Alligator Tail, Swamp Cabbage & Other Strange Food of Central Florida

When we moved to the North-East, one of the things we missed was the simple but delicious food in Central Florida. We explored the many small towns around Melbourne, Florida, along the coast from Sebastian to Coco Beach, and inland to Kissimmee all the way to Lake Okeechobee. Second picture fromthe top picture shows me at a tortilla stall near Fellsmere, which is a citrus farming and ranching town with many Mexicans. Next picture was taken at the Seafood Festival in Grant, a small town South of Palm Bay. Here we see people lining up for their Conch Fritters. And then, there's Ozzy's a few miles down the road from Grant. Famous for its steamed Blue Crabs, clams, shrimp and oysters- eaten with potato salad and melted butter. Ozzy's is the perfect place to go for dinner on a Sunday evening drive. Last picture shows a plate of Alligator Tail, Frog's Legs, and Catfish, a specialty at the Marsh Landing restaurant in Fellsmere. Other strange dishes include Swamp Cabbage and Fried Green Tomato. This restaurant is patronized by the local farmers and cattle-ranchers [known as Crackers, because of the cracking sound as they use their leather whips to drive the cattle], and every Thursday there is a Bluegrass jam session where guitars, fiddles, mandolins and double-bass, provide a most appropriate musical backdrop for a dinner in the swamplands of Central Florida.

Top picture is not food but a baby alligator we saw in the river that passes through downtown Melbourne.

Portland, Maine: Me and The Lobster

This is me [or at at least you can see my hands] eating a Maine Lobster in Portland Maine. Portland is a very beautiful place with clean air and water as you can see from the picture of its harbor. This lobster meal with fries, clams and corn, was eaten at a place that was more like a fast-food joint. I am sure that if we had gone during lobster season, and to a proper restaurant, we would have seen bigger lobsters, cooked and served in a better way.

America: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

What do I think of when I think of America?

1. Big shiny trucks speeding along the highways.

2. My friends in Florida that I miss. 3. Some Indian IT guy showing his toothless, betel-nut chewing mother the Statue of Liberty.

4. A public telephone with a sign indicating it is tapped [Americans are such nice people, Al-Qaeda appreciates this gesture]

5. Corned beef on rye bread and fried potato pancake in Ohio.

Winter Time in New Jersey

Winter is cold but pretty too. Here's me in Morristown, NJ beside the Presbyterian Church. And the two snowy scenes were taken at the carpark of our condominium, and near my church in Princeton.

Mining Gems In North Carolina

There's a place called Spruce Pine in North Carolina, where you can pay $20 for a bucket of sand, and sift through it for gems. North Carolina is a beautiful place. This picture of a peaceful country road high in the mountains was taken at a place called Little Switzerland.

New York! New York!

Some people like the skyscrapers of Manhattan, some like Broadway, others a good Pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli. I like fake handbags. These are usually sold on sidewalks by people who look like they came from Haiti, Ivory Coast, Gabon or some African country. This picture shows part of me at a fake handbag stall just before the Police came.

Me In Japan [Epcot, Disney World]

Nope, this is not me in Japan. But Epcot in Disney World, Orlando Florida.

Truckstops and Diners

During our stay in the USA, we liked to visit truck stops and diners. Though the food was nothing much, truck stops and diners are cultural icons and we liked to see the people that go there. Many truck stops have lost their romantic image as they have become huge complexes called Travel Plazas, that have shops, hotels, restaurants. Some of them have churches too. Here, I am standing in front of a truck stop mini-church on the road to Reading PA. The pretty diner all lighted up is in Milford, NJ almost at the border with New York, at the Delaware river water gap.

Cincinnati, where my nephew works for P&G

We managed to visit Cincinnati, Ohio after driving 650 miles from Princeton NJ in a day, through a snow storm. My nephew works for Procter & Gamble, and now I know it makes Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent, Gillette shaving blades and Pampers among other things. This is me standing in front of the P&G building.

On our way west, we crossed many bridges such as the one above. From Cincinnati, we crossed over into Indiana and Kentucky. Harrison, Indiana in the picture above is a typical small town in the mid-west, with one Main Street that has all the shops that the residents will ever need.

Delaware River Towns, NJ and PA

The Delaware river forms the border between eastern Pennysylvania and Central New Jersey. Along both sides of the bank are delightful small towns filled with art, music and good food. One picture shows the bridge linking Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA. Next picture is me in New Hope. Then, its me fleeing the scene after picking a few stalks of Sunflowers from somebody's field, near Stockton. Bottom picture shows me at a tomato and sunflower stall near Frenchtown. Top picture shows pies for sale laid out on the table of a countryside cafe.

Virginia, Here I Come

During our road trip north from Florida to our new home in Princeton, New Jersey, we stopped at many places along the way. This is me peeping into a Monacan Indian hut, near the Natural Bridge, Virginia . You can see this natural geographical wonder in the picture above, and a view of the Shenandoah valley and its mountains.

Home-made Cheese and Bread, Vernon NJ

In the north of New Jersey, on its border with New York, and where part of the Appalachian mountain chain runs, there are many dairy farms. The cows are Holsteins, that produce the best milk. The people here make their own varieties of cheese and bake their own bread. We never had such a good meal from just bread, cheese and wine. Top picture shows me bending down to pick up something at a hot dog stand by the roadside [I love to pick up things lying on the ground--coins, pieces of paper, somebody's wallet, diamond rings etc]. Bottom picture is me outside the red barns of BoboLink Dairy Farm

The Amish People of Pennsylvania

Gettysburg was the town that Abraham Lincoln gave his famous 'government of the people, for the people, by the people' speech. Here I am walking down the main street in Gettysburg. The picture above shows a plaque outside a hotel that says Abraham Lincoln slept there.

Gettysburg is also about 120 miles from Lancaster town, in Lancaster County, the home of the Amish people. Amish people are Christians in their own strict way, which tries to preserve what they believe to be the purity of the past in being close to the land, and growing one's own food. Amish people have no cars and use the horse buggy. They have their own dress code, and they prefer to keep apart from non-Amish people whom they call "the English". [their language is called Pennsylvania-Dutch]. Their farms with the neat rows of corn and vegetables and the grain silos can be found right in the middle of the town, because they did not sell out to devlopers of shopping malls. The Amish 'villages' have strange names like Bird-In-Hand, Paradise, and Intercourse. The Amish do not like having their picture taken, but here's a picture of an Amish people taken from the Internet.

Autumn Leaves In New England

The colors of Autumn are at their best in New England, the area from Northern Connecticut to Maine, encompassing Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont. The first time I saw the leaves in the autumn. I was really excited. They come in all shades of the spectrum of colors from brown to yellow, gold and red. There were some that were even pink like the color of this web site. This is me under a treei n a town in Bennington, Vermont. Top picture shows shophouses in downtown Newport, Rhode Island. Newport is a town where the rich and famous gather, and the town has many nice shops and restaurants. The middle picture shows the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, in their Autumnal glory.

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland is among one of the nicest towns I have been to. It just has that refined, casual atmosphere unlike some towns which have really gone commercial and look tacky. There are many nice cafes and the harbour front is right in the middle of town. Everybody seems to have a dog on a leash by their side. While they are reading a book and sipping their Latte the dog sits with tongue hanging out, panting contentedly away.

Saint Augustine, Florida

Saint Augustine is a town in Florida, somewhere between Port Canaveral and Jacksonville. It is the oldest town in Florida and indeed the oldest town in the whole USA. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1565. The picture above shows the Spanish influence in Saint Augustine's architecture. On the road to St Augustine, we can see many roadside stalls selling fruits and nuts that tour buses stop at. Just like the ones in Ayer Hitam, Malaysia when we take the road north from Singapore after crossing the causeway.