Travel Log - Post 4

After five nights of camping under breezy, tropical, star-filled skies we packed up our tent and gear and headed north. We made a few of our favorite stops along the way. 

Frenchy's Salt Water Cafe is one of our favorite places to visit when we are in the Clearwater area. This "burger" is a deep fried filet of grouper and there is nothing quite like it! This is not the sandwich you want to eat if you are on a diet. Ha, ha. My hubby had to order deep fried oysters as well.

Instead of exploring the shops of Clearwater Beach, we moved further up Route 19 to Tarpon Springs. This little town has the flavor of a true fishing village. These fishing docks specialize in harvesting sponges. They even have a museum with a movie that gives information on how the sponge industry got started. We stopped in a few of the shops, where I bought a few gifts for family members then we got dessert at one of the Greek bakeries. Yummy!

This was my casual outfit for the day. I love the lose and comfy feel of the boyfriend jeans. I topped the jeans with a navy and white striped top. The tank top stripes go horizontal across the chest and vertical from the waist down. It's a fun look and even though the bottom flares out it still looks slimming because of the stripe direction in the right places. I wore my white fly away cardi when in the air conditioning.  Also, it helped to cover up my nasty, bright red bite marks. You can see them somewhat on my legs and lower arms. 

Here you can see the top a little better. I added some navy accessories and navy Keds for comfort while we were walking through the shops in Tarpon Springs.

Hopefully, now that we are no longer camping with the bugs, my bites will start to heal and my body will no longer be polka dotted. I love polka dots, but not on my skin! 

Have a great day.

Click on the links to see my travels from the start:

Travel Log - Post 1, Travel Log - Post 2, Travel Log - Post 3

Travel Log - Post 1

I thought I would change things up a bit, here on the fluff page and talk about travel. The hubs and I love to travel and even though we haven't had unlimited resources over the years we have been as far west as San Diego, CA; out east to NYC; down south to N. Carolina, S. Carolina and Florida and across the "big pond" to England. We are already talking about going back to explore Scotland!

Traffic can become a real problem if you drive for travel. Yesterday we were stuck in a traffic jam! It took us one hour and fifteen minutes to go four miles! Ugg. I was ready to jump out of the car and start doing laps, to try to get my steps in! But I was driving at the time, so I don't think that would have worked. While we were driving we were going past a construction zone. I don't know if you have noticed, but some of those orange barrels have lost weight. 

We affectionately call construction around Toledo, "orange barrel season"! You know there is fall, winter, spring and "orange barrel season". These things I was looking at yesterday were not barrels, they were more like stalagmites! Yes that's right! Stalagmites! Those things in caves that sort of look like cones that grow up from the floor. Except these were orange and white stripes. I'd say they'd be stylin' if they were black and white stripes or navy and white stripes, but no! The highway companies did not ask me what colors to make the barrels. 

Anyway, here is my travel outfit for yesterday:

I wore my Rock and Republic jeans from Kohl's as they are most comfy, but still hold their shape. An eyelet peasant blouse with a hint of peach and the open weave short sleeve sweater. I also had on my leopard flats that I bought at Christopher and Banks. Layers are great for travel because you can take them off and put them on as needed. I also wore a tassel necklace inspired by Jodie at Jodie's Touch of Style. And yes I do have a bag clip on my sweater. Trying to remember last minute things to pack! Ha, ha.

I hope to post again, some where along the way! Check back next week for more.

My Favorite Memorials - The Lincoln Memorial

I really like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Funny thing, I've never been to Washington and I have never seen the Lincoln Memorial in the flesh, or should I say in the stone! However, I have seen plenty of pictures, not only of the building, but of the man himself sitting in his great white marble chair.

Wikipedia - Public Domain

There are several things that charm me about this memorial. The building itself is stylized as a Greek temple. I love the clean look of the white colonnade surrounding the exterior walls. The position of the building on the green and at the one end of the reflecting pool also adds to its beauty. Having never been there, I can only imagine, that like the Mt. Rushmore Memorial it is much better in person.

Another thing I like about this memorial is the sculpture of our 16th President. I absolutely love this photo taken by Jeff Kubina. See his link below the picture.

Photo Credit Jeff Kubina

The sculpture was designed by Daniel Chester French and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers. I love the facial expression, the weathered hands and the wrinkles in his clothing. He really looks as though he could stand up and start reciting the Gettysburg Address. The designer and the sculptors did a marvelous job showing the weight this man was under in his lifetime.

I also chose this memorial as a favorite because of the man himself, Abraham Lincoln. He is by far one of my favorite presidents. The things that he accomplished in his lifetime are phenomenal and I believe he was a man of deep and thoughtful character. There have been more recent findings that suggest that he struggled with depression. I think to myself, how could a man not struggle with depression who was leading a nation engaged in civil war and who had lost three of this four children. However, even in his states of melancholy he led our nation through a war and ended slavery. If you have never seen the movie Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field, by all means do! It does a great job of capturing the man and the times.

The final reason I like the Lincoln Memorial is that it stands in Washington, DC. Having that memorial there stands as a reminder to every president since 1922, that this was a man who had a standard that should be strived after. I wonder how often our leaders look out from Capital Hill and see that Memorial and remember. Isn't that what memorials are for?

My Favorite Memorials - Mt. Rushmore

The summer of 1988 my bother was getting married out in Denver, Colorado.  Kevin, four years my senior asked myself and our older brother, Jeff, to stand up in the wedding. My spouse and I decided we would make a vacation out of it and planned a trip that would include the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone. We figured we might as well take advantage of the drive out and do some sightseeing. It was hot that summer. That was the summer much of Yellowstone National Park was hidden under clouds of billowing smoke. Fortunately, Mark and I were still able to see a number of beautiful scenes and plenty of buffalo and elk. 

Downloaded from Wikipedia site - Public Domain

One of the most memorable things we saw that summer was the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. This is one of my favorite memorials. There are many reasons I like it. Let's start with it's massive size and the idea, motivation and work behind completing such a colossal project. From the conception of the idea by Doane Robinson to promote tourism in the area, to the actual sculpting of the granite mountain by Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum (father and son), the work took from 1927 to 1941. Read more here. Pictures really do not do it justice. You have to see it face to face, ha, ha.

Another reason I like this memorial is the men whose faces are carved into the rock. These were men who made a difference in our country's history. All of them were presidents, each with his own unique style of leading this nation. But they all did great things. George Washington, our nation's first president, fought in the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson our third president, authored the Declaration of Independence. Abraham Lincoln our 16th president is famous for The Gettysburg Address, The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which permanently ended slavery. Theodore Roosevelt our 26th president was the main force behind making our national parks, forests and monuments, a way to preserve our natural resources. He also began construction of the Panama Canal.

When we arrived at Mt. Rushmore it was day time. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on the stone faces. We walked around, read the signs and tried to stay cool. We discovered that at night there was a multimedia presentation and lighting of the monument. My husband who had seen it several times before thought I might enjoy it. So we left to go set up our tent at a campground and came back when it was getting dark. I am so glad! It was phenomenal! The multimedia presentation included music and photographs of the work in progress as well  interesting background information. Then it all went black and they lit up the massive portrait in stone. It was impressive!

Everything about this memorial makes it a personal favorite. It is history carved in rock, a memorial, not only to the four men whose faces grace the granite cliff, but to all the people who have lived and served and died for our country. If you ever get the chance to see this memorial in person, don't pass it up.