Weird Bones and Weirder Teeth - What is this?

While we were in Gilchrist, Texas, Randy's brother Lonnie showed me a bone that he found on the shore, and it unlike anything I've seen before.  I tried to research what it is, but I can't find a way to describe it that provides any information.  I am pretty sure it's a jawbone, but that's as far as I get.  Does anyone know what this is?

Rain Out? Not at the Snack Shack!

I have been wanting to improve the blog lately; now I've added a couple of widgets that may help.  There is a "Search This Blog" function under our picture/profile that will search all entries of the blog.  And below that is a blue "Email me" button to let people email us from the blog.  Please feel free to use these.

Yesterday at the Snack Shack we introduced several locals to the Butterfly Pork Chop sandwich.  This staple of the Midwest is apparently not common here - several people asked us what it was.  But everyone who asked about it decided to order it, and loved it!

Today was our second day in the Snack Shack.  It was quite cool outside - definitely jacket weather.  That's a good day to stay inside and a bad day to serve food outside.  We had some customers anyway and everything went well.  But the sky kept getting darker and darker, and then, in a lull between customers, it started to rain.  Really COLD rain.  Nobody's going out in cold rain for a sandwich, so we started to close up.  Just as I headed to the Clubhouse to put things in the big freezer, a couple of people showed up for lunch.  They were here yesterday and it was so nice of them to come out today in the rain to show support for us.  I, of course, turned around and headed back to the Shack while Randy started cooking again.  Behind them came a couple more guys, then our friend Mark stopped in to pick up lunch for himself and his wife.  And before we were done with that, two more couples came out for lunch (actually they sent over the only one of their group with a rain hood).  With this kind of support, we can hardly wait to see what happens when it's warm and sunny! 

A New Restaurant Adventure!

Well, we started a new adventure today.  The RV Park has a Snack Shack which has not been open for a few years, but this year we will be running it.  It's small, just one room, but the location is good - right next to the pool and hot tub!

It's so little that I can't even take a good picture of the inside, just sections of it.  In the back is a little deep fryer and a miniature grill; this is where Randy creates savory delights.

My place is in the "front of the house", which means one step away, at the cash register and the customer window.  

For now we will be open Fridays and Saturdays for lunch.  We are starting small - burgers, hot dogs, and a daily special - and will see where we want go from there.  It feels good to work in a restaurant again.  This time is a little different, though.  Because of who we are, we approach this professionally and take it as seriously as if it were our own.  But we don't own the business, so there is an opportunity to relax and enjoy it.  The truth is that Randy is happiest in the kitchen, so we are planning on having a good summer!

One Year Ago: Pirate Adventure
Two Years Ago: St. Louis snow
Three Years Ago: So much to do in Riverside

Tea Party Themes - March 20, 2013

I recently learned that we are near the Charleston Tea Plantation, which is supposed to be the only Tea Plantation in the Continental US.  So I decided that since we have a local tea here, we should have a Southern Hospitality Tea Party at the RV Park.  I made two pots of the tea served it with some Southern classics: Cheese Straws, Pralines, and Old Fashioned Ambrosia (all made by Randy, of course!).  Southern Ambrosia is nothing like the Ambrosia I used to have in Illinois.  That was a fruit salad of crushed pineapple, mini marshmallows and mandarin oranges in whipped cream, and always topped with maraschino cherries.  Southern Ambrosia is a lot simpler - less ingredients and never any whipped cream.  I used the oldest recipe I could find, which was just oranges slices with a bit of sugar and fresh coconut sprinkled in, and marinated overnight.

I found the picture frame that is on the table at the "Worlds Largest Yard Sale" last Saturday.  I couldn't pass it up, since it cost just a quarter.  So I printed a copy of the painting "Southern Belle" by Erich Correns and put it in the frame as a centerpiece.  The funny part is that although Correns called the painting "Southern Belle", it's really a portrait of the famous Swedish coloratura suprano, Jenny Lind.  I guess that just proves we can all be Southern Belles if we try!

I thought the tea itself tasted pretty good.  Not as good as my favorite, Marks and Spencer's Tea.  But enjoyable.  That's a good thing, because American Classic Tea has been the official tea of the White House since 1987.

I served my beloved Marks and Spencer tea a couple of weeks ago when I hosted a Low Tea.  Although High Tea is much more common, I really like Low Tea.  It's not as fancy as High Tea and there isn't as much food, so for me, it's a perfect little tea-time.  For that party I served miniature scones with clotted cream and jam, cucumber and mint sandwiches and frosted lemon cookies.  As always, Randy came through, making everything just the way it should be.

One Year Ago:  Perks of working near Disneyland, CA
Two Years Ago:  Family and Chinese Food in Oklahoma
Three Years Ago: Being a Tourist in LA, California

A Great Hilton Head Island Restaurant

Today we tried a new restaurant for breakfast - the Stack.  Our friends in the RV park recommended this one to us, and it was a great recommendation.  They make a Creme Brule French Toast that is amazing! 

And this is the most unusual sight around here - Shorty, not jumping, barking, chewing, wrestling or chasing the cat - just resting quietly.  Aren't they cute when they're sleeping?

Weird Plants

Back in November of 2011 I found a funny little plant in Arizona called a Lithop.  I really like it and bought one but unfortunately, being a desert plant, it didn't survive the trip to Alaska.  But since I'm going to be in the South for quite a while, I decided to try again.  While we were in Arizona this January I found some for sale at the at the Desert Museum.  I bought them and transplanted them into a cute little container I bought in Palomas, Mexico.  They look pretty good, with a decorative shell tucked in the corner.

And shortly after I bought it, they started to grow.  Lithops grow by pushing new leaves out from in between the old ones, sort of like a snake shedding it's skin. 

Now, being desert plants, Lithops need a lot of sun.  When Lithops are healthy, they stay very short, just above the ground.  But if they don't get enough sun, they grow up towards it.  Apparently mine are not getting enough sun, because they are looking unusually weird. . . what the heck?!

World's Largest Yard Sale and Hilton Head Island Bicycle Paths

Today the weather was perfect!  Much too nice to stay inside, so we started the day by going to what was advertised as the "World's Largest Yard Sale".  I am not sure it really qualifies for that title, but it was pretty big.  It opened at 9 am and by the time we got there at 9:15, it looked like half the Island's population was there.

Being Full-Time RVers, we don't have much room for new stuff.  The classic RV rule is "everytime something comes in, something needs to go out".  But I wasn't shopping for me, I was shopping for the Resort.  I have started hosting Tea Parties and I need a lot of cute stuff for that.  I also need a teapot, but nobody on the Island seems to have one.  

After the yard sale we still wanted to soak up more of the sunshine so we went for a bike ride.  It's about one mile to the beach, which seemed entirely within my ability, even though I haven't been on a bike much lately.  And once we made it to the beach we just kept going.  The sand is packed firm enough to ride on.  The amazing thing about this photo is that I am actually in front of Randy. . . but I sped up specifically to get this, then dropped behind again.

Eventually we turned off the beach and on to one of the many bike paths.  One of the cool things about Hilton Head Island is that they takes their trees very, very seriously here.  When the bike path conflicts with a tree, the tree wins and the path goes around.

When the road conflicts with the tree, the tree wins and the road goes around - sometimes all around.

When we got back to the Resort I went looking for our alligator.  Since it's a sunny day, he wasn't too hard to find.  He's not a big gator, but I learned that any gator looks pretty serious when he's headed towards you.