Photo of the Day: Tower at Phnom Bakheng

Angkor, Cambodia
8.19.2011

New Tab: Projects

I took advantage of my airport and flight time to and from Orlando this past weekend to work on implementing a Projects tab for my blog. I made little thumbnails for each project related post and have them organized into a few categories. It took me a while to set everything up and get it all linked but I think it is worth it. Hopefully this will make browsing through past posts a bit easier.

Picture of the Day: Woman Weaving on a Backstrap Loom

Guatemala City, Guatemala
07.01.2010 

Weekend in Florida

This past Friday as soon as my afternoon meetings wrapped up I rushed to the airport and caught a flight to Orlando. My maternal grandparents live in a trailer park about an hour from Orlando and my mom, my sister, our close family friend, Georgene, and I had all collaborated to visit over Mother's Day weekend. Grandma and Grandpa knew that Mom and Georgene were coming but Missy and I visiting was a complete surprise.

My flight was the last to arrive (by a few hours) so the other three ladies had picked up the rental car, done a bit of shopping and had dinner before they swung back to the airport to pick me up. Missy had the great idea to make the surprise of us visiting even better. She had Mom and Georgene drop us off at the mailboxes at the trailer park which is about a five minute walk to my grandparents' trailer. Mom and Georgene then drove to the trailer and a few minutes later Missy and I arrived and rang their doorbell. When Grandma answered the door she and Grandpa couldn't believe that we were there, too. It was fun to surprise them and they were excited that our whole family was going to be together for Mother's Day weekend.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we all went out on Grandma and Grandpa's friend's pontoon boat for a few hours. Right near the canal where the boat was docked is an amazingly huge Southern live oak tree draped with Spanish Moss. Whenever I visit my grandparents I always love to walk by this tree so I couldn't help but grab a few pictures as we walked to the boat.

We met Grandma and Grandpa's friends (who happened to be originally from Michigan) and set off along the Dora Canal. The water level was several feet down which exposed a lot of the tree roots that we might not have otherwise seen.

We continued on and upon reaching Lake Dora we did a quick circle and then headed back up the Dora Canal.

We backtracked along the Dora Canal and then continued on past our starting point. The canal is beautifully flanked on either side with cypress trees and Southern live oaks that form a canopy extending across the water. 

From the Dora Canal we entered Lake Eustis and were greeted by a lovely anhinga drying its wings on a nearby dock. Anhingas cannot waterproof their feathers with oil like some other sea birds so their wings can become water logged. When that happens they spread their wings out to dry in the sun until they are able to fly again. 

We crossed Lake Eustis and entered Dead River. The river was quite wide with a number of fisherman out trying reel in some fish. In one of the side canals off the river a man was clearing the waterway of lily pads with a crane. I had never really thought of how the plant life could clog up the canals before and it was interesting to see him at work.

Dead River opened up onto Lake Harris and Missy had a chance to take the wheel for a bit of speeding around the lake which she enjoyed.

We were all getting a bit hungry for lunch so we decided it was time to head home and retrace our route back up Dead River. This time we went along the opposite bank which I found was more forested and more interesting. We saw a large number of cypress knees poking up high out of the low water as well as several birds.

We zipped back across Lake Eustis on our way back to the Dora Canal.

Returning to the Dora Canal we veered off into a little side cove to look for alligators. We had previously tried on our way out with no luck but this time we spotted a small alligator sunning itself on a log. We had seen many birds during our time on the water but the last stretch down the Dora Canal was teeming with birds. We saw anhingas, great blue herons, green herons and white ibis among others. Just as we were returning to dock we saw a log with three baby alligators perched on it. One skittered off soon after we saw them but I managed to capture a picture of the remaining two. 

The boat ride was wonderful but we were starving for lunch when we returned. We went out for a big lunch of barbecue at a place Grandma had her heart set on and then came back to the trailer park. While everyone else decided to relax and take an afternoon nap Missy and I headed out for a bike ride.

My grandparents have single speed bikes that they use for riding around the trailer park to visit neighbors or ride up to the park clubhouse. As far back as I can remember my grandparents have always owned single speed bikes and one of the things Missy and I would always do as kids was borrow their bikes and go for rides. 

We looped around the curving roads of the trailer park along the canal and then set off on one of the town roads. We headed up a hill to an orange grove, circled through a cemetery and then back to the trailer park. We decided to make a stop at the clubhouse to sit on the dock behind it for a bit. As we were walking by the shuffleboard courts we saw Grandma's name on a plaque listing her as the shuffleboard champion of the trailer park in 2011. Way to go Grandma!

By the time Missy and I got back to the trailer the sun was setting and it was getting late. Grandma brought out some old photo albums and we spent the rest of the evening looking a pictures and reminiscing.

My flight home was in the early afternoon on Sunday so we went to the early service at Grandma and Grandpa's church and then Missy drove me to the airport afterwards. It was a short trip but with my grandparents in their eighties I am not sure how many more visits like this I will have with them so I treasure what time we can spend together.

How was your Mother's Day weekend? Did you get to spend time with family?

Picture of the Day: Trevi Fountain in Rome

Rome, Italy
3.26.2012 

Picture of the Day: Chandelier at Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
Paris, France
03.17.2012 

Making Banana Boats

When I was a little girl my absolute favorite thing about Girl Scout campfires was making and then eating banana boats.  They were a wonderful special treat and absolutely delicious.

As an adult camping still means banana boats to me and I never head out on a camping trip without bringing banana boat ingredients along. What could be better than melted chocolate and marshmallows with bananas? Only eating it around a campfire.

Ingredients List
- Bananas
- Miniature marshmallows
- Chocolate chips
- Aluminum foil

Directions
- With a paring knife, make a score down the center of the banana peel and across the top and bottom 
- Peel back the banana peel and stuff the banana full of marshmallows and chocolate chips
- Carefully wrap the banana with aluminum foil and place in campfire coals
- After five to ten minutes, use tongs to pull the banana from the fire
- Once the banana has cooled enough to eat, peel back the foil and use a spoon to scoop out the softened banana 

Tips and Tricks
- While amazing delicious, banana boats are very messy so beware!
- If you aren't going camping any time soon and you are craving banana boats, you can try baking the bananas in the oven

Have you ever made banana boats while camping? What is your favorite camping food? 

Picture of the Day: Arch of Titus Overlooking Restoration Work at the Roman Forum

Rome, Italy
3.19.2012 

New Tab: Away

I have several things I want to do to improve my blog and I finally got around to implementing one of them by adding an "Away" tab.  It is a map of the world showing the countries that I have visited and by clicking on different regions it links to pictures and posts I've written about the corresponding area. I may tinker around with it a bit more, but it is generally what I envisioned.

I have a long list of things to add (like a "Home" tab with a house tour and link page with projects) and hopefully I can get around to them faster than I did adding this tab.

As I am thinking about what I want to add I am curious if there is anything in particular you would be interested in seeing or having me add?

Picture of the Day: Doorway at Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei, Cambodia
8.2011