The Sunday before Thanksgiving, we drove south to Florida for our winter getaway. We were surprised to find light traffic in the Atlanta area. As we got closer to the Florida border, the traffic got heavier, slowing to a crawl in Gainesville and again in Tampa. Guess people were not heeding CDC's plea to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Covid-19 cases were rising in many states, with Florida ranking top 3 as of Dec 4. We only stopped to fill up our gas tank and for bathroom breaks, so we got to our destination an hour earlier than our usual 12 hours drive.
With so many county parks and open spaces in the Tampa Bay area, we have room to roam, safely. It's a good thing the new St Pete Pier, which opened in July, is so open, airy and spacious, with 26 acres of land for outdoor activities. We met a friend for lunch at the rooftop bar Pier Teaki, and later explored the new pier and downtown by bike.
Looking at downtown St Pete from the rooftop bar Pier Teaki
Walkway to the St Pete Pier
Pier Plaza, with a cafe, chairs and interactive fountains
Looking at the Pier from Spa Beach
Taking a break to soak up some sun
a blue heron waiting patiently for a meal
Vantage point of the pier from the Dali Museum area
We wanted to see Van Gogh Alive at the Dali museum, but the tickets were sold out. Just as well. The exhibit runs until April 11, 2021, so we'll catch it next year. With vaccines out soon, it'll be safer to be indoors then.
Biked to the Vinoy Point
View of the St Pete Pier from Vinoy Point
Gelato and brownies - sweet endings to a great workout!
Music and gelato, how sweet it is!
My favorite Louis Armstrong song summed up our day:
Apple picking and leaf peeping are some of our favorite fall traditions. We have fond memories of these outings with friends and families. We've been to many orchards, and three years ago, the Hilltop Orchards in the Berkshires and Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow. There's something to be said about picking your own variety of apples on a beautiful fall day.
Hilltop Orchard in the Berkshires
You can walk or ride the tractor wagon to the trees
Resistance is futile ... on these yummy apple cider donuts
Pick the apples yourself or buy them from the store
At Honey Pot Hill, the cider donuts were even better than Hilltop's, and the farm animals delighted both kids and adults alike.
The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions halted our plans to travel up north. We purchased some Cameo apples at the local farm stand and got some Pink Lady apples from our neighbors. A few days later found more apples in my galley, as Ingles, our local supermarket, had a sale on the Honeycrisp variety. What chef or cook can resist a sale on these gems? Normally selling for 3 times the price of other apples, these delicate crispy apples were a steal at $1.29 a pound! After reading this article, I now understand why Honeycrisp apples command such high prices and are so popular.
Honeycrisp apples, cut and in basket 3 Cameo on left, 2 Pink Lady on right
So, on top of the freshly picked gingko nuts and pecans, I have a lot on my plate. But no worries. I do have a plan on what to do with them apples (looking at you, apple cider and apple turnovers).
fan-shaped leaves on a Gingko tree on a beautiful fall day
Recently relatives and friends in New England posted some stunning pictures of fall foliage. It is Columbus Day weekend, the peak of foliage season there. Here in Tennessee, we haven't seen any traces of fall colors yet. Our temperatures dipped to the low 50s last week. Since then, we've enjoyed an entire week of almost perfect fall weather - mid 50s in the morning and at night, low 80s during the day.
Family visiting this week lucked out on the beautiful weather. We hiked, boated and kayaked. Even swam one day! We did a couple of sunset dinner cruises, and one day tied up to the free docks at Shellmound Recreation Area, not far from the Nickajack Dam. There's a boat ramp and an RV campground here too. The water was so calm and peaceful we got a nice reflection of the boat.
Mai Thai at Shellmound Recreation Area
Time to head back to the marina
It's been four years since we last hiked picturesque Lula Lake on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It's open to the public the first and last weekend of the month, only now you need to make a reservation and pay a fee of $15 plus tax per car. This time we made it down to the bottom of the 120 foot Lula Falls. A tad strenuous down the rocky path, but the adventurous will appreciate the challenge. Great for both kids and adults to burn off some energy!
The mist from the falls was invigorating
Next day, we hiked Fiery Gizzard trail in Tracy City. We used to frequent Foster Falls, but found this trail to be easier and more relaxing. We'd bring our lunch and eat on the rocks listening to the sound of the rushing creek.
We look forward to seeing some nice fall colors in the next few weeks. Have a great weekend, y'all!
We were very fortunate to have traveled to Southeast Asia last December. We like "slow travel," so we spent five weeks in Bangkok alone, living like locals, exploring and soaking up the atmosphere and local culture (especially in the food department!) We ate only Asian foods. No burgers, steak, Kentucky Fried Chicken or pizza (not that we didn't crave for them).
The array of food Bangkok offers is amazing! No matter where you stay, you are sure to be greeted with the intoxicating aroma of food as soon as you step outside. Street food vendors are everywhere! Across the street from our Airbnb and hotel, next to the subway station, along the way to Chatuchak weekend market. Real estate on the sidewalks is precious as everyone is hawking some kind of goods and/or goodies.
The first thing we did after we checking into our Airbnb was shop for groceries. Tops Market was recommended as it was located in a shopping mall closest to us. While in the mall, we discovered a restaurant serving Northern Thai cuisine. Good thing we ate there before food shopping, otherwise we would have bought too much to carry home. Everything was fabulous! Thus began our love affair with Bangkok's food.
Som Tam, the popular papaya salad
Mango with sticky rice and coconut milk
Rice noodle soup with fishballs
Pad See Ew (wide rice noodle with chicken)
People from all over the world come to Bangkok to shop. We came for the food. We ate street food, at the food courts in countless malls, at restaurants, and mom and pop shops in our Airbnb/hotel neighborhoods. Chinatown was interesting too, if you can handle the congestion.
Vendor selling shellfish at Yaowarat (Chinatown)
Oyster omelet at Tang Jai Yoo in Chinatown
Vendor selling chive cakes at the Lumphini subway station
Tom Yum shrimp
excellent Tom Yum Fried Rice at Mixt Mall, near Chatuchak Market
Durian, king of tropical fruits at ICON Siam Mall
Mango Sticky Rice Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) at After You Dessert Cafe
Our last week in Bangkok was in late January/early February. It was the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic; we didn't dare to venture into crowded places even though the crowd had thinned out considerably since the Christmas holiday. We hung out at the upscale Central Embassy Mall and ate at the classy food court Eathai almost every day that week. It was close to our hotel, and we knew it was rather quiet compared to other shopping malls. The Pad Thai noodle was some of the best we've had (read more at Postcard from Bangkok). We were happy to find our favorite Taiwanese dumpling restaurant Ding Tai Fung on the 5th floor; it's always good no matter which location you go. With the Coronavirus scare, there was no line or wait! Below are some of their popular offerings.
Xiao Long Bao, steamed dumplings, the star of Ding Tai Fung
Shrimp Fried Rice, another signature dish
Five Spiced Beef Noodle soup
Bento box at Fuji, the ubiquitous Japanese chain
Our last meal was at the Bangkok International Airport. The durian with sticky rice dessert was memorable. Yum!
Durian with sticky rice
As I write this post, fall is upon us. There's talk about a resurgence of Covid-19. Many of us will likely stay home, even for the holidays. It's sad. But we can travel vicariously through Bangkok resident Mark Wien who recently wrote the ultimate Bangkok travel guide for food lovers. He also has a YouTube channel, showing audience where to eat in Bangkok, and around the world.
Meantime, we wait patiently for a vaccine so we can all travel safely again. Eat well, be well and stay positive!
.JPG "Picking pecans in the fall")
.JPG "Sichuan Eggplant (鱼香茄子)")
