I managed to get a morning walk in since I knew the afternoon would be tight. We returned to the town square to first go to the Olive Oil shop and pick up some small bottles to take to Hugh’s cousin. We were out of blood orange, they had a new mushroom and sage, and a new line of Greek organic we picked up to try. It isn’t that we are big on organic, but the product sounded intriguing.

We went on to Mystic Grill where even at 11:45, there was a bit of a wait. It is good although the real draw is whatever the connection is to the TV show Vampire Diaries and the tours they do. Neither of us have ever watched the show so we aren’t clear on that. The building is a draw too, as a wonderfully renovated old bank with lots of woodwork saved and this great staircase. They have a creative menu and had we not had burgers the night before (and they are on the cookout menu for tonight), we would have gone for them. I opted for the chicken salad sandwich instead, the type made with dried cranberries and some chopped walnuts. Hubby had the fried fish sandwich and no they don’t do catfish there. I thought he might go for the shrimp and grits which he has enjoyed in the past. Then we did our usual of splitting up for about forty-five minutes for him to wander and take more photos and I popped in and out of some shops. There are two art galleries. One is a non-profit where they exhibit different artists as well as have classes. I picked up a few lovely blank note cards which is something I almost always do when traveling. These had scenes of the town square. The second also does classes and one of the women (not sure if she is the owner) specializes in whimsical children’s art with mostly animals. There was more abstract in this place along with other pieces. I picked up a small piece that I have a plan for.

As I mentioned yesterday, sister-in-law and her husband were to pick us for the reunion and while there had been speculation about how many would attend, there were pushing the 200 expected. It was held in kind of an odd place as it was a conference center in an industrial park. It was a nice facility although the beautiful tin ceilings in the very large room with tiled floors and a band meant the noise level was tremendous. There was the usual “haven’t seen you in years” and so forth as I met quite a few people. Dinner was catered BBQ and with BYOB, we had an ice chest with a six pack and I threw in my small bottles of white wine just in case. We were among the 9:00 p.m. departure group though and the actual schedule was to end at 10:00.

The mini family-reunion is this afternoon.

We had a slight delay in departure in one of those semi-amusing things. Since we were traveling on a weekday, traffic issues meant it would be better to wait until 8:30 to leave. Literally jut a Hubby was ready to load the truck, Mother Nature brought in a pop-up rain; all while it was partly sunny of course. These don’t usually last long so we were on the way not long after. The traffic hadn’t completely cleared although it was manageable. Once we passed Fort Lauderdale, we lucked out with no big accidents, not much construction, and only a few scattered showers. We made it into the Hampton Inn a little before 7:30. There is a Chilii’s in front of the motel and the Holiday Inn Express next door is finished and they are now building what looks to be an extended stay place next to the Chili’s. We got everything into the room and walked over for dinner. Having over-indulged a little at Wendy’s when we did a Turnpike stop for lunch I balanced out with a cup of chili and the southwestern grilled chicken salad. We frequently have pasta on Thursday so Hubby had a cup of chili and their Cajun pasta with shrimp.

We start our round of family visits today going to his sister’s for lunch – her husband has to work, but he’ll be at the gathering Sunday. We’ll ask about restaurants in town and hope the Mystic (whatever the actual name is) is still open. The Irish Pub had closed, but perhaps someone re-opened it or something replaced it. There is also a New Orleans type place just off the town square. The other is on the square and even though there are good places in other parts of town, the square is delightful. Of course, we may also go there tomorrow as is our habit.

I’m not sure what caused me to think of the first time I went to Nice, but it was another of those incredible moments. It was while I was at the University in Angers and one of the group had a distant relative who lived near Nice. She invited three of us to visit over the spring break. We took the train which was about six, maybe eight hours, with one or two transfers. I had of course seen movies showing scenes of the French Riviera, but you don;t expect the colors to match. And yet, they do. There is the glorious blue of the sky with scattered white clouds and the Mediterranean with so many shades of blue you can barely count them. The mountains to the east and coastline to the west are simply breath-taking. We did spend most of the time at the “farmhouse”and the relatives spoke no English, but by that time, we’d been in classes for seven months so between the three of us, we managed. That was also the first time I watched mayonnaise being made by hand.

We did go into Nice one day for a few hours and were startled to see the “beach” was all pebbles/rocks. It never occurred to me at least that you could have a beach with no sand. Anyway, fast forward 20+ years when we were stationed in Italy. I may have posted before about the fact the Pisa airport was only regional and the two closest international ones were Rome and Milan, both about a four hour drive. At some point I discovered Nice was only 20 minutes further and much easier to get in and out of, plus the drive was magnificent.The other two were scenic, although not as spectacular as winding your way along the Italian and French Rivieras and through Monaco. In bringing people in, flights from the States arrived around 8:00 a.m., and going back departed in the afternoons. It was perfect to leisurely drive over the night before and have a late lunch or just dinner depending on what time we set out. For out-bound flights, it was drop someone off and then spend the night.

Next post, I’ll talk about other aspects of Nice.

A discussion about steaks the other day reminded me of Joe Allen’s in Abilene, Texas. I may have posted about this in the past, but if so, it’s been a while. I don’t know if the place is still there, or if it is still in the same family. As a newcomer to Abilene (this is when I had my ROTC assignment), I was of course interested in the restaurants. Several people mentioned Joe Allen’s BBQ, but it wasn’t in the direct line of most places I drove through, although it isn’t as if it was much out of the way either. I did drive by one day and it was definitely what one would call ramshackle and not in a newer part of town. I put it on my “one of these days” list and several months later, a friend was startled I hadn’t been there yet.

We went and it was much the same on the inside as outside with wide plank floors and a large tin tub filled with ice and long-neck beers close to the buffet station. The station was actually the sides that came with their BBQ meals. Notwithstanding the name, they were equally known for their steaks. The thing was though it was one cut – boneless rib eye – cooked one way – grilled over mesquite. You could select from 1/2 inch to 4 inches thick and that’s how it was priced. Yes, I said 4 inches and in Texas you’ll always have some who can handle such a hunk of meat. Obviously, other restaurants served steaks and the two “nice steakhouse” our regular Friday night group went to did well. Hands down though no one made a better steak than Joe Allen. As much as I appreciate a hearty red, ice cold beer in long neck bottles was also the correct beverage choice. I do hope the place has passed to the next generation..

The trip back from Abita Springs went as smoothly as these things do with no rain, minimal construction, and the few accidents we saw didn’t affect the traffic flow on our side. We did call it quits after nine hours of driving and spent the night in Ocala. They have a couple of “motel clusters” although the only sit-down restaurant within walking distance where we were was a Cracker Barrel. A while back they started serving beer and wine although the choices are limited. Still, it works.  I had chicken fried steak and Hubby did a trout dish which I should have done myself considering everything else I’d been eating during the trip. Anyway, we did make it back Friday afternoon. I built in an extra day for being gone until Saturday since I wasn’t entirely sure how the trip would unfold between travel and tasks.

I managed to keep up with only minimal emails and am therefore spending much of the weekend catching up on the things I wasn’t able to handle before I left and a few I postponed as they came onto my “to-do” list during our absence. I did actually unpack the suitcase yesterday and start on laundry. That has been known to languish for as much as a week after a return.

While it is Mother’s Day, I think I’ve explained before we don’t go out for these occasions any longer as it tends to be rather crowded. Hubby picked up containers of lobster bisque which we will have as a starter, then he’ll grill the mahi at the same time I make the Everglades sauce we enjoy. Several months ago he started buying the frozen “crispy green beans” and later the carrot version. Since he had a rice dish last night we’ll probably do potatoes along with the beans in the oven for sides. We do still have a bottle of champagne in the fridge.

We said our goodbyes to sister and brother-in-law yesterday and drove east to Abita Springs. My brother and his wife lived a few miles from there previously, then to Mandeville and now back at what was her mother’s until recently. Her mother made it to a little over a hundred and one of the two brothers was determined she would be allowed to remain in her home. While they each did different things, a great deal of the care giving fell to sister-in-law and brother. Anyway, the place was in need of repairs and updating, most of which are now completed. They are mostly moved in and will turn more attention to preparing their house in Mandeville to be sold. We simply didn’t have the energy to make even the short drive to go see their place and will do so in the not too distant future.

On to Abita Springs, which is a small town a bit northwest of New Orleans that features two or three main things. The Springs are historic, another of those “out of the city” places people would travel to when the summer heat and humidity made New Orleans very oppressive. In the more modern time, it’s part of Tammany Trace, one of the “Rails to Trails” projects that cyclist, walkers, and even horse riders enjoy. (http://www.tammanytrace.org/) We appreciate such things, but for us, it being the home of Abita Brewery is more important. That was one of the beers Emeril Legassee made famous on one of his cooking shows as he would often serve it to guests. We were able to stay in the Abita Springs Hotel again, a two-minute walk from the Brew Pub. Brother and  sister-in-law came in – it’s like six minutes driving from their place – and we had a lovely dinner. All seafood of course with a “bucket” of fried catfish, shrimp, crawfish tails, crab ball, and yes hush puppies. Brother had a different shrimp dish and sister-in-law went with a redfish special that I thought Hubby would go for. The beer was of course excellent.

Shoe shopping was successful in the sense I do now have two pair of closed toe and heel casual shoes for those times when I go to climates where such is necessary. They did not have as much selection as I hoped, but at their prices it was just as well. Lunch at Escalante followed; a local Mexican chain with excellent food and they make their guacamole fresh to order so you can leave out or add extra of any of the ingredients.They used to do a table-side production and stopped that during COVID.

Hubby and brother-in-law were of course back well before we were and we puttered around a bit in the afternoon before he went for a walk around the neighborhood. By the time I caught up on emails and a few tasks I couldn’t delay, I didn’t have time to walk since we planned an early dinner. The Saltgrass Steakhouse is only a couple of miles from where my sister lives. It too is a regional chain with good food and a fairly standard menu. They do a beer bread as a signature and the usual variety of steaks. My sirloin was cooked a perfect medium and the cognac pepper sauce I did for an add-on was quite good. Hubby opted for the T-bone, sister the small filet. Brother-in-law had the Cajun redfish which meant topped with a sauce that included a shrimp and couple of crawfish. I’m saving my seafood night for tonight when we are in Abita Springs. We’ll head out about 9:00 this morning.