See All, Know Nothing

From my desk, I can see the entire front of the motel. The front window allows me to see who's approaching the office and of course my security camera in the lobby gives me a look at everyone before I walk to the front desk. This gives me the false impression that I know what's going on. Not.

Case in point. A young woman checked in this evening. When I asked how many people, she told me 2 adults and a 10 month old child. I don't charge for kids under 1 year. It wasn't long after when a pick up truck hauling a man and boy around 10-12 drive up to her room & settle in. At this point, I'm not sure how many people are in there. She paid cash, so I've been had. Not the first time.

A single woman with a reservation came to check in, walked up to the desk and said "what do I need to do." I said, "just pay me $108.58 & we'll be good." "Oh, she said, now? My money won't be available until tomorrow. Regardless of what I'm thinking, I keep my mouth shut & just look at her. " I'm going to have to go back out to my car, call my bank & move some funds around. I'll be right back, she says." We're talking about $108.78 here! Funds? When she returned, her debit card went through, so we're ok. Bizarre, but OK.

Apparently she has her mother with her & needs to take mom to Carrabelle which is about 50 miles to the east. When I told her it was a bit of a haul, she was surprised, because mom told her Carrabelle was just down the road. "I think I'll drop my stuff off & then make mom drive to Carrabelle, because I'm beat & she's driving me crazy."

After the car has been in front of the room for over an hour I look out & see the old lady standing outside the room taking a bunch of curlers out of her hair, arranging her do & checking her reflection in the window. Off they go.


Not even 20 minutes after that, the daughter returns without mom. Now I'm sitting here wondering if the old lady is at the bottom of the canal with a fluffy do and an anchor around her neck.

Dan's Other Woman

Do you see what's going on here? This female has taken complete possession of my husband's affections. She gets more pets and cuddling than I do. Look at that brazen hussy, all over him right in front of me. She doesn't have to say a word. Her eyes say it all. Meow..... "back off bitch."

I've Got Sirius, Seriously

Right now I'm listening to Jimmy Buffetts Margaritaville Radio, but at the push of a button I can have 40's swing, 50's rock & roll, 60's pop, bluegrass, show tunes, reggae or any one of more than 150 commercial-free radio stations.

Dan gave me the Stratus 5 with docking station for my car, but later I talked him into a docking boom box for the house. Now I can have my Sirius in the house or on the go. The audio on the boom box is awesome.

Installation didn't come without it's frustrations however. The antenna has to be mounted outside, so we tried threading the wire through a gap around the air conditioner in the office. Before we were done, we damn near tore down the entire wall. This office is nothing more than rotting wood siding, an inch of insulation, and warped fiberboard interior walls. Now I'm more than a little worried about how long this structure will last. Seriously.

What's A Dulfink?

Yesterday, a couple from Salzburg, Austria checked in and even though they spoke english pretty well, it took a while for us to understand each other. This morning they came in to tell me they liked the room and the area, but wanted to see dulfinks. I'm a little slow on the uptake before my second cup of coffee, but eventually I got it. I sent them to the marina office where I hoped they could hook up with some kind of dolphin cruise.

Funny though, The Ho and I had a dulfink sighting during lunch a couple of weeks ago. I hope my guests were as lucky as we were.

"Dancing" Bye Bye

Was I right or was I right??? Pathetic. They had to go.

Still Look Great In a Bikini

Today we Red Hats picnicked at the city pavilion in Mexico Beach. Since it was my birthday month I got to wear pink. The Gulf was calm and the September breeze perfect. We all brought dishes to share, but in all modesty, mine was best. Yesterday, I prepared a Mediterranean Picnic Loaf. It's a wonderful combination of elements stuffed into a hollowed out french bread, spread with pesto & drizzled with olive oil. It then gets wrapped tightly in plastic wrap & refrigerated for a day while the flavors get happy and soak into the bread. Yum

Moving on the girls night on Dancing With The Stars. I had more trouble determining who was who than with the men. There was an exquisite swim suit model who did very well as did a singer named Mya. Singer Macy Gray danced with all the grace of a stalled eighteen wheeler. When she finished, I was waiting for the Zamboni to come & smooth out the floor. Kathy Ireland wasn't too far behind. The surprise of the evening was Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of Ozzie. Last I saw her, she was a chubby teenage punker with a lot of metal hanging off her face. Last night she was a delightful, charming and graceful young lady who made her mother so proud that mom bawled like a baby after the performance. I can't wait to see how she develops as a dancer.

Sent to me by girlfriend Joyce Cowan & anyone who grew up in Atlantic City will love this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG6R2V9X3ks

"Dancin" is Back!

I'm happy.

The new season of "Dancing With The Stars" premiered last night. One of my absolutely favorite TV shows even though one TV pundit referred to it as "Dancing With The Barely Recognizable." He had a point, but even if the faces and names of the contestants are barely "C" list, I get involved and have favs already.

Last night was men's night and the 8 male contestants danced one ballroom and one latin. It's immediately obvious that Donny Osmond and Aaron Carter (a pop singer?) are going to be the front runners. Both have dance experience and Carter is quite the showman.

There are 2 guys I really liked and each has some potential to stay in the game for awhile. Chuck Liddell, a tattooed, shaved headed, professional brawler, but so cute and Michael Irvin a former Dallas Cowboy and sports announcer. Irvin has a handicap. His professional partner is new to "Dancing" and she isn't comfortable with her teaching and choreography yet. But she's tall & so a good physical fit with her partner. These two macho men have lots of personality and seem to be putting major effort into actually doing well. Just think what they put on the line when they agreed to do this show.

The one who needs to go at elimination on Wed is Ashley Hamilton, George Hamilton's son. He has none of his father's charm, he has three left feet with no potential for improvement. His smile twinkles, but not his toes.

Tonight is ladies night. Let's see how they do. I'm no Carrie Ann Inaba, but I'm very opioninated and I love dance. Last night, I was wishing my mother was watching the show with me. She was a good dancer & I'd have loved to hear what she had to say.

Ed & Bill's Excellent Adventure

Damn, I was having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures. On Wednesday, Eddie & Billy flew in from Hammonton, NJ and I met them at the PC airport. We stopped for dinner in Mexico Beach, a quirky little beach town about 10 miles from the motel. Toucan's tacky, touristy, tiki bar is right on the Gulf of Mexico & even though it was raining for the umteenth day in this part of the panhandle we enjoyed the beachy atmosphere & the ribs were awesome.

When the rain cleared late Thursday we did the 1/2 hour drive to Apalachicola, a shrimping and oystering village with a funky New Hope kind of vibe. Stopped at the estuarine museum to check out the indiginous fish up close & personal, had drinks at the historic Gibson Inn and dinner at one of our favs, Carolines on the river.

We stayed up way too late, drank way too much & "some" of us took our card game of kreights way too seriously. Next day, I was beat. I just can't hang any more. We rallied enough for a ride out Cape San Blas where we could see the mainland across the bay & then climbed over the dunes to the beach on the Gulf. The sand is like sugar & we enjoyed a frolic in the surf. Yes, a frolic. If you haven't frolicked lately, you don't know what you're missing.

When I dropped my dear friends off at the airport on Sat morning I was feeling as if they had just arrived. Our visit went by so fast. I'm just grateful they made the trip down here to LA (Lower Alabama.) to visit. It meant a lot to me.

Birthday Indulgence

All I wanted for my birthday was to have a couple of days to chill in luxury. I got that and more. The condo we booked in PCB exceeded my expectations big time. For a girl who spends most of her life in a 30 something year old single wide trailer the gourmet kitchen with granite & stainless, the beautifully dressed king bed with a view wall plus sliders to the balcony, the two full baths (what fun deciding which pot to piss in), the 2 54" plasmas, the tiled, mirrored sitting area with sliding window wall overlooking the polynesian pool with beach beyond, the bars, restaurants, spa, golf course and personal service just made me sit back & say "Ah."

I brought some wine, brie, crackers & homemade chicken salad for our check-in night, but we did walk around the property and stop in the main bar for a few. That night was the only one without rain, but I'm a rain lover & having a front row seat for the storms coming through was fun. I had my covered balcony and a panoramic view. It was great.

On arrival, we parked at the entrance to our "tower" , I love that, "our tower." We never had to move the car. Everything we wanted was there or within walking. And we did take a walk across the street after our completely decadent breakfast on Mon morn. The on-site restaurant is typical upscale beach decor with a rather limited menu, but very pleasant. We just didn't know what to expect from the kitchen. Dan, being an eggs benedict addict glommed right on to that, but he's very particular about his eggs being pleasantly runny. I, on the other hand, had to go for the crab cakes benedict, but I like my eggs firmer. Both dishes came out perfect and absolutely delectible. The english muffins were swimming in butter & toasted to perfection. I know, I know, I was in heaven, even as my arteries were hardening.

I was so entirely satiated that I had to forgo my planned ice cream cone lunch. After spending the day lounging & and enjoying the foul weather we rallied for a casual dinner.

One of my favorite things and something I could enjoy over & over again was lying in bed in the AM watching the beach and Gulf of Mexico without even having to take my head off the pillow.

Before we left this morning, we booked a similar unit for Dan's birthday next month. His special request was to be on the top floor. They were able to give us the 11th. Close enough.

Birthday Getaway

Tomorrow I'm heading over to PCB to the Edgewater Beach Resort. I will be taking Dan even though he has not been a good boy. Last night the VFW was serving grilled rib eye dinners for $10, so Dan asked me if I wanted one & I said, at that price, sure. He didn't show with dinner until almost 9PM & so I had already eaten by that time. What a waste.

My birthday is Monday and over the years, I have learned that if I want a special day, I'm going to have to plan it myself. I'm taking wine, brie and I made myself a curried chicken salad. There's a Pizza Hut on site, so Dan won't starve. This is all for Sunday. For the actual birthday day, I haven't decided yet, so will play it by ear. There's a restaurant at the resort, lots of pools and a spa. In addition there's a few restaurants in PCB that I like.

We'll be back around noon on Tues & I'll post some pics.

Or Is It?

Well...the long hot weekend and the long hot summer is over. Or is it?? I had three one night reservations for tonight & they checked in early so I figured I could put my feet up and relax. The week after Labor Day is traditionally one of the slowest.

So here I am enjoying a glass of wine when in comes a couple looking for a non-smoking room. Mine were all full & all I had left were smoking, so I sent them down the road to the Mainstay. Next I get 4 guys from Panama city wanting 2 rooms because they were tired after a full day of scalloping. During conversation I find out they own the parasailing concession right next to the condo where Dan & I will be spending my birthday this weekend. They offered to teach me & I think I'd love it, but wondering if someone with osteoporosis should take the chance. I think the up in the air part would be great, but the landing part could be problematic. Maybe I'll send Dan. He used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, so I don't see why he wouldn't love parasailing.

But, I digress. I'm back to my wine when a threesome from the Czech Republic wanders in off the road and takes another room.

I'm not all that thrilled with this, because tomorrow is my once a month lunch with my BFF The Ho and I like to finish work early so I can clean up a little first. Sometimes the income has to take a backseat to the personal life, but I'm not going to turn anyone away when I have an available room, it just doesn't make business sense. Not to mention that slower times are coming.

I put out the "NO VACANCY" and still they come. This is so bizarre. I just sent another group down to Mexico Beach and it's only 8:50 PM.

In the meantime, I've done a sloppy pedicure & manicure so I'll be semi ready for lunch out tomorrow.

Simple Pleasures

When we moved into the trailer again, in lieu of a real closet, we put in a rack on wheels & I ordered 30 of those Joy Mangano huggable hangers. They're terrific for saving space and quite attractive.

Over the months, nasty, ugly, viral plastic hangers of various colors moved in. Once they had a foothold, they grew. It was a minor irritant in my day, but one that made me unhappy every time I looked at it. Each day I vowed to order more of Joy's huggables, but, hey, they're not cheap.

I finally caved & ordered a pricey new batch of hangers. It surprised me that I was waiting for them with such anticipation. I was really excited. They arrived yesterday & I immediately tossed the bad guys & rehung (is that a word?) everything on my new pretty camel & brass huggables.

Now our "closet" makes me smile & that was worth every penny spent. I do need to go on record saying that Dan has 33 shirts on his side & I have 15.