Slated for Beauty

Succulents, Pine Mountain, Georgia, USA

We saw these pretty succulents during a visit to Callaway Gardens.  We really like how these were nestled among the slate.

Getting Away

View from Lookout Mountain, Mentone, Alabama, USA

Sometimes we travel to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.  One weekend we travelled to a small cabin on Lookout Mountain just north of Mentone, Alabama.  This view was just what we needed!

Red Light District

Exit Sign, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

This vintage exit sign was in the Royal British Columbia Museum.  While it may be less effective than modern exit signs, it is certainly attractive and interesting.

We Didn't Get the 10% Discount

Southern Style Lunch, Rome, Georgia, USA

We were driving through Rome searching high and low for an open barbeque restaurant one Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend.  Each place we tried was closed on Sunday or for the holiday.  Next to one of these BBQ's was a plain looking restaurant with a full parking lot.

We went inside and were immediately transported back to an earlier era.  Being served cafeteria style onto disposable plates didn't matter to us.  The food was delicious and Southern, like the roast chicken and stuffing with apple cobbler above.

As an aside, the restaurant offered a 10% discount if we brought our church bulletin with us.  This was truly authentic small-town Southern dining.

Deli Style South

Deli Counter, Pompano Beach, Florida, USA

A good New York deli counter is often a confusing place with a seemingly endless assortment of ethnically Jewish foods (and some not so Jewish).  Many folks joke, and rightfully so, that somewhere in Southeastern Florida is the sixth borough of New York City.  While not as large or confusing as many New York City delicatessens, this place in Pompano Beach had delicious renditions of all the main comfort foods like bagels, pastrami, knishes, stuffed cabbage, and buckets of pickles.

Rolling Cigars

Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida, USA

Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood is well known for its cigar factories.  At the Tampa International Airport, you might occasionally see a vintage, cigar-shaped Boeing 737 rolling down the runway.  We took this photo during a fly-by before our final approach.

No, I'm Not a Gargoyle

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

This is a chimera.  Unlike the similarly grotesque rainwater-spouting gargoyles, a chimera is purely decorative.  We took hundreds of stairs through narrow halls and spiraling staircases until we reached the top of a Notre Dame tower.  This unique view of Notre Dame and Paris was well worth the ascent.

Our Big Fat Greek Meal

Mezé Plate, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

We enjoyed this "little" Mezé plate of spiced olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers at a Greek restaurant in Vancouver's West End neighborhood.  We emphasize the word "little" because the main course portions at this restaurant were enormous!

When asked why the normally healthy Vancouverites would consume such vast quantities, the owner shared that the competing Greek restaurant a few doors down had increased their meal sizes, so they had to keep up.

As an aside, our meals were delicious.  We imagine the homeless folks we gave our left-overs too felt the same way.  The restaurant was kind enough to even include napkins and plastic-ware for them too.

A Newsworthy Edifice

Hearst Tower, Manhattan, New York, USA

This modern skyscraper actually took nearly 80 years to be built!  The Hearst Tower was originally commissioned in the 1920's, but construction was halted during the Great Depression and only six stories were completed.  Almost 80 years later, construction resumed and a modern tower was built atop the original foundation.

Like Jimmy Olsen of the Daily Planet, we had to be quick.  We took this photo from a car using an Apple iPhone 4.

Langoliers?

Cincinnati International Airport, Kentucky, United States

This scene from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is reminiscent of the Stephen King novel "The Langoliers".  Because of cutbacks and mergers in the airline industry, much of the once vibrant CVG now languishes.