Room to Roam in St Petersburg, Florida

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

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:

I see skies of blue

And clouds of white

The bright blessed day

The dark sacred night

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world

Y'all have a good day. Be well and stay safe!

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World. 

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Apples and Apple Picking

Updated: 11/3/25
Apple picking and leaf peeping are two of our favorite fall traditions, filled with fond memories of crisp air, colorful trees, and laughter with friends and families. Over the years, we've visited quite a few orchards - Hilltop Orchards in the Berkshires and Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow are among our favorites. There's just something special about wandering through the rows, picking your own apples, and soaking in the beauty of a perfect 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. 

This year’s COVID-19 restrictions kept us from heading up north, so I brought fall to us inst.ead. I picked up some Cameo apples at a local farm stand, got a few Pink Ladies from our neighbors. Just a few days later, I spotted a sale at Ingles—our local supermarket—on Honeycrisp apples. What cook could possibly resist? Normally priced at nearly three times the cost of other varieties, these delicate, crunchy gems were a steal at just $1.29 a pound! After diving into an article about them, I finally understand why Honeycrisps are both pricey and wildly popular. You can learn more about the fascinating history of the Honeycrisp apple here.

Honeycrisp apples, cut and in basket
3 Cameo on left, 2 Pink Lady on right

Between the freshly picked ginkgo nuts and a basket of pecans, my kitchen’s looking like a fall buffet. But don’t worry—I’ve got big plans for those apples (looking at you, apple cider and apple turnovers!).

fan-shaped leaves on a Gingko tree on a beautiful fall day

Picking Gingko nuts that had fallen on the ground

Washed and dried gingko nuts, pecans in the back

What are your favorite fall activities?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, My Corner of the World, Slices of Life and Art*Journal*Journey.

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Have Food Will Travel: Bangkok, Thailand

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 checking into our Airbnb was shop for groceries. Tops Market was recommended as it was located in a shopping mall closest to us. So we headed there. While exploring the mall, we stumbled upon a restaurant specializing in Northern Thai cuisine. Good thing we ate there before food shopping, otherwise we would've bought more than we could carry! Everything we ordered 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)

Vendor selling chive cakes at the Lumphini subway station

Tom Yum shrimp

excellent Tom Yum Fried Rice at Mixt Mall, near Chatuchak Market

Mango Sticky Rice Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) at After You Dessert Cafe

Our final week in Bangkok fell in late January and early February 2020—right at the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. While the city hadn’t yet entered full lockdown, the atmosphere had already shifted. We avoided crowded places, even though the usual post-holiday bustle had noticeably quieted.

During that week, we hung out at the upscale Central Embassy Mall, just a few blocks from our hotel. The elegant Eathai food court in the basement became our go-to dining spot. We ate there nearly every day—partly out of caution, but mostly because the food was exceptional. The Pad Thai noodles in particular were some of the best we’ve had (read more in Postcard from Bangkok).

To our delight, the mall also housed one of our favorites: Din Tai Fung, the beloved Taiwanese dumpling restaurant, tucked away on the 5th floor. It’s a consistent favorite no matter the location, and thanks to the early pandemic slowdown, we walked in with no lines and no wait—a rare treat. Below are some of their most popular offerings we enjoyed during that memorable week. 

Xiao Long Bao, steamed dumplings, the star of Ding Tai Fung

Shrimp Fried Rice, another signature dish

Five Spiced Beef Noodle soup

At ICON Siam Mall, we were greeted with durians, the king of tropical fruits

We also like the bento boxes at Fuji, the ubiquitous Japanese chain

Our last meal was at the Bangkok International Airport. How can we pass up on the durian with sticky rice dessert? Yum!

Durian with sticky rice

As I write this post, fall is upon us, and there's renewed talk of a Covid-19 resurgence. Many of us may find ourselves staying home again—perhaps even through the holidays. It’s a sobering thought. But while we may not be able to travel physically, we can still explore the world vicariously—like through Mark Wiens, a Bangkok resident and passionate food adventurer. He recently published what could be considered the ultimate Bangkok travel guide for food lovers, and his YouTube channel is a treasure trove of street food gems—not just in Bangkok, but from around the globe.

In the meantime, we wait patiently for a vaccine that will allow us all to travel safely again. Until then, eat well, be well and stay positive!

This post is shared on My Corner of the World.

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Respecting Social Distancing in Chattanooga, TN

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. As more states emerge from the lockdown, people are flocking to the beaches, water parks, swimming pools, anywhere they can gather and have a party.

Can you blame them? They had already missed Easter, Mother's Day and graduation celebrations, so they are dying to get out.

But please! Respect the guidelines for social distancing and wear a mask if going to crowded places!  The last thing we need is a second wave of the virus, like the health pundits are predicting. Until we get a vaccine, we have got to be careful and stay safe when venturing out.

We too went out to celebrate our anniversary this weekend with dinner and a walk in downtown Chattanooga. As we were heading out, we noticed our marina neighbors were gearing up for their signature barbecue parties.

Dry rubbed smoked ribs and chicken wings

We met a couple of friends for an early dinner at Tony’s Pasta Shop & Trattoria. This place is normally packed, but not today. We got a table right away. The staff took our temperatures before letting us in. We were surprised they had closed the outside seating area, but happy to know that the restaurant had removed some tables to comply with the social distancing guidelines. All the servers were wearing masks and gloves as well. Hubby ordered his usual Low Country Linguine with crawfish in Alfredo sauce, and I had grilled salmon over spinach salad. Fabulous food, as always!

After dinner, we explored the garden and the sculptures. This Arts Bluff district captivated us since day one. It's one of the reasons we've been in Chattanooga as long as we have. See the video below that we took back in 2007.

Back Inn Café - Food Network's Rachel Ray was here!

Desserts at Rembrandt's

Walking underneath Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge

Zig zag path down to the waterfront

Hunter Museum of American Art

High water at the waterfront after a week of heavy rains

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives forever. Three major music festivals which normally kick off in June have been changed. The CMA Music Festival in Nashville is cancelled. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in  Manchester has been rescheduled to September. Chattanooga is still pondering what to do with its Riverbend Music Festival.

It's our civic duty to slow the spread of COVID-19. So whatever you do, please be cautious, and try to avoid large gatherings during this stressful time.


This post is shared on Through My Lens, Our World Tuesday and Image-in-ing and MyCorner of the World.

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