The Largest Sailboat I Have Ever Seen

Was in port tonight. I don't know how to judge the size of a boat but it covered the dock space of the four yachts across from it and hung into the next two. They were having quite the party onboard...
... and, apparently, no shoes were allowed.

Shrimp Plants

It's only fitting that Shrimp Plants do well in the home of the modern day shrimping industry. These come in yellow too but I prefer the appropriate pink shrimp color. Lots of folks grow them on the island and, if you're not careful, they can get to be enormous. If you click on the photo you can see them a little bit closer and you'll see that they really do look like little shrimps. Oops, that was redundant.

Meet the Family

Anyone who has been to Amelia Island will tell you that it is an island of cats. Lots and lots of cats. There is an organization called "Cats' Angels" who rounds up the strays and then spays or neuters them, gives them their shots and puts them back where they found them if they're too old to adopt out. Three of these have found their way onto our property and have taken up residence. NONE of them are allowed inside (those allergic need not be concerned) but they are well-fed and looked after. In fact, every house on our block has cat food on the porch for the strays. Meet... Davey (Davey Crockett - raccoon tail..) with us the longest but still the most feral of the bunch. After six years, I'm still the only one who can touch him.


..and Panther - the best hunter, climber and show-off. Has been known to amaze an audience of cats at the base of a palm tree while she lounges in the fronds at the top. Was rescued once from the roof of our four-story mansion. Likes to be petted but not held.

... and, our latest arrival, Billy (the Kid) aka Billy the Liar because he tells unsuspecting guests that he's allowed inside. Although the three seem to have worked it out between themselves and have found a way to get along, they're really frienemies and compete for my attention. If you're looking for a cat and would provide a great home, Billy would make you happy. But it might be too late because he makes me happy too.

My Camera is BAAAAAAAAACK !!!!!!

And, BOY, am I excited. I've gotten e-mails and calls that tell me that you will be too. Our pelican pals were fun to look at for a few days but they're getting a bit old now. So I thought that I would shoot a self-portrait to show how happy I am to have my camera back, working and ready for blogging. The garden hat that I'm wearing was made for me by a wonderful guest from Charleston, Virginia Green, who stayed with us last weekend for Memorial Day and - more importantly - to celebrate her daughter Ginny's birthday. Thanks Virginia, I love it.

What a wonderful business we're privileged to be in. We have incredibly nice guests who enrich our lives, give us gifts, pay us, give us a hug on the way out the door and then write wonderful things about us on the internet. I'd like to publicly thank all of those who have written such kind and generous reviews on Trip Advisor. The feeling is mutual. It doesn't get any better than this.

Pelican Pals

Gee, they make life look so easy.

While My Camera Gently Weeps

I'll fill in with some photos from my walks over the past couple of weeks until my camera is fixed. It's jasmine time now as you can tell by this particularly robust vine with a crunchy letter-covered center. The whole island smells exquisite - beachy on the east side and jasminey on the west. It's a really great time to be here. In fact the bed and breakfasts will be hosting a House and Garden Tour this weekend, the first of three tours for 2008. We'll be debuting the new "Cooking with the Inns of Amelia Island" cookbook there, just in time for Mothers' Day. I hope to see you Saturday.

Ruh-Roh

Well, I'm feeling completely naked. My blog camera is broken! No shrimpfest photos. Nothing of the parade. Nothing of the fireworks. Nothing of the seven streets' worth of artists and their work. Not a single photo of the 150,000 people here this weekend. And worst of all, NO PIRATES... They say a picture is worth 1000 words but I hope you'll forgive me for not typing a 15,000 word essay to describe the scenes that I would have photographed this weekend. But I will say that my favorite shot this weekend would have been of our neighbor's upper porch that was cloaked in the hull of a pirate ship - complete with canons, a skeleton crew and sails - while they all sat on the porch below drinking grog.

While I try to get my camera sorted out, please enjoy the photos from last year's parade.

The Calm Before the Shrimp Storm

This lovely sailboat is calmly docking completely unaware of the 150,000 people who are about to descend on this scene over the weekend. I love it when we have guests who are here before the Shrimp Festival and stay on through the festival so that they can experience the serenity and the hoopla. Otherwise, it's just "us locals" who know the secret.