A memorable Christmas

Can you recall a Christmas holiday when things went awry?

Well, it happened to me this year. My family and I had just returned from a cruise, eating way too much, so the last thing on our mind was to have another big feast. However, two days before Christmas, my sister and I decided on an impromptu get-together. We planned our menu (the usual suspect - ham, turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, pumpkin pie and something refreshing, Jello cheesecake, deviled eggs and blackeye pea salsa for hors d'ouvres) for 13 and went shopping. Oh my, what a zoo!

On Christmas eve, we made butter and gingerbread cookies. The cookie cutters were nowhere to be found. Two hours before the stores close, I went out hunting for them cutters, to no avail. So we improvised. Needless to say, the cookies were not photogenic.

Next day was Christmas Day. We got up bright and early to start cooking. Our 15-lb turkey was in the oven for almost 3 hours (with 45 mins more to go) when lo and behold, the power went out. This cannot be happening. It had rained during the night, and we could see dark clouds from the back of the house, but nothing ominous to warrant a blackout. Was every household cooking up a storm, draining the power grid? Hard to believe. So, we waited, and waited. And waited some more. Thirty minutes later, still no power. With guests arriving in two hours, we were in panic mode. We have a half-cooked turkey and a ham that has yet to be heated through. Many thoughts crossed our minds. We initiated plan B - cooking the turkey on the BBQ grill on the patio outside. It was a tad windy, but warm, in the high 60s. Fifteen minutes later, the power came back on. We turned around and moved everything back to the oven and the stovetop.

Meantime, I started peeling the hard-boiled eggs. Apparently, I had either boiled it too long or did not soak them in cold-enough water because the shells would not peel off without ripping the egg white. The solution? I saved the eggs for another meal. Thank goodness the blackeye pea salsa was a winner!

In spite of the panic attack, everything turned out delicious. We hope your Christmas holiday was memorable and exciting as well. To joy and peace!

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Christmas lights at Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee

Whenever people visit us in Tennessee, we almost always take them to Nashville, and one of our favorite stops is the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The nine-acres of jaw-dropping indoor gardens with 50,000 tropical plants and trees, along with waterfalls and cascades, restaurants and retail stores, never fail to impress us or our visitors. If walking the nine-acre complex is too much, you can opt for a Mississippi-style flatboat ride on the river that meanders around the resort.

Having spent eight winters in sunny Florida, I was so ready for a magical Christmas experience, something akin to a Winter Wonderland, perhaps with some ice-skating, along with sensational Christmas lights. So when I heard about the Christmas lighting ceremony at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel & Convention Center in Nashville on Nov 19, I persuaded my husband to stay in Chattanooga until then (we usually leave after Halloween), so we can drive over to Nashville to see the Christmas lights.

My expectations were raised even higher when I learned that Travel Channel's Extreme Christmas show had touted the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to be "the most Christmassy hotel in the U.S." So, here I was, thinking Christmas in New York City or Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, my two favorite Christmas destinations.

Well, I was disappointed. The ambience at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel was not as festive as I had envisioned it. I did not see carolers, Santa, or even a whiff of snow. The only Christmas music I heard was in the restrooms! We saw one beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the Delta atrium, with throngs of tourists all over it trying to capture its beauty on camera. There were some spectacular lights in the Cascades atrium (see above picture.)

The fountain show was disappointing too. For some unknown reason, the show was delayed some 45 minutes. This small section got very crowded with families. No one knew what was going on. You would think that a hotel in Nashville, the capital of country music, would have thought of hiring a musician to entertain its guests. With Christmas songs or Christmas music. I hope it was because they were swamped by all the shows and events happening the first weekend of the Christmas season. Anyway, enjoy the video, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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PC-centric traveling

Savvy travelers are increasingly planning their trips online. Many often travel with their notebooks. Which is why I decided to add this category (computers) to my blog. We may not be early adopters (no iphone or Windows 7 yet), but we love our computers (a desktop and a notebook) and we continue to be amazed by the internet. As ex-IT professionals, we have, over the years, provided technical support to friends and family, and fixed many a PC (personal computer).

We use our PC for everything. We listen to music, display pictures, edit videos, watch movies on DVDs, and surf the internet (emailing, blogging, social networking), in addition to all the regular PC Windows applications. We also use our PC to watch TV. Hauppauge Computer Work's WinTV-HVR-950Q USB Stick transforms our 22-inch monitor into a high definition TV and a digital recorder system. Recording our favorite programs has never been easier. The key is to have plenty of hard disk space.

We keep an external hard disk drive as a back up for our personal data. Anyone taking videos and pictures with 10 megapixels will need plenty more hard disk space. Prices for storage have come down tremendously. Walmart is selling a 1 Terrabyte External Hard Drive anywhere from $90 (Western Digital) to $123 (Iomega). At Amazon, Seagate has the same for $99.99. With Black Friday approaching and retailers vying for your dollars, perhaps you can find an even better deal! Who knows?

Good luck, and happy Thanksgiving!

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Remnants of Hurricane Ida drench the Mid-Atlantic

Hurricane Ida lost steam when it came ashore Alabama Tuesday this week. Still, it soaked the Deep South pretty good. There have been some reports of rock slides, and flooding along rivers and creeks. Boaters doing the Great Loop passage are starting to reach Mobile, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle area. While these boaters wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico either from Pensacola or Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs, the rest of the loopers are stuck further north. Until marina slips are freed up, they have no place to go. It's better to be stuck in an area that is safe and sound than to be caught out in the open seas with 10 to 15 foot waves!

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Meanwhile on the mid-Atlantic side, snowbirds on the IntraCoastalWaterway(ICW) are being hammered with the remnants of Hurricane Ida - rain, waves, and wind, which continue to gust in excess of 35 mph.

I feel for them. Around this time in 2004, we were one of those boaters on the ICW. Having spent that summer cruising the Chesapeake Bay, we were headed south in mid-September. If you recall, that was the year Florida was battered with four major hurricanes - Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. When Hurricane Ivan hit in October, we were in Annapolis, Maryland, hiding in a lovely anchorage called Weems Creek.

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By early November, we were exploring Ocracoke on the Outer Banks of N. Carolina. Following is our trip's log:

Oct 19-23, 2004
We split with "Colorado Cat" and headed east to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks. Entering unfamiliar territory can sometimes be a challenge, and this was no exception. You leave the red markers to port as you enter Big Foot Slough channel. To add to the confusion, there were a bunch of range markers sticking out there. We made it in ok and were the only boat at the Silver Lake anchorage. During our stay here, we would hear boaters over the radio asking questions on the approach, and to our surprise, boats and ferries come in and out, no matter what the weather.

Home to the 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse, Ocracoke is a charming town that exudes Cape Cod ambience. It is dotted with restaurants, and hotels, inns and many private homes are all for rent. No doubt this is a busy place in the height of summer. And apparently, fishing IS the thing to do here. We saw 4-wheel drive vehicles on the beach carrying fishing rods up the ying yang.

High winds had us hunkered down inside the boat for two days. North winds blowing at 25-30 knots, and seas building to 9-12 feet made for boisterous conditions outside. We were stuck. It is no coincidence that the Outer Banks has been called the "graveyard of the Atlantic." Over the centuries, thousands of sailors and boats have met their fate here, as did the notorious pirate Blackbeard. When we had a good weather window, we got out of there as fast as we could!

Nov 11-15, 2004
As we entered Georgia, a nor'easter whipped up north wind of 25 knots with gust to 35. We sought protection at Cumberland Island. The wind was relentless for two days, causing "Mai Thai"to rock and roll much of the time. That was the toughest we've endured in our cruising life. By the time the ordeal was over, a couple of zippers in the bimini had been ripped. All things considered, we rather be here (temperature in the mid 60s) than be in Boston (temp 30s)...

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