The Bird Sanctuary

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 -- This evening, in hopes of a good sunset and some wildlife photos,  we decided to go at sunset to the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center.  It's just down the road from us, in the direction of Key Largo.

There's no admission, but a donation of five dollars per person is requested.  At the beginning there are a number of birds in screened cages, many of them rescues who suffered injuries and now live out their lives at the Center. They included several kinds of owls.  An enormous cage the size of a couple of tennis courts housed pelicans, turkey vultures and some other birds.  

We were more interested in the outdoor birds who might visit the bay shore behind the Center.  

I think this guy sitting on a rock, motionless, watching the water for something to catch, is a Baird's Sandpiper.  He was absolutely still until he struck for something.

Baird's Sandpiper

We had a big pelican who sat in a tree and dried his wings for quite a while in front of us.  He was lit by the setting sun, so he was easy to photograph clearly.

Florida Brown Pelican

We also a little red-bellied woodpecker who was working on a tree nearby.  He was a jittery little guy, and thus very hard to photograph clearly because he kept moving.  But a pretty bird....

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Toward sunset, a tri-colored heron came into the water just off shore, clearing thinking this might be a good dinner spot.  

Tri Colored Heron

As the sun was setting, he took off across the bay.  Lifting gently into the air and leaving us with a lovely image.

Lift off

And, at last we had a perfect sunset at 6:18 p.m.

Lifting a Skater 388

It has a catamaran style hull

Monday, February 22, 2016 --A little excitement around the Mangrove Marina this morning when the red and orange speedboat that docked yesterday was readied for lift out.   We heard the engine of the Skater 338 roaring as they maneuvered carefully into the lifting dock. If you have to ask, yes, it has a 280 gallon fuel tank and burns Jet A.

At the start of the lift

This is a careful loading operation that seems to have everyone on deck, and several of us spectators around as well.  The 38-foot power boat seems even longer, perhaps because of its low, sleek design. There are six body-conforming seats, but no seatbelts.  Instead the four rear passengers each have prominent handgrips. She is going to be placed on a trailer and taken to Miami.

Up in the air

The Marine Bull hydraulic left groans just a little at it lifts the boat up and prepares to turn and place it on a custom trailer nearby.  You notice that the forks only extend about one third the length of the boat.  All the weight of those twin inboard 1350 hp Mercury motors is back there, I guess. Both boat and trailer are made by Douglas Marine Corporation in Michigan. 

On the custom trailer

There is a lot more careful measurement involved in setting the Skater 388 onto its custom trailer.  It has to fit just perfectly for the next move...  

Up in travel position

...which is to tip it up on one side for road travel!  

The owner explained that the 11-foot beam of the boat is too wide for normal highway travel unless you get a "wide load" follow vehicle with yellow lights. Loaded this way the craft's height is not an issue, except under low overhangs with less than 13.5-foot clearance. 

Three Garmin screens are protected by aluminum covers, but still the interior looked about like that of a Cirrus aircraft. The boat was being trucked back to Miami.  

I thought about offering to just pilot it back to Biscayne Bay.  I wonder how much fuel that would consume?

Tavernier, Florida Keys

Monday, February 15, 2016 -- We arrived after dark at the Mangrove Marina, but Heidi was here to show us around and help get settled quickly.  We'll get a chance to look around more tomorrow.

View from of our boat looking from Dock 300 to the northeast.

Tuesday, February 16 -- It looks pretty good so far.  The supermarket is within walking distance, and we have quickly found everything we need.  At night the wind plays quiet songs in the halyards of boats, and the waves slap gently on the boat.  

From our dock, looking NE

The houseboat, named Sand Dollar, is about 500 square feet of living space, with a loft which we use only for baggage.  It could be sleeping quarters for a couple of kids. We have a shower, toilet and washbasin in the bath, a queen-sized bed with two night tables, and a gas kitchen with refrigerator/freezer, a living room with sofa and a porch on each end.  The east porch - toward the 200 dock - is our entranced and it's screened, mostly.  There are two televisions and two A/C units which we've not used.

Looking west

Since I got my fishing rod and reel at the Islamorada Flea Market and Festival on Saturday, I've been fishing from the west porch, which faces the so-called 100 dock.  For some reason you can fish from your boat but not from the docks.

The marina has a number of live-aboards who seem to be spending the winter here.  However some boats do come and go, and this is clearly a place for fueling as well as lifting boats out or into the water. There are shower and toilet facilities on shore as well as washing machines and dryers.

February 17 -- we stopped at Robbie's to see the tarpon and the pelicans fight for fish.  These white herons are posing everywhere, and they were much easier to photograph than the submerged tarpon.

We also paused at Whale Harbor for a few minutes of "near sunset" photography, but the view would be better of the sunrise.

Whale Harbor

We ended the day Wednesday at the "Pulse of Islamorada,"  the Lorelei Bar overlooking the ocean view. There were people everywhere, cars parked all over, bartenders going crazy. Pretty cool place for a mojito just as day fades to night.

February 18 -- Anne's Beach, further down the Keys toward Key West, is a lovely Florida state park. Keys Beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean, but there is almost no wave action, due to the wide, shallow water typical extending out from the land. There is a boardwalk that meanders through the mangroves from one parking area to the other, and that's where we saw this little guy.

 February 20 -- The big annual Islamorada Nautical Flea Market is today, so we parked at the school and rode the shuttle to Founders Park. It's a super place for bargains on boating fishing, diving, and nautical-themed gear.  We didn't need much of that, so after the pancake breakfast, we mainly walked and looked. Lots of used boat fittings and electrical parts, fishing and boating clothing, jewelry, etc.

Oh, yes, and many clever signs.  I thought this seemed especially original.  I kind of wonder where it comes from, or on what kind of location it was meant to be placed?

A Little French Wine to Remember

Saturday, October 3 -- We have many fond memories of France, and the wine is one of them.  So, it seems appropriate to memorialize the bottles we encountered during our travels in Burgundy and Alsace.

These are not all the wines we tasted, but they are the ones of which I took photographs while we were confronting them.

September 20 lunch in Beaune

September 21 lunch -  a good white Domaine St. David,

 




September 22, 2015

Between Dijon and Santenay one can take La Route Touristique des Grands Crus and discover the classic Burgundy wines with their aromatic richness and their purple or golden color. This legendary itinerary passes through 31 typically Bourguignon towns and villages, and opens the way to a world-renowned winegrowing region.

September 23, 2015 in Puligny-Montrachet
As soon as you leave Dijon, you are on the Côte de Nuits with its gently sloping plots. This is the cradle for many Grand and Premier Cru wines. Nicknamed the Champs-Elysées of the Bourgogne region, in parts, it is no more than 300 meters wide, and brings together a host of world-famous climats. The word does not refer to meteorology but in this part of France is used to describe the Burgundian vineyard terrior.

To the south of Ladoix-Serrigny, the trail continues on the Côte de Beaune, with its gentle slopes and Bourgogne traditions. Take the time to visit some cellars or maisons de négoce – all year-round the winemakers are willing to share their expertise and lore about the Bourgogne lands with you. If you are lucky, they will invite you to taste their wines too.

September 25 at Chateaux Chassagne-Montrachet

During a trip along La Route des Grands Crus the Vignobles and Decouvertes label will guide you to the region’s must-see places.

In Dijon, for example, we found that you can follow the Owl Trail (marked with brass owls in the sidewalks) which will lead you on a walking tour through 22 of the city’s most historic sites.

September 25 at Chateaux Chassagne-Montrachet

In Nuits-Saint-Georges, you can visit the Imaginarium, an exhibition space for the whole family. It offers two exhibitions that reveal all the mysteries of wine production, both still and sparkling.

Over 23 kilometers between Beaune and Santenay, a well-marked véloroute will lead you through Burgundian countryside.  Or you can travel La Route des Grands Crus on horseback, by little train, on a Solex or a gyropod (a small one-man electric vehicle on which one stands upright). 

September 25 at Chateaux Chassagne-Montrachet

Or, why not fly overhead in a hot-air balloon or take a helicopter ride? Along this exceptional path, the locals will also delight in sharing their festivities with you. All year round, from village to village, there is much to savor along these wine soaked roads.

Tasting Room at Chateaux Chassagne-Montrachet

With Delphine at La Domaine de Pommard

Leaving France

M auregard

Friday, October 2, 2015 -- It is a bright sunny day in Mauregard, and we have plenty of time to prepare, pack and leave.  

Breakfast was pleasant, and afterwards I went out to take some pictures of the old farmstead that pre-dated the hotel Les Herbes Folles.  I was struck by the old photograph hanging on the wall of the restaurant last evening, and I realize that it captures a scene that is just around the corner today. Here are the two images.



Indeed, we need to fill the gas tank on the rental car, and find our way back to the Budget parking garage at Terminal One at Charles de Gaulle airport, so we allowed plenty of time. It was a good thing, because the gas pump was not exactly around the corner. 

After another hassle with the French gas pump, we were filled up and on our way to Charles de Gaulle and the Icelandair flight to Reykjavik and home.

Reims -- the Cathedral and the Champagne

Thursday, October 1 -- It seems too soon to be packing up and leaving Riquewihr, but this is the day we must turn west and drive through the Alsace-Lorraine and Champagne-Adrennes regions of France. We are on our way to a small village, Mauregard, near Charles de Gaulle Airport.  

We finished packing and loaded the car by 9:00 a.m. because we knew a long drive lay ahead.  Google Maps predicts about five hours to the outskirts of Paris via the A4, and we want to stop in Reims to see the cathedral there.

We found Vivienne and did our checkout from the apartment.  I found the bottle bank and we made a significant amount of noise getting rid of green and clear bottle glass of all kinds.  The trash can was out in the garden with a lock on it, but because Thursday was the designated pickup day, it was unlocked.  I filled it up and moved it to the main street of Riquewihr.

Much up and down the stairs but we finally got the car packed and set off, our last departure through the winding alley to the main street and dodging the early morning tourists who had already begun to arrive.  We got some very confusing signals from the Garmin GPS about how to find the A4 to Strasbourg, and maybe it wanted to send us on some secondary roads.  We persevered and eventually found our way to the familiar entrance to the highway.  After that it was basically just cruising along on cruise-control in the morning sunshine, heading north past Strasbourg and on to skirt around Metz. After Metz, we entered an area of broad grain fields that did not look much like France.  The names on the road signs increasingly seemed familiar as the sites of battles in World War One -- Verdun, Argonne,  the Meuse river, and St. Mihiel.  With more time I would have liked to stop and examine the battlefields and memorials from a period just one hundred years ago.

But, Reims beckoned.  We really wanted to see the great cathédrale de Reims, also known as Notre-Dame de Reims -- site where the kings of France were crowned and also scene of a 1429 victory by Joan of Arc.  As it happened, our GPS and Marcia's navigation turned us onto a street that led straight to the front of the cathedral.  We parked a couple blocks away, and walked up in awe of the  three portals laden with statues and statuettes.  

Some kind of renovation was underway, so the central portal and the famous "rose window" dedicated to the Virgin Mary were out of commission. That did not dismay us.  
 
Instead, Marcia noticed the flying buttresses, so close together in this instance.  In Strasbourg, a later cathedral, they were farther apart.  Here they were so close together that some windows on the interior were bricked over to accommodate the spacing.

 
We marveled as well at the Marc Chagall stained glass windows, donated in 1974 to decorate the axis of the apse.  Indeed, this was one of those cathedrals where the medieval stained glass was removed during World War Two and returned after the war by the "Monuments Men." 

In the forecourt stood a horse-mounted statue of Joan of Arc. Quite appropriately, she is looking up at the spires of the magnificent cathedral that she liberated from the English, an act which allowed the Dauphin Charles to be crowned king here in 1429.  

Joan of Arc

 
Well, enough of religion.  It has been a long day, and we're feeling a little dry.  And the home of Taittinger champagne is said to be located nearby atop the ruins of a 13th century Benedictine abbey which are atop a 4th century Roman stone quarry.  That is to say, there's some history here.

Taittinger is one of the last champagne houses to retain its independence and bear the name of its owners.  The Taittinger style is characterized by a high proportion of chardonnay grapes from the Champagne region. With 288 hectares of its own vineyards, Taittinger is a smaller but high quality Champagne house.   

We had no advance reservation but only waited about a half hour for an English-language tour.  The waiting room displayed an artistic array of Taittinger bottles with artist-designed labels from people like Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg.  

Pretty soon we descended, with our guide Nadine, to some 60 feet below ground.  As she explained, the ancient caves keep wines today at about 55 degrees.  It was totally dark except where lights shown on things like the sign commemorating the 1717 visit Peter the Great, Czar of all the Russians, to the Taittinger caves.  There are carvings by monks from the time when the Saint Nicaise Abbey prospered here.  Today the caves are filled with champagne.  The tour finished with a nice tasting of champagne where we got a chance to hear about Nadine's plans for a career in France.


Back on the road, our destination is Mauregard, where we have reserved a couple of rooms in a charming, family-owned and -run hotel in a small village just northwest of Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle. 

However, before we could get there, we had a little adventure.  I had been a bit parsimonious in purchasing fuel at the noontime stop along the superhighway.  As a result, were on fumes and decidedly unlikely to make it to Mauregard as I had planned.  This resulted in a time consuming and stress inducing search for a gas station off the A-4.  We found one, eventually, but it clearly delayed our arrival. 

Les Herbes Folles

Our destination was the Hotel Les Herbes Folles at 1 rue de l'Eglise, 77990 Mauregard, and it is a "find."  Rather than the usual Holiday Inn "light" that you get near airports, this is a modern yet charming French accommodation with two floors of spacious rooms, a restaurant, and all the other amenities. We commandeered one upstairs lounge for a private wine and cheese party before dinner.  And dinner was quite nice.

Yes, We Have No Crémant

Wednesday, September 30 -- Another beautiful morning for a run, and I went up the hills through the vineyards and down through neighboring towns of Hunawihr and Zellenberg.  The latter is actually a little off the road, so maybe I did not run through the main street.  Still a nice morning, and five miles pretty much exactly.

Back at the apartment in Riquewihr, everyone was up and bustling about.  We found that the little red Nespresso coffee machine had given up the ghost, so we made coffee with a normal drip percolator.  In my view, better coffee. 

We set off driving, and decided on my recommendation (as well as positive reviews in the guidebooks) to visit Hunawihr.  We parked in the designated car parking area near the water tanks where Saint Hune, who was canonized in 1520, grew up around the fountain.  The tradition claims that she came there to wash the clothes of the poor.

I had not noticed so much on my morning run the 15th/16th century Church of St Jacques le Majeur overlooking the town of Hunawihr.  The church itself is surrounded by a fortified cemetery (you don't see so many of those).  Moreover, it is a good example of a church that also served as a donjon where the inhabitants could take refuge in case of attack.  The church had once been Catholic and then later Protestant, so the cemetery was divided into the respective faiths. Catholics put up better monuments to their departed family members.

We continued on to Zellenberg, and eventually to Ammerschwihr. On the way we stopped to take pictures of the fantastic garden, graced with gnomes and all sorts of nonsense, alongside the D1b highway.  

Neither Zellenberg nor Ammerschwihr seemed particularly welcoming to tourists.  In one of them, it may have been Zellenberg, we found our way to the premier vintner's courtyard, but the guy we found there had no interest in accommodating us.  We drove on to Ammerschwihr, but they were pretty much closed for lunch too.

In the end, we turned back toward Ribeauvillé. We found a modest cafe on the main street and settled in, enjoying the bright sunshine.  A number of bikers stopped in while we were there, because this is a main spot on the trail up to three castle ruins in the nearby Vosges Mountains.

After lunch and little look around Ribeauvillé, we continued on in search of a good tasting opportunity.  We stopped in the village of Bergheim at the vineyard of Emile et Yvette Halbeisen.  

They were friendly and helpful, but that day were not tasting crémant -- the

sparkling white wine based on pinot gris or champagne grapes -- that day, much to our disappointment.  We did proceed however to taste some riesling and to buy a couple bottles. That was, however, nothing like the seven or eight cases of wine that the girls from Germany were squeezing into their car parked next to us.

Our evening repast was set for the Michelin-rated restaurant, L'Sarment d'Or, in Riquewihr. It features bare 17th century beams, a large medieval fireplace, and is reputed to offer regional cuisine -- things like goose rillettes,

salad and mushrooms, foie gras and Gewurztraminer jelly, veal kidney, fillet of beef with pepper… Marcia said the sauteed fresh foie gras with chanterelles was absolutely fabulous! All of us agreed our main courses were fine, although a bit understated. Most people really enjoyed their desserts, but Marcia's chestnut dessert maybe wasn't the best choice.  

In the end, it was a fine end to our Alsatian eating experience.