Quiet After Christmas - Cedar Key

The day after Christmas, the Turk and I drove up to Cedar Key to get away from the shopping madness.  And quiet is what we got!  Cedar Key is an island on the gulf coast, about 2 1 /2 hrs north.  We stayed in a cute renovated roadside hotel with a back door to our porch, overlooking the mudflats and the sunset.

typical boat dock, ready for the clam boats

picking through the clams after the boat arrives

The town is a fishing town. Their number one business is clam harvesting.  And they are the location of Tony's Seafood - the clam chowder champion for the past 3 years.  No, the contest is not in Cedar Key - it is in Newport Rhode Island.

The Turk and I rode our bikes around the island and I saw some clam fishermen working at their dock.  When I asked if I could photograph them, one of the men looked me in the eye and said, "yes ma'am you can. I don't mind."   Then they asked me if I had a good Christmas.  Say whaaa? All of this while they were busily sorting through the clams, pulling out empty shells.

We made it to Tony's to try the chowder and it was very delicious. Just a bit of heat that you feel after you swallow. Nice.  

trying the chowder

the only manatee we saw

a scavenger on the fishing pier

We enjoyed the island and its nature. I was always reminded that we were on a very vulnerable piece of land. A big storm would surely cause a lot of harm to this place.  We saw a number of poles with measurements in feet to identify the water height in a flood.

Reminder of how high the flood waters can be in a hurricane

Sunset was stunning, as promised. The sky changes colors for about an hour, coloring the mud flats full of birds readying for the night.

yes, wine is involved

outside of our hotel

After sunset, we wandered around town to dinner.  CLAMS of course!   I chuckled over the Christmas lights - pelican with santa hat, star fish, turtle and of course, the all important holiday clam!



My favorite sign of the town?  

The shark pickup and drop off.........  The school mascot is the shark

How convenient

Nature

 This orchid has had quite a life. We found it placed on our deck in Redwood City the winter before we moved to Florida.  It was in full bloom and we thanked the realtor who sold the house next door and found this lovely plant left behind.

Months later, the Turk had to fly to Florida to work on the house for the tenant, so he carefully uprooted the plant, placed it in plastic, and packed it in with his clothes.  American Airlines was not thinking there might be something alive in the Turk's luggage when they lost it for a couple of days.

The luggage was finally found and the plant was retrieved, looking a bit worn from the experience.  We sent the orchid to Mickie's (Tim's wife) mom who grows all kinds of orchids.  She'd not seen a ground orchid before and was kind enough to take this homeless, traumatized plant in to nurse it to health.

We retrieved the orchid when we moved to Florida, and ignored it as we were told. Orchids dont like alot of fuss and attention - but I'm pretty sure they dont like lost suitcases either.  Fast forward 4 years - because the plant did nothing during that time but grow leaves.

Then, in October we saw something amazing... a shoot was starting. Then a second.  And now we've been able to enjoy weeks of perfect orchids in shades of pinks.  We appreciate them even more because we had to wait so long to see them.

I was walking on the beach the other day and had to stop and laugh.  One bird would not stop 'yelling' at the other one - her mate?  The quiet one just stood stoically, looking at me walk by as if to say - "she wanted to winter in Florida, and now she doesn't like it. What am I supposed to do!? We have the beach reserved the whole season."
    

Christmas Magic

Vinoy Hotel, opened 1924, St. Petersburg

Entrance

Lobby tree

 Ah, the holidays. Parties, Christmas lights, boat parades, feasting and being merry with friends. And this was the perfect weekend for that.


A couple of months ago, when we were in St. Pete with mom and dad, I met a guy who runs a horse carriage business and gives tours of the decorated homes in the NE part of St. Petersburg.  This area is one of the oldest neighborhoods full of delightful and unique homes.


I thought, hey, that sounds like fun and called friends.  One thing led to another and we got rooms at the Vinoy Hotel, an historic hotel on the water in St. Pete.  It's been renovated and is beautiful. We figured a nice dinner, carriage ride, drinks and a historic hotel would make a great Saturday night.



When the Turk and I checked in, they told us our room wasn't quite ready, so they would call when it was.  Great!  time for me to get a massage and an opening was available at the last minute.  I was told this was unheard of for a Saturday and I was quite lucky.  While the girls were pampered in various treatments, the boys enjoyed their beers near the pool. yes, it was a perfect Florida December day.

The massage and the room were done about the same time, so the Turk and I ran up to change clothes for dinner. The host said something about Presidential Suite, but I thought he was kidding.  he wasn't!  We went to the top floor, and opened the double doors, forgoing the doorbell. We found ourselves standing in the entryway, presidential seal to the right, dining room ahead of us. And the tour began.

There are 3 bathrooms. One  is, of course, for guests while the other two were set up to cater to the usual male and female requests: large jacuzzi, dressing area with makeup lighting and TV, another bathroom with large shower, and a 5' x9' mirror just for checking your overall look before making your entrance to the living area. Each of the 5 windows in the suite is actually a balcony overlooking the St. Pete marina, pier and skyline.

Looking through living room to dining room. Bedroom is behind me. Balconies to the left.

view from one of 5 balconies. St Pete skyline to the right. Pier is to the left, out of site

Presidential seal in our suite's entryway

Bedroom. To the left are 2 large bathrooms. 3 balconies off the bedroom.

Welcome to our entryway

 The dining room was ready for 6 diners with the bar nearby.  The living room's sectional sofa was comfy and had a view of the tv, but also of the marina and city skyline. Additional seating areas were set up in the rest of the living space to accommodate separate conversations. 

The suite's bedroom was larger than our homes' two bedrooms combined and dwarfed the king sized bed. In fact, I think the bedroom and the 2 master bathrooms was almost the size of our home.

Jacuzzi in one  of the 3 bathrooms

We put the word out that the party was starting...in the Presidential Suite!  The gang showed up and we warmed up by watching the Xmas boat parade come through the St. Pete marina.  The parade was led by the marine fire boat shooting water like a giant elephant into the marina.

Ted and Jan, feeling presidential, await the carriage

Then we walked along the marina amidst the parade watchers to our dinner destination, continuing to cheer on the parade. We sat waterfront to catch wayward boats leaving the parade as it died down during or meal.  After dinner, we were off to find our carriage.

Laurie and Jim can't wait to share the merry.

Monica, the carriage driver, arrived with Tiny the horse and Lancelot the dog to show us festive St. Pete. They needed to unload their guests first, so we waited and were a bit awed by what we saw.  The carriage was filled with women of 'a certain age' who paled in comparison with their dogs. Each woman carried a small pooch on her lap.And each pooch was dressed to the nines in holiday wear - from petticoats and bows to sparkles and feathers. It was clear that the evening was about the dogs!

After the dog fashion show,  our tour began. We festively greeted anyone walking nearby, or far away. We peered into as many windows as we could from the carriage. And we saw a lot of decorations.  Tiny was very accommodating and at the end of the tour, he took us to the front door of the Vinoy - to the glee of guests who were standing near by.

Then the Suite beckoned and we continued the evening with a view of the city, and a lot of rooms to hang out in. The day of festivities took its toll and everyone eventually made it to their own rooms.

One of the homes along the way that we thought we could live in

But by morning, all were ready for a brunch at an outdoor cafe overlooking the very decorated city park and marina. Yes, December in Florida - gotta love it!  We toured a few shops to walk off the feast of crab legs, made-to-order omelets and chocolate covered strawberries, with a bloody mary or two to help us bridge from the night before.  It was time to pass the presidential baton to the next guest, and make our way back to our middle class neighborhood.

Eating Across Asheville

All that I knew about Asheville was the Biltmore House and that the town has become quite popular in recent years.  I wanted to learn more, and it was just 30 miles from the Swag.  We drove the long route – picking up the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a great idea in the fall when the trees are full of color.   We decided to skip the Biltmore, but headed to the Grove Park Inn to get a touch of the origins of Asheville.  Sitting on the rock-built back porch sipping wine and viewing the Smoky Mountains was a nice introduction to the area.



Grove Park Inn



The Turk checks out the fireplace at Grove Park Inn



 

Our B&B wasn’t far from there, in the Montford historical area. This was really close to downtown and had its own charm with large old homes and beautiful trees.  Our B&B was historical, and without ghosts which some would consider a plus.  Seems ghosts are a feature at many Asheville B&Bs.



Our B&B



Flat iron for the flat iron district

I hadn’t realized that Asheville was such a great food town. I needed more stomachs to stay longer!  One chocolate restaurant specializes in sipping and hot chocolates.  I tried their drink based on that of the Aztecs who invented hot chocolate.  It was not sweet, but a rich dark chocolate with a touch of jalapeno chili, cinnamon and anise…really interesting and filling.  There was a potato chip shop where you ordered your hand made chips with different toppings.   From feta cheese, truffle oil and basil on potato chips to a chocolate dip for plantains.  The Turk loved 12 Bones, a BBQ restaurant in the old style with the selection of sides that includes collard greens, corn pudding, cheese grits and smoked potato salad. But Asheville puts their unique flair to everything, so there were Bison ribs in addition to pig. 



River Arts District warehouse/studio



We discovered an interesting converted warehouse district that is now the River Arts District.  The warehouses are now active studios for artists and anyone is welcome to wander through to visit the artists at work.  We got to see some interesting art, ceramics and fiber works and the artists were happy to talk with us. 



Creative fence



wall art



Asheville reminds me of San Francisco with its focus on food, but also its focus on the avante garde. Think the Haight area where people are living in the 60’s.  The clothing and protests were spot on.  I did enjoy the mix of ages at places like the Green Man pub where Sunday night was an Irish music jam. Young and old, local and visitor all gathered and enjoyed local brews and really delicious pub food – of course.

the Turk and his flight of brews



The Turk’s theme for Asheville was beer. There are quite a few breweries in the area and he wanted to try some out.  Its great to have a theme when you go somewhere and we had an excuse to taste lots of beers.  Then the Turk found Bruisin’ Ales  where he could choose from 900 beers with a focus on Belgium beers.  Happy Turk.

Judy is enjoying her birthday

Our last vacation stop was Atlanta to celebrate Judy’s birthday. Another excuse to stop at Trader Joe’s! Great wine, amazing BBQ by the BBQ gurus: Dave and the Turk, and Trader Joe’s carrot cake. The evening was full of stories, Farragamo’s, and testing out boots.

Then back to Florida.

Pampered at 5000 Feet



Great view, food, folks, hikes, double shower!



The Turk and I wanted to do something a bit special for our belated anniversary celebration. The Swag was the answer.  A swag is a dip between 2 mountains that isn’t quite big enough to be called a pass, and this Swag is a beautiful inn. This exclusive country inn was developed by Deener and Dan Mathews originally as a family home and a religious retreat. Dan is an Episcipal priest and Rector Emeritus of Trinity Church, Wall Street, in New York City.  Deener and Dan started opening their inn to guests during the World’s Fair in Knoxville when there was a shortage of hotel rooms. Their experience, and that of their guests, was so positive, they decided to operate as an inn. 



The drive to the hotel

 

The property is beautiful.  It borders on the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and has endless hikes and views to occupy your day.  There are little hideaways throughout the property, each named for a family member who liked their view and location.  There is a tree house for adults, badminton, horse shoe and crocket courts, a hike to an original log cabin from the 1800’s, waterfalls and views upon views. 

one of the hikes





The chef features local produce and recipes for all meals which are gathering times for the guests.  Dinner time is the prime social time.  Hors d’ouevres are served on the porch at 6pm. Southern Living magazine is doing an article in April that talks about the Swag’s interesting appetizers.  It seems unique people are attracted to The Swag.  Deener rings the dinner bell to draw us into the dining rooms where our seats are assigned to continue the interesting conversations.  With no television, the evening conversations are truly the entertainment.



More hiking



The rooms are unique and decorated for comfort and rustic luxury. We would laugh when we returned to our room after a short outing to find it made up, as if by little elves. The beds would be turned down during dinner and the room bear would be sitting on the bed with a small gift. One night, the bear was dressed like the Turk in his favorite fishing hat and sunglasses which cracked me up.

The personal connection with everyone at the inn was very special. It really was a great way to celebrate our anniversary.



After hike!



More fun

mark becomes a bear

sunset



chandelier in the main room



Mark’s favorite souvenirs came from this part of North Carolina, near Waynesville.  His walking stick from The Swag and the 10 ft hickory log he bought for $15 at a firewood shop.

the lazy bear in the raftors



Yurts and Turks

The Yurt

The mystery of a yurt has plagued me for years.  Much more roomy than a regular tent, a 'sun roof', round, camping with furniture and a wooden floor.... My style of camping.

I found a camp site of yurts outside of Bryson City, NC in the Nantahala Forest beside a pond and on a hill.  The bathroom facilities were in a building up the hill and included full sized showers and even a jacuzzi and laundry.

Nice interior

Morning coffee

Mark and our guides

There werent many 'yurters' with us, so we had almost a private location.  After a very quiet and restful sleep, we got up and made our way to the nearby zipline.   The Turk is afraid of heights, so this was going to be interesting.


Banjo playing welcome



We got our harnesses on and trained how to zip, slow down and pull ourselves across the line if we stopped too soon.  Off we went.

The turk survived by not looking down. Our highest point was 70 ft above the ground. We zipped to platforms anchored on trees, platforms without walls.  We walked across swinging bridges with missing planks, and jumped  between trees.  Too much fun!!

View from Clingman's Dome -highest peak inSmokeys

The tallest peak in the Smoky's is Clingman's Dome. So we drove as far as we could and walked the last half mile.  A very steep half mile to a viewing tower. There were a number of exhausted 'bodies' laying about the trail that didnt make it.

Then, off we went to the next stop, the Swag located outside of Waynesville, NC.

mountain climbers!