Tag Archives: semifictitious characters
An Ode to the Home of Vidalia Onions
To paraphrase Shakespeare, would an onion by any other name taste as sweet?We think not, since most onions are hardly sweet at all. So what’s in a name? Vidalia, Vidalia, wherefore art thou Vidalia?
The only way to know for sure was to go directly to the… CONTINUE READING >>
Fear Conquering & Roller Derby
“Mom. You are going to get owned.”
My, how the tables have turned. I’m not going to lie, I was getting a bit of pleasure out of worrying The Spawn.
The reason for their concern was not without merit — I was about to attend Roller Derby Camp. Or as the Killamazoo Derby Darlins call it, a “Fresh Meat Event”.
In our never-ending quest to find quirky things to do… CONTINUE READING >>
Veronica (aka Helln Hotflash) Does Roller Derby
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Veronica becomes “Helln Hotflash” and embeds herself with the Killamazoo Derby Darlins — not quite the brightest move for a “woman of a certain age”! She survived – barely – and it wasn’t until… CONTINUE READING >>
Mermaids Are Real (we have proof)!
In the crystal clear waters of Weeki Wachee Springs there reside mermaids, seriously. We wouldn’t make up something like this.As a matter of FACT, the Florida State Park Service is a leader in the preservation of these exotic rare creatures.
We were lucky enough to have the chance to observe their graceful antics in a natural habitat and… CONTINUE READING >>
The Mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs
Fish, turtles and even a manantee join the spectacular spectacle of the… CONTINUE READING >>
Would You Stay at a Panda Hotel?
Would you stay in a Panda Hotel? We did and we loved it!During our whirlwind stay in Hong Kong, we were treated like royalty, stayed in a suite that looked like a movie set and ate the most amazingly delicious food.
And, yes, there were pandas… CONTINUE READING >>
Jousting with Middle Age
What is middle aged? I suppose we are implying the middle of our lifespan. So let’s say eighty years. That makes forty, give or take a few years, middle aged.
Ninety is certainly a possibility, so, forty-five. Some of us might even live to be 100, so I can even go as high as fifty.
After that it gets a little curious. Fifty-five? Well, people have lived to 110, so let’s call the late fifties the absolute top side of middle age.
If someone sixty-plus is going around claiming to be middle aged, basically they are declaring… CONTINUE READING >>
Talkin’ Turkey: What Travel Taught Us About the First Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is upon us. Cue the pictures of cheery Pilgrims supping with the friendly natives and images of The Mayflower triumphantly landing at Plymouth Rock. Ah yes, all of that happy history we were taught as baby boomer children… and none of it is true.We were not on a quest for truth when we made our pilgrimage to Plymouth, Massachusetts, just taking in a little history, but once… CONTINUE READING >>
Adult “Kids” Say the Darndest Things (on Twitter)
A treasury of tweets that every parent of an adult kid will love! These guys are SO funny!
On Being Replaced
Are You a Snow Plow Parent? 7 Modern Parenting Terms
This glossary of modern parenting terms from around the world provides a cautionary tale through definitions. Could a Snow Plow Parent accidently raise a Kidult in a perpetual state of Adultescence?Snow Plow Parents
Like the snow removal apparatus, a Snow Plow Parent will be sure to… CONTINUE READING >>
Seen Any Good Movies Lately?
This is not one of our usual topics, but we’re a little discouraged.We’re huge movie buffs and we’re finding it harder and harder to find movies that appeal to us (perhaps another get-off-my-lawn, curmudgeonly sign of aging?).
Our hope with this post is that we can all share… CONTINUE READING >>
Dreaming in a Tango Hotel in Buenos Aires
Late at night, when I’m in a particularly active R.E.M. cycle you can almost guarantee that you will find me dancing the tango in my soul, behind my eyelids. I must have a connection to the sultry dance from a past life. In these dreams I am as fluid as hot coffee and as alluring as the sweetest chocolate. Tango speaks to me.I’d also never attempted it in real life. David, who calls himself a “circus bear attempting to balance on a ball” when it comes to dancing, was surely not going to indulge me in my fantasy of learning to tango during our stay in Buenos Aires. At least not as my partner.
But my circus bear can be full of surprises. He not only… CONTINUE READING >>
The Key to Quito, Ecuador
What we THOUGHT was going to be a simple stopover on our way to The Galapagos Islands, turned out to be a gem of Colonial American history.Quito’s Colonial Center is perhaps the largest and best preserved historic center in the Americas, and was the first New World city to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO… CONTINUE READING >>
Oh My Stars!
Looking up at the night sky at an out-in-the-boondocks National Park sent my thoughts wandering, as only the night sky can. Then came a shocking thought:How long until we can no longer see the stars?
Sitting up and scanning the land around me I saw the bright dots from tiny little towns – and, alas, the Park itself – enough light pollution to hinder me from observing what The Ancients or Magella… CONTINUE READING >>
Boomerang "Kids"
A recent advice column I read was just plain disturbing.
It involved a mother who is a newly retired homeowner with an outstanding mortgage. Unless she was the CEO of a major publicly traded corporation, this lady is on a whopper of a fixed income.
Now get this – she has two sons, aged 22 and 24, living in her home and she has asked them to pitch in and pay $30 a week.
“Stressed-Out Mom” says that they are now “ranting and raving and calling her a bad… CONTINUE READING >>
Meet Bigfoot’s Florida Cousin!
Skunk Apes are omnivores, with the ability to climb and make beds out of leafy branches, there are an estimated 7 – 9 of them in the Everglades, they like alligator caves, smell like rotten eggs, and they love lima beans. Skunk Apes lead a nomadic, hunter/gatherer existence, have a good memory and exceptional hearing.We had to find one for ourselves, so we headed deep into the Florida Everglades… CONTINUE READING >>
In Search of Skunk Ape
Your GypsyNesters go deep into the Florida Everglades, miles from any signs of civilization, in search of the elusive Skunk Ape and found some … CONTINUE READING >>
See You in the Funny Pages!
Our favorite “Saturday Funnies!” Get a laugh!Funny stuff for parents, boomers, and the young at heart!
How to Do Mardi Gras Without Being Asked to Lift Your Shirt!
Don’t get us wrong – we LOVE New Orleans. But the thought of wading into a Big Easy Mardi Gras is something better left to young whippersnappers. We’re taking the rural route and are live-blogging the wonderful goings-on in Cajun Country – and we’re going to hit ‘em all!Courir de Mardi Gras This rural Mardi Gras celebration involves costumed men dancing on horseback, begging for gumbo ingredients and chicken chasing!
La Grande Boucherie des Cajuns A tradition older than Mardi Gras, is a communal hog butcher and meat fest.
King Cake A cake with a small plastic baby inside.
Fais do-do See what Cajuns do once the kids go… CONTINUE READING >>
Mardi Gras Chicken Chasing
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Chicken chasing, colorful costumes and dancing on horseback? It’s Courir de Mardi Gras in Church Point! You’ve gotta watch the video to believe it…it’s, well, just watch… CONTINUE READING >>
16 Boxes
Almost everyday we hear somebody say “I live vicariously through you” or “ I wish we could do what you’re doing.” As inviting as it may seem, it’s probably not the lifestyle for everybody. There is actually quite a commitment to chucking it all and becoming a gypsy. It takes a dash of nerve and a pinch of intestinal fortitude to get rid of everything you own except a handful of personal items that can be fit into a few boxes.16 boxes to be exact. Close to 30 years of marriage and 3 kids later, we’re whittled down to 16 boxes, most them in storage. Many of these boxes are tagged to go directly to the kids… CONTINUE READING >>
Amazing Human Statues of La Rambla in Barcelona
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We LOVE street performers, and these guys (and gals) go over the top! Check out a balancing act you won’t believe (we never did figure out how he did it!), a beautiful blue woman with… CONTINUE READING >>
Six Places That Will Scare the Snot Out of You
A church decorated with bones, a turn-of-the-century torture chamber, ghost lights in the-middle-of-nowhere Texas, a Voodoo Queen’s grave and a REALLY haunted hotel are among the scariest things we’ve seen out on the road. Click in if you dare… CONTINUE READING >>Fountains of Wangen im Allgäu
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Perhaps the most unique attribute of Wangen is its fountains. There are several well preserved hold-outs from centuries past, but the stars of the show… CONTINUE READING >>
Just Wangen It (in Germany)
The whimsical fountains alone are reason to come to this charming Bavarian Village. But the reasons to stay are many.Sometimes dumb luck is our best tour guide. That is certainly how we stumbled upon… CONTINUE READING >>
Bohemian Wrap-sody
A fairytale day in Prague – join your GypsyNesters as we visit a castle, wake up in a Fine Communist Hotel, visit a king from a Christmas Carol, ponder the Dark Ages, watch soldiers change their guard and, best of all, never spend a koruna (except on traditional street food and a subway ride). Edibles spinning over an open fire was cooking method of… CONTINUE READING >>
