Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Let the good times roll as '14 arrives

May 2014 be as exciting and entertaining for you as was our hometown's fireworks display during an annual holiday celebration.







Next post: Jan. 7, 2014

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Tis the season



From our house to your's, we wish you a very


Merry Christmas 

and a


Happy New Year!





Our house, as pictured above, with reflecting pool in back yard.

Next post: Dec. 31, 2013

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Darwell's offers gastronomic adventure




Darwell's is an intriguing eatery in Long Beach, MS.

I heard about the place on a radio commercial and one of my relatives had mentioned eating there.


Well, the occasion presented itself recently, and on our way back from New Orleans, we arrived in the coast city during lunch time and decided to give it a try.


I didn't know what to expect. And I didn't find what I expected. 

Its off the charts when it comes to decor, but its right on target when one wants to get a good seafood meal at a reasonable price.

It's not a sit-down and order type of place. Upon entering the front door, one is faced with a wall full of intriguing offers for gastronomic adventures.

Just take your time, mull over the 100 or so options (or so it seems), place your order and then head into the inner sanctum.


There's inside seating with regular-type tables and also picnic tables. And then there is outside seating, offering the same.

Wifey ordered a crawfish meal and I chose shrimp. Both meals were great. We were mesmerized with the interior decorations which made the place look like Christmas had come early. 


Lights were strung all over the place and artwork of all types hung on the walls offeirng a festive atmosphere.


The owner's wife came by and gave us a couple specially decorated cookies for the Halloween season.

It's a place for which one yearns to return.


Next post: Dec. 24, 2013

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Happy holidays in the Hub City



One's best laid travel plans are often set aside when there is the threat of severe weather, in this case cold temperatures and the possibility of snow-like precipitation.


Plans to surprise wifey with a two-day jaunt to an historic village were cancelled at the last minute.

In its place, we decided on a day-trip to her hometown of Hattiesburg, MS to witness their annual daytime Christmas parade.


Times have changed and so has the parade.

Wifey said she remembers her earlier days when the festivities included the local university band with the dance team strutting their stuff. They're no longer a part.



Bands use to play a lot along the parade route, but that doesn't happen much anymore.

The Hub City, as her ole stomping grounds is called, did offer an interesting conglomeration of floats, bands, marching groups, and numerous beauties perched on the seat of convertibles, the roofs of SUVs, or sticking their heads out of some superlong vehicles.


Although the weatherman had forecast the possibility of showers, we didn't  have to deal with them and the wind blowing from the north wasn't  that bad.

The temperature was somewhere in the high 40s and since we had winter jackets and a blanket, we were prepared.

Well, with the trip, we've added a new event.

Happy holidays!

Next post: Dec. 17, 2013


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Good latte, tea and creekside enjoyment




There's nothing better than a good soothing vanilla latte after a drive over the mountains, unless, of course, one can add to the enjoyment by savoring it while sitting on the banks of a slow-moving creek.



And that's what we found in Waynesville, NC after taking a daytrip from Gatlinburg during our October outing.

We were looking for a coffee shop with a little atmosphere, and we found it.

Two coffee shops on the town's main drag, which I briefly looked in to, just didn't fit what wifey and I were seeking.




I asked a passerby if there were another coffee shop in the town that had a little character to it.  She said to try Panacea. After beginning our hunt, we then asked a postal worker who gave us exact directions to the location.

She said it was down across the tracks located in the old warehouse district. The area had been rather vibrant during earlier days when trains were a mainstay for a town's economic development.



We turned north, went down a hill and saw the tracks. We took a left and there it was.

I'm not saying everybody would like it, but we did.




The business was in a section of the former warehouse, being about 50 feet across and maybe 100 feet deep. And standing on the backside one could see Richland Creek.


Wifey and I placed our orders, my latte, and her tea, and then headed out the back door to enjoy our drinks on the porch overlooking the creek.

Next post: December 10, 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

World War II -- museum tells it all




War is hell!

And for those who want to experience man's inhumanity to man, just go down to New Orleans and visit the National WWII Museum. It is located at 945 Magazine St.

I don't like war, and I didn't have a burning desire to visit, but wifey did.

My father and her dad were involved in the war. I had an uncle who died fighting in the Pacific.

I've watched numerous movies about war and it is hard to understand why such tactics are used that allow for the deaths of so many.



I guess it is a battle of numbers. And then again, I've come to believe that soldiers are the pawns of the politicians.

Well, anyway, we visited and were afforded the opportunity of being apprised of more information than I ever want to know about World War II. 


The museum is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.  All venues are closed Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Parking, at nominal cost,  is available adjacent to and across from the museum.

The website "recommends that you allow a minimum of 3 hours to view exhibits."



First of all, that is not enough time to do the museum justice. Someone really into the second world war will find that  even one day may not be enough to digest the amount of material that is available.

There are numerous exhibits and programs available along with a 45-minute 4d film concerning the war.

For those who work up an appetite there's the "American Sector" restaurant and the "Soda Shop."

Wifey and I entered the museum around 1 p.m. and were exhausted by closing time.

There's a lot of areas to sit down and listen to personal experiences from those who were on the front lines.


Visitors are also warned of the graphics that depicted the fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific area.


It's hard to take in everything. There's a lot of displays, the movies, the personal experiences and reader boards that tell about the war.

Its not a place to easily work your way through in a short period of time. Like I said, for those who really want to grasp the feeling of World War II, it will take time.

Next post: Dec. 3, 2013

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A few words with a lot of meaning



During the course of travels, one runs across numerous sayings that make life seem to brighten a little -- for some at least.

Here's a few more I came across and snapped during our recent outings.


Sayings are interesting because they have to say a lot in a few words and they usually have some good meaning to them.


Well, today's post really hits at the point that a picture is worth a thousand words.

In this case, something like seven thousand of those things.






The first three shots were taken in and around Gatlinburg, TN and the rest off a display rack in New Orleans.

Humorous, truthful, a little hurtful -- what the heck, it's life.

Next post: Nov. 26, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

County fair offers rides, livestock, great food




Some kids like to just go round and round

Fall was in the air in south Mississippi recently.

Fall here, is that brief period of time when one doesn't have to use their air conditioner or heater. That's means saving money on energy costs.



It also means that time when the county fair has its annual run.

And that was the case in October.

Pascagoula was the location. Yes, Pascagoula. You remember that song brought out by Ray Stevens years ago called, "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival."

But I digress.

One can find too many rides that go round and round, or up and down. They sound and look sickening to me.

But heck, in  younger days I enjoyed the adventure.





County fairs are also full of livestock such as cows and chickens and rabbits and bulls and goats. And even peanuts (pictured above).

There were a lot of food booths, not to mention live entertainment, arts and crafts exhibits and seafood gumbo.






Wifey and I decided to go for the first time in about 20 years. When we had youngsters at home we would go each year.

But life changes. I seemed to also remember that  during that time of year, the fair would be visited by afternoon downpours making it unpleasant to get around the muddy area.

Next post: Nov. 12, 2013