The Buffet meal was very good especially the roast beef. The performance starts at 8:00 pm. Sold out house tonight.
Thrilling orca whale watch
There is just something majestic about these stunning maritime animals.
Orcas!
One adventure that we hope to repeat is another whale watching trip out of Bellingham, Washington. A few years ago we were blessed with the opportunity to take a day cruise around the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea north of Seattle. So many wildlife sightings of both sea animal and birds happened. The highlight of course was the sighting of a pod of orca killer whales, part of which is seen in the above photo we took. Note it shows an adult and a juvenile.
American Shorthair Tabby cat
Just this week a stray tom cat has been hanging around our house and neighborhood.
He likes to peer in through the screen in the back door
A cute face and a sweet little meow
This skinny American Shorthair Tabby cat appeared in the neighborhood a few days ago. He wants in the house, and wants to adopt us. He is quite vocal and hopefully he’ll find somebody that will take him in before winter sets in…
Stockberger and Curry together in Beef and Boards “The Addams Family”
This is our Review of The Addams Family posted after we enjoyed the show!
Sher and I have been enjoying Beef & Boards shows for years now. Among our favorite performers are Jeff Stockberger and Eddie Curry. These two talented actors and directors always bring a spark to whatever production they are part of. And they really shine when they are on stage together. (Remember The Odd Couple performance a while back?) Their timing is perfect and they put you in mind of classic comedy duos like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis or Abbott and Costello.
The Addams Family cast
Jeff Stockberger as Lurch
This October we’re excited to see that Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre is presenting the spooky-ooky macabre musical comedy The Addams Family starring Stockberger and Curry, among other B&B veterans of the stage. The show opens tonight, October 6th. We’re going to the show Saturday night.
To purchase tickets online, visit beefandboards.com. A discount of $6 off per ticket is available to children ages 3-15. Also check out VIP memberships for next year’s 50th Anniversary Season. There are some great ticket deals available for some awesome shows.
Tarpon Springs Florida home to historic Sponge Docks
During our travels in Florida over the years we have been fortunate to enjoy Tarpon Springs, Florida, a quaint and pretty town north of Clearwater and Tampa on the Gulf. When we were actively engaged in Flea Market business in Central Florida, Tarpon Springs became one of our favorite spots for R&R.
Statue honoring the Greek sponge divers. Note the sponge diving boat tied to the dock.
Tarpon Springs is famous for the Sponge Docks where diving boats still sail to the sponge beds and hard hat divers collect the sponges. This industry began here in Florida in 1905 when John M. Cocoris from Leonidion Greece started the now flourishing sponge business.
Sponge diver in a beautiful tile mosaic
Memorial to the founder of Florida’s Sponge Industry
Dodecanese Blvd. is the main street that houses multiple shops and businesses. The shops offer everything from fresh tea and spices, hand made cigars, souvenirs, freshly caught fish shops and of course several shops selling sponges collected by the Greek divers.
Locally collected sponges of all sizes for sale
Also of note in Tarpon Springs are the marvelous Greek Restaurants! Talk about authentic Greek cuisine, you’d have to go to Greece to get any cuisine that is more Greek. We have enjoyed several restaurants and bakeries in this wonderful spot on Central Florida’s Gulf Coast.
We have not yet seen any reports of Tarpon Springs suffering damage from Hurricane Ian. We hope that the Sponge Docks and the town were spared.
The Berlin Wall in Rapid City, South Dakota
Original wall sections, note the tank trap in foreground
Having just seen some of the statues of US Presidents in downtown Rapid City we continued just driving around checking out the town. Sher spotted a sign in a park next to the convention center that said “The Berlin Wall”. There we found a memorial to the history of the divided city and the ultimate fall of Communism and the tearing down of the wall in November of 1989. Remember Reagan’s speech to the Soviet leader? “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
There are two sections of the original Berlin Wall displayed along with information filled plaques, signs and even old tank traps that were once used at Check Point Charlie, the only gate between East and West Berlin during the times of the divided city.
Original sign from “Check Point Charlie”
If you travel through the Rapid City area on your way to Mt. Rushmore, take a few minutes and go see this memorial. It is worth the time.
Wyoming’s Ten Sleep Canyon
The scenery in Wyoming is absolutely stunning. On one of our trips West we were driving in Wyoming on Highway 16 through the Big Horn Mountains. We were heading from Buffalo on our way to Yellowstone National Park. On the way we found ourselves climbing up to and descending from the Powder River Pass (elevation 9666) which was frankly at times a white knuckle affair!
Blue skies over the rocks
Massive limestone cliffs
We soon came to beautiful and awesome Ten Sleep Canyon. The glacially formed cliffs had nearly vertical walls that we later learned were popular for rock climbing. There were wide shoulders to the road which enabled us to stop and take in the view.
Sher enjoying the break from mountain driving. The exit from the canyon is in the “V” in the distance.
Just past Ten Sleep Canyon is the little town of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. With a population of about 250, it is at the junction of Nowood and Ten Sleep creeks. Historically it was a Native American rest stop, called that because it was 10 days travel, or “10 sleeps,” from Fort Laramie (southeast), Yellowstone Park (west-northwest), and the Indian Agency at Stillwater, Montana (northwest).
Texas Hill Country’s Jester King Brewery
This is a post that Sher wrote back in February, 2020 just before we cut short our time as Winter Texans and headed back to Indiana before COVID struck. We just found this and somehow it never got published. So…Here it is.
It was a special treat for us to visit Jester King Brewery while we were in Austin, TX because our last name is Jester. So, of course we had to buy some beer with our name in it!
Enjoying our beer under one of the heaters
It is located at a beautiful 165 acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country. It is so welcoming and a fun place for all ages. Since we are retired we were able to visit when it opened at 4pm, so they weren’t super busy. We had had a late lunch, so we weren’t hungry but their pizza looked delicious and by the looks of people ordering it I think it was a favorite. We were there on Maj’s birthday and we already had reservations in town with our family in Austin, or I would have suggested we have dinner there.
The kitchen/food bar
The spacious and comfortable seating area
They had many choices of beer, but it was easy for us to choose one we wanted try, the Jester-King one! We, also, bought a bottle to bring home. How we could we turn down a beer with our name on it?
Had to have it!
We had fun and it is on our recommended places to visit. The bartenders were exceptionally nice and so friendly and helpful in answering our questions. They have an outdoor covered area for seating with heaters, and a bonfire outside when we were there.
This is a favorite place and we’ll definitely be going back the next time we are in Austin. And, getting pizza!
St Joseph Center in North Little Rock
We stayed here for free as part of Harvest Hosts. A treat to have not only a sustainable farm but an historic site too.
Original 1910 orphanage
We found a wonderful and historic location in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The St. Joseph Center is a non-profit organization based on a historic building that was once a children’s orphanage run by the Catholic Church. The impressive structure was built in 1910 and currently there are several Artist’s Studios inside the spacious old building that houses other functions.
Currently the St. Joseph Center is an educational and working farm. The grounds are really beautiful. The first thing Sher and I did was to take a stroll around the main building, enjoying the old statuary and flower beds. We also got our first look at the garden plots. Turns out that there is a large citizen garden space where locals can come and, for a modest fee, have their own personal garden plot.
Bull, right and cow
Recently sheared sheep
The Farm Stand, in other words the…
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Sunset over Lake Tawakoni
This nearly 38k acre reservoir is about 50 miles east of Dallas. Our RV site was, as you can see, right on the shore, and provided a beautiful end to the day.
Roadtirement 