Window Shopper

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Yes, I did say beaches twice. That’s what those are worth in January, February and March!! I do remember when we went to the beach in January in Palm Beach. It was great. The surf was up and there were less people about that day. We took the dog. He was a big black lab-looking dog with a huge opinion of others, both dog and human. I’ll get to that later. But Palm Beach in the winter is awesome. Not only is the beach a bit less crowded but the beach itself is awesome. Very pretty and when the surf is up, it’s breathtaking.

The first thing we always did was to head straight for the water. At the beach, why not? As I went in, I noticed some guy fishing up north of us. That wasn’t really registering at the time though. One of the first things that did register, after I was neck deep in water, was that my watch was still on my wrist. And, of course, it got drowned. Never worked again. BAH! I knew I should have had a Technomarine watch. Ever seen one of those things? Diver’s watch. I love it.

Then, I noticed that our dog went in with us. As I said, he looked like a black lab but was actually a combo of German shepherd and cocker spaniel. Do not ask me how that happened! He loved to swim with us and went in all the time. But sometimes, he decided to get out before we did. That’s when he would place his opinion on someone else. It was just a leg lift away. ACK! He targeted a German Shepherd who looked at him like he was nuts. Nothing else happened, thank goodness.

About that time, it finally registered about the fishing guy….when his hook got into my foot. OUCH! I got out of the surf, got my sis to get it out. I am certain that the guy thought he had a big fish on the line. Must have been a huge disappointment when all he got back was a line. We took the hook. That was the last time I recall that we actually went to the beach. I miss the beach!!!

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Have you ever played the game…if I didn’t live here, where would I live? I admit, it’s not really a game unless you like the idea. But I have thought about this a few times. It’s sort of a tossup between heading for Texas, which is a place I really love, or going to Branson, Mo., where some of my favorites landed. I mean that I love country music and many country music stars have gone to Branson as well as Nashville. It’s awesome. Then I do have a favorite ministry there too. What a deal.

So, should I toss a coin here? No, I would rather talk it over with my husband. But just think of the things you need to know about. Schools, churches, gas prices (ACK!!! anywhere these days!), food stores and housing. In either case, we would be looking up these things, then we would visit each to study what is available. If we were to pick Texas, we have friends there who could scope out some great houses. If we picked Branson, we really do not know anyone there so the first thing I would want to do is look up Branson real estate agents to find out about the housing around there. You know, this is a really big deal. We haven’t moved in years. I don’t know. I guess we will have to do some heavy thinking about this after all.

For now, this is just a game to see what we could come up with. But some day, perhaps, we might just make such a decision.

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My dispatcher told me that I had a load that went to Nevada. Then, I had only been in Nevada a couple of times. Apparently, the company I worked for trusted me to go there (They did not always trust drivers going into Nevada so those people did not get a money draw when headed in that direction). But this load was going to Vegas, baby!

I really do like Vegas. After a while, I do get bored though. At first, I loved every blinking light I saw, every casino, every wedding chapel around. Before that, I had only seen the Strip on television and in movies. It was amazing. The Vegas hotels were all over the place, up and down the street. If you did not know where you were going, you would get lost in the lights and signs. Of course, I stayed in a hotel with a casino. It had parking for trucks. Very smart of the owners. The hotel was really cheap because they wanted you to gamble and see the shows. I did. It was awesome. And when I left, I still had my money in my pocket because I decided before I got there just how much I wanted to spend. That was all. I was happy. I had fun.

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Most folks will be traveling to destinations for family reunions or some type of get together. But not all people do that. Some are interested in going to Las Vegas or other places to have a good time with just a spouse or friends. If you are one of those people, you will need to get those Hotel Reservations in right now if you expect to find accommodations available to you then.

Hotel Reservations can set you up with hotel rooms, motels, those vacation rental places like a cabin and many more options. Headed for Miami, Reno, Hawaii, New York or possibly over to Italy, France, England? They will help you with all sorts of options like going places with your family this holiday season. What an adventure it would be to head for a place and stay for a couple of weeks. You might need a condo rental instead of a hotel. They can help you with it. Plus, you will get a special internet rate on all of the services they provide.

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This year has been, to say the least, busy. I have wanted to find a way to go on a vacation for months but it was a “no way” to me because something always comes up. Ever been there? Yep, I sit in front of the computer, looking at all the places I could be going. Sigh. It’s not fair, is it? I can count on one hand the number of times I actually had a vacation.

But there is one tiny little difference between you and me. When I was trucking, I got to go to almost all the states in the U.S. plus Canada. It was awesome. The one thing I had problems with, especially when I was first starting out, was what to take in the luggage. And how much luggage do I take? Well, you learn quickly that you do not pack six suitcases when one will do. Why? Because you lug that stuff all over the country and then, when you get ready to unload and go home, all that luggage is still in the sidebox, having never been opened…even once. Oh, you learn all right.

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Some years ago, my aunt and uncle moved out to California. None of us could believe that they even wanted to do that but they did go out there for a few years. As a kid, I believed everything I heard on the radio and television since I just “knew they wouldn’t lie”. So, I really did believe that my aunt, uncle and cousins would fall off into the ocean when the “big one” hit. That’s earthquake to those who have lived somewhere else for years.

But that never did happen. They ended up staying for quite a while and once in a while, they would send things to us about where they were living and places around them that would be great places to sightsee and places to stay. The one that I recall from somewhere is one of those brochures from a Mendocino bed and breakfast that sounded pretty cool. After all, you get your breakfast in bed, right? They bring it up on a tray. It’s full of goodies and stuff that anyone would love like candy, waffles, pancakes and things like that. I told you I believed what people said to me too, right? That’s what I was told by my cousins. Did they lie to me?

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Travel has been part of my life for many years. It’s only been in the last 13 years that I have not done much traveling. But mine was around the U.S., Canada and Mexico. I have wanted to go to other countries as well but there never seemed to be a way to do that. London would be one of those places I would like to see. Of course, I would need to check out London accommodation near the attractions, right? One of the most interesting sights would have to be the Tower Of London. Someday I will get to see that.

I don’t know how long I would like to stay. Believe me, I would take a much longer trip than usual for this type of traveling. And I would probably want to stay in one of those great London apartments rather than spend a whole lot more in a day to day hotel. Possibly there would be some type of cheap hotels that could be less expensive so that I could go sightseeing and get to see the Royal Mews or possibly Buckingham Palace. That would be awesome.

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While I was traveling on the east coast, I had deliveries waaaay up north in Maine, New Hampshire, Mass. and most of the east coast at one time or another. But, after several years, a very unique truckstop opened up at Sturbridge, Mass. I had never seen a truckstop like it before or since.

This place was dedicated to the comfort of the trucker. Believe me, that is in short supply out there on the road with maniac drivers everywhere and dockworkers that would love to teach you a lesson since the family at home was being difficult today. Then there were the DOT people and so on. Having a place to go for comfort was totally great!

So, when the truckstop opened it’s doors, I wanted to find out what they had. By the time I found the place, I had already heard more than enough to want to see for myself. Now, most truckstops have shower facilities as long as you fuel there. But this place not only had that but it also had a weight room and hot tubs for the fueling customers. You could have that even if you didn’t fuel but it would cost you a few bucks, about $5 as I recall. Fueling customers get all that free.

Not only did they have all that but also a game room and the best food on the east coast too. It was a great place to stop. Somewhere along the line, I didn’t get loads up there anymore and haven’t been there for years. Of course, I haven’t been trucking for several years anyway. Ah well.

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I like to look at travel blogs because they have so much information that we might need when we travel away from home. On this one particular blog, it has your general information but it also has some weird stories too. That would be the part I liked about it. What it can give you are accommodation stories that tell you where to stay, what to see. Not bad.

Were you looking for travel ideas or accommodation travel news? They have those. Very interesting. Need to know how to take pictures in Bejing? I think I saw a story on that on that website. They can tell you about accommodation updates, attractions and more.

Are you searching for that one type or cup of coffee that hits the spot? Not only can they tell you where it is but also how to acquire it. It may be very strange to you but the best coffee in the world is digested by little animals before it can become the best in the world. Then, the Kopi Luwak coffee beans are roasted. This is an extremely rare coffee, only 100 – 300 kilograms are produced a year. Want to know where and how?

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This place, too, is on the strip in downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. We took a little look at their place and it was fantastic. The website will be okay but the shop is better by far. Not to say that the website won’t be great, it is. It’s called The Savory Pantry and has a large number of jellies and preserves. We ate the apple butter at the restaurant next door and I can tell you that, although it is not my Grandmother’s homemade apple butter, it is pretty close to it!!

Apple Pecan Preserves, Apple Cinnamon Syrup, Stonewall Kitchen Cinnamon Apple Pancake Mix, and for those who don’t like apples…Cranberry Chutney, Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Hot Pepper Jelly, Olive & Herb Bread Spread and so much more that I cannot put it all here on this post or I would be here all night long. It is awesome. I plan to get some of these before too much longer and, frankly, I have found a place to get Christmas presents too!!

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