Gatlinburg Gals

For our annual trip, my sisters and I picked Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  A brother-in-law had graciously loaned us the use of his timeshare for a week for a very minimal cost.  Four women stayed in a Studio Apartment at Gatlinburg Town Square for a whole week, and we were still talking to each other by the end of it! Lol.  One bath, one double bed, one sofa/sleeper and a small kitchenette.  It was actually very cozy. 

 The location of the resort was a little bit of a walk uphill from the main street of Gatlinburg, but thankfully there were trolley stops along the way.  Just like any vacation, by the end of the week, we finally had the trolley schedule all figured out.

Waiting for the next trolley

 Speaking of trolleys, there is also one line that will take you to Pigeon Forge for $1.00.  It was so nice leaving the driving to someone else.  We took it one day to Dollywood, and another day to check out some of the other sights and a winery trail.  (It is a given that we will find the wineries wherever we are vacationing). 
There is plenty to do in downtown Gatlinburg. 
Highly recommend the Space Needle, Ripley's Aquarium, and the Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery.

View from the Space Needle

 Many great places to eat including Bubba Gump's and our favorite, Blaines Grill and Bar.



We were lucky enough to be there over July 4th, and Gatlinburg is known for having the first 4th of July parade in the nation. Midnight!  Definitely worth seeing.

Playa Del Carmen 2014

With the crazy weather this winter it was time for a much needed break to someplace warm.  Although I don't like making travel plans this time of year due, in fact, to the weather.  I'm afraid of travelling in it or afraid that we will lose money due to having to cancel. 
Since plans are set up by the seed company we purchase from we have to travel about 3 hours to Indianapolis for the flight (that is where they are based).   We had beautiful weather going down, but coming home.....another winter storm.  Took us an extra hour. 

We stayed at Paradisus Resort which consists of 2 sides:  La Perla (adults only) and La Esmerelda (family).  http://www.melia.com/en/hotels/mexico/playa-del-carmen/paradisus-playa-del-carmen-la-esmeralda/index.html    We were put on La Esmerelda side which wasn't too bad because there were less people so it was quieter and we didn't always have to fight to get a lounge chair.

Was lucky enough to claim a bed for one of the days, but the lounge chairs were just as comfortable.

I am embarrassed to say that I actually only walked on the beach one day.

 

It was a little bit of a walk, albeit a pretty one, to get there.  I was content to sit poolside and use the same sun to get some color.

 

And who doesn't love a swim-up bar? lol

 

The rooms were superb with a huge private balcony.  Ours didn't have a great view, the entrance and tennis court, but it was fantastic just to be able to sit outside and watch the world go by.

This is about the 4th all-inclusive resort that I have been to and the only thing I didn't like about it was that for dinner, reservations were required in almost all of the restaurants.  Seriously, I'm on vacation, I'm not going to be on a time clock.  Besides, they didn't even have a clock/alarm clock in the rooms!  Plus I wasn't impressed with the limited selection of food choices.  Needless to say we ate at the Sunset Grill most days (by the pool). 

Our Trip to Panama

We went on the annual trip last year through our seed company's sales incentive program to Panama City, Panama. They use a travel company called Summit Planners, and they are remarkable!  Everything usually goes like clockwork, and we don't have to worry about a thing. 

The company chartered 3-5  planes for the huge group signed up to go and we were routed to the Howard Air Force Base in Panama due to our numbers figuring it would be less confusion and less crowded at the main airport. The base was closed in 1999 when it was turned over to the Panamanians.  I was told that the only plane that usually flies into there now is the President on Air Force One. Boy did we feel special :).

We stayed at the beautiful and all-inclusive Westin Playa Bonita. 

 

Real nice place, but with our group it was almost too overcrowded.  If you weren't down at the pool by 7 a.m. to claim a lounge, you were usually out of luck for the day.  Hello!  I'm on vacation, I want to sleep in with no worries whether I'll be able to sit poolside later that day!  It was a little selfish too, that some claimed the loungers (towels, belongings laid on them), then left for an excursion for many hours. 


The first evening there while walking on the beach, we noticed a line of lights across the pacific that we assumed was part of the mainland or an island.  The next day we realized it was actually the line of ships waiting to go through the Panama Canal.  Just amazing!  I only regret that we did not go on the tour to see the Canal.

One evening my DH and I went with 3 other couples to downtown Panama City and to check out a casino.  Inside the casino, I was dumbstruck by how obvious the 'girls' were, dressed in their mini skirts looking for their next client.  Apparently it is legal there??   Kept my hand on my guy, yessir!

A Winter's Tale

It's a new year, a new start (again) on trying to write a blog.  I seriously don't know how people have something new and exciting to write about every day.  It takes me a year (literally) to come up with something, lol. 

Update on my last blog on our cat, Dixie.  She came through whatever it was (still undetermined) and is back to her curious, ornery self.  We found a black kitty in September and added him to our brood and it was Dixie (the older cat) that played and sparred with him like she was a young kitten again.

Wow, winter!  Have we had enough of it, or what in Northwest Ohio?  So far we have had the all-time snowiest record of all season: 48.1 inches!!  We've had more negative double digit lows this January than any other according to our local weathermen. 

Usually cold and a little snow I can handle, but when 30-40 mile per hour wind gusts are included I just stay inside!  Luckily I have a part-time job that I can make my own hours.   My husband plows out driveways and he got stuck many times. The state and county plows have even got stuck while out working.  There are times that the rural roads have been impassable. 

Reading weather reports for the next week and even into February, they are predicting many, many more below normal temps.  So for now, everybody stay safe, stay warm!  I'll keep the fire burning in our wood burner, heaven knows it's the only thing getting a good workout these days!

Our Dixie Chick

Last Monday our 5 year old cat's back legs all of a sudden seemed to become paralyzed.  They were sticking straight out and she was dragging herself across the floor with her front paws. I took her to the vet, they took x-rays but they couldn't see anything that could have caused that. This office just doing general practice did give me options of taking Dixie to other facilities where they can do better tests and possible surgery, but they were over an hour away and starting at $1600.00.   I opted to see what my local vet could do.  After 3 days, there was some improvement in one leg, but she couldn't control her bodily functions.  Two more days later, on a Saturday, we did finally bring her home because she did use her litter box in her cage. 
This is going to be quite an experience because Dixie loves looking out the windows.  We have some kind of perch at just about every window in the house, and now she won't be able to get up to them.
We also have a 2 story house so we need to shut the doors to the upstairs and the basement.  Unfortunately, the litter box has always been in the basement, so I bought a smaller one to use upstairs and that would fit in her little pop-up 'cage' we are going to use at night and when we leave the house.  One of the major concerns is that she doesn't get sores or rug burns from dragging herself around.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we also have another cat in the house, Lucy, that we have to open the door for her to the basement and make sure she doesn't pounce on Dixie.
Well, we got through our first night okay, and she didn't seem to mind the 'cage', sleeping downstairs by herself.   The real test will be Monday morning when  normal routines start.  I am home most of the time, with my part-time job, but Tuesday I will be working the election all day and I'm afraid Miss Dixie is not going to like being confined all day while Lucy roams around her.

Autumn

Autumn has arrived and harvest is in full swing.  With this summer's drought conditions yields certainly aren't very high for the corn that has been picked.  Soybeans may fair a little bit better, but still well below an average year.  Crop insurance may be expensive, but thank goodness for it!

I don't know if it's because I fell in love with a farmer, but Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I love full moon, October nights riding in the combine with my hubby through the cornfields.  I may not do it as much as I did when we were first married, but that occasional 'date night' during harvest is needed time together.   I also now reflect on when our daughter was younger and would ride with her daddy for hours in the combine, occasionally even content enough to fall asleep.

My biggest challenge during this time is what to fix for meals to take to the field.  Hubby usually wants just a sandwich and drink but I always throw in chips and a snack.  He's kind of picky, so I basically just have to alternate between hamburgers, ham and sausage sandwiches.  Occasionally I can throw in hotdog, bologna, sub or even a pizza, but don't ever attempt a tuna or chicken salad sandwich.  I think he looks forward to not only getting harvest done before any winter weather comes in, but also looking forward to having a good sit-down hearty steak and potato meal. 

Iowa Trip

Twilight Riverboat

A friend had told me about a Mississippi Riverboat cruise that she and her husband had gone on that piqued my interest a little bit.  When she added that the Antique Archaeology store was in the town where you board the boat, I knew it was something we had to do.
My husband being a farmer, I was able to talk him into going on the boat ride so long as we go tour the John Deere combine factory while in the area.  So I booked our passage on the Twilight Riverboat that departed Le Claire, Iowa and headed north on the Mississippi river to Dubuque, Iowa.  The price included an overnight stay at the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque, then the next day heading back down south to Le Claire. 


Bridge outside the Grand Harbor Resort
in Dubuque

 

The cruise is about a 9 hour ride each day, so if you have a problem sitting still, it probably isn't for you.  My husband started complaining "What am I going to do for that long, stuck on a boat?"  I told him to sit back and relax, enjoy some down-time before it's time to start the rush of harvest.   Well, I made sure to have some magazines and puzzle books to do, but he never even touched them.  He was content to just sit and watch the scenery or go up to the top and bother the captain occasionally. 



The staff were all great and friendly, they served lunch and dinner and a snack in-between, played bingo and provided local musical talents.  We even enjoyed a cocktail or two from the bar on the 3rd deck. 

Getting back to Le Claire, I did not tell my husband that the American Pickers store was located there.  Happy to say I was able to keep that a surprise until we pulled into their parking lot. It is such a good feeling when you can surprise someone and they look so pleased or tickled.  Anyway, if you get the chance, Le Claire is a wonderful place to visit.  Besides the Pickers' store you'll want to check out the Mississippi River Distilling Co. and the Buffalo Bill Museum.   We had lunch at the Crane & Pelican cafe,   and a great pizza at Happy Joes. 

Since he held up his part of the bargain, we continued on our trip to Moline, Illinois and checked out the John Deere Pavilion and store, did the Harvestworks combine tour, then headed up to Waterloo, Iowa (last minute plans) to tour the Tractorworks plant. 




I think hubby enjoyed the whole trip and is relaxed and ready to tackle harvest.  Although with drought conditions this year, afraid there won't be much of a 'harvest' to enjoy any profit.