Travel Report – Page 4 – The Hermits' Rest

My favorite local specialty

What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

Ah. I can answer this even in my exhausted travel state. Then I’ll tell you how close I came to being duped.

Bonus NM flower: Apache plume (***Fallugia paradoxa)***

I have two favorite dishes from my travels. First are the cluster oysters at Hudson’s on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I do love those, as anyone who has had to endure me trying to open every single oyster can attest (right, stepsisters?).

The other thing I remember is much simpler. It was an enchilada lunch in southern New Mexico, I forget exactly where. It was the perfect New Mexican style meal, with plenty of green chile goodness and the best beans and rice with it. I eat a LOT of Mexican food, so this had to be great to stand out. I hope we find that place again.

There ya go.

So, as we were driving home today, I got a message from my friend Trixie listing a bunch of items a family member needed to sell. It sounded like something she’d do. And I was excited to see a skid steer in the list, because we could use one, and the price was good.

So I messaged about it. She said other family were also interested (red flag) but that a deposit of $1,000 would hold it (red flag). I had to talk to Lee and Chris first. She stressed the urgency (red flag). I shared the photos she sent to Chris and he said it seemed like a good deal. I asked where we could come inspect it. She said they were “near here.” Where was “here?” (Red flag) Still I started to to PayPal the money to Trixie. She sent an email address that was not hers (red flag). Then I sent an image asking if it was right, because I didn’t want to pay a stranger. Silence (final flag). So I did what all those trainings at work said to do. I called her.

She was all flustered. “I’ve been hacked!” She said. So. No money went to fake Trixie and we don’t have a skid steer. But I do have my money. I sure blithely went through a lot of red flags. Am I turning into one of those gullible old people? Geez.

Don’t fall for any deal with a sense of urgency that seems to come from a friend. Call them after the first red flag.

The dogs were very happy to see us when we got home. Much licking occurred.

Looking and learning

I’m pretty much wiped out, but today was extra, extra fun. I enjoyed listening to and watching birds behind the hotel. I got to watch Lesser Goldfinches eating thistle seeds and the happiest Raven, who had scored an entire biscuit. I also saw unidentified animals in the hills.

Hard to believe this is behind the business district.

Next we met a fun young woman named Alison, who showed us some representative houses here that might work as summer homes. Alison was a lot of fun. We met in a restaurant where her fiancé painted a cool mural.

There was quite a collection of properties to see, ranging from sad small condos to rustic cabins to a house nicer than ours. It reminded me of the good old days when we bought houses and fixed them up.

Of course, I also found flowers that elk hadn’t eaten. This is scarlet cinquefoil.

I didn’t think anything would match all my criteria:

Not too big
No close neighbors
Space to park an RV
Lots of nature
Attractive view

Two did. One rustic place in need of some TLC near town, and one doublewide in a more rural area in really good shape. (There are so many well preserved mobile homes here.) They both are quirky, which I like.

The lady who owned the rural house had taken great care of the yard, which I liked. It was very low maintenance. The other one needed occasional weed whacking. Anyway. Here are a couple things I enjoyed in other houses.

Upstairs family room in a house that was too big

After a lot of driving around, we dropped Alison back off at the restaurant and went back to look at the area where the rural house is. It’s a big, green high mesa with a mix of double wides and nice traditional homes. There are also many horse properties nearby. However, the most interesting thing is in the middy of the neighborhood. A rock shop. Not just a shop, but the place where miners of fancy rocks with geodes and other beautiful formations inside process the raw material!

We got to see all the grinding and polishing stations. It was fascinating! We got to look at beautiful examples of the finished products and watch a slideshow of how they mine the rocks (almost all in New Mexico). after mining, they put back all the dirt they dug and seed it with appropriate plants. I was impressed.

After that, Lee took me to the Noisy Water winery outdoor gathering place, where we sat under trees and drank wine and ate charcuterie. I also listened to birds. Of course. They had a petting zoo, so I went over and said hi to the goats and other residents.

This one licked my hand clean. Yes I washed it.

But wait, you ask. Did you see any interesting mammals? Of course I did. Many elk, of which I just share a few, and a herd of wild horses serenely grazing next to a parking lot. Apparently that’s common. That was the last fun wild animal I was looking for, so yay. No bears. That’s fine.

This was a fun whirlwind trip. I’m glad we are coming back in September so I can do non-real estate activities.

I want to look at more flowers like this Rocky Mountain zinnia

I have no idea if Lee intends to buy a property. I understand why. Texas is getting more scary to us as time goes on. But we love our ranch and don’t want to go away from our family there. A summer getaway would be ok.

It’s a wild life!

Today I did my best to fulfill Lee’s goal of looking at every neighborhood in and around Ruidoso, New Mexico that might contain a residence that fulfills his dream of a summer getaway in a cool Mountain climate. Of course, it was hot today, but ten degrees cooler than home.

Since we aren’t remotely thinking of relocating, the beautiful horse properties and mountain estates we saw were just eye candy. We looked at the other end of the scale, too, such as numerous creatively updated 60s and 70s mobile homes. Mostly we looked at small cabin-like houses.

As Lee evaluated property, I took every opportunity to spot wildlife and look for birds. In fact, between listening at the hotel and looking in trees, I got five new life birds! One was a favorite, the Acorn Woodpecker. Here’s the list. I wish I’d seen that Lazuli Bunting!

My eagle eyes were on the lookout for others, such as these beauties. Poor Lee had to stop and back up.

I was excited to see deer a few times early in the travels. They have Mule Deer here, which are larger than white-tails and have large, expressive ears.

As it got later in the afternoon, I started seeing even larger deer. But, no, I figured out all for myself that they were elk. The first ones I saw here resting in the shade, and none have antlers right now, so they did look like deer.

I did get some plants, too. I’ll share them later. I should tell you our eating adventures. I had to stop with the driving and looking occasionally, because my eyes got tired. So we had an early lunch at a great place called Casitas. There was healthy food and much charm. Probably not to Lee’s taste, but I loved my fancy avocado toast and my dulce de leche latte. Mmm.

After a few more hours of going up and down mountains, being saddened at flood damage, and being jarred by potholes I requested my treat of the day, which was to visit Noisy Water Winery and cash in on my wine club membership perks. Wow, the club members’ lounge was nice, quiet, and beautiful.

I tried four different wines, one that just launched (2022 Demi goddess), one older white that had aged SO well, and the members’ exclusive, which was a rich dessert wine. Oh, and a red varietal I’d never tried, I liked it liked more than I expected. I did come home with three bottles of white wine. As I am the only wine drinker in our household, it will last a while.

The final place we stopped was a park we visited years ago with Anita. It was not great for birding, since a huge motorcycle group went back and forth while we were there. But I enjoyed the scenery and Lee even said my hair looked good. Wow!

Whew. So much mountain beauty, wildlife, and interesting homes. I’ll sleep well tonight.

Feeling sorta enchanted

Today was interesting. We drove to the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico) all in one day. We made it to Ruidoso, where we are driving around looking at property, which is the only thing that’s gotten Lee excited in a long time. So of course I came along. I figured there would probably be birds and wildlife to enjoy, and my favorite winery, which I haven’t visited since before my son went away.

I’ve already hit the jackpot in the wildlife department, so I guess I could go on home. You see, as we were approaching one of the small towns in the foothills, I saw something move next to the road. I was ready for deer or elk, but not for a very large flock of bighorn sheep! I was very surprised, but realized I was next to a rocky mountain— a mountain that is rocky, that is.

I kept saying to Lee that I saw sheep, the ones with the big horns! Duh. After I calmed down and got cell signal, I looked it up. Yes, they are found here. What they were doing all bunched up between the highway and a fence, I do not know.

We are in the circle. Image from Wikipedia.

The sheep definitely made up for the challenges of trying to work in the car, which I did, successfully, but with some effort. The laptop didn’t last the whole trip. And luckily I was finished with meetings while we were still in the flat desert and had signal.

This is exactly what I saw, only it looked more confused. From Wikipedia.

We got here and found the outside of the hotel to be a mess. Why? Because it’s SINKING. There was horrible flooding here again this year (after a worse one last year). It’s the monsoon season, and it’s getting worse, according to the sweet but weird Denny’s waitress this evening.

They are putting pins under the building down to the bedrock.

Oh yeah. Forest fires happen, too, but mostly in the National Forest. That should keep out the riff raff.

However our room is very cute. Has a separate living area and a big desk.

Lee is tired from driving, so we walked next door to a rather quirky Denny’s (with the waitress I mentioned). Everyone there seemed to be tripping or something. Very cheerful, extra funny, but also confused. We enjoyed the wildness. Some of the wildness came from two darling young Apache girls, who were very active but quite charming. They chattered and sang but were so cute you just had to laugh along. I talked to the mom as we were leaving. She was so tired. I think she was relieved that we and the staff were enjoying them. I bet it gets tiring all day every day.

This giant cicada mobile or something was in Roswell.

I’m looking forward to sneaking in some nature tomorrow. I remember this was the first place I ever saw a raven. But I’ll look at whatever Lee wants to look at.

Another Roswell sight. That alien museum exhibit must be a hoot.

Bye!

Places I like to visit

What are your top 10 travel destinations?

Today’s question is hard for me because I don’t know whether to answer country (I think I’ve only been to around ten), state or region, city, or site. So I’m just going to name ten places I like a lot, not ranked.

Gainesville, across from my grandmother’s house

Gainesville, Florida. It’s my center.
Sedona, Arizona (and surroundings)
Ruidoso, New Mexico (and surroundings)
Hill Country, Texas
Chicago (favorite big city)
Western Ireland
Avebury, UK
Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Coastal marshes of southeastern US
British Columbia, Canada, though I’ve never been there

Basically, I like places with interesting terrain and wildlife.

I’m glad for that prompt. A few things saddened me today, so I needed something cheerful.

My eccentric former boss at the software company where I met my kids’ dad lost his wife suddenly. I’m so happy he found the right partner to share his life with, but sad that she passed so young (around my age).

The person who murdered my friend Christi is finally going on trial nearly five years after her death. He was her son, whom she did her best for. But he was a mess. But not all bad. He found Fiona for me. All this and more has given me “the feels.”

Luckily Benito is here for cheer and comfort.

On to another day.

Pampering is good for us

Lee is a good guy under his grumpy facade. When he realized I was going to drive in early tomorrow morning for a root canal on my still-painful teeth, he volunteered to drive me to Cedar Park this evening and get a hotel room near my dentist so I can sleep a bit more, and I’ll have him to drive me home. I feel so pampered

Oh look, it’s 183 and 620. That intersection was a four-way stop in the 1990s.

And then he offered to take me out to eat something both good and soft. Conveniently, one of my favorite quiet sushi/Chinese restaurants is within walking distance of the hotel. We could walk there, even in 103° heat and not suffer!

When I come to the old Lakeline Mall area, in the vortex where Austin, Cedar Park, and Round Rock meet, I am surprised at what nostalgia pops up. I am in a place I spent my child-rearing years, near many dear friends and places I once lived. I look out the window and know Catherine and Carolyn/Lyndy are not too far. Sniff. But I’m in no shape to visit!

The extent of the nostalgia I feel is limited to people, former homes, the interesting geological aspects of the limestone karst, and nice places to eat. I miss those. I don’t miss traffic and having so many people around. There are always trade offs!

My chirashi sushi dinner pampered me well, and a glass of plum wine drowns out the throbbing. I did make it through the day without painkillers, so maybe I won’t bruise up awfully tomorrow.

I’ve never looked less forward to a dental appointment. Just gotta go inward and get through it. I’ll never make fun of people who get wound up before dental work again.

Jiggity jig

Anita and I survived a long day of travel today with our spirits intact. We gave ourselves enough time that delays getting out of the condos and plane delays didn’t bother us. As travel days go, it was just fine.

I first want to say how nice the Myrtle Beach airport is. It’s clean and shiny and not at all crowded. It even has pretty bathrooms with nice green tile and doors. And there are interesting couches and seats everywhere. None were being used. It’s probably busier in winter.

At the Nashville airport we had a nice lunch and listened to live music by a talented young woman. We were sitting facing the corridor, and above it was a sculpture kind of thing of big silver balls. I witnessed at least three small children who spotted them and were entranced. That was really sweet.

I slept all the way to Austin, though a hard landing woke me up well enough to make it home. More tomorrow.

I found the birds, at last!

Most of the week we’ve been in Myrtle Beach, we haven’t had much birding time, and not many birds have been around other than the classic pigeons and pelicans one can see from the condo balcony, Ospreys on the river, statues at Brookgreen Gardens. Today was different!

That’s right, I’m a bird! (Little Blue Heron)

We headed over to Huntington Beach State Park, right by where we were yesterday. I just love this place. Thank goodness Anita got excited by how many beautiful water birds were there. By the bridge were many White Ibises, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, a Tricolored Heron, an Osprey, and way in the back, Roseate Spoonbills.

Next we wandered over to the nature center, where there are always songbirds. We saw Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a female Painted Bunting, a hummingbird, and more. The boardwalk was closed, but that’s okay. We also enjoyed the fish, snakes, turtles, and other marsh life on exhibit.

We then headed over to the beach to check out Mallard Pond. There were lots of birds in the trees, but not many around the pond. It was full of dead fish. Because of the drought, the water has become too salty for them, I was told by a park worker. I did find some interesting flowers, and the elusive Seaside Sparrow (lifer).

There was one more stop at the state park, where the birder/sales guy told us to go. It’s a lovely walk between two ponds Mrs Huntington had built for shorebirds.

Were there birds in the ponds? Oh, yes. And beautiful American lotuses, too.

We had to walk very quietly, because there were many juvenile birds everywhere, darling Common Gallinules, White Ibis, and best of all, a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron! Look at all the cuteness!

I had a good talk with a park worker and his son who were working to create a rookery area. They were carrying water in buckets for new trees. It looked like they were succeeding, since dozens of Purple Martins were surrounding some pine snags in the area. I learned a lot from my conversation.

I managed to delete my Martin picture. Darn.

We were tired, so we stopped for a cold beverage at the park store. It was so relaxing to sit on a bench and enjoy our photos while cooling off. But, we did have another stop to make.

Yes, we returned to Brookgreen Gardens, because we had missed some of the glass art yesterday. Our passes lasted a week, so why not? Anita had left hers at the condo, as we hadn’t originally planned the stop, but the worker let us in. That pleased Anita a lot!

We quickly found the indoor exhibit, read about the artist, and enjoyed all the colored glass.

As we were leaving, we had to look at more glass art, as well as some cool bromeliads and unusual white flowers

This is a dandelion seed—they are hidden throughout the garden

What I did not expect to find were more birds, but they were lurking everywhere, unlike yesterday. The Little Blue Heron was right in front of us when we were looking at the glass water lilies.

Whew. We didn’t have energy to get pedicures or eat out. I miraculously managed to fit all my stuff in my luggage, too! Back home tomorrow.

Shiny! Colorful! Warm.

Today’s trip with Anita was to my favorite spot around here, Brookgreen Gardens. I have blogged about this place many times, but that’s what’s great about this huge sculpture garden is that it’s different every time you visit. This time was no exception.

This is the new conservatory that opened this past February.

That’s what happens when you skip a year! New stuff. And this new building, which can be used for weddings and other events, is just spectacular.

It has beautiful (healthy) living walls, huge hanging baskets, and an incredible miniature erosion of the gardens made with all natural materials. Somebody worked very hard on that.

What excited me and Anita the most was the large collection of orchids.

I wished my mom could have seen these. But I was able to share all these photos with my friend Lynn, who inherited my mom’s and her dad’s love of orchids. Look at them!

Slipped among the conservatory plants and grounds were glass flowers. The artist is Craig Mitchell Smith.

The sculptures were set up among the gardens and sculptures. Each one was a bright new surprise. Here are some of them.

Also new were these amusing animals covered in artificial flowers and other doo-dads. Little kids just loved them.

Was this enough? No! The gardens and statues were still there to enjoy.

Was there more? Of course. Flowers, insects, and birds. The hummingbird moth was the most exciting thing for me and Anita, for sure. By the way, I did edit these. I just liked them all. I don’t identify most plants because I don’t know fancy plant hybrid names.

It was warm out, so we did take inside breaks inside a couple of galleries and the little cafe in the Old Kitchen building. The exhibits had lots of birds and other animal art, which is typical for Brookgreen and liked by me!

We didn’t make it to everything, but we could go back tomorrow if we wanted to

How’s that river doing?

Yep, we have a twofer today. Lucky us. In today’s travel adventures in South Carolina, I felt compelled to show Anita the Waccamaw River and its glorious birds and gators. I’ve already shown you hundreds of photos of the river cruise, since this was my fourth trip, but of course there’s more!

For example, I’ve never showed you an alarmed Southern Toad before. The preteen girls who sat near us found it. They were really into the nature.

This year we saw many Ospreys and their nests, many with large juveniles about ready to fledge. I’m extra glad I brought the good binoculars with me! There was fish drama, feeding behavior, and much more.

We saw lots of other birds, some of which I photographed. There were also Purple Martins everywhere, and more Swallowtail Kites, too. There were plenty to satisfy me.

And of course there were alligators, many young ones and a few adults as well. It’s always fun spotting them.

I took my usual abundance of plant photos. Here are just a few.

It’s just so pretty floating down the tidal river that is still so natural in many places!

After we left the tour, we motored down past Murrell’s Inlet, Pawley’s Island, and such until we hit Georgetown, another place I have been to with Lee before. I knew Anita would like the old houses and cute downtown. We browsed the shops then had lunch at a pleasant bistro. It rained a while, so we stayed there until it stopped. They need the rain here! We enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Back at the condo we watched the beach come to life after the rain. We enjoyed some interesting wine from our travels, and ate pasta that Anita cooked. Mostly we laughed at odd internet stories like back in the old Austin days.