Author: ginnyinshanghai

Fairly traditional for breakfast in New Orleans is café du lait and beignets.  Most tourists go to Café Du Monde and this morning we were no exception.  We left our hotel with this quest in mind.

The ladies that work there look bored – I guess who wouldn’t be.  There’s really no change in the guest orders, only the quantity.  It’s a mindless job and one that could probably be done when a person is half asleep.

It is a short walk to view the ‘mighty Mississippi river’.

Turning 180 degrees, the St. Louis Cathedral dominates the view.

We were able to enter the church and pay our respects.

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Five-ish blocks away was the St. Louis Cemetery #1.  Unfortunately we discovered that the only way to enter this cemetery was to be on a guided tour for $20.  However, St. Louis Cemetery #2 was another five-ish blocks and was free and could be entered on your own – yep, that’s where we walked.

The tombstones were in various stages of disrepair but were still interesting.

New Orleans is known for their ironwork and the cemetery was no exception.

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I found this really cool plaque (Jordan B. Noble) and had to add it to my collection of photos.

He lived to be 90 years old, was an emancipated slave, served in the War of 1812 (at the tender age of 14)and ultimately was a veteran of four American Wars.

We had worked up an appetite and a gentleman at the Neches Brewery in TX told us we had to stop at Acme Oyster House for their chargrilled oysters.  So we did!

We split a dozen……….

……..before topping them off with gumbo.  Adrienne had the seafood gumbo (large bowl) and I tried the chick & sausage gumbo (small bowl).  I typically don’t eat gumbo at any restaurant because Eric makes the BEST gumbo.

I might be slightly biased, but his was the first gumbo I had ever tried and he has tailored his recipe for my tastes.  I love the smoked chicken that Eric includes in his recipe.  This gumbo was pretty darn good – had a nice kick to it.  🙂

 

This afternoon was pleasantly spent at the Crescent City Brewhouse.

I had the Red Stallion beer.  We sat at the bar and watched one of their employee shuck dozens of oysters.  We were full from our lunch meal and couldn’t eat another thing.

Dinner that night was at one of Emeril Lagasses’s newer restaurants, NOLA.  They had ‘small plates’ and gave us a chance to try a variety of things and not get over-stuffed.  The first place to come out was ‘cowboy caviar’ on johnny cakes.  Guacamole was underneath the goodies on top.  I could have licked the bowl clean.  Fried green tomatoes with shrimp was another small plate.  The tomatoes were good but the shrimp was cooked to perfection – not over done.  The last two places was an oyster & brie pot pie, with bone marrow and gumbo.  Okay, I’ll admit.  I missed the menu description and didn’t realize it came with bone marrow.  The first thing Eric said was ‘Who are you and what did you do with my wife?’.  I gamely tried a tiny bit………………..and told Adrienne, the rest is yours.  She was very happy.

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I’m saving the best small plate that night for the last………………………dessert!  It was a white chocolate bread pudding with macerated strawberries.  OMG!  I truly don’t know which dessert I liked best.  This or the banana’s foster from the previous night.  Both are to die for – just saying.  🙂

We ended both nights drinking a local beer on our balcony – just because we could.  I had the one in the middle.

Our last meal in New Orleans was breakfast at Camellia Grill near the Garden District.  It is a landmark diner which opened in 1946.

The restaurant only offers counter service and it is well-known for its long-service waiters.  My meal was traditional breakfast food, a waffle, sausage link and an egg over-medium.

We took a scenic route to get there, following the route of the St. Charles Streetcar line.  Many beautiful homes line the streets and we passed by Loyola and Tulane universities.

Travel on this day will finally get us into Florida with Apalachicola, FL being our night’s destination.

I had one more photo to add before leaving New Orleans.  These priests were almost an attraction themselves.  They were enjoying the city as tourists and tourists were taking photos of them.  It’s just odd to see them utilize smartphones.

 

 

 

 

 

I saw this wall at breakfast and couldn’t resist.  The collage of license plates exemplifies our cross-country trip.  I needed a photo.  🙂

Breakfast was at a local place outside of San Antonio, the Oakridge Smokehouse.  The breakfast buffet  was the popular choice.  I haven’t had  biscuits & gravy in a while so that was a hit with me.

Right next door was a store that featured Texas products, highlighting one of their important crops – pecans.

Throughout this trip we keep running across pecan trees.  I’ve always heard about pecan tree in the southeast, but not so much in the southwest.  That being said  I needed to google ‘Texas pecan production’.   Trees can start producing at 5 years and live up to 300 years.  Nut yield averages 40-50 lbs annually, having alternate bearing years.   Both male and female flowers are found are the same tree and the flowers are usually wind-pollinated.  Sorry, it’s the horticulture part of me. I needed to do some digging……….

We didn’t stop in Houston but I got a shot of their skyline as we zoomed by.

A friend told me to stop at a ‘Buc-ees’ if given the chance.

It’s primarily a gas station, but carry a bunch of stuff.  Outside of Houston was our chance.  Yes, they feature a lot of gas pumps.  While I didn’t count them all, we were at pump 15 and not halfway through.  I’m going to guess there were at least 40 pumps.

There was a huge bank of self-serve drink stations and shelves upon shelves of their own brand of products.

They sold all types of Texas memorabilia, an example being below.

Lunch was on the agenda and google maps led us to Neches Brewing Company. The website had a menu listed but I didn’t checked it.  Note to self, check it in the future.  We walked into a mostly empty bar and discovered they only have food in the evening and/or weekends.  However, the few people inside were very helpful and said to download an app (waiterapp), put in their zip code and voila, restaurants pop up that will delivery to their place.  One of their patrons, Heather,  was very helpful and we took her suggestion for lunch.  Forty minutes later our po-boy surf & turf sandwiches arrived. The sandwich totally hit the spot.

The wait was pleasant and gave us the opportunity to try several local beers.

All in all, we were there several hours which gave us plenty of time to try several of their local beers.  We got to know Collin, their bartender quite well and he photo-bombed my shot.

We asked about last year’s hurricane which hit this area and heard heart-wrenching stories of bravery and a community pitching in to help their neighbors, even if they hadn’t talk with them in years.  Collin told stories of using his boat to rescue others, especially from their local nursing home.

All too soon, it was time to leave and continue our journey. This brewery is near Port Arthur and many oil refineries of Texas.

We crossed a really cool bridge before leaving the area and began to regularly see water – something that we haven’t seen much of this week at all.

Texans are proud of their flag and this bench is one of many examples we saw along our journey.

We made good time to New Orleans and found our hotel in the French Quarter

Staying in the French quarter gave us easy access to everything we wanted to see.

We sprang an extra $11 for a balcony room-well worth the few extra dollars.  Adrienne is standing below our second floor room.

Like most tourists we headed to Bourbon Street and did the ‘token’ photo.  No one was too wasted just yet, least of all us.

We ended the evening dining at an older New Orleans establishment The Court of Two Sisters.

Eric and I have eaten here a few times and if possible, it was on my wish list for this trip.  We stopped by with no reservations and 10 minutes later we were seated in their outside courtyard.

We started our meal with a locally made beer – Arbita.  I ordered the fried catfish w/ cole slaw for my meal.  Their homemade tartar sauce was the best!

Then it was time for the best part of my meal…………………..banana’s foster!  I had been saving up my calories for this part of the night.  Part of the attraction is the table-side service for the dessert.

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There is something magical about eating underneath sparkle lights and the weather was perfect.  The temps were in the 70s and great for this time of year.  It was a great end to our first night in New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was all about San Antonio, Texas.  We began our day with a historical dive into the reasons why Americans remember and talk about The Alamo.

We started in the church, which was the last place defended.  We saw a short film sharing the story of this historic place.  While all of the men were killed, women and children were allowed to live and leave the fort to tell the world what happened.

There were several actors on site adding to the overall experience and help explain the workings of the Fort back in the day.

The historic memorial is surround by the city, yet it is fairly quiet inside the walls.  We spent several hours here before exploring more of the city.

 

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The other significant place in San Antonio is The Riverwalk.  Our hotel was half a block from the Riverwalk and a short jaunt to everywhere else.

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There is something kind of touristy which just has to be done………the river boat tour.  And yes, we did it.

We noticed lots of extra things were happening around the Riverwalk.  They have a ‘Fiesta’ festival which culminated the following weekend. In the meantime there were several extra venues sprouting up around the city, giving the place extra activities to explore.

After paying the entrance fee, we spent the next several hours in the fenced area, walking through the crowds, checking out options for food and drink.  First, coupons were needed for the food booths.  Which we quickly traded for chalupas.

   

 

Then added a drink – sangria was my drink of choice this night.

The place was crowded, which is not usually my preferred way to spend time, tonight was an exception – it was quite fun!

Apparently, it is a ‘thing’ to create and wear themed headwear.  These shots are a few that we came across.

Earlier in the day, lunch was at a local brewery and my grilled pimento cheese sandwich was accompanied by chili-salt fries-awesome!

One of our last shots that evening in San Antonio was of the Texas flag.  We were told that the Texas flag is the only one in the US that can be flown without the US flag. Google it to find out why.  🙂

Wednesday we continued our cross-country journey by heading to New Orleans, LA.

Driving across three states is a real bear. But on the plus side, it gave me a chance to see a type of scenery that was a break from home.Being able to drive 80+ mph is a definite plus.  Mostly the roads are traveled by semis hauling their loads across country, but every once in a while we shared the road with another car.

Throwing in a few more desert photos from Arizona, just because I can.  🙂  it’s such a change from home, I’m fascinated.

We broke up the drive by searching for a fun & interesting brewery in Las Cruces NM for lunch.  Love that internet and google search feature!  We had pretty good cell phone coverage during our drive through the desert and could research anything we needed.

 

We shared a sausage ‘nosh’ plate that was awesome!  We also ordered the duck drummettes, which while good couldn’t compete with the 2 sausages, 3 cheeses, 3 pretzel rolls and peach compote board.  The red one had a spicy kick.

I couldn’t resist a few other photos from inside the restaurant.

While not able to see any fields of hot peppers, I made a quick stop at a store specializing in dried peppers.  I didn’t think it would travel well so I had to make do with taking a photo.

Driving through the desert you never knew what would be perched on a hillside  , such as this 20’ metal roadrunner statue.

It didn’t take long and we were in Texas, my fourth state on this road trip thus far. Four more states to go.

We are still in the desert, Texas-style.

We were close to the Mexico border and everyone had to veer off the interstate to go through the Border Patrol checkpoint.

I would love to say we finished the drive with an awesome dinner……but we did not.  There was not a lot of options for eating and we were arriving at San Antonio after 11pm local time.  Sonic it was.

We spent 2 nights soaking up history and local flavor in San Antonio.  That will be the next post.

 

 

 

 

Before leaving California, we spent the night with Adrienne’s parents in Chino.  She drove me around so I could see a few of the remaining dairy farms in the area they live.

We also came across these llamas during our drive.

Her parents  have horses and here’s Harriet, her mom, feeding Axel.

Her dad, Mark wanted to be sure Adrienne had a special Florida gift to take with her.

Her mom also rescues cats and right now she has 20+ kittens.  I don’t think she will miss the black & white one I put in my backpack – just kidding.

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We’re meeting her sister in Indio at Shields Cafe for Brunch since it’s close to Coachella where she’s working for her newspaper.

This place grows and features dates and they are incorporated in a variety of ways. One option was stuffed dates (cream cheese & jalapeños) wrapped in bacon.

I opted for breakfast and had the date pancakes. They were delicious!~  The dates were so sweet, I hardly needed any syrup.

We we sat outside and enjoyed their live music.

It was quite ‘toasty’ outside, but worth the trickle of sweat that went down my back.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and start the 2500+mile journey.  We are pretty much on I-10, ninety percent of the time.

Naturally I had to share some of my desert photos.  These are from the California desert.  Yes, I have found that in each state the desert looks different.

Our goal this day was to reach Tucson, AZ.  Adrienne wanted to be the one that drove us out of California……and she did.

We stayed at an interesting hotel in Tucson – Lodge of the Desert.

The room was great and had that ‘southwestern’ theme going, go figure.  🙂

We found a really cool brewery downtown Tucson in their entertainment district called The Hub, Restaurant & Ice Creamery.

Beer started the evening…….and I’m discovering a taste for amber beer.

I had the best burger in a long time and they came with tator tots- very tasty.  Adrienne still had room for ice cream after her meal, which they make inhouse,  but I had no room left, I was stuffed.

Breakfast was included with our room and was a nice way to end our stay in Tucson.

And then we have the Arizona desert:

The next travel goal is to reach San Antonio, TX – its going to be a long, long drive in a days time.

A friend of mine had the opportunity to transfer from Disneyland CA to Walt Disney World, Orlando FL and I’m her driving and/or her riding partner.

I met Adrienne during my 6 months in Shanghai, when we opened up Disney’s latest park.  Since our return, she has made several trips to Orlando – business and pleasure – but now she’s coming to Florida for good (or at least a long time) 🙂

 

Eric booked my flights, which required a stopover in Atlanta.  I worked before we headed to the airport.  We allowed plenty of time, but seeing traffic coming to a standstill and then finally noticing there was no traffic from the other direction, gave both of us a moment of concern.  We were coming up to the turnpike exit, made the decision to find a better way, navigated through the 3 lanes of traffic and once again we were speeding along.

Eric did something amazing for my one way flight…..booked first class!  Having ‘Sky Priority’ to drop off my bag was a total dream.  Walking into the airport there were lines everywhere, except in the Sky Priority line, there was no one.  Already I’m in love with first class.

I was one of the first to board and sitting in my seat was a pillow, blanket and bottled water.  I took advantage of a perk and ordered a glass of white wine during the pre-boarding process.

My flight to Atlanta was uneventful.  After landing I was confused when looking on the departure boards to confirm my next gate, since I assumed I was looking for the destination as Los Angeles. Nope, not my flight. I had been told the airports’ name was John Wayne, but I couldn’t find that either.  I finally had to stop at a Delta Airlines help desk and the destination is called ‘Orange County, CA’ – who knew?

Boarding was quick and with being a longer flight, a meal was served: chicken orzo salad. The meal it self was unremarkable, but given a cloth to cover my tray table was a definite step up from being in coach (along with real China and silverware).

Flying at night is interesting as long as clouds are absent.  Here was the view of Orange County as we were landing

Adrienne was waiting at baggage and mine was one of the first that hit the carousel.   We stayed up late talking and had little time to spare before the movers were due to arrive the next morning, therefore breakfast was a trip to Starbucks.   Adrienne had packed a good deal of her items so they primarily had to wrap her furniture and box the few odd-shaped things (lamps, weights, frames).

They were an efficient team of two (Shane & Jose).

Everything went smoothly, but I couldn’t  sit (stand) around and just watch.

After 4 hours work, we went from an empty truck to one that was ready to roll.

I’m sending Adrienne my bill once we get home – just saying.

It was time for lunch and I’ve worked up an appetite.  We walked down the street to Karl Strauss.

Naturally, I had to get in the spirit, so Adrienne helped order me a beer.  Maybe by the time we get to Florida, I will know what to order myself!

We started with pretzel bites, cooked in duck fat – very yummy.  I ordered shrimp tacos for my meal.

It was a fitting end to a day moving out of an apartment.  Adrienne had a few errands to complete before leaving the city, then we were headed to her parents house in Chino, CA.  We’re spending the night before meeting her sister on Sunday for brunch.  Dinner was at a local Italian restaurant.  My body was still on Florida time, so I headed to bed 8pm CA time.  This was a great start for a cross-country adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

Our friend Dennis, flew in for a business trip and we were able to spend most of Sunday with him.  We met at Epcot after his flight got in late morning.  He wanted to see a bit of the Flower & Garden Festival and with rain coming mid-afternoon, we were able to squeeze in a few hours, walking around World Showcase to see all of the extra gardens and kitchen kiosks.  This is the guests first exposure to this year’s topiaries upon arriving at Epcot.

It was really hot this particular day and pineapple soft-serve ice cream hit the spot.  A version exists alcohol, but the kid-friendly style is my (new) favorite.  There’s always been a lot of talk about Dole Whips – which in my opinion is overrated.  This was a nice soft-service ice cream with a gentle pineapple flavoring.

We shared a few plates from the kitchen kiosks as we walked around the lake and I grabbed a violet lemonade when we departed to cool off and stay hydrated.  I was told the violets are being grown at The Land greenhouses.

We escaped from Epcot just in time.  The heavens opened up as we reached our vehicles and drove to Winter Park.  Dennis was staying at The Alfond Inn, which is owned and run by the Rollins College.

The inside is as stunning as the outside.  Orchids were inside the lobby while their courtyard is a nice green space with numerous flowering species.

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Since we weren’t hungry, we walked to the Cornel Museum of Art.  Hard to see, but the archway above says Rollins College.  It was a few blocks away from the hotel.

The Museum was nice, small but nice.  It sits along one of the many lakes in Winter Park.

We wanted something different for dinner and we found ‘Hotto Potto’, s short drive from the hotel.

Sitting down, the spice jars were the first thing to arrive, along with the menu.  Drinks started our experience and was quickly followed by a pickled trio of tasty goodness.

Our waitress gave us great advice.  We tried to get a variety of broths, meats and veggies.  She helped us balance out our choices.  Food started to arrive.  Meats included chicken, beef, dumplings, beef tendon meatballs, shrimp and fatty marbled pork – a table favorite!  Veggies were daikon radish, bok choy, snow peas and enoki mushrooms.  Eric added some ramen noodles for additional texture.

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Cooking is half of the fun, mixing veggies and meats seemed like unlimited options for flavoring.  We ordered three broths:  beef, miso and meat with numbing spice (my favorite).  The bottom half of this photo was the meat broth that I used almost exclusively.

One thing we ordered was quail eggs.  Eric tried to poach them, but eventually ended up soft-boiling the eggs.  Then he had the task of removing the tiny shell.  They were very tasty, but a lot of work for a small morsel of food.

It was a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday with one of Eric’s childhood friends.

The restaurant experience was a lot of fun and close to Dennis’ hotel, but WAY too far from our home in Lake County.  We’ll probably be back, but not any time soon.  Eric is trying to figure out a way to have our own ‘hot pot’ experience at home.  I’m sure he will come up with something inventive!

 

 

 

We headed to the Florida Panhandle for a quick weekend trip, specifically Tallahassee.  Eric had a meeting there on a Monday so we took an extra day to explore and enjoy another part of Florida.

Before actually going into the city, our first stop was Bradley’s Country Store.  A bit of history about the store and family……………  Mrs. Bradley began selling sausage out of her kitchen in 1910 and the store was built in 1927.

Through the years various buildings were added to expand their offerings:  cane press, syrup furnace, grist mill and smokehouse. In 1984 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Inside is pretty much how its been since the beginning, showcasing local products they produce and a few other similar ‘country’ items.

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Naturally, Eric needed to purchase some smoked meat products (sausage, bacon and pork chops) to take home with us.

Being around so many goodies, we had to taste one of their sausages immediately and shared a spicy sausage dog.

Getting there is half of the fun.  Tallahassee has several scenic ‘canopy roads’ and traveling to Bradley’s Country store gave us the opportunity to see them in the Spring.

Limbs of huge Moss-draped live oaks, sweet gums, hickory trees and pines provide a towering canopy over roads that were once paths traveled by native tribes.  Tallahassee has nine official canopy roads offering more than 78 miles of shaded drives.

Being in the spring, we ran into some flowering trees not commonly seen in Central Florida.  The ‘fringe’ tree, named for obvious reasons……….

………….and dogwoods.  I grew up with them, but they need some chill hours to bloom and we don’t get that.

We stayed at the Governor’s Inn in downtown Tallahassee.

It is a small boutique hotel, with an interesting concept of ‘naming’ their rooms with one of Florida’s governors.  We stayed in the ‘Fleming’ room.

     

The rooms themselves are decorated with numerous antiques and dark wood abounds throughout their common areas.

   

Since we had been in the truck so long, we searched for a walk-able restaurant for dinner on Sunday.  Eventually we settled on Backwoods Bistro.

They subscribe to the popular food scene by growing some of the food on-site along with sourcing local products whenever possible.  We settled into the bar and ordered a series of appetizers.   After drinks were ordered, our food began to arrive.  Each one seemed better than the previous one.  The seared tuna with apples & balsamic vinegar was good, the deviled eggs really good and the shrimp platter even better.

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Walking back from the restaurant, we came across a few interesting local sites.  One of those was this plaque and tree stump, all that remains from the Tallahassee May Oak.

Tallahassee is Florida’s state capital.  The original building has been kept as a museum, while the current, more modern state capital is in the background.

 

Afterwards we were hanging out at our hotel and saw a family of four.  Eric heard them speaking and realized they were German.  While his German is rusty, we were able to communicate.  Their English was much better than Eric’s German.  We ended up spending the next several hours with them at a nearby bar & grill.  I always want to take selfie photos, but this time it was a mistake.  I didn’t check the quality of my photo before our new friends left (so, so sorry).

Keeping with the theme that started yesterday, driving on one of the canopy roads, breakfast was where else but Canopy Road Cafe!

It was a great, filling breakfast.  My French toast was topped with bananas and pecans while Eric ordered a skillet breakfast.

  

One of the things we noticed on the  menu was their coffee – proudly serving  locally roasted coffee beans from the Lucky Goat.  Thus began our next quest, finding a source for the coffee and bringing some home.

We eventually located one of their cafes and stocked up on beans and a cup for the road.

The Lucky Goat began roasting coffee in 2010 with the intent to provide top-quality wholesale beans for other cafes, but eventually they needed to expand with a bigger warehouse and storefront.

They have four locations in Tallahassee and multiple partnerships.  If you want to know more and find out the origins of their name, check out their website  luckygoatcoffee.com.   They have a pretty good menu of their coffees, brewed teas and breakfast goodies to nosh.  This board helps explain the differences in their coffee options.

We finally came to the reason for the trip – Eric’s board meeting, the Florida’s Wildflower Foundation.  A primary source of funding comes from the sale of the license plate.

I brought a book and magazines to read and kept myself occupied while they met.

For a quick, weekend trip, we made the most of our time sight-seeing and enjoying another corner of Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While somewhat unusual, we’ve been checking out some local eating establishments and all things local.  One morning, we had breakfast at Artisan’s Table in downtown Orlando.

Both of our selections were good.   Eric ordered a rice bowl with pork belly & eggs and mine were 2 eggs that topped fried tator tots.  Who doesn’t like tator tots loaded with breakfast goodness.

I think your first visit to a restaurant is always the most impactful.  Nothing was wrong with this experience, but it didn’t quite live up to our expectations.

Another day, we drove to a nearby town that has a local and (very) vibrant downtown – Winter Garden.

The West Orange Trail goes through their downtown and this is a great meeting place for locals.  They have one of the best Farmer’s Markets on Saturdays and recently I heard it was voted one of America’s best.  This particular evening we dined at Urban Flats.

The weather has been so good, we snagged a table outside to enjoy our meal.  Drinks were a good start with the raspberry & bourbon cocktail being Eric’s drink of choice.  He also enjoyed their tomato basil soup while I savored a BBQ sandwich sitting upon a patty of mac & cheese.  Mine was big enough to save half for lunch the next day.

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One evening we tried a different locale in downtown Winter Garden, the Winter Garden Pizza Company.  It’s a cute place, focusing their theming on the surrounding citrus production, which is sadly turning into a thing of the past.

Naturally I had to order pizza, but we started with cheesy bread – which was probably the weakest part of the meal.  The mariana dipping sauce was great, but the bread didn’t match its excellent taste.  What goes great with pizza – beer!  Pepsi for the designated driver (me).  Eric had to break from the norm and ordered penne pasta with a vodka sauce. He said it was the best he had ordered in a long, long time.

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Another ‘foodie’ place we visited was the East End Market in Orlando.  It has shops, various small local food counters, a cheese shop, juice bar and a bread place to name just a few.  If possible, they try to source local Florida products.

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They have something interesting out front of the market building – boxed gardens.  This time of year there’s not much growing and the recent cold spell knocked out some of the plants in the other boxes.

In this neighborhood we saw something else interesting:  Fleet Farming.

According to their website……..

Fleet Farming transforms unproductive, wasteful lawns into community driven urban farm plots.  Rather than traveling 1500 miles from farm to plate, the produce is hyer-local. Everything grown is sold at local farmers markets and restaurants within a 5 mile radius.

There is much more info on their website, but there were 10 gardens that were part of their initial effort.  Here are two photos from one home we saw when driving around looking for a place to park.

One Sunday, breakfast was our goal and we headed to Briar Patch in Winter Park.  The weather was so nice, we were able to be seated outside (after a short wait).

I had been there many years ago and they have expanded and greatly upgraded their restaurant and menu.  They have a few traditional plates, selected by our dining partners.  Eggs, cheese grits, bacon and their breakfast twist – fried green tomatoes.

The pancakes struck my fancy and included granola along with bananas – delicious!

Eric ordered the pulled pork benedict.

Our last local eatery was the  Moon Cricket Grille in downtown Winter Garden.

We tried to get their early enough for a table, but ended up hovering over a table while they finished their meal.  This place didn’t seat you, but diners had to grab tables as they were vacated.  Not a method I prefer. 😦   I just don’t like hovering.  They specialize in a large number of unique bottled beers and interesting atmosphere.  A live band showed up before we left.  While Eric ordered a corn beef sandwich, I tried the Bam-Bam shrimp tacos.  We both enjoyed our selections.

To eat out at this many local eateries was very unusual for us but gave Eric a break from cooking.  He had lost his ‘creative cooking mojo’. Lucky for us, he got his mojo back and he’s cooking at home again.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an earlier post, I mentioned my Disney career journey and referenced a future post about the actual celebration held in the Park.  I finally got around to it and here it is.

The evening starts at check-in, picking up your credentials (lanyard) denoting the years of service.

After a short ride on the monorail, you arrive at the front of the Magic Kingdom.  Banners, photographers and balloons greet you to begin the festivities.  It’s a little hard to see in the photo but the balloons say ‘Celebrate You’, which is the theme of the evening.

We got our photo taken in front of Floral Mickey.  I’ve never been a big fan of the Disney Photo Pass program, until tonight.  Afterwards when I downloaded my photos, there were some cool banners & graphics that could be added, like the one below with 35.

 

Walking under the train station, I ran into my leader, Kartika.  Got to tell you, that’s pretty amazing.  All of the Disney executives are in attendance, greeting the honorees and there’s just so many of them……spread out near the entrance and along Main Street.  We both know many of the executives in attendance, but to find your own – magical.

Also ran into my Park Vice-President, Melissa, who was able to attend my anniversary date in July.

When the celebrations were at the Studios, something (hokey, but well-themed) was started and it continues today…………’walking the red carpet’, since we are the ‘stars’ of the show.  At the end of Main Street USA, the red carpet starts and there are ‘screaming fans’ to greet us.  Cast members get paid to be ‘screaming fans’ – crazy.

There are photo opportunities all along the route and although we kept running into friends, we got one photo near the Christmas tree.

At the end of the red carpet lies the Magic Kingdom Castle, all lit up in its glory.

While Service Celebrations are being held for numerous milestone anniversaries (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45) and the park is huge, arrivals are strategically spread out during the event.  35 and above come at least an hour earlier than most.

First on the agenda is food.  This event is famous for the large shrimp.

Excuse me, they are called ‘Legendary Large Cocktail Shrimp’.  While very good, I’ve been spoiled by having shrimp fresh off the shrimp boat, that were swimming the day before – now that’s fresh.  But still, these were good and everyone loves them at their Service Celebration.

A special celebration drink was created and numerous tables hold all manner of edible treats.

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Bands are staged through the Park, catering to a variety of music tastes:  pop, country and Latino.

Something special you can only get at Disney are our characters.  For this event, they are everywhere!  In the beginning I was ambivalent about their photos, but by the time the event was over, I had been converted.

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My all-time favorite Disney movie is The Lion King.  We had to come back twice before we were able to get our photo with Timon and Rafiki.  Alas, no other Lion King meet & greets exist.

Working here so long, you definitely take things for granted, it becomes the norm.  This really is a pretty cool place to work.  I can step outside of my office and see one of our Park icons mere feet away from where I’m standing. I can meet people from all across the world as I walk through the park to a meeting.  I can give advice, directions and tips for those that just walked in so they can get the most out of their time in the Park.

I can’t say for sure that I will be here another five years for my 40th anniversary.  Not that I’m ready to quit, but there is more to life than Disney, believe it or not.  Traveling the world is high on our list.  But since that takes money, work allows that to happen.

Who would have thought 35 years ago, a girl from the rural Midwest, fresh out of college would stay in Florida and have this amazing career which included the chance to live and work in China – certainly not me.  🙂