Krawfish, Kudzu and Kinfolk

We made it back to Baton Rouge for Thomas’ (Cindy’s youngest nephew) high school graduation. After weeks in shorts, tank tops and sandals, it was difficult putting on real grown-up clothes again for the ceremony. Cindy’s parents and her middle sister all made it down from Memphis, so her whole family was together for the first time since Christmas. We had a good, three-day visit with (as usual) too much good food – but sadly, no crawfish. However, Cindy’s Baton Rouge sister promised us a Cajun crawfish boil on our next visit.

One interesting aspect of the graduating class is that each senior puts together a “memory board” – a table-top display chronicling their life to be presented at the reception following the ceremony. With only 37 graduates, there was still a wide variety of presentations. Everyone seemed to agree that Thomas’ was the best one. The centerpiece of his board was a mosaic portrait of himself created with about 1,000 small pictures. It is obvious he should do well in his chosen college major of graphic design.

As we made our way north through the state of Mississippi, we began to notice the Kudzu. Kudzu is a vine, native to Japan and China, imported during the latter part of the 19^th century and planted around the South in order to help control soil erosion. With the South's high humidity, abundant rainfall and mild winter temperatures, it grows quickly and spreads vigorously to the point that it will completely cover trees, fences and utility poles - almost anything stationary including houses and barns and that Southern icon, the "car up on blocks". It is difficult to control and almost impossible to eradicate since the roots grow extremely deep into the soil. The vine has large, glossy leaves and when it completely covers an area, it gives it an almost Jurassic Park-like appearance. Check out the following link (you might have to paste it together in your browser's address window) for some really dramatic photos or just Google "Kudzu".

http://www.google.com/images?q=kudzu&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=2_YCTPbKFoaCNPjjpDs&sa=X&oi=

image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CE8QsAQwAw

On the way up to Memphis we stopped for a couple of days in Tunica, Mississippi, home to catfish and casinos. We really stopped for the golf courses we had heard about in the area. While the golfing was good, let's just say Mike lost more in the casino slots than he did in golf balls (and that's saying quite a bit.) One of the other reasons for our stop in Tunica was to eat at Paula Deen's only restaurant outside of Savannah Georgia. Paula Deen is the queen of southern cooking and has several shows on the Food Network. We watch her whenever we get homesick for the South. She has a buffet in the Harrah's casino and (after the Blue Bell creamery in Texas) was Cindy's second pilgrimage stop.

Hey, Ya'll

Memphis is our hometown and most of our family members still reside in the area. So that you don't thing we're slighting the area, there is lots to do, we've just done most of it while growing up there or on previous visits. So this visit was for family. We spent a few days with Cindy's parents helping them with some chores and got to visit with Mike's family who were nice enough to move up their Memorial Day cookout a week early to accommodate our travel schedule.

Mike with Sister Lillian and Brother Ken

By the time we reached Memphis, we had been on the road for over a month and were ready to head home, but not necessarily looking forward to the journey. We ended up making the 1,700-mile trek back home to California in two days -- no stopping to smell the roses on the final leg (are there even any roses IN west Texas?)

There's no place like home, there's no place like home. . .

The final tally: Almost 8,000 miles, 295 gallons of fuel, 38 days, 17 hotels, 10 states, four time zones and, yes, there's still tread left on the tires.

Gulf Coast Wanderings or "Chasin' That Oil Slick"

After Key West, we headed up the Gulf Coast to Ft. Myers. We spent an afternoon touring nearby Sanibel and Captiva Islands. These are very exclusive islands -- so restrictive that they charge six dollars just to cross the causeway to get onto the islands! But we scraped up enough loose change to rift raft our way into their midst's. The islands are actually very nice with many public beaches and a large wildlife preserve.

Back in Ft. Myers, we toured the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford who were friends as well as next door neighbors when in Florida. While the homes were relatively modest for two such wealthy and famous men, the grounds (actually a botanic garden) were the real attraction. There are over 1,000 varieties of plants imported from around the world. Edison was interested in the many by-products from the plants which he used in his scientific investigations. There is a museum on the grounds which displays samples of Edison's inventions and a selection of Edison and Ford artifacts.

Next we made our way to the Florida Panhandle and the charming but gritty fishing village of Apalachicola. We'd been watching the progress of the oil slick from the oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana in April. Luckily, it had not affected the Florida coast or fishing waters yet. Apalach, as it is known locally, provides 10 percent of the nation's oysters from over 7,000 acres of oyster beds. Although neither of us could be considered oyster aficionados, we certainly enjoyed the ones we tried at Boss Oyster restaurant; they were sweet and succulent with just enough briny flavor to let you know you were enjoying them right at the source. If you're a little squeamish about raw oysters, they also serve them 29 other ways. Additionally, they have a large variety of fish, scallops and shrimp dishes. The seafood we had here was the freshest we've tasted so far.

NOTE: See the end of this posting for a video of how to shuck an oyster.

A little further up the coast we stopped at the Destin / Ft. Walton Beach area. The beaches in this area are some of our favorites. With just the right amount of surf, crystal clear water and soft, sugar-white sand, we feel that these are some of the best beaches on the Gulf Coast.

At the Pensacola Naval Station, we toured the National Naval Aviation Museum. The museum traces the history of naval aviation from its beginnings to the present. There are over 150 carefully restored historic aircraft. Exhibits range from a replica of a World War II aircraft carrier island and flight deck to a Top Gun flight simulator.

The biggest attraction may be from March through November when the facility provides a viewing area for the practice sessions of the Navy's Blue Angels; we were fortunate to be present for one of their sessions. Let us say up front that if you have never been fortunate enough to witness a Blue Angels' air show, there is nothing in these words, pictures or videos that will even come close to the experience! It is an awe-inspiring demonstration of training, dedication and pure military muscle that will send shivers down your spine with every pass of the beautiful blue and gold aircraft. The practice session is actually the same routines they perform during their regular air shows. The coolest part is at the end of the show, the children in the audience are invited out to the flight line to wave American flags as the Angels taxi past the viewing area.

NOTE: See the end of this posting for videos of the Blue Angels in flight.

After Pensacola, we drove about an hour west to LA (uh, no actually that's Lower Alabama). We stopped for lunch in Fairhope, AL, a small, pretty town on the east side of Mobile Bay (and boyhood home of Jimmy Buffett). The town center is so compact and organized that it appears almost Disney-esque. Intersections are decked out with flowers and hanging baskets and the locals actually smile and say "Hi" as they pass you on the street.

Later in the day as we were driving along the coast in Gulf Shores, we saw our first evidence of the work to contain the advancing oil spill. We saw two crews in hazard suits working at different inlets off the beach putting out sandbags and boons to protect the bays and estuaries. The local news had reports of some tar balls washing ashore. What they showed wasn't the sticky, gooey mess you would expect; it actually looked more like a chocolate brownie. In our walks and play time along the beaches, however, we didn't see anything -- not even the underwater crab that briefly clamped onto one of Cindy's toes! (Yes, that probably was the screaming you heard on Thursday afternoon.) It was a good thing this was our last day at the beach because after the "crab incident", that was our last day at the beach.

We managed to get in a couple more rounds of golf at a local course. The weather, while only in the mid-80s, had a humidity level around 90% -- very high for two people used to the arid desert climate. Luckily, we were able to cool off afterwards at one of our favorite places -- Lulu's. Lulu is Lucy Buffett (Jimmy's "Crazy Sista"). Now we know we've mentioned the Buffett family a few times, but before you think we're obsessed with (or worse yet stalking) them, its just because they are from a Gulf Coast family. Anyway, Lulu's is a great casual, open-air restaurant overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Its a fun place with live music most nights. On one visit, the entertainment was Brent Burns, a singer who is a little bit Jimmy Buffett (OK, there we go again) and a little bit Ray Stevens. Check out the video of one of his songs on You Tube (partially filmed at Lulu's and on the beach at Gulf Shores):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWbjSnU1OCM&NR=1&feature=fvwp

VIDEOS

Two of the Blue Angels' Maneuvers

"Welcome Back"

Oyster Shucking

Key West and the Florida Keys

Well, after the hustle and bustle of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area, the pace certainly changed when we reached the Keys. The Florida Keys are a 125-mile chain of over 1,700 islands linked by more than 40 bridges. The colors of the waters surrounding the islands are an amazing array of aquas, blues and turquoises with shades and hues that defy description.

Our first stop was Key Largo, the first link in the island chain. The area is known as the Diving Capital of the World due to numerous shipwrecks and the extensive living coral reef a few miles offshore. At John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, we took a glass bottom boat tour to explore the coral reef. Although we were initially a little skeptical that this might be a "tourist trap," we were astounded at the professionalism and knowledge of the crew, the excellent views of the coral reef and the abundance of marine life in the area. For two "landlubbers" who only occasionally snorkel, it was a good way to see the wonders of the deep.

For a view through the glass-bottom boat, see the video at the end of this posting. Don't blame the photographer if you feel sea sick -- the movement is due to the four-foot seas during the trip.

Key Largo Sunset

Further south is Big Pine Key, home to the Key deer -- a miniature species which, at maturity, is only as big as a large dog. By the 1950s the species had been hunted almost to extinction. Today, the species numbers about 800, but is protected in a 9,200 acre refuge. We say a couple of the deer -- one from the roadway and another as we hiked along one of the nature trails.

At Key West, things took on an entirely different atmosphere. Key West is part New Orleans Bourbon Street, part New England fishing village and part college frat party -- all with a subtropical flourish of palm trees, tank tops and a "who cares" attitude. As the southernmost city in the continental United States, Key West is the southern terminus of the Overseas Highway (US 1). It has attracted and inspired such notables as Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and Robert Frost.

We did get to play one round of golf at the only course we could find in the area. The Key West Golf Club bills itself as the southernmost golf course in the U.S. It was a challenging and well-maintained course, but with iguanas roaming the fairways and F-18 fighters from the nearby Key West Naval Air Station screaming overhead, it was difficult to "keep your eye on the ball." One unique but appropriate feature was the use of painted coconuts for the tee markers.

We also toured the house where Ernest Hemmingway lived in the 1930s. He wrote some of his most famous works while living there. The house has been preserved along with the descendants of Hemmingway's famous six-toed cats.

Hemmingway's Study with Typewriter

While the Keys are subtropical islands, ironically, there are only a small number of large, sandy beaches. One that we were able to enjoy was at Fort Zachery Taylor State Park. This is a beach utilized by the locals. It is not located next to a major street or roadway, so it is (quite literally) "off the beaten path."

The main thoroughfare for most tourists is Duval Street which encompasses nearly every kind of establishment such as Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, T-shirt shops, an Episcopal church, smoke shops and Hemingway's hangout - Sloppy Joe's bar.

However, the biggest attraction for the area is Mallory Square, an open space at the waterfront on the west end of the island. At the end of each day, crowds gather for the Sunset Celebration to be entertained by magicians, jugglers, artists and street performers of every sort.

But the biggest attraction for the Sunset Celebration is the sunset itself -- probably the best free show anywhere.

Glass-Bottom Boat Video

Miami / Ft. Lauderdale

On Friday morning we took a boat tour of the New River and Intracoastal Waterway around Ft. Lauderdale. It was easy to see why Ft. Lauderdale is nicknamed both "The Venice of America" and "The Yacht Capital of the World." The tour took us past waterfront estates of the wealthy and famous. Many had docks right at their doorstep for their yachts. The narrator on the tour mentioned that we were not seeing many of the largest vessels. Since most insurance policies do not provide coverage for hurricanes, many owners will simply move their "toys" to the Mediterranean for the season. Since hurricane season is just a month away, those that were remaining were most likely either procrastinators or risk takers.

In the afternoon we went for a stroll on the "Broadwalk" along Hollywood beach. Yeah, we thought it was a typo, too, until we realized that it was a 2.5 mile promenade made of bricks and not the typical wooden variety. The area was a study in contrasts. New glass and steel 30-story condo buildings stood next to small two and three-story apartment buildings from the 1940s and 1950s and small "surf shacks" stood side-by-side with beach-front restaurants and tattoo parlors. The people utilizing the broadwalk were as diverse as the buildings -- bikers, joggers, in-line skaters in bikinis and octogenarians walking little lap dogs.

Saturday we continued down Florida State Route A1A along the coast through Miami Beach and South Beach. For most of the drive along Collins Ave., it was like driving through a tropical Manhattan with skyscrapers all along the way. In South Beach, however, the area's Art Deco flavor has been beautifully preserved. With over 800 buildings, the district claims the world's largest collection of Art Deco architecture. In "Little Havana", the Cuban section of Miami, we toured a cigar factory store which claimed to sell hand-made "Cuban" cigars. Since Cuban products are illegal in the U.S., it turns out that the cigars were rolled by Cuban ex-patriots from tobacco grown in Nicaragua from seeds originating in Cuba. So, effectively, the beginning and end of the product is Cuban. We stopped for lunch in Coconut Grove, a tree shaded neighborhood on Biscayne Bay. Its a trendy area with people strolling the narrow streets while visiting the various shops and outdoor restaurants.

Saturday evening we attended a Florida Marlins baseball game. Even though the Marlins have won two World Series championships, they seem to have trouble pulling in the crowds. On this clear, warm Saturday evening, they were only able to draw about 30,000 (although fairly vocal) fans.