12/8

Greetings from the Union Station Hotel in downtown Nashville. J took the "butler tour" at Biltmore yesterday AM, so we didn't leave until 1PM. Then we spent 3+ hours driving through the mountains on Rt 40 while it rained constantly. More trucks than passenger cars. When we pulled into Holiday Inn just west of Knoxville around 4:30, the temp was 36 and it was snowing. Fortunately, it was clear and dry today with nothing but sun coming out of the sky. We are next door to the Frist museum, which has an exhibit on Egypt. So J had to see it. Tomorrow, we will visit the Hermitage. Saturday we head for Louisville.

12/6

Greetings from the Inn at Biltmore. We arrived yesterday afternoon and leave tomorrow for Nashville. Is this place nice? How many places now have cloth towels in the rest rooms? J enjoyed foil gras both nights and high tea with champagne today. We each toured the "house" on our own. It is amazing the wealth that can be accumulated when there are no anti-trust or tax laws! The place is magnificent, and nicely decorated for Christmas. Once in a lifetime experience! Dinner and service here is terrific, and the Biltmore chardonnay (at $20 a bottle) is a real value.

12/3

Yesterday, we ate lunch at Wintzel's Oyster House. Guess what we ordered! We first visited the original Wintzel's in Mobile. We had our concerns about the neighborhood, and the large, imposing gentleman standing inside the door - bouncer? We noticed that when a patron left, he went outside. Turned out that he was making sure patrons reached their cars safely. Good food then, and now. After lunch, we visited Tacky Jack's. J remembers their bloody Marys fondly, so she had a few. Still good, so we bought some of their mix. Returned for breakfast this AM, and she had more bloody Marys and I had shrimp and grits. Love that southern food. This afternoon, we put Montgomery Alabama in our rear view mirror, and tomorrow we continue our trek to Asheville.

12/2

Another beautiful day on the Gulf! Today it is Perdido Beach Resort in Alabama, just a stone's throw from Fla. We arrived yesterday afternoon and will stay again tonight. We stayed here many years ago, and it is even better now. Tomorrow we will head north to Asheville. But today we have to visit Jacqui's favorite bar: Tacky Jacks!

11/30

It's a beautiful day on the gulf! We are in Long Beach MS, just west of Gulfport and Biloxi. Mon night we were in Scott/Lafayette LA: oysters for dinner and beignets for breakfast. One of J's friends wanted to know what the deal is with us and oysters. Simple. We love them, can't get good ones in Mich, and love taking advantage of Nature's Bounty when we can. Whitecaps, our favorite local restaurant, was closed last night, so we will return for lunch and dinner today. Tomorrow, we head toward the Fla Panhandle.

Forgot to mention that I met a gentleman on the cruise who asked his waitress for salsa for his eggs. Her response: I don't dance.

11/26

Quiet Thanksgiving with the kids. Randy works for a company with HQ in Paris and he is working on a deal with Shell (Netherlands), so he spent several hours at home on the computer and phone tying up loose ends to meet a deadline. Then he worked his magic on another "5 pound turkey." (Last year we asked how big the turkey was going to be and he responded: I don't know - maybe about 5 pounds. When we finished laughing, he discovered it was 15. We will not let him forget about that anytime soon.). Emily hit the stores at Midnight. J and I passed on that opportunity.

11/24/11

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Always a little bitter-sweet for me: Dad died on the 24th, which was Thanksgiving that year. O well.

We are back in Sugarland and will stay the weekend. On the 10th, we checked into the Hotel Galvasz - 100 years old. We were standing out front on Fri the 11th waiting for the bus to take us to the ship, when a bride (40 years old +/-) was primping and being attended to. She was boobs-a-poppin', carrying red roses and a large red and white lollipop or sucker - draw your own conclusions. Around 10:30 she loudly announced that she needed a shot, and went into the hotel. I doubt that her shot involved prescription drugs. The ship (Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas) sailed for 2 days, then stopped in 4 ports in 4 days: Roatan (Honduras), Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. Then sailed for 2 days back to Galveston. J and I took bus tours at the first 2 stops - waste of time and money. I didn't leave the ship again until Galveston. Emily and Randy, being younger, learned to "snuba", then did tubing through caves and tried the zip line. I told J I wanted to try the zip, but she said I needed much more life insurance. J and the kids crewed on a 12 metre sailing ship in a race against Stars and Stripes. The kids actively participated, while J was cheerleader/beer bitch (she prefers "cooler queen"). The kids also swam with sting rays. To me, the best part of the cruise was sitting on my balcony, listening to the water, enjoying the fresh air and sun, reading a good book - Last Call, The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. A cruise is a good place for people watching. J often asked: don't these people have mirrors? And Randy and I enjoyed the cigar bar, where we chatted with some nice folks, while the girls went to the shows. I was surprised at the number of crew members from India, and an Indian dish on the menu each night. I can remember when French was the other international language. All the announcements on the ship were in English and Spanish. Is Chinese next? Even in calm waters, the ship swayed and rocked (the power of the sea), so I looked like I was walking after too many martinis, even though I had not imbibed. J quickly found the champagne lounge, which served Spanish caviar with her drink. After leaving the ship, we spent 2 nights at the Hotel Galvaz before returning to Sugarland.