Travels in the South

Hello sweet friends.  How was your Valentine’s Day yesterday?  In honor of the sweetest day of the year, mom/dad shared a little love yesterday as well.  They went out to dinner and afterwards enjoyed this delicious concoction.  And hey, splitting a dessert means half of the calories, right?  But who’s counting calories on Valentine’s Day – snorts.

This lovely creation is called a Margarita Cheesecake which is seasonal special at a local steakhouse called Logan’s Roadhouse.  Now, it’s like other cheesecakes made with cream cheese but it has Logan’s signature margarita blend on the graham cracker crust.  And don’t forget about the sliced strawberries all over the place.  Mom said it was – what was the phrase she used – delightful to the fullest!

So, if you are near a Logan’s Roadhouse, make sure you check it out for this wonderful dessert.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

Travels in the South

Hello sweet friends and welcome to another great edition of Travels in the South.  This past weekend, my mom/dad had to go to Alabama for a quick trip.  While they were gone, they stopped at a restaurant called Top O’ The River in Gadsden, Alabama.  Now this restaurant has special meaning to mom/dad.  You see it was over 20 years ago that dad and his family ate here.  They then told mom about it and mom and  her family ate here.  But mom/dad together have never been here.  So going to this restaurant was kind of like a coming home if you will.

When mom/dad arrived at the restaurant, there was not a single available parking space in the entire lot.  It was barely 5:00pm and there were 100’s of cars.  Mom says this is a sure sign of good food to come.  Finally mom spotted a parking space, they parked and entered the restaurant.  That’s when they saw lots of people waiting in line.  Mom/dad knew they were going to be in for a long wait so they put their name in and started looking at the menu.  You can see the menu here.  Amazingly, mom/dad might have waited less than 15 minutes and their number was called.  Mom/dad were ecstatic to say the least.  There were lots of big parties here that night so thank goodness it was just mom/dad.

Mom/dad got a fantastic seat at a booth next to the windows which was what – overlooking the top o’ the river.  Cute huh?  And what a view they had that you can see from this picture.  Beautiful and serene, lots of green trees and there were some ducks swimming around in the water.  Can you imagine what these trees are going to look like when Fall finally decides to get here?

The sweet little waitress came to the table and mom asked her what was good to get.  She said that there platters were awesome and way more food than one can eat… although the platters say for one.  So mom/dad said why not and went with the platter to share.  Boy, were they surprised when the waitress came back with some starters in the form of cole slaw and cornbread.

If you have never had southern cornbread, you are in for a treat.  Cornbread is one of mom’s specialties and dad says she makes the best. In fact here in the south, a good cornbread  will get you a good man… so says mom/dad – snorts.  But mom said this cornbread was fantastic!  Cornbread is made with cornmeal, milk, eggs, some people add a little sugar although mom doesn’t, and this cornbread had corn and jalapeno peppers.  This cornbread was served with a delicious creamy cole slaw and sliced onions on the side.  Mom/dad said they could just eat these starters and be just fine.  That’s country folks my friends – simple food for a fantastic experience.

But mom/dad ate all they could and before they knew it, it was time for the main course.  Remember the platter was suppose to be for ONE person? Well here is that platter in it’s glory.  There is boneless catfish fillets, popcorn shrimp, fried shrimp, chicken fingers, hush puppies and french fries.  Doesn’t that platter look simply amazing!  And the size of it compared to dad’s hand.  Remember, the platter was for one person.  There is no way!  Mom/dad were so glad they decided to share the meal.

They ate to their hearts desire both of them afterwards being so full and happy.  That’s what this experience was all about.  Enjoying each other, sharing a wonderful experience and just enjoying the time and scenery.  For a while, time stopped and mom/dad sat for a while and just relaxed for a bit away from everything.  And of course, you all know my daddy.  He’s never met anyone that he can’t talk to.  Today was no exception.

On the way out of the restaurant, he met the restaurant mascot, Mr. Catfish at the exit door.  They had a moment to discuss politics, the secret recipe for those wonderful catfish fillets and dad got directions home… that is after they visited the back deck of the restaurant for one last final view.

And that final view is what I leave you with today my friends.  A reflection of a great meal with some wonderful memories made.  And I have to ask you.  When was the last time that you had a dinner with family that you just sat in comfort with each other, laughed and just let everything stop for a moment.  Enjoy my friends.

 

Travels in the South

Today we continue our travels in the south series.  I’m going to take you back to Tybee Island, Georgia.  Why?  Because that happens to be one of the places in the entire world that mom/dad can get to for an escape of reality to find inner peace.  You believe that, right?  Snorts with piggy laughter.

So there mom/dad was in one of the many stores on Tybee Island, wondering around aimlessly looking for ‘it’.  You do know what ‘it’ is, right?  When woman know they need something but can’t quite put their manicured finger on what it is they need.  You follow me now?  So there they were in this store, mom looks up and says to dad, “There it is!”  Oh dear have mercy is what I think dad mumbled.  What was it?  Take exhibit A in the picture to the left.  For a moment mom thought they were in the South Pacific on Easter Island.  Where else would they be finding this ‘dude’?

You know Easter Island – There are mysterious moai statues that are huge – averaging 13 feet and weighing 14 tons.  Although they stand silent reaching for the stars, they speak volumes on how did they get there and how were they constructed which to this day is a mystery.  So was mom surprised when she found “Junior” here on Tybee Island, Georgia of all places.  Now, mom thought Junior would be awesome standing either on her front porch here at the Hotel Thompson or on the deck.  See, mom’s weird like that.  And I’m sure us anipals would have endless nightmares of Junior chasing us in our sleep.  So, this is the one time that I can say dad talked some sense into mom… this time.  But if Junior is still there the next time mom/dad visits the island, I can’t promise it won’t come home… yay.

 And another “it” that mom found while shopping endlessly for nothing, was a treasured Tybee Island rock.  You know this rock did make it home to the Hotel Thompson and is now treasured with our other pet rocks.  They all get along and have been talking non-stop about the beach and the fantastic water.  I foresee a pet rock excursion taking place to Tybee Island in the near future.  Do you?

Now, I’m stepping away from this part on food – take it away mom/dad ❤

For obvious reasons, Bacon doesn’t need to see this.  This creation is one of mine and Jim’s favorite breakfast foods while visiting Tybee Island.  We even introduced it to Jean/Bill from Canadian Cats and to Fozziemom/Fozziedad from All Fur One and One Fur All when they visited.

It is hash browns well done crispy sprinkled with chopped up fried bacon.  See, that’s why Bacon didn’t need to see this.  It is insanely evil and so delicious.  You won’t look at plain hash browns the same way.

Hope you enjoyed this week in our Travels in the South series.  Until next time

 

 

 

 

 

Travels in the South

Welcome my friends to another edition of Travels in the South.  Today I want to share another food experience with you from mom/dad.  You know those two are professional eaters what can I say.  That might be where I get it from, right?  Snorts with piggy laughter.

Well, there’s a certain restaurant nearby that was offering “Endless Aps”.  No not phone aps.. appetizers my silly friends.  Well mom also belongs to their food club where every time you eat there you acquire points towards free food.  Well part of the food club is that you get special things that you have to ask for.  For instance, chips and salsa come complimentary with your meal.  How about that?  BUT you have to ask and then show them your membership.

So mom/dad ordered some chips to start with… and did I mention they are endless?  Do you see where this post is going – endless – snorts.  Well daddy wanted to try all of the ‘endless aps’ that were on special.  Mom ordered a side salad and was going to sample things here/there which I’m sure was not how this was suppose to go but did this day.

Dad wanted to try everything so here you go – Potato Skins, Mozzarella Sticks, Pot Stickers, Fried Green Beans and Boneless Wings in a Tennessee barbeque sauce.  And nods head – you read that right.  Fried Green Beans which mom says is her new favorite.  Now, don’t drool too much on your keyboard my friends ❤

 

Travels in the South

Welcome my friends.  Let’s take another stroll down memory lane with our friends Bill and Jean from Canadian Cats who visited us back in February of this year.  There are still so many pictures that we come across that we haven’t shared.

For instance this picture of daddy who thinks he has the power to bend palm trees on the main strip at Tybee Island, Georgia.  Really daddy?  Please refrain from moving things – you are not a super hero… yet.  Snorts with piggy laughter.

Daddy for some reason thought that palm tree looked like the leaning tower of Pisa.  Mom tried to tell him it wasn’t but well you all know my daddy.  He doesn’t paddle with both oars at all.

And then, while everyone is shopping in a store, the boys disappeared.  Where were they and what were they up to?  It couldn’t be good, right?  Of course not.  Mom and Jean looked up and down the aisles looking for those crazy two.  That’s when they found them on aisle 5 in the store.  What were they doing?  Are you ready for this?

They were caught picking up ho-ho’s.  Really boys?  You two can not be trusted anywhere in public. Shaking my piggy head.  And just what do your humans do when unattended?

 

Journey to Israel – Part III

Welcome my friends with our Journey to Israel series.  If you have missed the previous two editions please see them at Part I and Part II.  This is a wonderful trip that my Aunt took around the Christmas holidays.  She was willing to share her adventure with everyone here in blogville.  Today she will focus on some sights that she was able to check out.  Here you go – hope you enjoy 🙂

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Isn’t this just beautiful!?

You think of Israel and it really doesn’t come to mind the beauty of palm trees.  I thought of flat lands, mountain areas, a lot of churches and history.  But we so much more there.  The weather was perfect for our adventures.  It almost felt like spring/fall – coolness in the air and not hot at all.  We visited at a perfect time because in the summer months temperatures can exceed 109 degrees – way to hot for adventures.

This beautiful picture of palm trees was taken near Masada which is in the southern district of Israel.  

On this date, we went through the Masada National Park.  There was a small fee to access and explore the park – which I highly recommend you visit.  There are actually two paths that you can take for your explorations –

• The Snake Trail leaves from the eastern (Dead Sea) side at the Masada Museum and gains 980 feet in elevation. It is thought that hiking this path is considered part of the “Masada experience”.
• The Roman Ramp trail is also very steep, but has less elevation gain, and is accessed from the western side of the mountain by car.

 Here is another picture to the left of some of the paths at Masada.  Can you see the beauty – the mountains, the sky and all of the old rocks?

It’s not an easy path to walk and plan on taking lots of breaks to enjoy the scenery.  And just to let you know – the path that we walked was equivalent to walking 91 flights of stairs – so says the Apple Health App.  Can you believe that?!

Also – have fresh batteries in your camera.  You don’t want to miss anything and you definitely want to be able to look at these awesome pictures after your return home from your adventure.

I leave you this week with another picture from the Snake Trail path and of course a food pic – no blog would be complete without some type of food porn.  I hope you enjoyed today.  Join me next week for another edition of Journey to Israel.

 

 

 

At Least Some “Piggies” Got to Meet the Beach

Yep, that’s right.  I said that outloud.  At least mom’s ten piggies got to ‘swim’ in the ocean at Tybee Island.  So much for ‘no pigs’ allowed, huh? snorts.

They arrive on the island on Saturday and the *first* thing mom did was run to the water and stick her piggies in it.  It does look kind of nice if I say so myself.

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She took several pictures to share.  This to the right is one of my favorites showing the pier.  See all of those palm trees?  They were put out for a movie they were shooting.  You know Sponge Bob.  All of those palm trees did make the pier look beautiful and inviting.  Each day, workers from Paramount Pictures were out grooming them and fixing them up from the winds off of the ocean.

Hope you enjoy these pics of the beach.  Mom says they make her want to go back again – really soon!  You?  Maybe next time they can bring a little oinker named Bacon!