apples and chestnuts on my mind

I have an apple tree in my yard. It's a spindly apple tree. By all rights, so spindly that it should not produce apples. It had to grow very tall rather than full as it was searching for more sunshine from where it's planted in amongst many tall pines and dogwoods. It didn't take much to knock over, and it did fall last year as it was planted too close to the house where it was repeatedly bumped and brushed by stones and stone masons who working with knocking down and rebuilding my fireplace. I almost pulled the tree out entirely when I saw it lying on the ground and since it never had been very sturdy, nor done much up in the way of producing apples up to that point. I decided to try straightening and holding in place with a rope to hold it upright until some topsoil could be brought in for extra support and see whether it would survive. In spite of my never adding any topsoil, this tree, still staked, was loaded with blossoms last spring. I thanked him for his bravery for flourishing in the face of all odds. And he rewarded my gratitude and was loaded with apples this fall! Apples so large the branches had a hard time supporting them.



Now comes time to harvest these large and lovely apples. Remember this tree is spindly. Too spindly to climb to reach the apples. Almost too spindly to support a ladder even if I had one tall enough to reach the apples that were so high up stretching for sunshine. So my harvesting consisted of shaking the apples down, all the while apologizing to the tree for this treatment and trying to be as gentle as possible. Eight of them now sitting on my kitchen counter waiting to be turned into apple crisp. (Two lone resistant ones at the very tip top remain on the tree....for now.) Actually there were nine that fell with all the shaking, but I ate one. Delicious! Is there anything more delicious than a freshly picked ripe apple? Well, maybe a freshly picked tomato, but that's another blog.



Now on to the chestnuts. We have a beautiful park situated in my neighborhood next to a beautiful lake. This park is loaded with Chestnut trees and aptly called Chestnut Point. I frequently stop there for quiet contemplation, sometimes sitting on a bench nearby and sometimes just sitting in my car to read as I was doing the other day. Suddenly a loud clatter of chestnuts falling on my sunroof startled me out of my revelrie. I then realized that the park grounds were loaded with ripened chestnuts. Beautiful mahogany colored chestnuts. I picked up several and was so impressed with their exquisite beauty that I continued gathering until I had a bag full.



So what does one do with a bag full of beautiful chestnuts? We're a few months away from Christmas and "roasting by an open fire.." sort of thing. (Not that I know how to do that, but it sounds like fun, doesn't it?) Surfing the net, I discover ChestnutsOnLine.com (Who knew?!) and came across family favorite recipes for......chestnuts! I learned how to clean them, cook them, boil them, roast them, bake them, scoop them, peel them...and more. Ever hear of Chestnut Bisque? Cream of Chestnut Soup? Chestnut and spinach dip? Oh and get this....I can hardly wait to try this one......Apple-Chestnut mini muffins. (I need to cut back my apple crisp recipe by one apple for use in this recipe!) There's Chestnut Bread, Chestnut 'n Honey Cornbread, Chestnut Fritters, Chestnut Pancakes, Salmon and Rice with Chestnuts.....and the list goes on. Chestnut Biscotti, Chestnut Cheesecake, Chestnut crepes, Chestnut Cake....whew!

Yes, there's more, but I'm going to let you discover for yourself what other delights the Allen Creek Farm of Chestnuts has to offer on your chestnut adventure!


I love fall.

Mt. Pleasant new waterfront fishing pier & park

Adventures over the weekend consisted of outings with grandchildren James, 12, and Anna, 6, who live in Charleston, SC. The one and only criteria we set for our adventure was that we had to do something that we had not ever done before, and including where and what we ate. We considered going to a movie but it was such beautiful weather that none of us wanted to stay inside. So we changed that plan as soon as we left for our adventure and Mom and Dad (at home).



Armed with a small bit of information about a new fishing pier opening in Mt. Pleasant, the adventure bus headed towards the beautiful, awesome bridge that crosses the Cooper River in hopes of seeing signs directing us to this new wonder. And we did. The new pier is beautifully situated, where else, alongside the Cooper River! Filled with expected swings, the awesome playground also included simple, yet engineering wonders, of new spinning equipment that enchanted kids of all ages, especially James and Anna. The pier is an architecturally beautiful waterfront park that runs underneath and alongside the new bridge and where one can walk, fish or just sit and swing enjoying the sights and sounds of the water. It was thrilling to walk underneath the bridge, enjoying the echos and marvelling at the immense structure above. It was a delight to watch the pelicans flying over our heads but under the bridge, and while we also were viewing ships that passed by closely enough that we could count the huge boxes of cargo loaded on board as it quietly headed out to sea. We walked out almost to the end of the pier as the very end was closed off for the outdoor concert that was going to be there later in the evening. We enjoyed listening to the testing of the microphones, drums warming up, etc. with plans to return for the concert after we found our eating adventure place....a more adventurous fare for dinner than the hot dogs or hamburgs the pier snack bar offered seemed in order, so we left the pier to find some local seafood.



We didn't have to drive far before turning into Locklears Seafood Restaurant located almost around the corner from the pier. James and I enjoyed their seafood specials of the evening, locally caught trigger fish, and the salmon dinner special. Both meals were delicious and fun to share bites of each other's seafood selection in our quest of trying out new foods. The chicken fingers is what held Anna's interest as she's a bit less adventurous when it comes to eating new foods! Everything was delicious, including the Locklear famous fried green tomatoes that both Anna and James nibbled a bite for another new taste. The star-filled sky so grabbed our attention that a drive out to Sullivan's Island beach for star gazing was added in for the perfect end to a perfect evening adventure. The concert was playing and I decided to pass without stopping on our way back home with two very tired children after a delightful evening filled with spinning, seafood and stars.

So okay! Here's how I get photos on my blog! Thank you Jet for the detailed instructions of "how to" do just that. Always fun to learn new processes, and always surprising that success happens by following directions. Lots of fun! That's Jack at the base of the Natural Bridge, and again feeding the zebra at the Safari that we visited in our travels, and then Jack again, this time with me as we hold up the walls of Foam Henge.

This leads me to the next thought of how much I have to learn in the picture taking department as a that number of my new photos are not clear, poorly framed or blurry. That art will have to be another learning session or course that I'll take in the future, or maybe I'll just keep practising in order to improve.

Travels today take me down to Charleston, SC, for a visit with two other grandchildren (and their parents of course!) I am looking forward to our different private get-away travel adventures with James, 12 and Anna, 6 to add to my blog in the future. Busy schedules for everyone try to get in the way of getting to know these wonderful young people better and that grow and change at rapid paces between visits. All one-on-one visits are especially enjoyed by Mimi.

I recently saw the movie "Julie and Julia" which was great. Gave me new inspirations for my travels and blogging. France and gourmet cooking are definitely added to my list of "must do's". I add new meaning to "Pause, observe and listen" for ways for this intent to develop and unfold into new adventures and travels! Go see the movie. Refreshing and fun.

Playing Catch-up with my blog

Hello, here I am finally back at my blog. It's over a month since taking my adventure with grandson Jack. We had such a wonderful time that I know I want to record before memories begin to fade into current events. I will attach some photos of the event, I think. This too is another learning experience that requires daily hands-on to keep fresh.

I do not have photos of the Caverns themselves...didn't have the camera with us 250 feet below ground. We saw both the Grand Caverns as well as the caverns situated near the Natural Bridge and they both were awesome, breathtaking, and most definitely carry my recommendation that you stop to visit whenever passing a billboard advertising caverns anywhere in your travels. We started out for the Grand Caverns, but found ourselves stopping at the Natural Bridge as we came to this area first. We were checking into visiting the Natural Bridge and learned that we would get a discount if we were guests of the hotel, so I called from the lobby of the gift shop. They had just one room left at the Natural Bridge hotel, and they were apologetic that it was "a room with only two double beds...." Well Hello....just what we needed. We knew it was meant to be there just for us as we "happened" to stop in this area. Knew it was more than a coincidence that this one last room was still available even though I called as late as 6:30pm. Another event that we happened upon is the Natural Bridge evening drama. This is an event I recommend to all. Beautiful lights dramatically highlighting parts of the bridge while beautiful orchestral music plays in the back ground and the story of creation is told. The beautiful display moved both Jack and me to tears and goosebumps....all the more thrilling to envision George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sitting under this same bridge and grounds where we sat.

A favorite event and photo is the one of Jack and me holding up "Foam Henge". Another accidental find that delighted us both that is a exact replica in size, scope and structure of Stone Henge in England except it's created from, you guessed it.....foam! The creator obviously has a wonderful sense of humor as well as a large pocketbook to build and have available for anyone curious enough to stop and find out more about the small sign along the highway had to offer. We had driven past this place a number of times although we thought it was not open. Finally Jack's curiousity got the best of him and asked if we could stop and find out what it was. Imagine our surprise to find that it's always open, and free, and filled with fun signage explaining how the display got there. It is a fun climb that allowed us playing "imagine...if" on the top of the hill! And how fun that another family also stopped at just the right time to take Jack's and my picture holding up the walls of Foam Henge!

One of Jack's favorite restaurants of the weekend was the "Pink Cadillac", a 50's style place that served up killer hamburgs with lots of fun memorabilia to view while eating. It was a fun place although my favorite eatery offering of the weekend was at the Natural Bridge hotel, where they offered an excellent prime rib buffet!

The entire weekend flowed with synchronicity that kept us both in awe and appreciation of the harmony, including discovering the wax museum, the dinasaur forest, the haunted forest to name just a few more of the stops that we found along the way. Another favorite for both of us was finding Jake's Antique Mart on Route 11that we discover is "Open 365 days a year" that enabled us time for a visit before heading back home on Sunday. Yep, each of us found a couple of treasures or two from Jake's to take back home with us......and where we plan to visit again when we return for further treasure hunting on our next adventure in that area.

We both decided that we must do this again. What a wonderful fun and memory filled way to connect with Mimi and grandson. We expect that our next adventure will be to Jefferson's Monticello. It was nearby but we simply ran out of time on this weekend outing. Travelling along Interstate 81 in Virginia offers a treasure chest of adventures for everyone. You never will know what golden moments of memories can be created unless you stop.....so be sure to allow extra time in your travels to do just that...stop when you pass some billboard that catches your imagination, interest and sense of adventure!