A WORLD AWAY IN MY BACKYARD

Adriatica - McKinney, Texas
     

I have never traveled abroad, but just around the corner from my house is a Croatian-inspired development. Adriatica is a Mediterranean escape, right in the middle of McKinney.

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Disney in Black & White

Kodak Store Disney Hollywood Studios - Orlando Florida

Music Stage Disney Hollywood Studio

Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom

 

Disney Main Street USA at Magic Kingdom

Spaceship Earth - Epcot

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

BLUES AND BBQ

The Shed - Ocean Springs, Mississippi  


The joint is located just east of Biloxi in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and has been featured on Food Network's Diner, Drive-ins and Dives. Great BBQ! The building and decor are as memorable as the barbeque!

The atmosphere lent itself to striking up a conversation with other diners. You just grab a seat where you can, and we dined with some people from Pensacola on their way home from Biloxi and the gambling boats. It was their first trip as well. That is what I love about joints like this...just pull up a stool and dig in!

Rib Bone Chandelier - The Shed

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Twenty three years and Counting

A love story....  


Even after 23 years, he still puts his hand on my knee when he drives. Not bad for two people whose first date was April 1 and married August 22. I love him more than life itself. 

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Slaw Burger, Fries and a Bottle of Ski

Dumas Walkers - Greenburg, KY
 
It's a tiny place with a big reputation if you are familiar with the Grammy Award-winning song by the Kentucky Head Hunters. Have a seat and order up a Slaw Burger, fries and a bottle of Ski.

Ski (aka Green County Moonshine)


©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Loveless in Nashville

Loveless Cafe - Nashville, TN



©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Bikes and Biscuits

Loveless Cafe - Hwy 100 Nashville, TN  


Part of the journey is the food. We are not what we call those who "Ride to eat, eat to ride" kind of riders. But we do like to find those local (or not-so-local) food joints on our rides. Loveless Cafe was one of them. What a cool place. It used to be an old motel and cafe on Hwy. 100 outside of Nashville. Not on a main stretch of a road by any means, but it seemed to get it share of business.

What says Southern Hospitality like a plate of biscuits and jelly? It seems that is what Loveless Cafe is famous for. We enjoyed our dinner at the end of a long riding day of nearly 750 miles. We were getting close to our first days destination and Loveless Cafe was a welcome site for these riders.

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved. All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

The Not So Lonely Firefly

Fireflies in a Cornfield - By Art Parnell
http://www.pbase.com/dataman/flowers_and_fauna


When we were kids I remember summer always brought lightning bugs, or fireflies as some may call them. We would find a jar and go to collecting. As kids we weren't so kind to the little creatures, often leaving them in the jar with just a few holes punched in the top and a few blades of grass in the bottom. They seemed abundant when we were kids, but i rarely see them now.
 

Ironically I am scared to death of junebugs. They send me into a tizzy. But there is something about this soft-bodied flying beetle whose bum lights up as it flies. They are magical to watch, unlike anything else on earth.

They have a special meaning for me, though. The night of my mother's memorial service, we came back to our parents home to find hundreds of fireflies in their front yard. They were just everywhere, but only in his yard. You could look across the street and see the normal one or two blinks, but right there in my dad's yard was a dance of lightning bugs I had never before seen.

We lingered a while and just like I did when I was a kid, I moved into yard, focused on one of the lights, slowly followed it and  lifted my hand to gently scoop it up in flight. It takes a special technique to catch them and not hurt them. They seem content to let you look at them as they crawl around on your fingers then lit off with a flit of their wings. There were so many in the yard that night, they were voluntarily landing on my shoulders.

Right there in my parents yard was a personal performance by nature...one night only. A private little miracle presented just for us. So after that night, when I see that fluorescent green flash it brings me comfort and reminds me that my mom is with me, watching over me. I always smile, and say hi to Mama.

Recently I witnessed another miracle of the tiny flying insects in Maryland. Next to our hotel was a cornfield where thousands of fireflies danced across the green field. I ran in and got my video camera and caught it on camera. I was happy. It was caught on video to share this special event with my friends and family. I couldn't wait to show everyone. But fate was not so kind. My camera fell from the motorcycle and exploded across I-40 in Arkansas. That 30 second video was the first thing I thought of. It was heart-wrenching. I began to grieve for the loss of the video and for the loss of my mother.

I received a package in the mail today from my friend who was on the motorcycle trip where I lost my camera. In that package was a children's book entitled "The Very Lonely Firefly" by Eric Carle. It was a story of a lonely firefly who is attracted to all kind of lights...flashlights, lanterns, fireworks...on his search to find friends. In the end, he finds the friends it was seeking. The special end of the book is when it is open, it flashes the greenish-yellow lights just like the real thing.

It is amazing that my story of the firefly video took a twist. I lost a video, but gained a life story in the end. A story of how a friend cared enough to find that special thing to turn a tragedy into a happy ending. An ending knowing that my mom is still with me, guiding me and lighting my way through life.

(Thank you Teresa, you give me courage)

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

A SILENT SENTINEL

Gettysburg, Lipsmack Studio
At Eternal Peace - Codori Farm - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Just a short walk from the Eternal Peace Monument at Gettysburg sits this silent sentinel, seemingly still aimed at the Codori Farm, the scene of the historic Pickett's Charge. The military park is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is still farms and large open fields, untouched by the town around it. You can still imagine what it was like back in 1863.


This solemn ground is where more than 50,000 soldiers died in the war between the states. Hard to believe that more than 175,000 men fought the bloodiest battle of the Civil War in the first three days of July, 1863. People from town watched from the hills as these men fought for their states.

Gettysburg is still reverent to the men who gave their lives here, if not somewhat a little eery. It seems to be frozen in time as the numerous monuments watch over the battlefield.

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

A Peaceful Place

Isabella 1861 - St. James Episcopal Cemetery -Lancaster, Pennsylvania

One of our discoveries while stopping in Lancaster, PA, this cemetery is tucked neatly behind the St. James Episcopal church in downtown Lancaster. Graves date back to the 1700's. The church was founded in 1744. It is quite different to find a cemetery in such an urban location and date back so far, but yet it was still a peaceful, relaxing place to be.

Unknown - 1798: Aged 4 months 16 Days





©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

A Piss Chunk by Any Other Name

Watermelon - Fruitstand, Nowata, Oklahoma

Be careful what you say, there will always be a kid around to repeat it. Chris' nickname for a watermelon (for obvious reasons) is "piss chunk". He happened to say this around our nephew when was young (He is now 30). So the next most inappropriate time, Stephen yelled to Chris "Hey, look they got piss chunks!"

Needless to say, Chris is proud of that moment.

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Well Traveled Fruit

Fruit Stand - Nowata, Oklahoma

Chris loves peaches. Well, he loves any kind of fruit, but especially peaches. We stopped at this roadside fruitstand and purchased some of the peaches on our way to Kansas. Ironically, they were Georgia peaches, bought in Oklahoma, eaten in Kansas by two Texans.

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

McKinney in Bloom

Tulip Tree - The Chapel at Chestnut Square, McKinney, Texas

I decided to take advantage of a gorgeous spring day and take a walk near downtown McKinney. I Googled this tree, and it seems to go by many names: Japanese Magnolia, Saucer Magnolia, Tulip Tree, Orchid Tree. Whatever it is, it is really beautiful in the Spring. In the background is a historic church that was moved to Chestnut Square. The church was originally Foote Baptist Church and was located just off Virginia Pwy., where Stonebridge Ranch is today....I live very close to its original location. Early posts you will also find a photo of this church in the snow.



Mom and POPcorn - , McKinney, Texas

I enjoyed walking around downtown and came across Mom and POPcorn and its nostalgic candies. Love those Bit-O-Honeys. Reminds me of being a kid and how exciting it was when winter was over and Summer was insight!

©2010 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.
All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.