The Clam Rampant

Kasia February 1st, 2008

My mother moved to Las Cruces last spring. We’re still recovering. I still need to tell the story of the Poppytrail…but that can wait.

Anyway, she’s wanted us (TBS, The Canuck, and yours truly) to come visit since…well, pretty much since before she even left. I haven’t had the money for a plane ticket, so it hadn’t happened yet. Well, yesterday she e-mailed to tell us she’d found some great fares on Travelocity from Detroit to El Paso (which is apparently the most convenient airport for visiting Las Cruces), and would we please check and see if we could take advantage of any of them? She even offered to reimburse the airfare. So, in the spirit of honoring one’s mother, and with the additional benefit of an inexpensive vacation - ok, yes, I’ll be glad to see her, I admit it - The Canuck and I are booked to visit Las Cruces in April.

However, our trip runs over a Sunday. Has anyone visited Catholic churches in Las Cruces? I checked out masstimes.org and found there are quite a lot, but I’d prefer a recommendation if possible. Oh - and neither The Canuck nor I speaks Spanish, so an English Mass is preferable.

Also, if anyone has must-see recommendations for while we’re there, I’d certainly be appreciative. I’ve already asked my mother to think about the best way for us to visit Mexico while we’re there, since Las Cruces is so close to the border, so she’s percolating on that. Does anyone else have any suggestions, for either side of the border?

I will say that this was my worst experience trying to use Travelocity ever. I’ve used Expedia with a fair bit of success, and I think I’ve used Travelocity too, but for some reason I could not get it to change the number of adults when I clicked on the “book now” from the e-mail alert, and I couldn’t find the same fares when I searched for two adults traveling Detroit to El Paso. Then, when I called their customer service number, I had the singular delight of speaking to a well-intentioned but not particularly proficient non-native English speaker who began every sentence with “See, ma’am…” He tried - he really did - but when I finally managed to get through to him with what my concern was, his response was to tell me to call the airline directly and consider Travelocity for my future travel needs. Not exactly stellar customer service…but then, it may have been the only thing I could do - I don’t know whether he had the ability to help me (communication aside). As it was, I found the same flight seventeen dollars cheaper on the airline’s web site, so all’s well that

• Family , Travel , Vacation
• Comments(6)

admin February 15th, 2007

At the Lowry Park Zoo

Here I am feeding Colby, one of the friendlier giraffes at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. Many thanks to the Canuck for getting such a great shot, and for being nice enough to help by cropping out all the parts of me that were unnecessary to the picture.

• Animals , Pictures , Vacation
• Comments(0)

admin February 9th, 2007

‘Gators and such

Two days’ worth of Floridian adventures to blog about…

Wednesday we drove to Naples to meet up with Mere de Canuque and the family members she’s staying with. Apart from the initial muddle of not connecting right away, that went well. And I think I embarrassed the Canuck’s uncle by hugging him goodbye. I’m never sure whether to hug his family or shake hands with them, and the uncles in particular. He looked pretty uncomfortable. Wish he’d just extend his hand when we have to part ways…it would make things a lot easier. I’ve made a mental note, though, to not hug him in future. Hopefully I’ll remember.

So then the parents, the Canuck and I all drove together down to Everglades City for an airboat ride. That was SA-WEET! Pricy, but worth it. The boat pilot, Walt, decided that we needed to find an alligator to get our money’s worth (I wasn’t quite so sure), so he tooled us around that bit of the Everglades until we found one, which he proceeded to bait with a marshmallow so we could see it up close. (I didn’t know alligators ate marshmallows, but I guess when you’re at the top of the food chain…) As he’s doing this (baiting the critter closer and closer to the boat, until it was really only a few inches from his hand) he told us that the ‘gator (which was about a 10-footer) could get into the boat with us if he really wanted to. Can I just say that I didn’t need to know that just then?! That’s the kind of thing you want to tell me when we’re pulling back up to the dock…I spent the rest of the time we were stopped by the ‘gator with my feet up on the seat, half praying and looking for escape routes, half fascinated. He actually got his hand under the ‘gator’s throat and tossed it over onto its back so we could get a glimpse of its teeth!

Actually, while the alligator was Really Cool, the pelicans were almost as cool. They’d fly right up, land on the boat with us, and walk along the side, balancing with their wings. Both my stepmother and I got whapped with a pelican wing, which I would have thought I’d have minded more.

But the best part was just the speed of the boat! My dad said they equip those boats with small-block V8 engines, so coupled with an experienced pilot (which we had), and you have a really fun ride! The Canuck even took a couple of short videos with his digital camera, so hopefully those will turn out and we can post them. And would you believe, when we got back on shore, the Canuck and I each held a young alligator? It was clearly used to being handled; just hung out, like “Eh - they’ll be done soon enough.” And we were - it was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

Yesterday the Canuck and I took off to Tarpon Springs for some Greek food - I can definitely recommend it, although most of the shopping I saw was pretty touristy. En route we stopped off at a Catholic supply store we passed, which didn’t dazzle me; the one in Warren is bigger and better-stocked. Plus, I’ve never seen “How to Come Out to Your Parents” at a Catholic supply store in Michigan. Maybe I’ve just not been looking hard enough. Maybe it’s a Catholic perspective, i.e. “Mom, Dad, I won’t be getting married. I’ll be living chastely as a member of COURAGE.” Somehow I doubt it, but anything is possible.

Then we went to the zoo in Tampa, which was quite nice. I got to feed a giraffe! Unlike the giraffes in Melbourne (Florida), where the Canuck experienced his first interactive giraffe exhibit, this giraffe wasn’t down with being petted. He just wanted the cracker. But still - AWESOME! Absolutely awesome! I love giraffes anyway - they’re so beautiful and graceful - and it was just so cool to be so close to one! And, of course, we made a point of going to see the manatees, which we both love. We’re going to go look for a stuffed toy manatee today, just ’cause they’re so doggone cute. So mellow…

Anyway, the Canuck managed to fill a whole memory card (something like 250 pictures and a couple of short movies), so we’ll see how those turn out. Today we’re going to have lunch at a restaurant my boss recommended (despite not being a big seafood fan, I may even try the stone crab claws, their specialty), run a couple of errands, and then just settle in to do laundry and pack, as we’re flying out at 10 tomorrow morning. Plus I need to walk over to the other side of the key (about 50 - 75 yards) and dip my toes into the Gulf of Mexico for TBS. If anyone has any requests, make them known soon! (Sorry, no promises about bringing warm weather back with us, as I have not yet perfected the science required.)

Have a great day!

• Vacation
• Comments(0)

admin February 7th, 2007

I ate shoo-fly pie!

Yesterday was a pleasant day all ’round. We lounged around the condo yesterday morning, watching pelicans preen by the water and participating in the voyeuristic drama that is CNN. (By this morning I was snarling at the TV to leave Lisa Marie Nowak and Colleen Shipman both alone. I mean, Nowak appears to have intended to do a Very Bad Thing, and she DID do a Bad Thing, but the courts can deal with her. You don’t need to turn her arrival at the Houston airport into a media event. White Bronco, anyone? Only at least that was a live chase. This isn’t.)

After lunch The Canuck wanted to go to the aquarium that’s down on St. Armand’s Key (the next key down in the chain of islands), so we did. It was pretty cool, all things considered: we petted a stingray, watched some sharks, looked at a lot of very strange-looking fish, etc. Plus our admission fee included admission to the rehabilitation center, so we got to go see some loggerhead turtles that can’t go back into the wild for various reasons. They also had two manatees, who reminded me a little of my giant tabby cat Dodge. One of them was apparently 600 pounds OVERweight (normal weight is around 1200 pounds!). And they just swam around, being mellow and munching lettuce. Very cute. Then there were a couple of dolphins.

Then we went down to St. Armand’s Circle, the shopping district, and browsed there for a while (The Canuck was very sweet about humoring me - he hates shopping). Not a lot exciting there; we bought a bottle of orange chocolate wine for later in the week, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back down to pick up some more wine before we leave. There are some nice shops down there, but it’s a high-rent district so most of their stuff is waaayy out of my price league.

So we swung back to the condo to pick up the parents and have a drink, then went out to my favorite restaurant in the country: Yoder’s! Again, I don’t seem to have my linking option right now, but it’s www.yodersrestaurant.com (I think). It’s an Amish restaurant in Sarasota. Now I know what those of you who have encountered Amish are thinking: how can there be an Amish restaurant that complies with modern health codes? I mean, the Amish don’t use electricity, for one thing, and I can’t see how an outhouse would be hygienic. But apparently these Amish do use electricity, and phones, and photography (that one really surprised me), and they make a mean dinner!

Yes, I tried shoo-fly pie. It was OK. Unless you’re a big molasses fan, I don’t especially recommend it - there are better ways to spend your calories. But it was interesting. If we go back this vacation, I think I’ll have the coconut cream pie like last year - THAT was something to write home about!

This morning we’re getting ready to go meet up with The Canuck’s mother (Mere de Canuque?), aunt and uncle in Naples. My parents haven’t met Mere de Canuque yet, and she’s visiting the aunt and uncle over in Dania Beach this week, so… It’s a little odd, that the parents live closer together than Longboat Key is to Dania Beach, but this is the first time we’ve arranged a meeting. But hey. Whatever works, eh?

I said “eh.” Hee.

• Vacation
• Comments(0)

admin February 6th, 2007

Longboat Key

Right now I’m sitting in a Florida room in Florida. Who would’ve thunk it?

My father and stepmother are pseudo-snowbirds; a few years ago they started renting a condo in Florida for a couple of months during the winter. Two years ago they stayed in Naples. I didn’t go visit them that year. Last year they got a steal on a condo with a view of the Gulf of Mexico on Longboat Key (apparently the regular renters for those two months backed out at the last minute). I went - it was mah-velous. They loved the area, but didn’t love the regular rental price for the condo. So this year they’re also on Longboat Key, renting from some people who don’t normally rent out their condo.

It’s pretty nice. The decor isn’t what I would have chosen (The Canuck refers to it as “early 80s cocaine dealer” style), nor is the decor as warm and welcoming as the place my parents rented last year, but it’s still very nice. I get to spend some relaxing time with my parents and The Canuck, which doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, for a very nominal vacation budget. Furthermore, as I type this, all I have to do is lean to the left and I can see a large pelican and an inlet from the Gulf of Mexico. (We’re on the other side of the island this year, so the view is of water, islands and the mainland rather than water, water and water.)

What really blows my mind about this is that the owners spent what we estimate is about three quarters of a million dollars (not counting maintenance, utilities, association fees, furnishings and taxes) to buy this place. It’s not primarily a rental income property - my parents are the first-ever renters here. The people live in Sarasota, which is just over on the mainland, so it’s not truly a vacation home. They bought this condo as a place to park their boat.

Crazy, eh?

• Vacation
• Comments(0)