Located just on the outskirts of Central, South Carolina on Madden Bridge Road (about a half a mile down the road from the Jitter Brew House–which has amazing coffee of all sorts).
A low country boil, as I have been told, is very similar to a crab cracking party–either way, it’s a whole lot of good food and fun to be had with family and friends. I was put in charge of finding clean newspapers and a steaming pot (with the fire ring kit, etc) for the party. The fire ring kit and steaming pot was the easy part, I borrowed one from my neighbor (and invited him to come along!)
I obtained the clean stack of newspapers with a stroke of luck; I happened to catch a newspaper delivery man and asked if he had any unsold newspapers from previous days that I could purchase off of him–he gave me a stack of folded, untouched papers for free, which was a blessing as we needed a lot of newspaper to line the tables.
The low country boil was held outside in a friends backyard. Everyone brought something along for the shin-dig and oh, boy, what a party!! Music, dancing and of course great food!!!
The large steam pots were put over fire rings, using propane tanks. The guys steamed up potatoes, chunks of corn on the cob, sausage chunks of an assorted variety, and of course, shrimp, lots and lots of shrimp–people even brought homemade cocktail sauce, drawn butter, paper towels, and more!!
Even the pups got to enjoy some scraps (and no, they weren’t eating from the tables!)
Culture is in the eye of the beholder and the artists of old captured the essence of all things great in the centuries before us….and viewing them is free at the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in downtown London.
A fabulous aspect of the National Gallery is the general entrance is free, which is great for those traveling on a budget like myself. I attended/viewed the Gallery a total of 3 times to get through all the exhibitions (not fully shown here). The exhibits are large, spacious, and overly awesome to boot. Why? The National Gallery offers era’s from classical to Renaissance to Modern, DaVinci to Rubens to Van Gogh to Monet to Post Modern Art. It is all very wonderful.
The Gallery also sets on Trafalgar Square, which in its own ways is always awesome, a full day or two of free adventures all in one wonderful location, well worth checking out and very friendly on the wallet (post cards of must of the art work is also available for those without a photographic eye or wanting to play “Where’s Waldo” postcard style).
What a rally and march to see!! The streets are packed with seekers, the March filled with banners, flags, and more, in march for an Independent Scoltand!! What an experience to see first hand.
The march last well over an hour and chants were said, responses given, and flags were waved in high glory, too!!!
Crathes Castle is a place that dreams are made of and fantastical stories are written about-an abundance of beauty, history and a stunning gardens, well kept and outstanding!
It’s on the National Historical marker and “free” when you purchase a historical place (well worth the money to buy one!) I wouldn’t have known about this stunning secret if I hadn’t purchased the historical pass.
I tried stuffed tatties for the first time in my life at the cafe inside the castle, also awesome! The place offers the perfect get away and is an easy walk from the bus stop (the regional bus driver knew where to drop me off when I inquired!)
Wear comfortable shoes as the gardens are extensive, as is the castle, stretch out and enjoy all the beauty this castle has to offer! I absolutely love it here yes, while my article here does sound like an “advertisement’ to sell this place as an adventure, it’s all true (and no, it’s not sponsoring me, I am just seriously enjoying the place and want to share this secret with others!)
It’s a historical treasure that I would love to call home, assuming I won the huge lottery and it was for sale (which it’s not because it’s on the historical treasury!)
A layover has never been more exciting. My flight on Icelandair proved to be very successful, flying from London to Denver, via Reykjavik, Iceland.
I arrived just little before midnight, went through customs (getting another stamp in my passport, woohoo!!) I was able to sleep a little on a terminal bench in a quiet area, which was super after so much adventuring and travel..
Upon waking up, I grabbed some coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and booked a round trip local bus ticket to the town of Reykjavik, where more unexpected adventures awaited, and the beauty was an unexpected surprise. The bus drove by the old lava fields (now covered in sparse shrub and grasses) and dropped off passengers not far from city center square.
The pictures tell the rest of the story, and I even sampled fermented shark (not shown). A rare delicacy I have never tasted or had available anywhere else!!!
Joe and the Juice Coffee
Leif Erikson
Monument
Atlantic Inlet to the coastline
Iceland sweater for sale at $400
Mural in the airport
Loki Cafe entree, amazing
Tulips
Loki Cafe
Thor Tea
Lief Erikson monument
Church hours in Nordic and English
Hallgrimskirkja Church, Iceand
The Loki cafe is an amazing place to dine and has some incredible views but be warned, Iceland is very expensive to enjoy, even on a basic level…be prepared to drop some cash on even basics. For example, a cup of regular coffee (roughly $2 to $3 in the USA) is easily $8 to $10 in Iceland, even outside of the airports. Why is everything so costly?? From what I understand, most things have to be important to Iceland and with a population of roughly 350,000 (for the whole country), costs are higher due to the enviroment and import costs, etc. It is worth seeing but plan accordingly…and apparently the higher winds and chill are constant, so dress warmly!!!
And of course, we had to stop for a coffee break!!!
A Small, quaint town in the heart of the Black Forrest, Thomas and I stopped at the Guesthause Hirch for a wonderful german meal, the church bells rang, and the service was nice, the food superb. A town that one can easily relax in and fully enjoy!!! A place to get a breath of fresh air and enjoy the day. It is also easily accessible, not far from Baden Baden
