Juan Mann is proof positive that one man (Mann?) can make a difference. I just love his video, called “Free Hugs.” It’s short, but carries a powerful message. Take just a couple of minutes to watch it. It will make your day.
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After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My blog features stories about the destinations I visit, people I meet, the crazy things...Read more here.... 
Juan Mann is proof positive that one man (Mann?) can make a difference. I just love his video, called “Free Hugs.” It’s short, but carries a powerful message. Take just a couple of minutes to watch it. It will make your day.
It seems everyone wants a share of the gourmet coffee market these days. Dunkin’ Donuts, which has for years dominated the blue-collar coffee market, is planning to open 15,000 new stores by 2016 in an effort to attract the more upscale, white-collar market of Starbucks. Starting this year, all 14,000 of the McDonalds in the U.S. will install McCoffee bars with “baristas” that serve cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and the Frappe, similar to Starbucks’ ice-blended Frappuccino. Even Burger King is getting into the game with their Mocha BK JOE Iced Coffee.
On the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the coffee battle is approaching epic proportions. McDonalds and Burger King are offering their new brews, but more importantly the very first Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts just opened their doors, and an additional four Dunkin’ Donuts are underway. It has been interesting to see the reaction of the local coffee houses to these new competitors, both of whom have Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Burger King, coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, espresso, Florida, McDonalds, North Carolina, Outer Banks, Sarasota, Starbucks, WI-FI, wireless | 
2 Comments
Exploring the back roads of Hatteras Island in search of old homes that have weathered scores of hurricanes and provided shelter for generations of fishermen is one of the many delights of any visit to the Outer Banks. The Old Gray House, tucked into the woods just off the main road in the tiny village of Buxton, is one such structure. If only this house could talk it would tell many tales. Fortunately, the home’s current owners, Dewey and Mary Parr, are happy to speak with visitors about their homestead.
The Old Gray House takes its name from a seafaring family by the name of Gray, whose descendants have inhabited Hatteras Island since the early 1600′s, beginning with Dewey’s great grandmother, who was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island. She was on board a ship coming from Newfoundland that ran aground and, Continue reading
For such a small city, Sarasota has a wealth of culture that never ceases to amaze me. The latest intriguing event celebrates the 50th anniversary of the birth of Bossa Nova music 
with a concert by Brazilian band O Som Do Jazz. The performance will feature selections from the group’s new CD release “Infinita Bossa,†which features classic Bossa Nova and Samba-jazz.
The concert is part of the EMIT series, which, over the past 12 years has hosted over 130 events involving new music, free jazz, world, interactive electronics, improvisation and interdisciplinary art forms that incorporate sound. For those who may be unfamiliar with the suave melodies and irresistible yet subtle rhythms of Bossa Nova, you can listen to two-minute excerpts from the group’s new album at the CD baby site.
Continue reading
Posted in Florida travel | Bossa Nova, CD Baby, EMIT Series, Florida, Jazz, Music, New College, O Som Do Jazz, Sainer Pavillion, Samba, Sarasota | 2 Comments
I thought I knew everything about the Outer Banks. Every nook, every cranny, every activity that goes on. But this afternoon, I found out differently. There’s something unusual going on right under our noses, and only those who have been initiated into the new craze of geocaching are aware of it. My friend, G.W. Meadows, is one of those who is “in the know.” He’s done some pretty amazing stuff in his life, which you can read about on his blog, but his newest passion is geocaching, the equivalent of a modern day treasure hunt.
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing, geo for geography and caching as in hiding a cache of treasure) is an entertaining adventure game for GPS (Global Positioning System) users. Individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and post the latitude and longitude of each cache on the Internet, along with subtle hints as to their location. Treasure hunters visit the Geocaching website, download the coordinates into their GPS units, and then go in search of the hidden booty. At a minimum, the cache contains a logbook, which is signed by every person who finds it, however it can also contain maps, books, software, hardware, CD’s, videos, pictures, money, jewelry, tickets, antiques, tools, games, etc. Since G.W. is visiting the Outer Banks for a couple of days, we got together for lunch and he offered to let me tag along on his treasure hunt this afternoon.
Our first GPS coordinates led us to the beach access at the site of the wreck of the USS Huron. Halfway across the boardwalk leading over the sand dunes the GPS beeped. We had found our destination. But where was the cache? We retraced our steps Continue reading
Posted in North Carolina travel | Florida, G.W. Meadows, Geocaching, North Carolina, Outer Banks, photos, Travel, treasure hunt | 8 Comments
Once I made the decision to retire from real estate and leave the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it remained to decide where I would relocate. I made a list of the things that were important to me:
For two years I traveled the east coast of the U.S. visiting every coastal community south of the Outer Banks, searching for my perfect place. Eventually, I settled on Sarasota. A few other places made my short list, but in the end, it was Sarasota’s downtown that won me over. 
I love the fact that it is what I call a “local” downtown; it is not focused solely on tourism, as it offers businesses and services that the locals require. I am impressed that Main Street is home to a hardware store, dry cleaner, shoe repair shop, and tailors. I adore the fact that I can walk to two grocery stores (one of them a Whole Foods Market in the center of downtown), performing arts centers, museums, a major library, several theaters, a 20-plex cinema, a dozen or more banks, and art galleries galore. It delights me that Sarasota’s downtown has a tremendous variety of restaurants, many of which offer street-side dining that allows me to enjoy a leisurely meal while I watch the endless stream of pedestrians passing my table. I am enchanted by the funkiness Continue reading
Posted in Florida travel | downtown, Florida, green space, Main Street, Master Plan, Sarasota | 7 Comments
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