Thought I had seen it all ... Beach Life & Small Rivertown America

Well, just when I thought I had seen it all, but what should pass us in St Petersburg, but the ultimate in drinking and driving - a Pedal Pub!! There's an open seat if you are interested  . . .

and back at the beach a digital advertising blimp floated by - but the digital sign was too far away to read - someone wasted their advertising dollar.

Now in the Gulf we have red tide warnings --- which may account for the large number of stingrays we are seeing right up in the surf line - apparently a bunch of stingrays is not a school, but called a 'fever' and they tend to hunt together. Those dark shapes in the water are the stingrays visible from our 3rd floor balcony!  Mini me is not going in the water anytime soon!!

Back in the house we got some new hurricane windows - apparently the whole building could fall down, but the windows would be intact.  Mini me couldn't watch, but is glad to report all went smoothly and it was a relatively clean operation.

at the Peabody Hotel, Memphis

Life sized me and hubby took a little holiday over American Thanksgiving on the American Queen, a steam-driven paddlesteamer, down the Mississippi River. We started in Memphis visiting Graceland, seeing a mock-up of the first self-serve grocery (Piggly Wiggly in 1916), along with making a few purchases at the Metal Museum. There was a spot of fun watching the 'world famous' Peabody ducks who swim in the hotel fountain daily and then waddle down a red carpet to ride the lift (elevator) up to their rooftop home each evening.

On board the American Queen, loaner bicycles meant we could explore all the little towns along the river on our own, including a number of plantations (complete with crazy quilts and video extolling virtues of healthy sugar!). At Oak Alley we found the sugar cane harvest in full swing and a farmer delighted we had an interest.

This sign in our hotel, the Q&C, in New Orleans gave us a good laugh.

We finished off the trip by train (yes, an American passenger train - double decker no less) from New Orleans thorough Jackson Mississippi back to Memphis.  In Jackson we found a petrified forest complete with petrified sea turtle skull. Back in Memphis we completed our adventure with a sobering trip through the National Civil Rights Museum (bringing the slave plantation story right up to date!).

 A new friend has just opened Flip Flop Quilt Shop in St Petersburg (www.facebook.com/flipflopquiltshop) and with some new thread I am getting on with some Christmas decorations. Andrea is looking for volunteers to teach a few classes, so if you fancy some time in St Petersburg . . .

And the birds are flocking together getting ready to migrate . . . eating berries and bombarding our car like we are in a hail storm!