Cruise for Hunger, Play for Hunger

We participated in the Play for Hunger Cruise for Hunger Charity Event this weekend at Isla Del Sol.  This event benefits both the Daystar Life Center and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. 

Daystar was founded in 1982 as a small parish ministry  to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families.   The mission of Daystar is to alleviate the suffering and hopelessness experienced by members of the community who are economically or physically challenged. Most recipients are living below the federal poverty level.

St. Petersburg Free Clinic is a multi-service, independent, not-for-profit agency providing  assistance with food, shelter and health care. The clinic has  been caring for the those families and individuals facing short term emergency needs since 1970.

I played in the tennis event on Saturday--Steve sat out because of tennis (or chainsaw) elbow.  The tennis event encountered some rain so it ended during the third round.  Robert, the club manager, made a huge pot of Brunswick stew for lunch after the round robin.  

The Cruise for Hunger Event was held on Sunday after noon after a huge brunch at the club.  We met our crew at lunch and then headed out for a 3 hour cruise.  There were 9 boats in the flotilla which went up to Tierra Verde and the grand canal.  

The event continues on Monday with golf and closes on Tuesday evening with a dinner at the club. 

Liam, Bridgett & Pat

Lloyd

Pat & Jerry

John & Sue

It's a Dog's World

We took the bikes over to Ford DeSoto Park on Tierra Verde.  We rode for a few miles before we discovered the pier and the surrounding beaches.  We could see several dogs swimming and decided to take a closer look to find that there is a section of the beach devoted to dogs.There were dogs everywhere--I was reminded of the book Go Dog Go!  These are just a few of the new dog friends we met. 

Compare the size of the dog with her owner--she is an amazon!

Visitor's from Home

On Saturday, Dee and her son Emory  came to visit us.  Emory competed in a Spartan race at Raymond James field in Tampa on Saturday morning.  After they made a trip to St. Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille Beach, they came by to visit on the boat and to join us for dinner.  

I love to experiment when guests come to dinner so --guess what--I tried some new recipes.   

We had bacon wrapped quail, pork tenderloin, salad, zucchini quinoa pilaf and rice.  Emory helped me with the salad.  I let him use my new spiralizer.  

Emory was so kind to play along with me while playing out  my dream to have a cooking show on television.  He is a great kid! Best Wishes to Emory as he graduates from high school this year.  

Still loving my spiralizer.  We put the spiral cucumber slices into a salad.  

Earlier in the day I prepared the quail.  It doesn't get much easier than this recipe.  Wrap the quail in bacon.  Spray a pan with PAM, then pour a stick of melted butter over the quail.   Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Delicious.

We had a great visit with Dee and Emory.  Hope they can come back again!

Snow Moon in February!

Wow, wasn't that a beautiful moon on Friday?  A full moon in the month of February is often called a Snow Moon.  How fitting that the ground in Georgia is covered in snow during the full moon.  We left early this Valentine's morning to head back to St. Petersburg and hopefully warmer weather.  Steve got a picture of the Snow Moon from the boat.  

Snow Day #2

Finally the snow has just about stopped.  It is beautiful.  We are hoping that it all melts and we can get back to Florida soon.  This cold weather is just too much. We headed out for a walk. 

 Smoke is still rising from the fire Steve built over the weekend

My favorite sight of the day below!

Snow Day #1 Laziest Day Ever

Wednesday February 12 will go down in Poole history as the laziest day we have ever spent.  We watched the news of the storm all day long. Steve loves a good (bad) weather day on television.  In between news shows, we discovered Amazon Prime Video has Season One of Steve's newest favorite show--Justified.  We watched several episodes of this so that I could get the background information because Steve is already watching season 4.  

Are you guys going to do anything today?

 

Between episodes, we put another coat of varnish on the Meandering Joy plaque we are taking to the boat. 

Late in the afternoon, Steve made a run to Publix to buy milk so we could make Snow Ice Cream.  I decided it was time for him to learn a few things in the kitchen.  His first task--use the mixer.  He did great! 

 That pretty much sums up the day.  After the ice cream, we headed back to watch more Justified.

Roasted Broccoli & Kale

Roasted Broccoli is one of the easiest side dishes to make.  There are many recipes floating around the Internet for roasted broccoli--mine is simple.  I spray a cookie sheet with PAM.  I chop fresh broccoli (do not rinse with water) to get rid of the heavy stalk. Then spread the broccoli florets on the cookie sheet and spray with PAM.  Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Stir and return to oven for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with sea salt and Parmesan cheese and serve.  Yum Yum--

Broccoli is great for overall health.  
1.  Broccoli is an anti cancer food because it contains glucoraphanin (?)
2.  It is a soluble fiber which draws cholesterol out of the body
3.  It has high levels of calcium which is great for our bones
4.  It is high in fiber which which aids in digestion and maintains low blood sugar, and curbs overeating.
5.  Broccoli has as much protein as a cup of rice with half the calories.

Broccoli & Kale ready to go in the oven!

A few weeks ago I was watching Hungry Girl on TV--must have been the cooking channel--before the Super bowl. The show was titled Surprises Shockers and & Swaps.   She mentioned baking Kale as a substitute for chips.  You can her recipe here.

I didn't look up here recipe--instead I sprayed the cookie sheet with Pam and then sprayed the Kale with Pam and baked with the broccoli I had already prepared.  

Wow--the kale was delicious and crispy like chips.  This would be great on top of a salad.  I ate these with sea salt and Parmesan cheese.  It cooks down quite a bit--but is very tasty.  A great substitute for potato chips.  
Kale is high in fiber, low in calorie, high in vitamins K, A, & C.  

I put the Kale in the oven with the broccoli.  They were both ready in about the same time.  

Let me know when you try out these roasted veggies!

Williams Sonoma

I had a great  visit Williams Sonoma last week and discovered the Paderno Spiralizer.  I went back this week before our epic snow storm and purchased one for myself.  The spiralizer has two blades which  cut both thin and thick spirals that look like curly fries from Arby's and a third blade which makes ribbon type strands  The Spiralizer can be used on carrots, beets, potatoes, apples, zucchini and more. 

For my first experience, I chose zucchini. 

All of the recipes I found recommended using the spaghetti shaped zucchini like spaghetti noodles and pour sauce atop.  I resorted to my usual way to cook zucchini--stir fried with garlic and olive oil.  It was delicious with a little Parmesan sprinkled on top.  

I am taking the spiralizer with me to the boat--get ready for more recipes!!!

Cedar Island Ferry to Ocracoke and Coinjock

After our visit to New Bern, we drove to Beaufort (pronounced BO-fort).  Beaufort is the third oldest town in NC.  We visited the NC Maritime Museum here before heading on to Cedar Island.   Little did we know that in a few short weeks we would be stuck in Morehead Ctiy just over the bridge from Beaufort due to foul weather. 

Cedar Island is a small fishing village on  eastern North Carolina. It is known for its seafood, wild horses and unique way of life. This beautiful little village is also the home of the Cedar Island to Ocracoke Ferry a 22 mile  route  that takes  two hours and fifteen minutes. Ocracoke is another tiny island community with one of the state’s oldest lighthouses.  

First on board

After our trip across the outer banks of NC, we headed toward Maryland for TrawlerFest.  We made a stop in Coinjock for lunch--Another place we would visit by boat later in the year.

New Bern

In 2012 before we found Meandering Joy we traveled North Caroline from the far west side town of Mars Hill to the coast where we were scheduled for a ride on the Cedar Island to Ocracoke Ferry.  We were headed to TrawlerFest in Baltimore, Maryland.  We were going to take the scenic route to Maryland. 

We learned that North Carolina is a very, very, very wide state.  One of our stops along the way was in New Bern. New Bern sits alongside the Neuse River which we crossed while moving Meandering Joy from Maryland on our first voyage south.  

New Bern is scattered with historic districts and is the home of Pepsi Cola. In 1893 the famous soda made from a secret combination of carbonated water, sugar, pepsin, kola nut extract, vanilla and rare oils was originally called "Brads Drink"  after David Caleb Bradham the inventor.   Founded 1710 by Christophe de Graffenried who named the city New Bern in honor of his hometown Bern, Switzerland.  Bern in Swiss means bear.  We discovered multiple bears in New Bern. 

We hope to visit New Bern by boat one day!

A funny stroll down memory lane

Back in 2012 after we took Lainey to college as a freshman, we met our long time friends outside of Asheville, NC.  Dave and Charlene, Charles and Robin , Glenn and Nancy  and Steve and I rented a house for the weekend. 

We all met at church many many years ago.  The commonality between the families--boating of course.  As the friendships grew--many trips ensued.  
As our children grew older it became harder and harder to find time to travel together.  But in the fall of 2012 all of that changed.  The youngest of the children had just been delivered to the doorsteps of college so it was time to get together with our friends. 

We hiked and talked and ate and shopped--we only shopped because it rained on us for a while--normally shopping is not on the agenda.  With just one key to our house for the weekend, you can imagine what would happen if any of us separated from the group--yep--some of us got locked out of the house. 

Problem Solved

We had a great time with our friends that weekend but we were unsure of how we would adjust to our empty nest. 

Wonderful Old Pictures

Isn't it fun to go through old pictures?  I remember going through the drawers at my Grandmother's house looking at old pictures asking her to name the people in each photo.  The other day I got to go through some of my parents old pictures.  Look what I found!

The only trip I ever regretted...

I can just hear Gomer Pyle saying "Surprise, surprise, surprise."  When we got home recently , I found a surprise.  After unpacking and getting everything settled, I headed to my car to go get some groceries.  There it was--my surprise.  A gift sat waiting for me in the drivers seat.  I can't even begin to imagine how it got there.  Just the sight of it made me smile and pause and wonder--who left this for me?  How did this get here?

Inside the package I discovered a beautiful silver frame with an especially  fitting quote for this adventure we continue to live. .

So what is the quote?  "The only trip I ever regretted...Is the trip I didn't take."


I love this quote as a reminder to take risks, act on impulse, step outside of the box.  It reminds me of what  Mark Twain  says  "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do."   How true!

The surprise was from Terry Wright, a friend I met at church.  She and her husband were very supportive and encouraging when they learned of our boating adventure.  Terry is one of those people who just make the world a nicer place.   
  

Many thanks to Terry for this sweet surprise!  

P

   P.S.  This photo has nothing to do with the gift or the quote--just thought it was pretty!