River Street - Savannah 3/4/12

Joe and I decided to take a quick trip to River Street after a meeting in Hinesville. We were forced inside all day Saturday due to storms and torrential downpours and needed to chill a little! (We were lucky though, some areas had tornadoes.) We discussed it but didn't ride the bike. The temperature dropped from the 80s Friday to the 50s Sunday....and it was VERY windy. We wanted to chill but not like that! We decided to drive even though we are both DYING to get on Harley!!!!

Joe - not posing with a Black & Tan

We hit my favorite spot, The Cotton Exchange. Best food on River Street. Ms. Jean has been at the Exchange over 30 years and is famous for her killer Bloody Mary. She makes the mix herself and it is a highly guarded secret. I have to admit, it is awesome and I'm a tough critic since we make our own Bloody Mary mix too! Lila is another Exchange staple, with personality to spare! Awesome bartenders!! 

As a former cotton warehouse in Savannah's early days, the wood  & stone walls and low ceilings add a distinct old world atmosphere and coziness to the place.

Don & Jim

Usuals at the bar, Don and Jim are fabulous! Talk about personality!!! Funny, friendly and Southern to the core - just like me! We chatted and drank, drank and chatted all afternoon. Good times. Stedman (Mr. Oprah) was at the bar too. That's kinda cool.

 Joe and I started off with some calamari. It's always really good here. This time, it was good....but not fantastic. I guess even the Exchange can have an off day.After the calamari, we wanted something more. Crab dip....OMG the crab dip. It is cheesy crabby goodness. It is warm, loaded with crab meat, topped with cheese and served with pita bread pieces. YUMMY.

We take a break from your regularly scheduled life to bring you.....Wrestling season!

Joe is the head wrestling coach for Ware County High School. 

He is a FABULOUS coach and he has GREAT guys wrestling for him. 

Go to www.warecountywrestling.com and http://warecountywrestling.blogspot.com/ to check out our lives from November - February. 

Hopefully, I'll be telling you about our new adventures about March (maybe Bike Week?????) Until then.....signing off! 

Later,

Joe and Tara

Cayman Islands 11/11/11

David and Jessica

Wedding bells are ringing...in the Caymans!


David & Jessica, (Joe's brother and sister-in-law) got married 11/11/11 in the Cayman Islands.
It was beautiful!

Getting there and staying there:

Due to hectic work schedules, Joe and I had to make it a quick trip to the Cayman Islands to attend the wedding. Flights were easy and hassle free. Yay. Cayman Airways is awesome. Very nice, very laid back...the island attitude starts here. I had a Mimosa and Joe had his first of many Cayman beers, Ironshore Bock. Isn't that what you are supposed to do at 10:00am??? I think so.They offer complimentary Rum Punch but they ran out before they got to us...were we on the party plane?

We arrived about noon at a tiny little airport in the Grand Caymans. We flew through customs...thanks Caymans, you made that easy and we appreciate it. Taxis are really easy to get and not expensive. The cabbies work on a rotation, so they don't  run up to you and drag your luggage away like in some places. I really like that. 

View from our balcony

We were at the Villas of the Galleon less than 30 minutes after we landed - NOT BAD. We were met by a HUGE iguana. Iguanas are all over the island. So cute.

As we will find out this weekend, the Caymans are pretty darn expensive. (If you use US currency, there is a 25% markup and everything is more expensive anyway.) If you want to stay awhile and don't mind a little extra work, I really suggest the Villas. You have a real house -full kitchen, washer & dryer, etc...and it is really in a perfect location. GORGEOUS beach on one side....grocery and liquor store across the street. What more can you really ask for?

Balcony view

The Wedding!

Dave and Jess

My super sexy husband!

Joe and Tara

Roland & Kathy

Julie & Damian

Random pics & thoughts from the Caymans:

CayBrew, CayLight & Ironshore Bock 

are Cayman beers and all are very good 

 

Tara & Joe

Me NOT about to snorkel

Snorkeling: I don't snorkel. Joe does. Joe, Damian and Julie (brother and sister-in-law) went snorkeling a lot and they loved it. They all said it was absolutely beautiful. All kinds of awesome fish. 

Joe about to snorkel

It's great place for snorkeling and a big reason Joe liked the Caymans a little more than I did. It is absolutely beautiful; I just like a place with a 'story', some history or something special. The Cayman Islands are basically just a tourist destination, it's very commercialized....but I have to say again - VERY BEAUTIFUL. 


Food

We went to The Wharf for the wedding dinner. Delicious, expensive food...but you can feed the tarpon!!! I don't know how I didn't get pics of this...but David and Damian basically had tarpon all the way up their arms! David has the scars to prove it! ha ha We even caught the PirateFest fireworks display from across the harbor.

PIRATE FEST!!!!

Woo hoo! Ok, so I have a slight obsession with pirates. I was SOOOO excited about the festival. Several of us (Me, Joe, David, Julie, Kathy & Roland) headed to the bay for the festivities and to catch the parade. 
So much going on.....food, drinks, contests, shows, etc.
We were able to see a reenactment of a pirate attack, which I LOVED. 

The parade: 

Damian, Julie, Roland, Kathy enjoying the parade

Reminded me of a family-friendly Mardi Gras. 

Great music, awesome floats, food & drinks, beads, give-aways....and PIRATES! 

SO MANY PIRATES

Did I mention I LOVE PIRATES?

Later that night:

My sister-in-law and I both took pirate costumes and believe it or not, our husbands jumped in and participated too when we were getting ready to head back to town for the evening festivities.I think I can let the pictures speak for the festival too.

Even later that night: 

NO JOE, a bowl is NOT a shot glass

One day FL Gators...the next day GA gators.....canoeing the Suwannee Canal

After the GA/FL game, we had enough of the Florida gators and decided to visit some more civilized GEORGIA gators. Ha ha   We met up with some good friends, the Horans, to canoe the Suwanee Canal in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Karina, Jared and Robert all had kayaks. That left me, Joe and Donna up the creek without a paddle....or a canoe. (That was a little bit funny, right?) You can rent a canoe or kayak for about $30 a day at Okefenokee Adventures  and the people there are always very nice and helpful. (You can also get guided boat tours if canoeing isn't your thing.) They have souvenirs, sandwiches and drinks too.

It is soooo beautiful out there and you really don't have to be super experienced. I went for the first time in April with Joe and although he knew what he was doing, it wasn't hard to 'get'. I would say you can't have a fear of wildlife - alligators to be exact. We didn't see as many gators  on this trip as we did in April but they are everywhere. I quit counting at about 80 in April but we only saw about 20 this time. 
It really is a great time (if the weather is nice) and pretty decent exercise too. 
I really want to do an overnight trip at some point. You can rent a chickee (a floating dock basically) and camp out overnight. Due to the recent swamp fires and the low water levels due to drought, there are only a few open next season (2012) and you can only stay one night. Hey, you'll definitely see it on here if we decide to do that!

In the meantime, enjoy a few pics from this adventure! 

World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party GA/FL 2011 GO DAWGS!

OK, so this isn't about riding the Harley or great food...but it is about the BEST party - I mean game - in college football.

The GA-FL game is the biggest college rivalry in the SEC. You don't really need to be a Georgia Bulldog or a Florida Gator to enjoy the tailgate. Miles of RVs and tailgating setups of all shapes and sizes. Football fans in every direction. You might even find a beer or two. It isn't called the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for nothing!

Bulldog Man (Mike Woods) & me!

We were just at Everbank Field Monday night for the Jaguars game....GA/FL KILLS it. There are SOOOOOOO many more people here. 

It's really kind of crazy.

It is a rivalry unlike any other...but it's a friendly rivalry (for the most part).

Bulldog man on TV

Much like the Jags game, we got tickets very late to the game. (Thanks to Danita for the ticket offer - couldn't have gone without ya, we love you!!!!!) 
We really didn't have much time to make plans and get a tailgate set up...but luckily we were able to meet up with some friends! We had a really good time hanging out with Robert Smith and his wife. Good good people. 

We had time to get in a few beer before the game. And, since I was sitting next to my boss's daughter and husband, I promised I would behave!  LOL

I was really excited to run into Bulldog Man on the way to the stadium...and lo and behold, he ended up on TV too. I'm thinking that man hugs A LOT of blondes! Way to go Bulldog Man! 

Game was GREAT! Weather was perfect! Haley and Ray were so much fun to sit with! 

Look at those happppppyyyyyy fans! GO DAWGS!