Grandmom-a-go-go

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. (Though those of you who check my Traveling Teddy's blog -- www.teddietravel.blogspot.com -- know that the bear has checked in a bit more often.) I've been on the road BIG time. And I'm fixin' (that's how we get ready here in Oklahoma) to hit the highway again. So here's a quick catch-up on where I've been since the first of September.

Jack and I (with our dog, Roxie) made a road trip to Ennis, Texas to experience some Czech heritage. The picture above is a beautiful costume (called a kroj, pronounced kroy) at the Sokol Hall museum -- one of several Czech dance halls. And, of course, we had some great Czech food. Sweet kolaches and spicy klobase were big favorites.

The Travel Media Showcase -- a kind of speed-dating for destinations and travel writers -- was held here in OKC and I played tourist. We started with a trip to eastern Oklahoma to explore the Cherokee heritage there. In Tahlequah, a number of the street and road signs are bi-lingual.

At the Ancient Village at the Cherokee Heritage Center we watched demonstrations of native crafts and skills. Scott Ennis posed with Batman (yep, that's what the kids named the bear).

Jack and I made a quick but fun-filled trip to Fort Worth. We traveled down on the Heartland Flyer -- I heart the train. We had a great dinner with McKenzie Zieser at Reata.

We spent a lot of time on our feet the next day -- four museums after lunch. So I was ready for some pampering at the spa at the Omni. I'm getting my toenails painted with OPI's "It's Totally Fort Worth It."

Last week I spent four days in Florida. Though Apalachicola was the main destination, I stayed in a beach house on St. George Island. It was gorgeous -- right on the beach -- and I slept with the balcony door open so I could go to sleep with the sound of the surf.

The seafood in Franklin County is the best! I'm not a big raw oyster fan but I'll eat them here. They're unbelieveably fresh and good. It didn't do a lot for my appetite, however, when our guide at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve told us that the oysters are still alive when we eat them. Ugh, I ate that little oyster when its teeny heart was still beating! I had no such qualms when Chef Brett Gormley served bacon-wrapped grouper stuffed with fresh crabmeat.

It was wonderful to get up early and watch the sun rise over the ocean. I really like this shot -- I think it looks almost like an abstract painting.

The Ultimate Oyster

I'm not a fan of raw oysters so going to the cradle of Florida's oyster industry didn't really excite me. Franklin County (Apalachicola) produces 90 % of Florida's oyster crop and 10 % of all the oysters consumed in the U.S. I made sure that I ate plenty of seafood -- shrimp particularly -- at every meal except breakfasts. And I did eat fried oysters and baked oysters and oyster chowder. Then, on one of the boat trips, Justin anchored the boat, jumped out and picked oysters right off the bottom of the bay. He shucked them right then and passed them around -- also providing crackers and hot sauce. At first, I declined, then decided I could be a good sport. Wow! Talk about fresh and tender. Even my friend Mary from Baltimore swore they were better than Chesapeake Bay oysters. They were really good. Not good enough that I'll order raw oysters in a restaurant but if I'm ever on a boat in Apalachicola Bay again.....

Crabnapping!

Last Saturday afternoon I went on a bay/ocean cruise where we headed to a couple of uninhabited islands to shell. Sand Dollar Island was a bust as far as its namesakes were concerned -- a few were found offshore but on the sand it was mainly bivalves and angel wings. I did find a cool skate egg case. Our next stop proved a bit more fruitful although unbroken shells were few and far between. I found a (mostly whole) fig shell and a slipper shell, more angel wings, a bright yellow coquina and one I couldn't identify -- either some kind of murex or whelk.

In my closets, I have boxes and boxes of shells that I've collected over the years so I didn't bring too many home. This morning (Tuesday) I was unpacking my travel tote and put my plastic bag of shells on the kitchen table. Not long after, Jack came into my office and said, "Your shells are making noise and moving." Naw! But I went into the kitchen and opened the sack, moving the shells around. Nothing. Then I saw the murex/whelk wiggle. Pulling it out of the sack, I was just in time to see little hairy claws retracting into the curled recess.

Yep, the stowaway was a hermit crab. He's very shy -- but probably very hungry and thirsty! I carried the shell out to try to take his picture -- unlike Miley Cyrus, he wasn't interested in exposure! We took him over to our grandson Alex who is the animal kid in our family. Then we took Alex to the pet shop. Thirty-five dollars later, we have a terrarium, sand, soil, a water dish, water conditioner, food, sponge, spare shell and an instruction book for the free crab! What a deal!

Wet and Wonderful

Just a quick note to share a photo I'm very proud of. I've been in Apalachicola, Florida for the past several days -- having a marvelous time -- but now I've got a lot to catch up on, including sleep. I've been up about 20 straight hours now and I'm fading fast. One of the highlights of the trip was a bay cruise with Justin McMillan and Journeys of St. George Island. The dolphins in the bay like to body surf in the boat's wake and Justin's dog, Blue, likes to dolphin watch. I think I got this one just right!