All Aboard…

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

… as the American Queen sets sail along the southernmost area of the Mississippi River. My mom and I will be aboard the 432 passenger paddlewheel, on March 24, after spending one night in Memphis, Tennessee.

Longer than a football field and six decks high, The American Queen is the largest riverboat in the world. She is a beauty, complete with gingerbread trim, fluted stacks, and a giant red paddlewheel giving her an old-fashioned appeal, even though she was built in 1995 and refurbished last year.

As a (former) California girl who feels right at home in the northwest or northeast areas of our country, living aboard the American Queen for one week will be as foreign to me as I felt observing a Balinese cremation ceremony and walking the old city streets of Casablanca. I live in a house with rattan furniture, handicrafts from my world travels, and fused art glass. The American Queen, in contrast, will be like stepping back in time to “Gone with the Wind”.

This is precisely the motivation for booking passage aboard the American Queen steamboat: Experiencing something completely different and not expecting it to be like home. There is nothing more frustrating to me when I travel than hearing other Americans whine and complain about how, “At home, in the U.S.A., the food is (fill in the blank), and the hotels are (fill in the blank), and the service is (fill in the blank).” BLAH, BLAH, BLAH! What I wish to tell those people, at that point is, “Well, then, you should have stayed home!”

Traveling, to me, is all about stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying new things. Not that an American Queen cruise is exactly roughing it. But, to me, the Deep South is like being in a foreign country; not unlike the experience of living in Texas, when we lived there for four years. Culturally, the people of Texas and Griffin, Georgia, where we have lived for the past four years, are more culturally different from Californians than many of the foreign countries I spent a lot of time in, including Australia and New Zealand.

It’s all good! I absolutely love the experience of living and traveling in new and different places. Ever since I spent one year traveling the South Pacific, solo, with my backpack, I have craved new adventures. Whether it be trying exotic foods, traveling to experience different cultures or moving from the 7^th largest city to a town of 23,000; I have been up for it all.

So, on Saturday, I leave my casually and comfortably furnished home (and healthy food… and swim training…) for an ornately decorated steamboat and good ol’ southern cooking.

All aboard!

2013 Goals: She SCORES!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I am big on setting goals; something I have done for as long as I can remember.

This past year, I did pretty darn well achieving my goals and even succeeded in making some I didn’t even have set at the beginning of the year (including winning the Georgia Championship Series for high points in U.S. Masters Swimming and swimming 3K & 1K races to achieve it). Like the experts say, always write your goals in pencil!

I will admit that I “write” my goals on the computer. But, I do leave plenty of room at the bottom of the printed out page to add more goals or make changes. This last year, I added winning the series and the open water swims, just so I could have the satisfaction of putting a big fat check mark next to it! Same goes for my 900, 2000, and 1000 yard butterfly swims. “Are you KIDDING me?” That’s what I would have asked YOU, if you had asked ME if I could even swim 200 yards of fly! But, I tried it one day, amazingly felt like I could keep going after 200 yards, and kept going… and going… and going…

But, when I added that new goal of winning the Georgia Championship Series, there were three goals (the only goals I did not achieve) that I was not able to achieve because of it: Making National Qualifying Times in my three breaststroke events; my core events that I am best at. Swimming a full slate of events at each meet to win high points meant not being rested enough for each race, in order to swim my best. My breaststroke times, for the most part, suffered this year. So, I was unable to achieve NQT’s for Spring Nationals (a meet it turns out that I won’t be attending, anyway). But, I sure did have a lot more fun at meets this year! I hate sitting on the bench…

2013 Long Course (50 meter pool) Summer Nationals, in Mission Viejo, California, is really what I am shooting for, when it comes to making National Qualifying Times. By making NQT’s in my three core events, it would give me the opportunity to swim three additional individual events, for a total of the maximum six individual events allowed per swimmer. In 2010, at my first Nationals, I did not qualify in any of the events, so I only got to swim three events. The following year, I made NQT in the 50 yard breaststroke, so I earned the right to swim four events, at both spring and summer Nationals. And, the same thing happened this past spring. So, I have been working towards qualifying in all three breaststroke events, so I could swim six events, just like the big boys (and girls).

As it turns out, I have officially made NQT’s, according to the U.S.M.S. rules that allow swimmers to use their best times going back two years. I recently received confirmation from a staff member at headquarters that my times from the St. Nick’s short course meters meet, in November, 2012, count. When entered in Swimming World’s Time Conversion Utility, I qualify with time to spare in both the 50 meter and 200 meter breaststroke, but make it EXACTLY in the 100 meter breaststroke: 1:42.58!

Now, having said all that, U.S.M.S. doesn’t actually verify your times; it is all on the honor system. But, even if I don’t swim those times on race day in Mission Viejo, I absolutely wanted to honor the honor system going into the meet.

So, my main swimming goal for 2013 (once again) is to re-qualify, so my times are up-to-date; at least more current than going back to 2011!

This is where Nationals will be held, August 7-11; the pool where several Olympians, including Greg Louganis (diver) and Dara Torres (swimmer) trained:http://www.mastersmvnswim.org/SubTabGeneric.jsp?team=scmvnm&_stabid_=23601

My chosen events will be:

August 7: 1500m Freestyle

August 8: 100m Breaststroke

August 9: 50 Breaststroke

August 10: 400 Individual Medley and 200 Breaststroke

August 11: 200 Butterfly

And, if our team can field enough swimmers for relays, I hope to swim relays each day, as well.

As for other 2013 swimming goals, I have set 475 miles for my U.S.M.S. Go the Distance goal (I set 400 miles in 2012 and swam 452 miles). And, there are a few non-core races I have set goals for swimming personal best times. Oh yeah, and I’m going for the Georgia Championship Series, again, too.

Meanwhile, I also have non-swimming goals, too; just the usual stuff.

How about you? Have you set goals for this year? If so, feel free to post your goals in the comments section; I would love to hear about them!

Happy New Year!

Jolly Ol’ St. Nick

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Atlanta Rainbow Trout deserves an award for originality when it comes to swim meet trophies. Their Spring Splash High Points trophy is quite cool, but their St. Nick’s High Points trophy is a hoot! Yes, it’s a waving jolly ol’ St. Nick. I don’t even celebrate Christmas, but as soon as I saw that trophy, my determination to win high points for the meet was reaffirmed. Jolly ol’ St. Nick was going to be mine.

The year started with my usual list of goals; none of which included winning the Georgia Championship Series. I’m not the fastest swimmer in my age group, after all, so I didn’t think I would have a chance. But, as you may have seen in a previous post, I ended up winning high points at the Spring Splash and was told I had a good chance of winning the entire series. So, as of April, I was on a mission. I won the long course meet, in Athens, and then won at the Georgia Games Open Water swim. At that point, I had eliminated my competition for the Georgia Championship Series, however, I was determined to win in style and make a clean sweep of it at yesterday’s St. Nick’s Short Course Meters meet, at Georgia Tech. So, I entered the maximum five individual events, swimming my three best (50, 100, and 200 Breaststroke), and rounding out with two distance events (400 Individual Medley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkk525w-Qk0&feature=share&list=UUaJqJScxsYtclOJAW-i-gpw and 400 Freestyle; something my coach feels I would be best at if I train for distance, rather than sprints. To add to the heap, I was placed in two relays; swimming lead-off in a Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay and breaststroke in the Women’s 200 Medley Relay.

Although my times suffered due to the heavy workload, I was happy to win every event, including our relays. OK, some of those events were uncontested by anybody in my age group, but I had competition in others. In all, there were seven of us in my age group.

StNicks2012HighPointswinnerElaineKrugman

It was great seeing so many of my Killer Whales teammates also win high points awards; I went around with my Santa giving high-fives to their Santas. (See photo; Santa does have one hand in the high-five position!).

My Forumite buddies (U.S. Masters Swimming Discussion Forums) also won high points in their age groups; definitely a meet highlight for me, given the pre-meet discussion we had online in the days building up to the meet. Frank Thompson (on right) came all the way from Michigan, Swimosaur (Judd Jones) drove out from Tennessee, and ekw (Ellen Wilson) drove over from Alabama. They each now had their own Santa to accompany them on their travels home. And, as you can see by our final picture, our Santas gave each other a kiss goodbye…

‘Tis the story of Jolly ol’ St. Nick, who now holds a place with my other awards, on top of the wine cabinet, in my home office.

And, that, my friends is (almost) the end of my year as a baby geezer. I will soon be turning 51, on Inauguration Day, so I will no longer be the baby geezer; just a geezer. But, later this month, I will be joining a few of my Forumites in swimming 1,000 yards continuous butterfly, to close out 2012. I swam 2,000 yards continuous fly last June, so I know I can do it!

I Slept Like a Baby Last Night…

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

…but, this is a travel blog. So, back to Sanibel Island… 😉

We woke up this morning to winds too brisk for kayak fishing, so we opted to return to Tarpon Bay to paddle through the mangrove tunnels.

Although we weren’t as lucky this time to see a Roseate Spoonbill or River Otter, we did see many egrets and herons to keep my camera active and both of us entertained. It was a beautiful paddle, once again; a must-do for anybody traveling to Sanibel Island.

The afternoon has been a relaxing one. Lunch was very casual; an Italian Sub and California Wrap at Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory. Once again, Trip Advisor reviews steered us to the right place!

After lunch and one last walk along Lighthouse Beach, we returned to the cottage to start organizing for our trip home. Whaaaaaa! The time, as always, has gone by much too quickly. We hit the road in the morning, stopping for the night in Ocala, before returning home on Friday. We are not keen on making the drive in one day, so it will be a slower trip home which is just fine.

Sanibel Island has been wonderful; a place we plan to return to next year. The only negative was the abundance of noseeum bites we managed to collect on every nook and cranny of our bodies; in between the tons of repellent we were forever spraying on ourselves to avoid them. But, noseeums and all, we’ll be back!

My Vote Goes to… THE PELICANS!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Happy Election Day (or, unhappy, depending on who ends up winning…)! You should have seen the lines at the polls, here on Sanibel Island! I just hope that when I wake up tomorrow, the election will be DONE; no talk of “hanging chads”, “pregnant chads”, “butterfly ballots”, etc. (Well, that’s not my only hope, but I’ll leave politics out of this post…)

So, the day began for us out on the water, near the bridge that links Fort Myers to Sanibel Island. The fishing is supposed to be good in that spot and dolphins are often spotted there, as well. Unfortunately, there was no catching or dolphins; probably thanks to the red tide that has plagued the area as it did last November.

Red tide is a natural phenomenon caused by tiny, single celled algae called Gymnodinium breve. While red tide causes little more than respiratory and eye discomfort for most humans, it has a more serious effect on marine wildlife. Exposure to the algal bloom can be dangerous, even fatal, to fish, sea turtles and birds. Yesterday, we saw numerous dead mullet everywhere.

Needless to say, the fishing has been awful for everybody. So, while Bruce gave it his best effort, I paddled around and photographed my favorite bird: pelicans. I also got some shots of the egrets, eyeing the schooling bait fish that came in right up to the shoreline. My last shot was of a heron, snapped right before it poured down rain and we both got too cold to stay out.

At the recommendation (once again!) of our Sun City friends, we had lunch at Island Cow; a very popular spot on the island. The atmosphere was quite cute with their collection of cows throughout the interior. And, the food was just fine. But, I am still thinking about Over Easy Café’s Summer Salad that I enjoyed yesterday for lunch.

The salad dressing alone; raspberry pecan vinaigrette was exquisite. But, tossed with the mixed greens, red onions, blue cheese, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and crispy chow mien noodles; it was simply the tastiest salad I had savored in a long time. So, since it is Election Day, Over Easy Café gets my vote as my favorite restaurant to go with my favorite bird. We also had great meals at every other restaurant we dined at, including: Gramma Dots, Cheeburger Cheeburger (a chain, but recommended by our friends), R.C. Otter’s, and today’s lunch at Island Cow.

After lunch, we browsed the boutiques at Periwinkle Place; all very nice shops. That was followed by a swim workout at the Sanibel Recreation Center; my 7^th and last one on my one week pass.

Well, it’s time to check in on the election. And, my vote goes to… I’ll give you one guess!

Who Let the Birds Out?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

I felt like asking that question, this morning, as we paddled through the Tarpon Bay mangrove tunnels. There were so many interesting birds; it seemed as if we were paddling through the San Diego Zoo. But, the funny thing about it was that it appeared as if these birds were escapees from a bird show, where the birds are all trained performers.

When we spotted this Yellow-crowned Night Heron, I paddled up to it very slowly, trying my best not to make any noise with my paddle. As I got closer and closer, he didn’t seem to be bothered. So, I took several photos before saying anything to Bruce. Meanwhile, he stayed quietly behind.

At first, I whispered; still, the bird didn’t fly off. Next, I talked in a normal voice, but, he didn’t budge! I ended up getting so close to the little guy I could have poked him with my paddle!

In all, on the marked mangrove tunnel loop we saw dozens and dozens of various birds that never seemed bothered, as I approached with my camera. We even saw a Roseate Spoonbill (see above); a somewhat rare sight on the trail. And, as luck would have it, we saw one of the rarest sights of all out there on the trail; a river otter! According to one of the guides I spoke with at Tarpon Bay Explorers, he had only seen a handful of them during his eight years with the company. You will have to take my word for it that we actually did see it, because my photo of the critter was just a blur as he scurried in the dark shadows of the mangroves, hopped into the water, and then swam across to the other side before taking off again. But, at least we saw it, and, at least I get to share my other photos with you, now that I have the software downloaded from Fuji’s website for my camera. (I couldn’t wait until I got home… So, if you would like to see those dolphin shots I got, I added them to my Flipper post. Don’t get too excited; I missed their heads, but I did get the very tip of the baby’s nose in the second shot.)

So, back to the birds, the following are some of my favorites from today:

This Turkey Vulture had his eyes on a dead mullet, which, unfortunately were plentiful due to the red tide killing them off. I’m sure that also explains why Bruce didn’t catch any fish in Tarpon Bay today!

Other birds we saw and photographed were Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, White Ibis, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Cormorants, and others I couldn not identify. I will have more photos posted on my fototime site, after I return home.

Besides paddling with the dolphins, this was definitely the highlight of our Sanibel vacation, so far! It was definitely for the birds!

When in Rome…

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

…do as the Romans do. We take that old cliché to heart when we travel, always being sure to seek out the local haunts and do what the locals do. So, today, we thought visiting the local farmer’s market would be just the local kind of thing to do- and, something we always enjoy no matter where we are visiting.

It was the first farmers market of the season and it seemed like the entire island showed up for the occasion. It was a great atmosphere, people running into friends and exchanging hugs, people with their dogs, tourists toting their free Bailey’s General Store reusable bags (I know, because we used our coupon for one, too), and plenty of smiles to go around. And, the vendors seemed genuinely pleased to be back in business for the season.

We surveyed all the options, settling on large pink shrimp ($15/lb.) from one vendor and fresh goat cheese ravioli from another.

Next, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a young German couple selling their homemade German baked goods at their booth. Pretzel rolls! I absolutely loved sinking my teeth into those when I was in Germany, last year. Two to go, please! Tonight’s dinner was now planned- and, cooked to perfection by the best “Cook” in the world: Bruce Cook. Paired with some Barefoot Bubbly, it was delicious!

Sanibel Island Farmers Market was well worth the stop. From the beautiful produce to the fresh seafood, bakery, cheeses, and artisan chocolates; there was something for everybody. And, by the time we left, it appeared as if everybody had arrived. It was time to get outta there and head to Captiva Island.

Captiva is connected to Sanibel by a bridge, however, at low tide, you can walk from one island to the other; the two are so close. At only five miles long, Captiva is smaller than Sanibel, but just as beautiful. And, from what we could tell, the one percenters who don’t have a home (or second home) on Sanibel, have one on Captiva, instead. Both islands are quite high dollar, but Captiva had some ridiculous homes- that is, if you could see them through all the high-end foliage.

But, we weren’t there to gawk at the real estate; we were there to look for manatees- oh yeah, and breakfast at R.C. Otter’s, at the recommendation of our Sun City friends (again!).

Breakfast was delicious (homemade granola with HUGE fresh berries for me; blueberry pancakes for Bruce), but I was determined to see manatees before returning to Sanibel. Thanks to our waiter pointing us to Jensen’s Marina, we were in luck; we saw three.

Did you know that the closest relative to the manatee is the elephant? I sure didn’t! They are big, though; the average adult is 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds.

Since they are found in shallow waters, they are easy to spot. One manatee we saw was feeding on the sea grass, just beyond the rocks of the marina, next to the shore. In one day, these slow-moving gentle giants consume 10-15% of their body weight in vegetation. So, much of their time is spent eating, like this one was doing. They are mammals, though, so they come up to breath. But that’s about all you will see of them above water; just their whiskers and mouth, grabbing a breath of air. And, that, my friends, explains why I don’t have any photos of these “sea cows” to show you! Photographing these big blobs below the surface of the water isn’t the easiest thing to do. Just seeing these manatees, though, was a highlight. They are an endangered species, so I felt fortunate to have that opportunity.

After returning to Sanibel for an afternoon swim, we grabbed our shelling tools to end our day with a stroll on the beach by our cottage. The pelicans entertained us as we hunted for shells and watched Bo fetch her ball.

Another great day!

They Called Him “Flipper”…

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Do you remember that really cheesy, sappy TV show, “Flipper” with the even cheesier theme song? When I was a little kid, Flipper was my favorite show; must-see TV for me. I was so envious of Sandy; I wanted my very own pet dolphin, too! I was so crazy about dolphins, my dream was to grow up and become a dolphin trainer at Marineland (no longer in existence) or Sea World.

Well, fast forward to 2012 and now I am a baby geezer, remembering that childhood dream. Flipper was from Florida and now I was on a mission to see his distant cousins here, too. Sure, I have seen plenty of dolphins in my 50 years, but “plenty” is never enough, when it comes to seeing your very favorite of anything.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself, as far as yesterday’s adventures go. The day started out back at J.N. Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge; this time with our kayaks, rather than a tram tour. There are two places to launch within the reserve and we opted for the second, after passing the white pelicans.

Bruce brought his fishing gear, intending to catch this time, rather than just fish. But, it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s not that he’s a bad fisherman; I used to watch him catch 6-10 bass in one hour off Coronado Bay, from his kayak. And, that’s no fish story; it was a regular thing! But, here, the fish just aren’t going to bite at much of anything when they are suffering from a sudden 10 degree temperature drop.

So, while Bruce fished, I chased around a blue heron and watched the egrets on the shoreline. It was a gorgeous day and so quiet and tranquil.

After fishing, a swim workout, and a deli sandwich from Jerry’s, we headed for the Lighthouse in our kayaks in search of dolphins. They were there the other day, so we figured our luck would be with us again. Sure enough, before we even launched our kayaks, we spotted them, just 50 yards out. FLIPPER!

The gulf was completely flat and winds were only 4mph; perfect for ‘yaking. We paddled towards the pier and spent the remainder of the late afternoon paddling around a couple of pods of dolphins out for their evening meal. A mother and baby, close by her side, didn’t seem to mind us at all; a surprise, since mothers are always so protective of their young. At one point, Mom poked her head up by Bruce’s kayak to have a look, before swimming right under his boat. He must have met her approval (how could she not???), because they continued to hang around the area.

A few times, the dolphins surfaced right by my boat, as well, before taking a dive right under me. (Of course, every time, I was too slow at the trigger and ended up with plenty of photos of just a fin sticking out of the water…) It was such a thrill, reminding me of the times I had paddled with the dolphins before; once in Long Beach and the other in Aransas Pass, Texas.

The main thing was that it was such a blast to be out there with the dolphins, so close to the shore, watching them feed. At times, they would dart towards the shore chasing down their dinner; their speed and agility amazing to see. We were having so much fun; we didn’t want to turn back when the sun was almost set. For that hour or two, I was living that childhood dream. “They called him Flipper, Flipper, Flipper, …”

Birds in Paradise

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Summer fun at the Alamitos Bay Peninsula, in Long Beach, where I grew up, always included watching the pelicans fly overhead and dive bomb into the surf, in search of lunch. I used to love watching “pelis”, my favorite bird.

Here in Sanibel, pelicans are everywhere! And, we saw plenty of them today, along with great egrets, snowy egrets, reddish egrets, and cormorants; all hoping for castoffs from the fisherman along the beach and Lighthouse pier.

Before we found ourselves surrounded by birds, the day began with my swim workout, while Bruce took a long walk on the beach near our cottage. (For my Sun City friends who have been to Sanibel, Seahorse Cottages are located directly behind the Lighthouse Café; a great location!)

At the recommendation of those same Sun City friends, we enjoyed brunch at Grama Dot’s, thoroughly enjoying peel-and-eat shrimp (me) and fried shrimp (Bruce), after working up quite an appetite. It was a gorgeous day, so the view of the boats at Sanibel Marina was the perfect way to enjoy those shrimp. I had hoped to also see manatees or dolphins, but the water was too cold for the manatees and the dolphins were elsewhere…

Bruce had opted not to fish today, so it was back to the beach for some shelling and photography.

Our last stop was back at Lighthouse Beach, where we had seen dolphins and pelicans the first time. We thought we would try our luck again. So, that’s where the dolphins were hanging out today! Overheard on the pier, spoken by a sunburned fisherman who had been there…awhile: “Those dolphins have been here all damn day!” Of course, we were ecstatic, however, he wasn’t too thrilled about the dolphins eating up his potential catch.

We didn’t see just one or two dolphins; we saw several pods, all out cruising for their lunch. A couple of times, we watched as one would chase a fish all the way up to the shallow edge, just feet from the shore, then dart back out again. It all happened so quick, I never had my camera ready. But, I did manage to get my favorite bird and (part of a) water mammal together in the same frame.

Meanwhile, back to the birds, as soon as a fisherman threw some bits of fish to a pelican on the beach, birds came out of nowhere and everywhere. It was a free for all and quite a hoot to watch. I never had this much fun watching birds in Long Beach!

How Many Laps (In This Pool) Is A Mile?

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

When we made reservations with Seahorse Cottages, on Sanibel Island, I wasn’t concerned whether it had a pool or not, since I had done my research and knew the Sanibel Recreation Center pool was suitable for training. So, I really didn’t give any thought to what I would find, once I arrived to our cottage. Imagine the look on my face, however, when I saw this:

Needless to say, I never laughed so hard at the sight of a “pool” in all my life! It is, I’m sure, smaller than Sun City Peachtree’s spa! I thought about getting my suit on and having Bruce photograph me “swimming” backstroke, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet; I’ve been too busy swimming in this pool, instead:

So, what do you think? How many laps do you think it would take to “swim” a mile in our cottage pool? I should measure the pool and figure it out…

Meanwhile, Sanibel Recreation Center’s pool is quite nice. The facility is only five years old, so everything is in excellent condition and quite clean. And, I don’t get kicked out of the pool between 9am – 10am, like I do at Sun City Peachtree, when the four or five noodlers get the entire pool all to themselves for their “water aerobics” class! Here, they keep two lanes open at all times during every water aerobics class! And, it really is water aerobics (no cd’s) with a teacher who encourages those ladies (and gentlemen) to move. She is an excellent instructor; so good, even I might even become a noodler, if I lived here on the island. These noodlers have it good!