Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our family and friends. We added a new twist to our life this year...we now have a house in Lewisburg, PA. It's a cute little town just west of Kyle and his family. It's full of little shops, nice places to eat and amazing fresh grocery stores to shop at. We still have The Pearl docked in Ithaca and Texas Pearl in Rockport so we have some great places to split our time between. 

We spent the winter visiting family and friends in south Texas and moved all our belongings to our new home in February. We spent 2-3 weeks getting settled in and even enjoyed a beautiful snowfall while we were there. We returned to Texas to wait for the weather to warm up a little in the north. We made our spring migration to Lewisburg at the end of March just in time to spend Easter with Kyle's family.  

We took lots of little vacations this year to places close to home, but our big trip was to Madeira, Portugal in September. What a beautiful island in the Atlantic. We had a wonderful time exploring every little nook and cranny this little piece of paradise had to offer...soaking in the culture, the wonderful food and the extremely friendly people. Unfortunately the island is overrun with tourists and cruise ships. Definitely worth seeing once but we don't need to go back. We love to travel...just don't like crowds. 

Our kids are doing well and our grandchildren are growing up way too fast. They are all in school now and so fun to be with. We enjoy spending time with them and love that they can now text us to share their thoughts and accomplishments with us. We hope the new year brings everyone good health, good fortunes and wonderful adventures.

Travel

I read this online and it hit me as being so true that I just had to share it. I find it's easy to tell when visiting with people who have traveled and who haven't. It was written by Gio Evan, an Italian poet and songwriter.

Try to travel, otherwise you may become racist, and you may end up believing that your skin is the only one to be right, that your language is the most romantic and that you were the first to be the first.

Travel, because if you don't travel then your thoughts won’t be strengthened or filled with ideas. Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies that fit perfectly with your nightmares to make you live in terror.

Travel, because travel teaches us to say good morning to everyone regardless of which sun we come from. Travel, because travel teaches us to say goodnight to everyone regardless of the darkness that we carry inside

Travel, because traveling teaches us to resist, not to depend, to accept others, not just for who they are but also for what they can never be. To know what we are capable of and to feel part of a family beyond borders, beyond traditions and culture. Traveling teaches us to go beyond.

Travel, otherwise you end up believing that you are made only to live with a single thought and instead within you there are wonderful landscapes yet to visit.

Back in Texas

"Only people who are not happy with themselves are mean to others. Remember that." —Unknown

We had a wonderful fall in Pennsylvania with perfect weather and lots of fun time with family. If we're lucky this trend will last through our winter in Rockport.

Our drive south was pretty uneventful. The only issue we ever experience is the traffic in Houston. It doesn't seem to matter when we come through...the middle of the night or rush hour...it just sucks. We took the Sam Houston toll road this time and missed some of the chaos. We stopped for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town before tackling the boat. 

Our dehumidifiers didn't work this year so the mildew was crazy. I had to wipe down all the walls, doors and cabinets before I could go to bed. After a few days of cleaning and doing laundry we are looking back to normal.

Our first Rockport sunset of the season.

We've been waiting since last March to have these wonderful shrimp rolls at Latitudes. We tried all summer to make them, but we couldn't even get close.

The evenings have been beautiful, but the days are still a little too warm for us.

The view from our top deck.

Our Texas home is a beautiful place...at least in the winter. These wonderful photos were taken by John Martell. Looking out into Aransas Bay toward Rockport Beach. 

Looking towards town.

Looking south.

October Updates

“Golden leaves in a graceful flight, autumn whispers with soft light, nature's canvas, a pure delight.” -Anonymous

It’s been a very busy month for us...transitioning from The Pearl to Texas Pearl. The best part of having the house in Lewisburg is it gives us somewhere to hang out while we wait for the weather to cool off in Texas. It also gives us plenty of time to spend with family. Fall is a very popular season here in the northeast and the trees have been beautiful. Although fall was a bit slower to arrive this year. It’s been a wonderful October...lots of sun, warm days and cool nights.

One of our favorite places to shop is Davy's Fresh Market, and it's just a few blocks from our house.

Lewisburg is looking beautiful in its fall colors.

The view from my kitchen window.

We didn't do a lot of physical activities this fall. Stan is still nursing a hurt foot, but he's on his way to a full recovery. After returning from Madeira we enjoyed our last few days at the marina and found some great weather to move the boat from our summer slip in Ithaca to the boat's winter home in Cayuga.

We like taking our little runabout up to The Boatyard Grill for dinner. It's been a tradition to close out our summer with one last visit right before we leave. What a perfect evening.

Our last night in Ithaca.

Stan on his way up the lake to our winter home at Beacon Bay Marina.

Stan arriving at our winter home.

The Pearl's last bath before she is stored.

The rest of October was filled up with soaking up the sun and visits with the family. It's so nice to be so close. It gave us lots of time to play.

The northern lights from our front yard.

It's not quite as nice as view as we have from the boats...but it was still a beautiful sky.

One last dinner at Elizabeth's.

We've really enjoyed all the summer squash that was available at Davy's...acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash.

We even got to enjoy a friend's wedding while we were here. What a wonderful celebration. Kyle officiated the wedding and everyone else was part of the wedding party. It was a beautiful evening.

We don't have a reason to dress up very often so this was fun.

The venue. 

Everyone had a great time.

We closed out the month carving pumpkins and celebrating Halloween.

Madeiran Cuisine

"Food is the passport to a thousand journeys, each bite an adventure." –Unknown

Madeira's cuisine is influenced by many different flavors and ingredients due to its location in the Atlantic Ocean between Portugal and Morocco. Seafood is a staple of the traditional Madeiran diet, and the island is known for its oily fish like tuna and skipjack tuna, as well as leaner fish like black scabbard. Other popular seafood dishes include limpets, octopus and squid. Here are some other traditional Madeiran dishes:

Bolo do Caco - A traditional local flatbread made with flour and sweet potatoes and cooked on the stovetop or fire. It's served warm with garlic and parsley butter. We loved, loved, loved this bread. I will be making some at home.

Bolo de Mel de Cana (sugar cane honey cake) - A dense sponge cake made with nuts and spices and considered the island’s oldest desert. Tastes a bit like a spicy fruit cake.

Pão de Deus ("Bread for God") - A traditional Portuguese bread made with a blend of soft bread topped with a sweet coconut layer. This one we wanted to try, but never seemed to find it.

Espetada (skewered) – Grilled beef traditionally cooked on skewers made of the local laurel wood. The meat is cut in cubes and seasoned with garlic, rock salt, and bay leaf before cooking it over hot coals. Most of these were large enough to feed several people. The servings of these are very large.

Prego – A sandwich made with bolo do caco bread spread with garlic butter and a thin beef steak.  Sometimes it’s served with lettuce, tomato, cheese and ham. It's truly delicious. I'd have to say they're almost better than a hamburger.

Lapas or Limpets (Barnacles) - Are mollusks, similar to clams, which have a conical shaped shell, living strongly attached to rocks along the shoreline. Served in Madeira grilled with butter, garlic and a squeeze of lemon. Wanted to try these but just didn't.  

Caldeirada (stew) - A unique fish and seafood stew cooked in a clay pot. We saw this on the menus, but didn't have a chance to try it.

Espada (black scabbard fish) - A Madeira traditional food that looks pretty scary and unappetizing until it's cooked. It has a  delicate in flavor and a Madeiran food not to miss. Stan had this fish at least four times and loved it.

The traditional way to serve it is with fried bananas.

Octopus - Although not a traditional Madeira dish, it's incredibly popular on the island. You can have it cooked in lots of different ways, as a starter, as a side or with rice. It was our first time to try octopus and it was very good.

Carne de Vinha D’alhos (Garlic Vineyard Meat) - A Madeira dish that consists of small pieces of pork meat marinated in garlic and wine for at least a day, and then cooked in the marinade. We didn't have a chance to try this one either.

Nata - Devine little treats with a crusty flaky pastry filled to the brim with sweet egg custard and caramelized on top. Very popular in Portugal. We had these little treats in many places. 

Madeira Wine - originated in the 18th century, when the island started exporting wine to the rest of the world. They found that the wine that wasn’t sold and was returned home was much more aromatic and flavorful than when it first left the island. We have tried this wine here and at home and we aren't big fans.

Poncha - A traditional alcoholic drink made with aguardente de cana (sugar cane rum), sugar and either orange juice or lemon juice. Some varieties include other fruit juices. These were very good...somewhere better than others.

Brisa Maracujá – A naturally carbonated soft drink made from purple passion fruit juice and treated water. It was created in 1970 and was the first soft drink in the world to be made from pure passion fruit juice. I did try the original and I wasn't a fan.