Dinner with President Obama

Last weekend, we went up to Washington, DC to participate in a rally.  And ran head on into the President of the United States of America!

His motorcade came pouring out of the Rose Garden side of the White House, and we were astounded at the power and depth of the entourage.

He has an amazing amount of people helping him to move safely around the world, and we got a glimpse of that.  Even my husband was impressed, and that is hard to do.  One of the more chilling vehicles was this one:

It came right behind a standard box ambulance, and we were told later that it was "additional support".  I guess Kennedy's assassination taught the Oval Office a lot about exposure of the President to the masses.  See that guy right at the steps in black, with his back to the street?  There were dozens of them, and they meant business.  No playing.  Get Off The Street!  Now! 

That's the ambulance that would whisk him away on the left.  And the suits walking in a line across the street are the Press Corps.  If you know DC, you know that this is the Hotel Washington, and that meant that the President, who was giving a reception for the Irish Prime Minister, only went one block from the White House.  With his entire support group. 

Now.  See the snipers on the roof?  There were locked and loaded, with binoculars and very large guns.  And see the Presidential Limo right in the middle of this picture??  Yes.

  After being safely blocked from the public by two square blocks, tons of Secret Service men,  snipers on the roof, and what looked like the entire Washington DC police force, we were allowed to walk down the side street right beside his entourage after we told the Secret Service man that we had a reservation in the "blocked zone", and could we please walk there?  They were about the nicest men I ever met - they understood two Senior Citizens wanting to go to dinner...however, they had steel cold eyes.  Never saw such a combination before.  Those men would slice you down in a second.  No remorse.

Here is Husband, sauntering down the street, right into the Bulls-Eye of the snipers.  "Come on", he said.  "This is the way to the restaurant".  Worst headache of the security team.  See them up on the roof?  Those two vertical hash marks above his right shoulder?  I closed my eyes and followed.  He's my husband, and he will keep me safe, right??  

I couldn't help it.  I took shots of the Limo when we got to the corner, although the cop with the hat had eyes that were boring into me as if to say, "Give me a complete break!".

We turned the corner to our restaurant, Old Ebbitt Grill (what else?) and husband, for God's sake, spotted a bench, and said, "Here, let's sit down and watch".  

Understand this:  the bench he wanted to lounge on was in No Man's Land, in a street stripped bare of bystanders, with only Secret Service Men, Cops, Snipers, and the Presidential Limo on it.  And us.  And he wants to sit down and watch???  I turned to look at the hundreds of people cordoned off by yellow crime tape about a block away, turned back to him, and hissed, "MOVE IT!" And slid inside the restaurant door without looking to see if he was following.  Thankfully, he was.

When we entered the restaurant, a little hush fell over the crowd peering through the windows at the action.  Husband stepped up to the hostess and announced our presence, and we were immediately whisked to a table, past all the people who were waiting for their reserved tables to be freed up, and who turned as one to look at us as we passed by.

Husband, who was by now imbued with the power of Capitol Hill, enjoyed his meal immensely.  And enlivened by our brush with power, so did I.

Building the American Dream, One Dollar At A Time

It seems ages ago that I stumbled upon one of the best Fusion Sushi Chefs I'd ever eaten with...he was tucked into a corner of a steak house in tiny little Shallotte, North Carolina.

I didn't get to eat with him too often, as I had already begun to shift my home base back to Atlanta from the North Carolina Coast.  But every time I got the chance, I went to partake of his amazing creations, and was always delighted with the nuances he was able to pack into the simplest of dishes.

After moving back to Atlanta, I would occasionally check in to his Facebook Page, just to see the pictures of his newest creations, wishing that I could reach through the screen with my chopsticks...  this is one that he titled "Rainbows Aren't Just in The Sky":

Yum Yum.

He was fond of serving in Soup Spoons, and I was always delighted to see his artistic talents applied to another lovely offering.  Like this one~

He was hard, hard working; he had to drive down from Wilmington every day to attend to his tiny Sushi Bar tucked into the corner of the steakhouse.  About an 85 mile commute, round-trip.  He didn't have any way to cook in his little corner, so he had to dash to the back of the building to the restaurant kitchen in order to make his hot dishes.  You'd see him running back and forth, never loosing his graceful demeanor while serving up his exquisite dishes.

Like his Hamachi Kama, rubbed with Lemon Grass and Ginger...

 A couple of weeks ago, I got a little tap on the shoulder from Chef Mark.  He is striking out on his own, and trying valiantly to open his own little restaurant in Wilmington, NC.  And true to Mark's form, he is firm about having a Sustainable Sushi Restaurant.  As in, being responsible to the planet, and the oceans that provide us with all this fabulous food.

He is trying to raise some opening capital on Indiegogo, and amazingly enough, is having a slow go of it.  My amazement is that with all the folks who swooned over his skills, he's far from his fairly moderate goal of $5,000.00.  I hope you will give this guy a little boost and show your belief in hard work and the American Dream by donating anything you can to his effort.  And then, give yourself a pat on the back for helping sponsor someone who refuses to just go collect unemployment.

It is the original American Dream...with an Asian twist!  

Salute to Doppler, Sweetest Golden Retriever Ever

Yesterday, we said goodbye to one of the sweetest Golden Retrievers that ever lived.

There are many sweet ones out there,

but Doppler was the sweetest.

Supremely comfortable with his doggie self, he was always up for anything that meant family contact...

Like a ride on the "Hughes Burger" boat in the brisk November air...

Or serving as a photo prop for Miss Caroline.

His ALMOST favorite thing was a good snooze on anything soft.  His First Favorite thing being, of course, Dinner Time.  In the photo above, he is looking right at me because I'm taking his picture, and it is Past Six O'Clock and I am taking his picture Instead of Making His Dinner.

Another Biggie was his Morning Treat, kept in the pantry for the times he had a Sleep Over with us.

How can we imagine getting up in the morning without Doppler barreling down the hall toward the pantry, tongue flopping out the side of his mouth, eyes sparkling, while we tried to untangle ourselves from his mad dash to the kitchen?  There are permanent marks in my kitchen floor where he did his "Treat Dance" every morning in front of the pantry...it got so bad that I started quietly getting the treats out the night before so I could get to them faster.  One Hundred Pounds of delirious Dog, jumping six inches off the floor repeatedly is not what I wanted before my first sip of coffee, but now I would give a lot for just one more Treat Dance.

He was the undisputed Mayor of Ocean Isle Fishing Center...greeting everyone at the docks, or lying at the top of the steps to garner loves and hugs from everyone who arrived.

He learned quickly that a white box emerging from the Giggling Mackeral Restaurant meant juicy leftovers - someone told him what "Doggy Bag" really meant - and could usually manage to wheedle a french fry or better from the departing customer.  Which led to his Dad attaching a sign to his collar that said in Block Letters: Do Not Feed Me!  Undeterred, he continued to sneak up the steps to the top deck and visit from table to table, hooking customers in with those soft eyes and the promise of a hug for Just One Bite.  

He helped Rickey Beck celebrate his birthday at OIFC in August:

This Fall, he began to fade and look all of his Twelve Years, but still had his sweet face on for Amy, who captured him lying in the flower bed at the Fishing Center:

Knowing what was coming, Brant and Amy had ordered up a new puppy, whom Doppler met without ever acknowledging:

Puppy Fin arrived just in time for Christmas, which Doppler had always enjoyed in earlier years with personal visits from Santa...

He spent this Christmas showing Fin the ropes because yes, they had finally made friends.

Video of Doppler and Fin Playing the day after Christmas!

And then he quickly went down, quietly passing away yesterday morning from old age and cancer while resting on his bed.

We salute you, Doppler.  And we thank you.  Thanks for the hugs, the unconditional love, the warmth at our feet, and your everlasting good company.

Up Helly Aa Goes On The Bucket List

My love affair with Scotland continues, and I must say that although the warm temperatures in Atlanta are delightful, I would rather have been freezing in Lerwick Town,  Shetland Islands, for their annual Up Helly Aa celebration on Tuesday.  What a party!

This annual celebration originated in the late 1800's, and marks the end of the Yule season. 

The Shetland Islands have a strong connection to the Vikings - who ruled the Islands for about 500 years - so the participants honor that heritage by designing and making Viking costumes and building  a replica of a Viking Ship, which is hauled through the streets of Lerwick by Guizers and Jarl Squads.

Photo courtesy Carl de Souza, AFP, Getty Images.

The party starts at the crack of dawn on the last Tuesday of January every year, and the highlight of the festival is the ritual burning of the Viking Galley ship in the early evening.  Hundreds of torch-carrying Guizers and their leader, the Guizer Jarl,  throw their lit torches onto the ship to get the fire started...  

This year's Guizer Jarl, David Nicolson, was impressive in his hand-made costume that was two years in the planning and making.  For the Festival, he took the Viking name "Bothvar Egilsson", because he says he has within him the "spirit of a true berserker".  

In case you didn't know, a berserker is defined by The Free Dictionary as "one of a band of ancient Norse warriors legendary for their savagery and reckless frenzy in battle".  Plainly stated:  Do Not Make This Man Mad.

Above photos, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of Metro.co.uk.  You can see more photos of this year's event by clicking on the link.

Photo courtesy Neil Ratley, in his very good article on Up Helly Aa in The Midge.  After reading this article, you can appreciate the dedication the Shetlanders have to the event...and you have to admire their partying stamina!

At any rate, after burning of the ship, the partying begins, everywhere, and continues all night.  And on Wednesday, Lerwick, Shetland is Closed.  For recovery. 

Is that a party, or what??  Definite Bucket List material.

Florida Keys Vacation - It's A Wrap!

I'm going to miss Blue Plate Specials in the Florida Keys...

Like this Grilled Lobster, Black Beans & Rice, Cole Slaw and Hogfish Snapper plate that we happily stood in line to get while browsing the Key West Seafood Festival.

And, I'm going to miss all the Sea Life and Ocean Art, like this metal art at the Seafood Festival:

We became accustomed to regular trips from Big Pine Key down to Key West - and no trip was complete without lunch at the Hogfish Grille~

Where you could watch Blakely eat a pickle, her toes curled in baby bliss...

Our GPS was also locked in to the famous Mattheessen's one-half pound cookies - they are located on Duval Street, and you can click on the link to order online.  But be ready to develop an addiction...these cookies are absolutely fabulous!

During the final week, the kids arranged an afternoon family get-together and meal at Sunset Grille and Raw Bar at the base of 7 Mile Bridge in Marathon.  Another "gotta go there" if you are in Marathon - they have a swimming pool for their customers, along with a huge outdoor TV screen, picnic tables, and a sandy beach!

We spent the afternoon by the pool, lazily drinking tropical libations and talking as the kids (and some of the adults!) took the pool by storm.  

 As our trip wound down, Husband swept me away for a final treat - dinner at the very exclusive Little Palm Island Resort.  Accessible only by boat, it is a paradise of beauty and tranquility.

The boat trip to the island on their Motor Trawler was fabulous - straight into the sunset.

We were greeted at the dock with our own personal guide for the evening...

Just in time for a glass of wine, overlooking an outdoor fire pit and the best sunset ever.

Thank you, Lower Florida Keys, for a lovely month.  We are rejuvenated and ready to crank the engines and roll into 2012 with renewed energy...and a really good suntan!

But I AM going to miss those Blue Plate Specials!

Life in The Fast Lane - On Cruise Control...

We have settled into a routine that will be hard to break once we leave the Keys.  I love the color of the sky just before daybreak down here, and the light show at sundown.  In between those two shows, we've settled in to our landscape and routine.  

The amazing colors of the ocean and bays now soothe instead of demanding wide eyes and a million photographs.  We're used to this now, and see things with new eyes...right about the time we have to go back to Atlanta.  This last week will probably be the best, and will be what pulls us back for another visit.

I'm starting to notice and love the small things...always a welcome sign of settling into the new place I am in.  

The problem with that is, I will miss these shapes and colors so very much when I get back to Atlanta and the cooler climate they can't grow in. I'll be looking for them to bring order to my day, and they won't be there.

Maybe that is why, after transferring my body to a new locale, it takes me days and days to get all my wheels on the ground, and pointing in the same direction.  What a travel wuss I am!

My favorite plant down here is the Sea Grape - just look at these leaves!  What's not to like?

  These were photographed at Bahia Honda State Park, and once you leave the bushes and head out to the beach, you can find even more surrealistic beauty...check this out:

Someone had decorated all the dead trees on the North end of the beach with sea shells and dried sponges, which was somehow just perfect.

 This sponge had grown jewelry of its own - pretty and totally appropriate.


Time to go put the Black Beans on...we have been gifted with an African Pompano that Brant and Barrett caught yesterday.  What could be better than Pompano, Black Beans, Saffron Rice, fresh Pico de Gallo and a crisp little wine??


Yumm.

Life in The Fast Lane - Chapter 4

We are hearing that a massive cold front is moving across the Nation, and Mike Seidel at The Weather Channel is reporting "from the field".   It is looking quite Wintery, with snow blowing around him.  Time to go to the beach.

Husband steered us to a Park down the road, and we fell in love with it - Bahia Honda State Park.   If you ever come to the Florida Keys, plan to spend some time here...

If you click on the link above, you can see all the amenities and the History of this beautiful place...they even have cabins for rent on the Bay Side, and plenty of camping sites and RV parks too.  With friendly Park Rangers to help you out during your visit.  No worries here, and we feel sorry for Mike, shivering and bundled up with that camera in his face...

Later in the afternoon, the clouds began to roll in, and it started to rain.  Just before sunset, the rain stopped and we got a gorgeous Keys Sunset cloud show!

This one looks like a Barracuda, about to eat a Bait Fish.

Getting dark, time to move inside...

It is starting to rain again, so there is only one thing left to do - and Sis-In-Law knows just how to do it!

Umbrella Drinks!!

Ta Ta for now...