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