Bizzarro's Famous New York Pizza This place is literally a dozen steps off the beach in Indialantic. They sell pizza by the slice or the whole pie. I had a slice, and the slice is large enough for a meal. I liked it. Good, thin crust New York style pizza. The place is not fancy with half the seating in the shade outdoors. Half the customers are just off the beach - sand and all. If you are in the Melbourne, Florida area, take highway 192 from I-95 east. Go through Melbourne and across the bridge to the strip island [View Full Entry]

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My wife and I stayed three days in Pigeon Forge to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Pigeon Forge is just north of Gatlinburg which sits at the northern entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This area is in north eastern Tennessee south of Interstate 40. Overall: Enjoyable - I would love to visit again. Accommodations We rented a small cabin from Cabin Fever Vacations . I mention this rental service by name as one thing you notice between I-40 and the National Park are about two dozen cabin rental services [View Full Entry]

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The Dixie Stampede is a dinner theater in Pigeon Forge. I knew little about it before having dinner there except that it was associated with the country singing star Dolly Parton. The audience is seated at long tables that face a rodeo arena. The show is centered about horses and horse riding - equestrian. There are few of these types of shows anywhere in the U.S. If you like horses and horse riding - this is the show you should see. The riding was accompanied by "canned" music, so I didn't like the music much as I far prefer live music [View Full Entry]

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My wife and I walked up the Laurel Falls-Cove Mountain trail. This starts at the Fighting Creek Gap (don't you just love these names?) parking lot, goes a little more than a mile to Laurel Falls, then 3 more miles up to the crest where the trail intersects the Cove Mountain Trail. The route is four miles up and four miles back. We covered it in four hours. The bottom section is like a shopping mall. It is crowded, paved, and has an almost amusement park feel at the water fall. The next three miles has a drastically different feel. It [View Full Entry]

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This is a dinner theater in the heart of Pigeon Forge. It is (where else?) on highway 441, "the strip" of Pigeon Forge. We sat at a table for two (bigger tables available for bigger parties), ate dinner, and watched a warm up act and the main show. The warm up act was a five-piece country band. The main show was an hour-long song and dance show. The main show comprised medleys from 1950's rock n roll, 1970s disco, country, Gospel, and a few patriotic songs. The music was interspersed with a comedy act. Two words come to mind: enthusiastic and [View Full Entry]

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I was in San Diego for a conference near the marina - downtown. I happened into the Grand Central Cafe for breakfast two mornings. I loved it. The Grand Central Cafe is on the corner of Broadway and India - near the old train station, hence the name Grand Central. The Cafe is on the first floor of the YMCA building - opened in 1924. This is an old building from a time when buildings had architecture, taste, and style. The building appears to have been remodeled in the last 10 or 15 years. It is clean, well decorated, and a [View Full Entry]

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I travel to San Jose (California not Puerto Rico) at least once a month on business. When I can, I go to Moonbeans Coffee on Santa Teresa Blvd before going into work. Moonbeans has the essentials of a place for my travels: (1) good coffee (2) served in a ceramic cup (3) free wireless internet access (4) no uniforms on the people who serve you I love going to Moonbeans. It is evident that a lot of local people like the place as well as there is usually a good crowd every time I visit. There is nothing noteworthy about the [View Full Entry]

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That's what was printed on the sign. I lost track of which sign as I saw it everywhere I turned. My heart sank each time with the first time being the worst. I was at Christ Church College. This is the most famous or at least the most famous sounding college at Oxford University. Oxford, so said something I read, is the oldest English-language university in the world - some 800 years old. I came around a corner with great anticipation. I had spent enough time in the cathedral at Christ Church that the January chill was mostly gone. I [View Full Entry]

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There is a place north of New Orleans called Pass Manchac or as the locals call it "Manchac." Pass Manchac is the home of Middendor's - a wonderful seafood restuarant that has been there longer than most people can remember. Pass Manchac is a small waterway that connects Lake Ponchartrain to Lake Maurpaus. On a thin sliver of land is the town of Pass Manchac. Residing on that land is Middendorf's. This is a small, crowded, noisy seafood restaurant that serves great seafood. There are no big signs that say "Authentic Cajun Food" or any such tourist nonsense. This is a [View Full Entry]

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Its Christmas time, so I am making my holiday visit to friends and relatives in Mississippi and Louisiana. I detoured to visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My family and I spent a week here in August - two weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit. Most of the news media has paid too much attention to the plight of New Orleans. The Mississippi Gulf Coast and other areas have been ignored. I was able to drive a ten-mile stretch of what once was Highway 90. This highway is on the water of the gulf. The beach is one step to the south and [View Full Entry]

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