Share Four Somethings – February

Something Loved

I wrote in an earlier post about a trip my hubby Bill and I took  to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Florida. The journey down and back from Pennsylvania was a lot of fun too.

On our way south we stopped in Asheville, NC and Atlanta, GA, two cities we had never visited. Both were fabulous!

Asheville was unexpectedly cold, windy, and even a little snowy. We northerners braved the cold and wind to walk the city streets and found some marvelous restaurants as well as funky little breweries like the one pictured above.

In Atlanta, we ate at a cool Cuban restaurant and visited the site of the 1996 Olympics, which was very near our hotel. We definitely must go back to Atlanta; we did not spend nearly enough time there.

On the way home, we visited Savannah, GA and Richmond, VA, two cities we are familiar with.

In Savannah, we strolled the historic streets beneath huge live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss and explored the waterfront. We ate at a local dive recommended by the concierge from our hotel, a friendly spot with excellent seafood.

We never miss an opportunity to visit Richmond. This stop was far too short, but we did get to visit one of our favorite restaurants, The Capital Ale House, for some mussels served in a delicious creamy broth with smoked Gouda and bacon.

It’s both the destination and the journey for our Florida trip.

Something Read

While I am typically not a huge fan of poetry, I do love to read Mary Oliver. When I found Upstream, a book of prose by Ms. Oliver, I couldn’t wait to read it.

I absolutely loved the beginning and end of this book of collected essays. The lyrical prose used to describe Oliver’s beloved Cape Cod dunes, woods, and ponds and the resulting contemplation they engendered were a joy to read.

The middle section of the book, however, contained the author’s thoughts on some of her favorite authors, Emerson, Poe, Wordsworth, and Whitman. I found myself skimming this section, longing to see nature through Mary Oliver’s discerning eye again.

I do heartily recommend the book, but I could have skipped one of the five sections.

Something Treasured

After traveling for almost two weeks, we got to come home and see these two guys. They slept over at Mimi and Abo’s (our grandchildren’s names for us) house for not one, but two nights over the weekend.

We went to the pool, where the little guy went down the big slide for the first time, did a Target run, built Legos, read, drew cartoons, and made waffles.

Fortunately, the first morning of their stay coincided with National Eat Ice Cream and Donuts For Breakfast Day (yes, for real). Even more fortunately, a shop specializing in donuts and frozen yogurt recently opened in our town.

We had no choice but to visit the shop and get frozen yogurt and donuts for breakfast. It was practically mandatory.

Something Ahead

Next month hubs and I will be on the road again. I am excited to travel first to Morocco, then Portugal.

We have never been part of a tour group, but making arrangements to travel around Morocco was slightly daunting, so we are giving a group tour a try. We will fly over on our own and spend a few extra days in Casablanca and Rabat, then join the group to tour the African country.

After a week and a half in Morocco, we will fly to Lisbon and spend some time exploring Portugal on our own.

Because I will not be taking my laptop on the trip, I will not have access to the blog for a few weeks at the end of March and the beginning of April. I will begin posting again mid-April.

I can’t wait to bore all of you with photos and descriptions of our trip. Bill and I will attempt to take some suitable selfies, but I’m not promising anything.

 

I am linking up with Heather Gerwing for her “Four Somethings”. Thanks, Heather, for giving the opportunity to think and write about four such compelling topics.

You can find the places I link up here.