My long awaited trip to Vermont has finally arrived and so have I. Although it has been slightly less than three months since I have seen Jenn and Roberto it has felt much longer to me. So it was with great anticipation that I traveled from Florida to Vermont to see first hand the new life they have created for themselves at Thistlemoon Meadows.

After being here, I have forgotten about the long, tedious day of travel and have been caught up in the idyllic life they are creating for themselves. Throughout my stay, I will try to capture some of life on the farm and of our travels out and about in the country as they go through their daily lives and to the little side trips of sightseeing they have arranged on my behalf.

The first thing that struck me as I took the tour of their home and their grounds was the absolute beauty, and sense of peace that enveloped me. The trees, the ever present breezes, the mountains standing sentry over their farm, the flowers of all colors. Oh, and the smells of the fresh air. A little paradise and hideaway from all the cares and stresses of  life I can feel just peeling away.

They have worked magic already, making this farm into their vision of home and life. I am absolutely delighted for them even though I miss having them around like I used to. But they are happy and I can see why. And I am grateful for the bounty and beauty in their lives.

I wake every morning to a hearty, breakfast of crepes and fruit, frittata, or Jenn’s special grains, greens and eggs dish. Roberto has the coffee ready for my wake up cup and I can sit in their green room sipping and reading. What a way to wake up! Sure beats rushing out the door with a piece of cheese toast or a protein shake to go to work in an office all day long like I have to do.

They have a day to day routine, nicely paced to manage the running a homestead of this size. Time for household chores, Jenn’s ever cooking in the kitchen, gardening, taking care of pets and chicks and a thousand and one projects that they have in the works.

But it is not all work and no play. You can always hear music throughout the day, whether it is recorded background music while they work hard on the business or the melodic strains of Jenn on her fiddle, or Roberto on his cello and at the piano.

Life is never dull here at Thistlemoon Meadows that is for sure. During my stay we have worked together and played and laughed together. Ahh. Life is great down on the farm. I am getting used to the relaxed, rhythm and will sorely miss it and them when I have to go.

Yes, Virginia, UNCLE DONALD has a FARM!

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Uncle Donald’s Farm. It was the occasion of my little nephew’s second birthday and even at that tender age, he just loves farm animals and tractors. He actually lives on a little horse farm here in Ocala, Florida, so it was a natural fit for his party. We all, young and old alike, had a genuinely fun time.

Besides the picnic area where the party was held, we got to

go on a hay ride

and feed the cows,

and the pigs

and the sheep

and the chickens.

Then we got to milk the goat and then,

give the kid a bottle.

And don’t forget petting the bunnies!

And………. the pony rides for the little tykes.

There were other exotics there too like llamas, cougars, parrots to name just some.

Whew! What a busy day. Who would’ve guessed that we would find such a treasure right in the middle of civilization. That’s why they say”We are more than a petting farm, we are almost a zoo!”.

For direction, hours, admission and events click here.

Uncle Donald’s Farm

2713 Griffin Avenue

Lady Lake, Florida 32159

It isn’t often than when I go out to eat that I would choose a chain restaurant. Recently, however, when I was traveling in South Florida, my friend and I went to explore a new mall area. I really wasn’t too excited to be going to a shopping mall but agreed to go taking her word that I would really enjoy seeing this one. Turns out this was not actually a shopping mall. It was an outdoor, upscale treat for the eyes with high end designer shops, architecturally beautiful with luxurious plantings lining the streets. We just had a few hours to spend so we enjoyed just strolling a bit, soaking up the sites and then, as it was lunch time, decided to lunch at one of the spots there.

Since my friend Margaret has children and a sister leaving in the area, she had been there on other recent trips and was able to suggest the place – Brio Tuscan Grille. I had heard about this place but from another location in the South Florida area and it had gotten enthusiastic reviews. So I thought, what the heck, it is just lunch. So we went.

Brio’s is not just another chain. I can name several other chain spaghetti houses which range from so-so to consistently pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised by this upscale Italian restaurant. It had a quiet elegance. Much attention was placed on detail, from the comfortable seating, to the lavish appointments of draperies, greenery, lighting, wood working. It was just a lovely and inviting place to come in for a meal.

I had Crispy Eggplant Pomodoro, which was lightly Romano-encrusted, then topped with their house Pomodoro sauce. On the side was a generous portion of herb spaghetti with a light toss of Parmesan and fresh Mozzarella. It was perfect. To wash it down, I ordered a berried lemonade, nicely presented with a sugar coated glass rim.

The hostess and wait staff were friendly. The only complaint I might have was that, being a newly opened restaurant, the service was not really up to the par of the establishment. I would be willing to bet that in time it would improve as they become more experienced. However, I felt, that for a place like this, attention to all the details, including the proper basic training of the wait staff, should have been beefed up prior to opening. Still, I would go back to try it again.

Brios Gulfstream Tuscan Grille
600 Silks Run Suite 1205
Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009

Today I felt like taking a little adventure. What could be better than a morning drive in the country and then stopping to pick some blueberries!

When I went to the Organic Food and Film Festival last month, I hooked up with one of the local certified organic farms near Ocala where I learned that I could buy or pick my own berries. I am a fan of blueberries and like them by the handfuls, in smoothies, or baked into cobblers, muffins and breads. I have an especially yummy blueberry grunt recipe that I am talking myself into making for this evening. This morning, I had a cup of blueberries warmed in the microwave, then stirred into a quarter cup of organic granola and a cup of Total 0 Greek yogurt for breakfast. Okay, so it has been established that I like blueberries.

That in my mind, then, justifies my driving 40 miles each way to get organic. There are dozens of local places, but not organic. If I am making the effort to learn and talk about organic, then I need to eat organic as well.

Anyway, I had a bottle of my homemade green tea that I steeped with fresh slices of ginger and a cinnamon stick on ice and my radio tuned in to my favorite oldies station and off I went. For those local to Ocala, it was a straight shot down 40E and then a left on N-315 for 16 miles to the Bay Lake Blueberry Farm in Ft. McCoy.

When I got there, I was given a bucket and a bungee cord that wrapped around my waist to hook onto the bucket so I could pick hands free. I merrily went from bush to bush and picked my way to a bucket full of these plump, indigo gems.

At checkout, the berries were weighed and placed in a flat to keep them from crushing on the drive home. There were several other local farmers there with little tents up selling plants, honey and herbs. Blueberry bushes were also on sale. But for this trip I stuck with just the berries. By the time I checked out it was about 11:30 and already steamy hot in the Florida sun. I couldn’t help but reward myself with a cup of their homemade organic blueberry ice cream.

Since I picked more than I could eat right away, I went with the idea to freeze some for later. The instructions I got were to place them unwashed on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for 45 minutes, then bag. This will keep them from getting stuck together when I am ready to use some of them.

Blueberry Grunt

I like a generous amount of berries. At least 3 cups or what will cover the bottom of your skillet several layers deep. To this I add enough water to cover and then some. Zest a lemon, add a shake or 2 of cinnamon and just a few tablespoons of organic sugar ( more if you like it sweet) and set to a boil over a medium heat.

Meanwhile, mix up a batch of dumplings. The easiest is to use a biscuit mix and just follow the directions. It is about 2 and a half cups mix.  I like to add a bit of lemon zest and the juice of the lemon to this too along with 2/3 cup of milk to make a nice dough.  Then drop by spoonfuls over the berries, put the lid on the skillet and simmer about another 15 minutes till the dough is cooked. It will have soaked up a lot of the juice ( that is why I like to add a fair but of water to the berries). Eat warm with milk, whipped or ice cream.

It is equally yummy for breakfast or dessert. I don’t actually have exact measurements for this. But this is just one of those that is hard to mess up.

Photo by snappED_up

There is no doubt that air fares are beginning to creep up again. We all know about the airlines who have already added the fuel surcharge and, more recently, baggage charges and some who even charge for snacks. When these worked the floodgates opened and airlines looked for ways to add on some more. Due to supply and demand, the “Peak Holiday Surcharge” is a common add-on for holidays like Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

So now, yes, there is another layer of fees or surcharges that have been added to the pot. When the holiday surcharge became commonplace, it was just a natural progression to add more days, and more and more days every few weeks, until now many airlines charge for most days – some as high as $50 one way for something like the Superbowl.

When you add all these surcharges to sales tax, airport, FAA and TSA fees, this can really add up.

Thank goodness, some of the low fare airlines are still holding out – like Southwest. I love Southwest and use them whenever and wherever possible. Then there are others like Air Trans who only adds sporadic and minimal surcharges.

To see a fee added chart with the days they are added by airlines, as well as some tips on avoiding them take a look at Rick Seaney’s article on Fare Compare under the Quick Links heading.

When you have an option to not use one of these fee happy airline,  it seems to have an impact.

The historic Marion Theatre reopened Wednesday, May 26 with a ribbon cutting ceremony(actually old 35 mm film was used for the ribbon), a block party served by six local restaurants, and a jazz band with the bulk of the proceeds going to charities. Following a showing of the original Sex and the City, there was a premiere showing of Sex and the City 2 at midnight. It is heralded as part of the master plan to bring more life to the growing expansion of first rate dining and entertainment experiences to downtown Ocala.

The theatre, considered an historical landmark in Ocala, originally opened in 1941 and since then has closed and opened several times being used as a discovery science center, a place to host concerts and to show classic and independent films. Now, newly renovated with digital sound and projection and 3-D capability, it is a twin theatre with a nearly wall to wall screen on the first level and another screen on the 100 seat balcony level that will be showing first run films. One other item of note is that this theatre, in addition to the regular movie foods sold in the lobby concession area ,will offer beer and wine as well. With the nostalgia of its history, the glitz of the neon signs and its location right in the heart of town, the renovated movie house is a welcomed addition to Ocala.

With the premiere of Sex and the City 2, I thought it was just the right time to give the update on my Girls Getaway. The four of us, from left- Mary, Alice, Arlene and Janice-aren’t the same as the four gals in Sex & The City and we aren’t going off on an exotic trip to the desert. But we are just as good friends to each other and it is a sure bet that we are going to have a blast – rehashing the past, updating each other on our lives, and making some new memories too. If you need to catch up on Part One and see what we looked like when we were kids, check here.

Now, finally, four months later, we have decided on where we are going and when. I had no idea how difficult it would be or how long it would take to blend all of our schedules with our own families, work, and other commitments for four women. It was no small task.  But, we did persevere and now we are happy that we were able to be persistent and committed enough to get it done.

After looking at the many options of where to go we finally decided, much to our collective surprise and now, much to our delight, on heading back to where we had our roots and history together – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We will gather there in mid August this summer. It should be quite an adventure.

Each of us is tasked with deciding on some of the sights we’ll visit. Some will be old haunts to see how they have changed over the years and some will be new. So many times people look elsewhere to explore and often neglect the things in their own back yards. I was amazed to find so many interesting places that I never knew about when I lived there!  A lot has changed too over the years,too.  Somethings are gone now.  I am not sure how we will feel when we can’t find the place where we went for a cherry coke after school or the place where we danced on Saturday nights.  But there are a lot of new things that have come to Pittsburgh and the valley, too.

When I lived there, I kind of took it for granted.  Just a dirty steel town I thought.  But today it is a thriving place to go and we are psyched. I will be back for the final chapter after our “sisters” reunion to let you know how we did.

Just wanted to post a little update on the Travelbloggroll. It is really starting to grow now and I am so excited to see so many talented travel writers from all over the world joining in. This is giving me such a look into other cultures and places that I have only dreamed about seeing first hand (and still hope to one day). And having the accounts coming from real people who live in all of these countries makes it feel authentic. It is like having friends all over the globe. I can’t wait to look every morning to see who is joining so I can visit their blogs too. I am having such fun and really learning a lot about people, blogging and the world. The first month we had just a few visitors. So far in just the first few weeks of May we have an average of daily visits of over 2,200 on the blogs with the widget and in just a couple months we have had over 57,000.

I enthusiastically invite you to come see what we are all about. And if you are already on the blogroll, well just go out and tell your friends!!

Sometimes when you are traveling, it is hard to stay organized. Everything gets jumbled up in your suitcase or seemingly bottomless purse. I think I have a few tips that could at least make a little order out of chaos. Two things – a small, tension curtain rod and a hanging shoe bag, both of which can be stuffed into your suitcase.

You can minimize the amount of clothes you need by rinsing them in the sink and then hanging them to dry on the tension rod placed in the shower. Some hotels have retractable clothes lines but most don’t.

The shoe bag can be hung on the bathroom door and can contain makeup, jewelry, hair care items like your brush, curling iron, etc, tooth brush, maybe even shoes!! Really whatever you want.

This way you can have things handy at your reach with no more packing and unpacking stuff every morning and evening when you do your grooming and at the same time keep your room nice and tidy.

Let me know what some of your packing tips are.

We are back from our “free” cruise. All in all it was fun to get away but as in all things it was a mix of good news and bad news.

It was free and that is always a good thing. Well, almost free anyway. We did have the travel expense, but as we drove from Ocala to West Palm Coast that was a nominal shared expense. And we did have to pay the port tax for the Bahamas. Beyond that, we opted for an upgraded room for an extra $75 each. It allowed us to have this room rather than one that was on a lower level with bunk beds and no window. So it was worth it.

The weather was great. The water was that wonderful blue. The people were friendly so we had a good time making new acquaintances. We did encounter a little rough water about an hour out that lasted for a couple hours – just enough to make my best friend get a little sea sick. ( I hope she still is my best friend after getting her sea sick!! ) But after that one episode we had smooth sailing the rest of the way. The Bahamas Celebration is an older vessel and not as grand as say the NCL or the Royal Caribbean, but nonetheless, it offered all the services and activities. There were several dining places, the RIO and THE CRYSTAL ROOM with free seating, although we did need to select a time. Several other casual eateries were also available as was the gourmet, THE COVE, for an additional $25 per person. It suited us to dine at 6 pm rather than 8 and this freed us up to go to the nightly entertainment in the club. There was a nice variety of entertainment and the evenings there were a lot of fun. They also had a duty free gift shop, a spa and a casino.

Margaret and I usually ate our breakfasts topside at the breakfast buffet which was quite extensive. It lacked the ice carvings and elaborate presentations that I found when cruising on NCL or on the smaller ship, the DOLPHIN, but the food was plentiful and good. This was also the site of ongoing dancing, contests, bingo, steel drum bands, etc. going on day and night all through the trip.

The staff was courteous and helpful in every way. Whether we needed an extra blanket to ward off the chill from the AC, a little TLC for my seasick friend, or to bring us endless items to sample at the dining tables, they provided everything with a smile. It occurred to us how hard the staff works on a cruise line.

We had only one port of call on our 2 night, 3 day cruise to Freeport but I will save that for another post.

All in all, it was a nice little getaway. I probably would not pick that cruise line again and would opt for one of the larger lines with more ports of call, and would go for one that was longer than two nights. It felt like we were coming back before I really got into it. Yet, we got more than we paid for and it was worth the two hour time share presentation I suppose.