 and headed east, We crossed back into Mississippi and decided to stop at the Welcome Center. We picked up  a map and some route information and Paul had a smoke while I used the facilities. The place wasn't that big but we lost track of each other. They were serving coffee so Paul got some coffee and asked "Have you seen anybody that looks like me?"  The young black woman serving the coffee looked at him funny and said no, she hadn't. So a few minutes later I showed up to get some coffee and asked "Have you seen anyone who looks like me?" She stopped and looked funny and said "Somebody else asked that question and yes, and he gots the car keys"  Paul and I met up outside and were talking when she walked by and laughed and was happy we found each other.

So on we went...along the Mississippi gulf shore. You can still see a lot of hurricane damage. We saw some in New Orleans and some of the trees were torn up in the forests along the highway,


One thing we learned at the welcome center was that Joe Bonamassa was performing a concert at Biloxi this evening, Dang...we could have worked that out better if our timing was different. Note to self: check concert schedules!!!


Once we were past Biloxi we were in Alabama and on our way to Mobile. We want to come back and spend a day or so in Mobile before we head for home. We passed the battleship Alabama, which is open for tours and there are other things we want to see.

Mobile is an interesting place and it looks impressive. We will have to check out what there but I'd like to see Ft. Blakely...one of the last Civil War battle sites.

Bellingrath Gardens and the Jefferson Davis home are nearby if we have time and can find them.

We kept going east and crossed into Florida and went through Pensacola without seeing much of it. By this time we were seeing lots of water and most of the highways were elevated over swamps or bayous.

We made it to our destination in Panama City Beach at about 5 PM but it was already dark. The sun goes down early here on the far eastern edge of the central time zone. We checked in and relaxed. There was an old performance by the Rolling Stones and Muddy Waters on PBS that we sat and enjoyed. The sound of the surf is very relaxing and it was good to be done with the travelling for a while.

First day - On To Mississippi

We were on the road by 9:30 and headed south on I-55. We got through Missouri and into Arkansas, stopping at Blythville for lunch at a Grecian Steak House. This place has two Grecian restaurants located right next to each other. If you want Grecian food you know where to go. Maybe it's a local zoning thing...all Grecian restaurants have to be at the same location. I had a "Grecian Burger" and Paul had a Gyros thingy. French fries were the best part of the lunch...big fat steak fries.

Traffic was fairly light all day except around Memphis. Our view of Memphis was mostly bridge girders and the back of the cars in front of us. We knew it was there. We could see glimpses of it as we got close to the bridge but were soon he

We were soon crossing over into Mississippi. Mississippi ading out of town.seems to be mostly woods. Lots of pine trees and the deciduous trees had turned colors but still had leaves. We were seeing some crops in the fields...maybe winter wheat but there was something else we couldn't identify...looked like spinach??

Jackson Mississippi is much bigger than I remember it. There is a huge Nissan factory north of town and the place looks like it is doing quite well.

We weren't sure where we were going to stay. We ended up in Brookhaven MS at a Comfort Inn. When we pulled into the parking lot there was about a half dozen guys partying on the 2nd floor. They were having a good time. It was dark and after 6 PM when we got there and decided to walk to a place to eat. Not much around...so we ended up at a Waffle House. The food was OK but I woudn't want to see the inspection report. We decided that this was going to be the extent of our search for local color. Paul thought it was a color resembling a bad bruise.

The guys were still at it on the balcony when we got back to the motel but they quieted down...or passed out...a little while later.

The Trip is On

Thursday afternoon -- I got a later start than I hoped but still made good time and got to St. Louis and Paul's at 4 PM. Nothing exciting to report...weather was warm and sunny...up in the 60's, Traffic was light on US 50. We got an Imo's pizza for supper - a St. Louis icon in the pizza world. Sandy was at the de Menil mansion for a Christmas event. Several old homes were open tonight with a progressive reading of Dickens's Christmas Carol with people dressed in character. Sounds like a neat idea for starting Christmas.

Road trip coming up -- Florida

Well, I finally sold my house after three stressful years of trying. I have been stressed out for months so I decided that I needed to get away for a week or so and sit on a beach. Even though it is December it will be fine -- and warmer than here in central Missouri. I invited my brother and sister-in-law to go along so it will be a family trip. We leave in about a week or so.

My road trips are always fun and help me recharge my batteries. I'm looking forward to it.

Here are a few pictures from some earlier trips...

Indian River, Florida

New Mexico

Colorado

New Mexico

Venice




Peru - Altiplano
















Peru - Urabamba River

Peru Ollantaytambo

 

 

Sea Smoke -- Atlantic Ocean -- Florida

Fly fishing - Colorado River -- Colorado

Guest Blogger: Marco Polo of Venice

 

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marco Polo, a merchant of some renown from the Republic of Venice. You may have heard of me, especially if you are acquainted with the many fine wares that I have brought to market from Constantinople and beyond. I do a lively business with those eastern lands. My father and my uncle once established a trading house and lived in that city for some time before venturing across the Black Sea and to many places far to the east. As you may know, I accompanied them on a later trip, one that lasted for twenty four years. That was a grand experience...un epico viaggio...which took me to many lands and, I can now say, proved to be the lasting achievement of my life.

I was born a few years after the fifth crusade and raised in Venice, a beautiful city at the head of the Adriatic Sea. If you have never ventured to Venice I strongly urge you to go there at once. There is no city quite like it. You will be amazed and it will dwell in your heart for the rest of your days.

I mentioned the fifth crusade but there were many different crusades beginning around the year 1095. These military campaigns, supposedly intended to gain and keep Christian control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, were exceedingly foolhardy, expensive, disruptive and, in the end, unsuccessful. I'm happy to say that I have lived long enough to see this foolishness ended. Many merchants, yes, many Venetians, grew rich because of the Crusades. Many more people suffered and died. The only lasting benefit came from the exposure to new ideas and new products from as far away as Persia and even India. Was that worth 200 years of religious war? Time will tell but I wonder if the same outcome could have come through peaceful trade and commerce.

My journey to Cathay, you might know it as China but we always called it Cathay back then, and to the imperial court of the Great Kahn brought me into contact with many new things. Paper was used as currency in the Kahn's lands. Yes...paper instead of gold. They also make use of a black stone which they bring up from the depths of the earth and use for heating or cooking. The stone burns just like wood. They are able to send letters or messages great distances in a single day by special emissaries who race from horse to horse along the designated route.

I lived and worked in Cathay for seventeen years and was a friend and advisor to Kublai Kahn, the great Emperor. Although he was the undisputed ruler, he was as much a stranger to Beijing as I was. He longed for the open grasslands of his Mongol homeland as much as I longed for Venice and the Adriatic. On my journey home I learned with sadness of the Kahn's death when I reached Persia. This was almost two years after we set sail from the coast of Cathay. I knew then that he never again gained sight of his homeland and I feared that I, too, would be finally deprived of my homecoming. But God, and a passport from the Kahn, protected me on that journey until I was almost home. But, still my homecoming was delayed. Venice was at war with Genoa and I was captured and imprisoned for two years. Eventually I returned home to a Venice that I left almost a generation earlier. People I once knew were dead or gone. There were not many who knew me and still fewer who believed the story of my travels. Even today there are those who say I made it all up or that I did not go as far or see as much as I said.

In my last years I have been content to stay in Venice and let others do the traveling. I am a successful merchant...you may know me by my wares. I live a comfortable life. Little by little the travelers come home to say that "Yes, it’s true - Marco was right all along".

Trick or Treat .

 

Missouri's Mom and Pop Wineries

Missouri is wine country. A 2008 study showed that the retail value of Missouri wine approached $59.2 million. Winery revenue alone was $42.4 million and wine related tourism expenditures reached $175.7 million. Missouri has had wineries dating back to the early pioneer days. Probably every early French or Spanish community had someone who was a recognized wine maker. When the Germans arrived it became big business. Prohibition ended Missouri's supremacy in wine making but the wineries have come back big time. With dollar figures like those cited above it has become big business. There are dozens of good sized wineries that have created the winery experience for tourists and locals. There are also some interesting small wineries...sort of like little mom and pop operations. Some of these small wineries spring up and produce some surprisingly good wine but can't keep it together and fall by the wayside.

I've been wanting to visit a few of these smaller wineries. My friend, Donna, and I made a trip up to Boonville to visit the storefront Cooper's Oak Winery on Main Street. This winery originated in Higbee, Missouri, as a spin-off from an oak barrel cooperage. I guess they had the barrels so they decided to make some wine.  We were able to taste their main varieties and they were OK but not something I would look for if I was buying wine. We had lunch and we each bought a glass of wine. Donna ended up taking hers back and getting something else. I don't remember what I had but it was drinkable. I tasted hers and agreed that it didn't taste like what we had at the wine tasting session.  Maybe they need to get a few more years experience. We were a little disappointed but stopped off at Les Bourgeois Vineyards in Rocheport to get some wine that we liked better.


We tried some other small wineries a couple weeks later down highway 50 toward Mount Sterling and Owensville.  Our first stop was Wenwood Farm Winery a few miles south of Mount Sterling. This is some of the prettiest country in Missouri...the Gasconade River Valley and the river bluffs and hills.  Even in drought it is pretty.

Wenwood is probably the biggest winery we visited. It has a regular schedule of live entertainment, a fairly large outdoor seating area and a small gallery of local artists' work. You can find some of their wine in Jefferson City stores so they have significant production. We were visiting on a week day and were the only people there at the time. Us and the three farm dogs that were the friendly greeting committee. We went into the little barn-like building and met the hostess, a local jewelry artist who lives down the road and doubles as the wine pourer. We like dry wines and usually reds but we had some very good whites and reds. The winemaker follows the French tradition of blending wine varieties so most of their wines are a mix of different grape types. They use the term "meritage" to describe the wine but don't use that term on the labels. Meritage is a California contrived (proprietary) name for certain grape variety wine combinations. The winery has been in business for ten years and produced an anniversary sherry that was good.  Donna bought a couple bottles and I got a bottle of sherry.

Farther down US 50 we found White Mule Winery - which is also a bed and breakfast. It took us a while to find someone to greet us. The place was open and we were wandering around but it just took a while to rustle someone up.  Again, we were greeted by the winery dog...a shaved Australian Shepherd who was very hot and enjoyed laying on the cool concrete floor. We had a good tasting session and liked several of the wines. I ended up buying a red dessert wine and a nice crisp white wine. The one thing about visiting these small farm wineries is that you can't be put off by the smell of manure. These are working farms or are located in active farm localities. In farm country, that is the smell of money. 

The other winery we visited was maybe our favorite just because it was easy to miss and sort of a novelty. The Phoenix Winery is located near the top of the second hill east of Mount Sterling on US 50. In local directions....go over Cave Hill and cross the Second Creek valley and climb up the next hill and you are there, more or less. There are two driveways so if you miss the first one, catch the second one. There are small signs posted.

We found the place and pulled into the yard. There was no sign of life. OK, maybe there was a chicken, I don't remember, exactly.  We got out and walked through the yard to the winery building but it was locked up. We stood around looking forlorn and finally an elderly man came out of the farm house and greeted us in sort of a German-accented mumble. He was the winemaker and had to unlock the building to let us in. It had been closed up for a while and it was hot inside. We had been having multiple 100 degree days and there was no serious attempt at cooling the building. Our host apparently hoped that maybe we would just go away but his wife made him come out. He took up his position behind the small counter and pulled out several partial bottles of wine from a small refrigerator. He was probably near 80 years old and was missing front teeth but he knows how to make wine. His was the best we had all day and we ended up buying five bottles. We talked a while. He is from the Rhine valley in Germany and he used to make beer as well as wine but gave up the beer making to concentrate on the wine. Now he is in some sort of association with a vineyard in Osage County and whatever they are doing seems to work. His wine was all under $10 a bottle, the cheapest prices of the day.

This proved to be an enjoyable exploration of some of the lesser known Missouri wineries. We also stopped off at the Swiss meat and sausage market and did a sausage tasting and, of course, bought some sausages. We had lunch at Clancy's Irish Pub in Rosebud, Missouri. We never made it to Hermann or Owensville.