I know this trip to the Andaman Sea off Thailand and Myanmar was just a few months ago, but I LOVE the photos. I just….love them! I’m putting unusual sea life photos on this photo entry. Enjoy your trip under the sea!
It always puzzles me that I am part of the “Baby Boomer” generation. If it is defined as 1946-1964, I am a boomer, but I don’t recall many of the “baby boomer” memories that are always tossed around. I do not remember the assassination of JFK, I do not remember the American tour of the Beatles, most of the “Baby Boomer” TV shows, and I had no clue at the time that there was a “Woodstock”, or what it was. I think Jimi Hendrix was gone before I knew who he was, and the same is true of Janis Joplin. I have vague memories of Bobby Kennedy and the night he was killed, I remember Batman and Robin, and the color version of Bewitched. Oh, and I Dream of Jeannie and the Monkees!
There are actually two baby boomer generations: the first came of age in the sixties, and were the “hippies” that we, who came of age in the 70s, wished we could have been. We 70s boomers learned to dance disco, listened to John Denver, Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Elvis wasn’t the “king”, he was an old, fat guy who could never remember the lyrics to his own songs. (I’m sorry, Elvis just wasn’t that great to us). John Travolta had Saturday Night Fever.
The 60’s boomers had:
We shared the anti-war movement, POW bracelets, and Tricky dick Nixon.
The 1970s Boomers had:
I’ve watched “The Big Chill” and I LOVE the movie, but it doesn’t “ring true” for me. I missed taking part of the 1960’s many social movements and protests, the love ins and the sit ins and Woodstock. To me, being against the “Establishment” was only words. I read A LOT of boomer blogs, but a lot of them are not actually me….I’m the second boom, remembering events in the late sixties and growing up as a preteen and teen in the 1970s.
Do you consider only the 1960’s teens as the baby boom generation? They were the revolutionaries for the most part, the hippies, the anti-war movement, the protesters. We 70s kids thought they were cool with their love beads and long hair, but by the time we became old enough to take part, it was really just pretense. What do you think? Do you consider the iconic events of the 60s as the baby boom generation? Where does that leave the 70s boomers? I guess we might just be the tail end?
Memorial Day is the day to remember and thank all those who have served in the US Military. The vast majority have served with integrity and good heart, and I do thank them and honor their memories. I like to remember my dad and his family on Memorial Day, since they served our country well.
My Uncle Paul Warner served in the 2nd World War, was there on D Day, and helped liberate Dachau. He lived in Germany for 2 years afterward. He never talked about it, and did not want to. I cannot imagine the horrors he saw. Also, I have realized that I cannot find one image of Paul in uniform. He was 12 years older than my father, and perhaps his son has those photos, but I cannot find a single one in my family collection. I do know he didn’t like to think about his time there, when I visited Munich and Dachau he was flabbergasted. What on earth would she want to go to that hell hole for? he asked my Dad. I tried to question him a little bit, but Paul wasn’t talking. I believe he saw hell when he was over there.
My Uncle Chappy (Charles) Warner served at the front during the Korean War, only to come home and die in a terrible accident 6 months later. My grandmother gave me all of the letters and photos he sent her during his tour. I never met him, but I know my father felt his loss deeply, as did the rest of the family. He always seemed such a romantic and tragic figure to me, I guess he still does.
Dad, or Herm Warner, joined the Navy when he was 17 years old, and the war was winding down. He was shipped out to the Pacific fleet in San Diego. My father’s dream had always been to go to college, and he saw the Navy as the way to achieve his goal. He served 5 or 6 years, 4 of them going to college. Thank you FDR for the GI Bill!
One would think that 8 years in the Navy would be enough to serve one’s nation, but my dad was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He did everything possible to avoid being drafted, pointing out that he had already served, he was 28 years old and about to start a business and a family. Uncle Sam did not care about that, and off Dad went. After boot camp, being a drill sergeant, and being given the impression he was headed to the infantry in Korea, he was suddenly stationed outside of DC, in Silver Springs, MD, to serve in the Central Intelligence Corps. Mom moved to be with him and worked at the base. She said dad would come home with briefcases locked up, top secret, eyes only. I asked him about that, and he responded that he disliked his work for the CIC, he knew “things” he did not want to know, and worked on “things” he did not want to have any part of. And no, he never told me one damned secret even though I pestered him forever about it. “Just one”, I would beg. He did tell me that the government did “things” he could never have imagined. It’s pretty difficult for me to imagine my dad in the military because, though I am sure he did his duty and did it impeccably, he had such a gentle soul. (I’m not saying he didn’t have a temper, because he most definitely did.) My father never hunted, abhorred violence and never allowed a firearm of any kind in our home. “Having a gun around is an invitation to getting shot,” he would say. My uncle bought my brother a BB Gun for Christmas one year, but Dad confiscated it immediately and it was gone, never to be seen again. I would have liked to have heard the conversation between my dad and my uncle after that! Ha ha. I’m sure that would have been entertaining. You know, my dad would say that serving in the military taught discipline, and a year or two of military service wasn’t a bad thing for young men growing up. However, as my brother crept toward the age of 18, my dad became pretty vocal about the fact that “his son would never serve in Viet Nam. I’ll send him to Canada if I have to”. From what I could piece together, the similarities between the Korean War and the Vietnam War were many, and dad considered our involvement in Vietnam “inappropriate”. He respected the soldiers, but did not want his son to have anything to do with “that war”. I guess knowing the “things” he did about what went on in Korea made him adamant that my brother would never serve in Vietnam. Fortunately, the war ended, though most everyone would agree it didn’t end soon enough.
Dad’s mother’s family was Mennonite when they came from Germany, and I often think this influenced his view of guns and war. Mennonites are non violent. And yet my dad’s ancestor, Jacob Werner, was a Hessian soldier who was paid to fight on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War. He quickly took the side of the Colonials, and stayed in America after the war ended. Who knows? Maybe Jacob fought against my husband’s illustrious ancestor, General Nathaniel Greene, Washington’s 2nd in command! Obviously, my father’s stories and peaceful nature influenced my views. I’m sure there are many who would argue his positions, and that’s okay, he always enjoyed a good discussion. But I have to say I am glad I was raised by my dad, and his non-violent, gentle soul. I miss him, and I’m sad that my children were never lucky enough to know him.
Thanks to all who serve, and who have served.
Cornwall! Just the name thrills me! Cornwall is a mystical land where fairies, and piskies (“the little people”), and ghosts roam; where Percival threw Excalibur into Dozmary Pool; the birthplace of Arthur Pendragon (Tintagel) and the lovers Tristan and Isolde….and the setting of the novels I avidly read growing up. Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel, Jamaica Inn; and a host of novels written by Victoria Holt, aka Phillippa Carr. My imagination took wing, and I could see the ghostly images of the Nine Maidens turned to stone because they danced on a Sunday; the Hurlers and the Pipers who were also turned to stone for the same reason; Jamaica Inn, home of wreckers and pirates and smugglers; the Mermaids of Zennor and Padstow. The Cheesewring, a granite geological feature on Bodmin Moor which was supposedly created by giants; St Michael’s Mount, where a young boy named Jack led an angry Giant to his death. Yes, Cornwall is a land of magic! (I will save the Arthurian locations for another photo blog as Cornwall, and England, have so many sites commemorating the events of Arthur’s legend).
I’m not sure how to explain how I felt when I arrived in Cornwall. It’s beauty and strange landscapes were much more than I had ever imagined! I booked Jamaica Inn, (a place known to be haunted by those killed by wreckers and pirates) for 3 nights, excited to explore the area of Bodmin Moor. The Inn frightened me to the point where we checked out the next morning and left! I don’t know if it is really haunted, or if it was just the knowledge and atmosphere of the evil carried out there by wreckers (men who lured ships onto the rocks, killed the crew and stole the ship’s cargo), but I couldn’t stand being there! There was just something….wrong, evil. Randy, my husband, and my two children, Ally and Wes, said they could feel it as well. I won’t be sleeping there again!
IMPORTANT! Facebook has decided to charge pages like Travels with Tam a fee to share posts, even with people who have Liked our page. I have over 3,600 fans, but only 47 saw my Mother’s Day Post! This sucks, right? If you are on Google +, so am I, and if you’d like to get my posts you should subscribe via email, on the upper right of the page. I will be so so happy if you do!!!!
GUEST BLOG BY SUZANNE STAVERT OF Adventures of Empty Nesters!
Mixing business with adventure is so gratifying, not to mention, super fun! In addition to writing Adventures of Empty Nesters, I represent a health company called Touchstone Essentials. I was traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina for our Second Annual Conference and ironically, my husband had business in Raleigh as well! This almost never happens, so we had a 2 for 1 special business trip with a side of adventure!
During the day, I spent my time learning valuable information about health and wellness at the conference, and Craig focused on his work obligations. However, we still have to eat don’t we? Raleigh is an awesome “foodie” town and a great place to find food for the soul. The kind of food you don’t easily forget and want to come back to again and again. It is a relatively small, urban city, so we were able to walk to most of the restaurants we wanted to go to from our hotel in the downtown area. At the suggestion of our dear “Almost Empty Nester” friends who live in Raleigh, we were given a fairly lengthy list with many types of food and libations to choose from. It was definitely a difficult decision!
What I admired most about the restaurants we experienced in Raleigh is how genuine and unprententious they were, yet the flavors were sophisticated and out of this world. Ashley Christensen is a red hot chef in Raleigh and has just been awarded the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast. On a very wet and rainy evening we only walked just one block to Poole’s Downtown Diner. The vibe is super friendly and since they don’t take reservations, it is usually always packed with hungry customers. I don’t mind the wait, because you just plan for the time, talk with friends and enjoy some ridiculously creative cocktails as you wait for your table.
Creatively written on hanging chalkboards, the menu has a Southern flair with a modern edge. Since we live in Southern California, we never eat anything remotely Southern, so we were anxious to participate!
It was so tough to choose that we opted to share two sides and each have an entrée. The “highest” of the highlights for me was the Mac and Cheese side dish (Macaroni Au Gratin). This was honestly the best I have ever tasted. Craig and I consider eating mac and cheese as a rather decadent treat. We like to try it at restaurants that offer it as their signature dish. We have tasted several versions of truffle mac and cheese, lobster mac and cheese and now Poole’s. Poole’s is hands down the very best we have ever tasted. The chef must combine three or four types of cheese and it comes with a crispy cheddar crust. OMG! It is worth every calorie and gram of fat.
Craig enjoyed his chicken fried pork shoulder sausage with grits…. He was so “un” Southern when he ordered his meal he said: “I would like to have the chicken sausage.” The server said: “There is no chicken in the dish, it is CHICKEN FRIED”. Oh is that what that means!
Our number two highlight in Raleigh was Sunday brunch at Joule, which is also owned by Ashley Christensen. She owns Beasley’s Chicken & Honey, Chuck’s, Fox Liquor Bar, Joule Coffee and has two more restaurants coming soon. At Joule, they make aromatic hand crafted cups of coffee and hand made croissants. Making croissants by hand is extremely labor intensive and they were light and delicious with a slightly sweet almond flavor. We shared a scrumptious almond croissant and homemade yogurt with granola and berries as our Sunday morning breakfast.
We were in Raleigh a very short time, but these two restaurants are a “Do Not Miss” when visiting Raleigh.
In actuality, I spend most every week eating healthy food and following good diet practices. But when I am out discovering new restaurants and their creative cuisine, rules go out the window. It’s a culinary adventure for goodness sake! I will arrive home from the trip, get back on the proverbial horse, eat well and exercise. Seriously, do you want me to write about eating roasted broccoli, going to the gym and how many miles I walk the dog? Or course not, I save the just interesting stories to share with you!
Yep. I took a road trip from Dallas to Bossier City, LA. In case you don’t know, Bossier City is just across the Red River from Shreveport, LA. And it has gambling casinos….lots of them! I am true to Caesar’s Group, so I stayed at The Horseshoe, a very nice resort located on the river. Actually, all of the casinos are on the river. Why? Because gambling (with a couple of exceptions like New Orleans) is only allowed on riverboats. The Horseshoe Casino is built as a “riverboat”, and they even start the engines once in a while as law requires. It is, however, attached solidly to the rest of the resort. It looks pretty funny, doesn’t it?
Heading east from Dallas is depressing given my Ohio born and bred sensibilities. Dallas could not be any flatter, or less appealing as you drive the labyrinth of expressways to get out of the city. Ugh. Concrete and more concrete. It is mid-May and the wildflowers are mostly gone, though a few remain as one drives farther east. The land around Dallas is dry, flat, with short trees…and although I left Ohio 30 years ago, I still miss the green, rolling hills and fields of cattle and crops…corn, wheat, tomatoes, strawberries, pumpkins…trees hundreds of years old; tall, reaching for the sky. My favorites were always the Blue Spruce pines. They are so beautiful, and huge, and yes, they really are blue-ish.
It gets better as one drives into East Texas. East Texas is filled with pine trees, none as tall and glorious as the Blue Spruce, but some pines are better than none. There are lakes, and taller trees, and even some inclines in East Texas! The green of East Texas is soothing and pretty heading toward Louisiana.
I spent two nights at the Horseshoe, and happily played video poker for hours and hours, leaving a winner! I was introduced to video poker when I was 23 years old, by my compulsive gambler mother (though she was not compulsive at the time because my dad was still alive and able to drag her away from her beloved slots). Of course, if he hadn’t been there she wouldn’t have left, so perhaps that compulsive gambler was always in there. Digression. I love poker, and hate the slowness of the poker tables, so video poker and I are happy companions. I have studied the statistics of the games, and adhere to my poker strategy. I was certainly lucky this time!
Like Kenny Rogers says, “you got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em”…and “I found an ace that I could keep”. Here are MY aces!
IMPORTANT! Facebook has decided to charge pages like Travels with Tam a fee to share posts, even with people who have Liked our page. I have over 3,600 fans, but only 47 saw my Mother’s Day Post! This sucks, right? If you are on Google +, so am I, and if you’d like to get my posts you should subscribe via email, on the upper right of the page. I will be so so happy if you do!!!!
