We headed over for a pleasant mid-week dinner date. We tried the corn
dog and cosmic dog, and split a basket of fries and a draft root beer.

Both dogs were beefy and delicious. The corn dog was perfectly done,
and the cosmic dog was unique (and tasty)! It was topped with yummy
blue cheese slaw (I did add some salt and pepper, but I do that with
all cole slaws) and the sweet potato mustard was a nice
accompaniament. Admittedly, the blue cheese sort of overpowers the
mustard, but the mustard still supplies a nice bit of sweet-tartness.
It was served with a fresh sesame seed bun that was substantial enough
to prevent any dining mishaps (such as mustard leaking through a
flimsy bun onto a white shirt). The fries are excellent, thin cut,
real potatoes, and perfectly fried. Add a bit of salt and grab some
malt vinegar, or shake on some Cajun seasonings from the jar at the
pick-up window. And don’t forget the draft root beer, served in a
frozen (er, frosty) mug!

Check out the Piano Guys’ YouTube Channel for their latest releases, or view my two favorites below.

Cello Wars (Star Wars parody):

Peponi (Coldplay cover):

Dinner started with warm, crusty bread and chive/sour cream whipped
butter. We each got soup to start – Tony tried the blue crab bisque
(fantastic), and Louisa tried the special squash bisque (also very
good). Entrees were the seafood over cheesy grits, and blackened
salmon with grits and succotash. The seafood and grit combination was
excellent – lots of shrimp, large pieces of lobster, and very tender
scallops served in lobster cream sauce over grits. The blackened
salmon was cooked well, as were the rich, creamy grits and succotash
(made with actual corn cut off the cob). For dessert we split a slice
of buttermilk pie, topped with a bit of homemade whipped cream. The
filling was fantastic, though Louisa believed the women in her family
make a better pie crust (this one was thick and lacked flavor).

We decided to go with the sweet potato and smoked sausage hash (which came with two eggs, scrambled, please), the pimento cheese omelet (we were warned the cheese was on the spicy side, which we prefer), and the half order of biscuit and gravy. Then Tony saw something about “half off mimosas” so we sampled those too.

Now, the food. The food is good. Really good. Almost good enough to make us want to go again every week… except there are still other restaurants we want to try. Anyway… the pimento cheese is indeed spicy and delicious, and the amount in the omelet is very generous. The hash is fantastic – even if you don’t like sweet potatoes (or smoked sausage), you’ll like this. The sweet potatoes are caramelized and slightly flavored by the sausage, and there are a few peppers and onions tossed in for good measure. The biscuit is large, fluffy, and perfectly complemented with just a hint of gravy (featuring the same smoked sausage, peppers, and onions). And if you’re into adult beverages, you won’t be sorry to try the mimosas.

If you want a well-prepared Southern brunch, give this place a try!

Knox Farm provides great winter walking trails.

January 1, 2012 – Thanks to the holiday calendar and hoarding vacation time, we were able to spend a few days visiting the (non-frozen, barely even snow-kissed, North).  There was a dusting of snow for Christmas, but other than that it’s been rain or (gasp!) sun (woo-hoo!).  We’ve taken advantage by visiting Knox Farm State Park, and also by driving up to Niagara Falls.  We went to the Falls on a colder day; the mist from the Falls was frozen on the trees, bushes, and buildings on both the American and Canadian sides.  The air temp also dropped noticeably and the wind increased as you neared the mist given off by the water.  The Niagara River, however, wasn’t even close to being frozen – though it was quite high, and fast moving.  The local ducks didn’t seem to mind, and neither did the little song birds hopping around in the trees.

Canada provided a great view of Bridal Veil Falls and Goat Island.

Just a word for people walking across the border – the waits weren’t long, but you do need $0.50 per person to get back from the Canadian to the American side.  And while the Canadian customs officer was almost friendly, the American officer was much more the typical brusque brand.

My (Tony) leg was voted favorite scratching post on the trip.

We had a great time – lots of relaxing, games, good company and great food.  Beyond the home-made goodies (beef on weck, Christmas cookies, breakfast casserole, hummus, coffee cake with maple syrup icing, Christmas coffee cake and caramels), we got Antoinette’s marshmallow sauce (to go with some home made hot fudge!), ate New Year’s Even dinner at Pasquale’s (where we enjoyed the classic cheese/pepperoni/mushroom pizza, cheese/pepperoni/green olive pizza, and an appetizer sampler), tried the Pizza at Santora’s, and got some amazing BBQ wing’s.

Our drive to Florida was not this crazy.

December 16, 2011 – We got out of work and hit the road.  We usually drive to Orlando in two parts with a stopover around Palm Coast.  Since this trip was going to involve hitting all four Disney Parks + Downtown Disney, we knew we needed an early start.  The drive went smoothly, and we were at our hotel within 6.5 hours.  Which included a dinner stop at Chick fil A – their peppermint milkshakes are great, by the way.

The Animal Kingdom park is a good spot for photos.

December 17, 2011 – Saturday morning we got breakfast at the hotel and drove over to Hollywood Studios.  Extra Magic hours let us into the park by 8am, and we made a bee line to the Aerosmith Rockin’ Rollercoaster.  After about a 10 minute wait we were happily on the ride, ready for a (relatively) well lit indoor coaster complete with a loop.

Don't be fooled, this komodo dragon could be dangerous in the wild.

By 8:30 we were hustling back to our car (despite Disney workers wondering out loud why we were leaving already, “we’ve got other parks to get to!”) and on our way to Animal Kingdom.  It was just a little after 9, and the park still wasn’t too crowded – though that would change by noon-ish.  We walked through a few of the nature areas to see the different birds, a hippo, and a variety of monkeys.  Tony had never ridden the Everest coaster (the large, mostly indoor coaster that’s inside the fake mountain), so we got in line.  Why this was good: the line moved quickly, and there were a lot of little kids so how bad could it be?  Why this was possibly bad: there was a sign warning that a lot of the coaster was indoors, it went both forwards and backwards, and it was not advised for those who might get motion sick.  Ahem.  So, we ignored the sign and proceeded to the coaster.  On a scale from 1 to Noah’s Ark (at Kennywood), it’s a solid 8 – 8.5; Louisa had to sit down for a little while, and wasn’t really moving that fast for about 2 hours, but then she got over it.  It was definitely a once-every-few-trips type of ride!

Don't forget to bring sunglasses!

We recuperated by sipping an iced lemonade and looking at some cool birds, including flamingos, and a few kangaroos.  We also walked through the exhibit with the silver back gorillas. Lunch began with shrimp and pork egg rolls enjoyed while waiting to order orange chicken from Yak and Yeti.  The chicken was still good (and generously-portioned), though the recipe was a bit (er, a lot) sweeter than we remembered.

Mandarin Ducks are a highlight of the Animal Kingdom.

After lunch we made our way through the masses of people streaming into the park, hopped in the car and parked at Magic Kingdom.  Ironically, our spot in the overflow lot was closer to the park than many spots in the main lot.  (We only realized this, though, after waiting for and taking a ridiculously short tram ride to the gate.)  We didn’t actually go into the park, but hopped on the monorail over to Epcot.  After snagging a few fast passes for the GM Test Track we enjoyed a relaxing ride on Planet Earth, then wandered around to the different “worlds.”

Don't mess with this bird.

Stops along the way around the lake included the Norway area for a cappuccino and rum cake topped with vanilla custard and almond meringe, the  China pavilion (where we discovered a little statue appears out of the water, and then disappears for about 5 minutes), the French section (for toasted flatbread with ham and cheese and a twisted sweet bread with cinnamon, sugar and raisins), and the Great British area for fish and chips (still fantastic, a must-try).  By this time we were back to the test track, and had a relatively short wait for the (always fun) ride.  It’s even better at dusk, since the outdoor section seems must faster than the 60-ish mph the ride reaches.

This hippo was ornery.

Finally it was time to head over the to the fourth and final park, the Magic Kingdom.  Like the other parks this one was decorated for Christmas.  Each park had a very large, decorated Christmas tree, as well as an abundance of poinsettias.  We rode a few rides, including the train (always fun), and the Haunted Mansion.  There were quite a lot of people in the park, but that might have been because it was open till 1am.  We stayed until about 10 (so a few hours) and then headed back to the hotel.

The Magic Kingdom is bright (and busy!) at night.

The night wasn’t quite over yet, though, since Downtown Disney was right across the street.  And it was so warm we only needed windbreakers.  As usual the destination was  the Ghirardelli Soda fountain.  We ordered a midnight fudge sundae (chocolate ice cream with dark [72% cocoa] fudge sauce, to go).  Tony waited in the mass of people, while Louisa went next door to get some free chocolate samples.  They were giving away the peppermint chocolate squares, which are among our favorites.  Our order number was called, and we found a table to eat at outside.  The sundae was wonderful – super rich, very chocolate-y, and our new favorite item on their menu.

The manatees were more playful than usual on this trip.

December 18, 2011 – Sunday was our travel day.  Since the apartment wasn’t too far away we had a leisurely morning, then went to Blue Spring State Park.  There were quite a few (about 10-12) manatees, including a few smaller young ones, swimming in the clear blue water.  Apparently manatees can only survive in fairly warm waters like this spring, which is why they come here in winter.  Many of them were quite active, including two who were swimming around, hitting each other in the heads with their front flippers.

Yep, they are still being playful.

Lunch was enjoyed at LaSpada’s Original Philly Cheese Steaks – they have one of the best Philly cheese steaks (with mushrooms and a generous amount of White American) we’ve had, including ones in Philly.  Their curly fries are basic frozen fair, but are cooked well and make a nice side dish.  :)  If you are around Blue Spring State Park, we definitely recommend this food stop.

Our final stop that evening was, of course, a Five Guys for burgers, peanuts, and Cajun fries.

Reviews:

If you haven’t heard, there are many sites protesting SOPA and PIPA today.  I think the TED talk posted above does a good job of explaining the background behind SOPA/PIPA, and why they are bad ideas.  If you believe that these acts are not the solution, please make yourself heard by contacting your representative and senators.

For more information on these acts and protests, view these links below:

• EFF One Page Summary
• The Verge Covers Site Protests
• Mainstream Media Coverage of SOPA Protests from NY Times
• SOPA Strike Online Petition

This female yellow-bellied sapsucker has been making a daily stop at this tree outside my office, so I decided that I would take a video!  It’s amazing how these birds can just rip apart a tree while looking for food.  For more info on the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, I reccomend checking out the Cornell Lab All About Birds website.