2009 May | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Monthly Archives: May 2009

I’ve Been Splashed!

Published May 31, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Thanks to Laura Lee over at Midlife Crisis Queen for her nomination of Hole In The Donut for a Splash Award!

The Splash is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs.

In the spirit of the pass-it-along quality of the award, I invite you to visit the following blogs which I am nominating because I have found them to be well worth following:

Note to nominees: The rules for a Splash Award are as follows:

The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award, you should:
1. Put the logo on your blog (where do we find this logo to post?)
2. Nominate up to nine blogs that allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post
4. Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash award

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The Best Laid Plans

Just One Last Thing Before I Leave The Outer Banks

National Epidemic Of Non-Feeling

Fascinating Japanese Water Writer

A Partial Solution To Our Financial Crisis

Posted in Uncategorized |

Tagged Blogging, blogs, splash award |

6 Comments

Samboya – A Tea Like No Other, From A Cafe Like No Other

Published May 30, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

After a few weeks on the road, I returned to Sarasota for a few days of R&R before heading out again. As usual, on my first day back I stopped by my favorite coffee shop, Pastry Art On Main, for a cup of java. Instead, on this particular day the owners of the shop, Forrest and Alex Shaw, invited me to sample a cup of Samboya Tea, a new brand they would soon be serving.

I am no stranger to tea – my kitchen shelf is lined with many flavors and several different brands. But though I keep trying to find one I like, every brand comes up short. Some are too bitter. Most don’t even taste like the flavors they represent. So I was game to sample a new brand, especially since Forrest insisted that once I tried Samboya, I would never again want to drink tea bought at the grocery store.

A delicious fragrance immediately suffused the air when the Earl Grey tea was set before me. Raising the cup, I inhaled deeply, enjoying the musky scent reminiscent of exotic Indian cardamom and turmeric spices. I sipped and rolled Continue reading →

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Sarasota Is A Sports Town, Too

"Sponging Up" The Sunshine in Tarpon Springs

Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, Homosassa, Florida

Swimming With The Manatees in Crystal River, Florida

Sarasota County Fair In Full Swing

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged bakery, cafe, coffee shop, Florida, Food, forrest shaw, pastry art, restaurants, samboya, Sarasota, tea, Travel, woman |

2 Comments

Win World Class Travel & Get Healthy At The Same Time

Published May 28, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

cabot-vegas Three Vermont businesses are calling all boomers, zoomers, red hats, seniors, silver foxes and really cool people over the age of 50 to participate in the “Vermont to Fabulous Las Vegas Virtual Challenge” contest. Because they are located in Vermont, home of the beautiful Green Mountains, where people love to love to bike, row, run and walk, Cabot Creamery Cooperative (of cheddar cheese fame), Concept2, and the Vermont Department of Tourism thought it would be fun to design an online challenge that revolved around healthy lifestyles, the pursuit of good eating, and exercise.

Stoweflake Resort

It’s easy to participate. First, create a log-in name and password on the homepage. This is a virtual contest, so you won’t see the other contestants involved – and although you will exercise, you won’t actually walk, run, row or bike to Las Vegas from Vermont. Simply log the minutes of physical activity you do each day to move along the map towards Vegas. Play tennis for an hour? Give yourself credit for an hour of walking or running, depending on how vigorous the game. Or if you play a round of golf, log those hours played as walking. Players earn poker Continue reading →

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Let's See How Much My Readers Love Me

Passports With Purpose Breaks My Silence

Win a Three-Night Stay at the San Juan Marriott Resort in Puerto Rico

Is Hole In The Donut Worthy of a Bloggie Award?

Win the Trip of your Dreams at Gap Adventures

Posted in Contests |

Tagged AARP, Cabot cheese, Contests, Las Vegas, Smugglers Notch Resort, Stoweflake Resort, Travel, vacations, Vermont, virtual challenge |

Ley Lines Converge At Coral Castle To Create Powerful Energy Spot

Published May 26, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Everything happens for a reason. I was on the last leg of my trip home and had every intention of driving straight through to Sarasota when I got a phone call from the contractor I had hired to install a new kitchen in the Key West apartment. Apparently Home Depot no longer keeps the type of cabinets I need in stock; ordering them would take eight weeks, during which time I would be unable to rent the apartment. I had no choice but to detour through Florida City and see if I could buy what I needed at that Home Depot and have it transferred to the Key West store.

Two hours later I headed out again and, rather that retrace my steps to take Alligator Alley across the state, I turned onto Krome Avenue, bound for Tamiami Trail. Passing through downtown Homestead, I noticed banners on the light poles advertising “Coral Castle.” The name was familiar; I vaguely recalled reading about this attraction on the Internet and bookmarking it, thinking it would be an interesting place to visit. I thought briefly about detouring to see it but then dismissed the idea; I really wanted to get back home. Not long afterward the sun started to set and I changed my mind. Crossing through 100 miles of deserted, black Everglades when I was exhausted was simply not a good idea, so I turned back toward Homestead, sure I would find a motel along Rt. 1. Instead, I ran straight into the Coral Castle.

There was no way I could NOT stop. It was quite clear this is where I was supposed to be.

Overview of site, showing massive sculptures mounted atop the perimeter walls

From the moment I stepped through the main gate, I knew this was a powerful place. It positively throbbed with energy. The perimeter of the rectangular area was delineated by a two story wall of coral blocks, within which stood dozens of Continue reading →

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Sarasota - You Just Gotta Love It

Mighty Winds Make Me Restless

What Makes Sarasota's Downtown Flourish When So Many Others Flounder?

Historic Dunnellon - An Undiscovered Gem in Northwest Florida

Cigars Made Key West The Wealthiest City In Florida

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, Coral Castle, Edward Leedskalnin, electromagnetic, Florida, geometry, Homestead, ley lines, magnetism, Masonic, Masons, mathematics, photos, south florida, Spirituality, symbolism, Travel, USA, woman |

10 Comments

Walking Through An Ancient Ocean In The Florida Keys

Published May 23, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Is there anyone out there old enough (like me) to remember the classic movie “The Long, Long Trailer,” starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz? Well, for the young pups, let me explain. The storyline centers around a cross country road trip in a loooong pull-behind trailer. In one classic comedic scene, Lucy falls out the door of the trailer into the mud; in another she is bounced around the inside of the trailer as she tries to fix dinner while Ricky drives. But the funniest moment of the film is when they are going up the Rockies. Prior to starting up the mountains, Desi demands that Lucy get rid of the ‘pretty’ rocks that she had collected throughout the trip. Unable to bear parting with them, she hides rocks inside drawers and cabinets and tells Desi she has thrown them out. Well, you can just imagine what happens when he starts up that steeeeeep, steeeeep slope.

Now, you may be asking what an old movie has to do with this post. It’s quite simple. I have been a rockhound from the time I was old enough to pick up my first pebble. I carry home rocks from every place I visit. I dig geodes from hillsides, chip crystals out of boulders in quarries, and hunt for fossils in muddy creeks. This has been a constant source of amusement to my family. Although I have moved more than 30 times in my life, I cannot bring myself to part with my gems and minerals. Boxes of rocks were stored at my sister’s house when I lived in Puerto Rico, causing my brother-in-law to grouse incessantly whenever the heavy cartons had to be moved. When I sold my house in North Carolina and moved to Florida I stored most of my personal belongings at my Dad’s house – yes, even the rocks…especially the rocks. So I can relate to the Long, Long Trailer. Like Lucy, I would not have been able to get rid of the rocks.

Visitors Center at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park overlooks one end of the main quarry

Now that you know this tidbit about me, you can just imagine my excitement when I discovered Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in the Florida Keys. The site is actually three old quarries where limestone was mined between the early 1900′s to the early 1960′s. The limestone found at these quarries is actually a fossilized coral reef that formed during the higher sea levels of the last interglacial episode, approximately 100,000 to 125,000 years ago. With a sea Continue reading →

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Sarasota - You Just Gotta Love It

Bike Week In Sarasota

A Moving Display Of Holiday Lights In Dunedin, Florida

Discounts For Las Vegas And Orlando Theme Parks, Shows, Attractions

Florida's Babcock Wilderness, Where Man and Nature Live in Harmony

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, coral reef, Florida, florida keys, Fossil Reef Geological State Park, geology, Islamorada, Keystone, photos, quarry, rockhound, Travel, USA, Windley Key, woman |

4 Comments

Shaking Hands With A Dolphin

Published May 21, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Some years ago, when I was still living on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I was having lunch at the Rodanthe Pier when I noticed that almost everyone in the restaurant had stepped outside to look at the ocean. Curious to see what had caused such a stir, I followed. The summer sun sparkled off the glassy, perfectly formed waves that rolled in, one after another. I was marveling at the clarity of the water – it was one of those rare days when the Atlantic is so calm that you can see through the waves – when I realized what everyone was looking at. Frolicking within the translucent blue breakers were hundreds of dolphins. Sunlight penetrated the waves, exposing their sleek bodies as gray silhouettes. The dolphins played tag with the waves, alternately surfing along their crests and sliding back down their faces as they bodysurfed to shore. A nanosecond before each wave crashed into the beach, they darted back to deeper water behind a sandbar, waiting for the next swell.

I have seen hundreds of dolphins over the years; I have even surfed beside a dolphin or two who shared a wave with me. But I had never seen so many dolphins in one place, and certainly had never before witnessed such behavior. What animal, other than humans, engages in cooperative group play? Since that day I have believed that dolphins have a higher intelligence and were put on this earth for a very special purpose, but I had no proof. To test my theory, it would be necessary to get up close and personal with dolphins. Fortunately, I was on an extended tour of the Florida Keys, and the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key afforded me just such an opportunity.

Amazing high jump

Milton Santini, a local fisherman who lived on the site of the present day center in the mid-1950′s, captured Mitzi and other Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and formed Santiniâ€™s Porpoise School. Mitzi starred in the original pilot movie Flipper, along with five of Santini’s other dolphins. Following Mitzi’s demise in 1972 the Continue reading →