2007 February | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Monthly Archives: February 2007

Another Fish Out Of Water

Published February 7, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

My niece's bedroom wall - what little of it can be seen

All this time I thought I was the only “Kook” in my family. Then my niece, Kelly, sent me this photo of her bedroom wall (probably a bad description, since you can’t see the wall for the photos). In case you can’t make it out, her bedroom wall, which is located in north central Illinois, is plastered with SURFING photos. Seems I created a monster… let me explain.

About a year and a half ago my sister and her fiance visited me on the Outer Banks, where I lived at the time. My niece, Kelly, came along. Naturally, we spent a lot of time at the beach, so I threw my 8′ mini-longboard into the car, figuring Kelly might want to take a crack at surfing. I haven’t used the thing for years – not since my knee got so bad that I had to have surgery on it. It’s been sitting around the garage gathering dust and taking up space and I was just glad that someone would be getting some use out of it. Continue reading →

You might also like:

A Little Bit Of Gold

I Ate Cheese Food Today

It's NOT Just Me - Illinois, Meet Louisiana

I Want To Be Your Very Good Friend

What Kiwis Think Of Mr. Bush

Posted in Humor |

Tagged family, Humor, Surfing |

4 Comments

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Published February 4, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Pin It

Islamorada Waterspout

Islamorada After The Waterspout

On my way home from Key West yesterday I stopped for a late afternoon meal at the Lazy Days Restaurant in Islamorada. While the food is not the best (or the worst) I have ever tasted, they have outdoor seating on the rear deck, with a view of the ocean that just can’t be beat. I glanced up from reading when the sun suddenly disappeared and saw an ominous-looking front rolling in, complete with a razor-edged eye wall. I grabbed my camera and had snapped two or three photos when this amazing waterspout reached its bony finger down from the skies. If you look closely you can see the seas being whipped up where the end of the spout makes contact with the ocean. After the storm passed the seas turned the most incredible shades of azure and turquoise.

You might also like:

Ahh! The Opera

Sarasota - You Just Gotta Love It

It Snowed In Dunedin, Florida Last Night

Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom - Not So Magic

Giant Buoy Marks Southernmost Point In U.S.

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged Florida, Keys, photos, Travel, Waterspout |

6 Comments

An Insider’s View Of Opera

Published February 3, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Pin It

Sascha Jacobsen, bass player for the Sarasota Opera

One of the first things I’m going to do when I get home from Key West is go to the Opera. I’ve made the acquaintance of a couple of the musicians who play for the Sarasota Opera every year. I met them because my house-mate, Joan, is away for two months visiting her mother in Louisiana, so she’s rented out her bedroom to Sascha Jacobsen, who is the bass player for the Opera. This is the second year that he’s roomed at Joan’s place and I have really liked having him around. Aside from the fact that it’s nice to have a man around (he takes out the garbage and fills the bottle for the water cooler – it’s a requirement for men), the house is often filled with music and he’s brought some of his fellow musicians around to meet me – like Kelly, who plays the violin for the Opera. So given the fact that I have never seen an Opera I have a sudden curiosity about it.

Opening night was last weekend, featuring Madame Butterfly. Two nights later they were performing Halka and Sascha asked if I would mind driving him to the Opera house. He’s here for two months and shipped his bicycle, but the bike just doesn’t cut it when he’s all dressed up in his tux and it’s raining. During the short four block ride he described the plot of Halka:
Continue reading →

You might also like:

A Wonderful Christmas

I Love My Dad

On The Road Again, Hungry And In Search Of Food

Funny Adult-Proof Packaging Video

What Is Up With All This Crazy Winter Weather?

Posted in Humor |

Tagged Florida, Halka, Humor, Madame Butterfly, Music, Opera, Sarasota, Sascha Jacobsen |

4 Comments

More Stupid Stuff

Published February 1, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Pin It

I Have three gripes to file under STUPID this morning:

I am in Key West on business for a few days. Yesterday, on the drive down, I stopped at a Shell station in Florida City before hitting the keys, since gas prices rise 30 cents a gallon the minute you leave the mainland. slid my credit card through the reader (I think that “pay at the pump” is one of the marvels of the modern world) and filled my tank. At the end the display asked me if I wanted a receipt. Since this is a business trip, I pressed “yes” and was rewarded with the following message on the display: “Your receipt is at the inside counter.” This happens to me about one every ten fill-ups and it infuriates me. I sighed, locked up the car, went inside, and waited in line for the cashier.”I’m on pump 4 and it says to come inside for a receipt. Why does it do that? Is it just out of paper?” I asked.”No, for some reason it does it every time someone wants a receipt,” the cashier replied.
Continue reading →