Nice Haul!

Whenever I visit my brother in Florida I always plan a meet-up with a good friend of mine.  We try out a new spot for lunch and then find something interesting to do or a place to visit that’s new to at least one of us.  We cheated a little this time and went to a restaurant we’d been to before — the Salt and Sweet — but they have such delicious peirogies that it’s hard NOT to go there every time. 
  
Before I got to town I did some Googling to see if Melbourne had any used bookstores.  I thought a little browsing might be fun.  We’ve got great used bookshops in Columbus, but I’d never thought to look for any near my brother (Which is odd considering I visit often enough!).  I managed to find a few, and Nu2U Books on Aurora got really great reviews and was even close to the restaurant.  Who knew?

When we pulled into the parking lot I was skeptical;  it looked like it was in a storage unit and didn’t seem very big but — wow — when we walked in we were swallowed up.  I was most impressed!  We lost track of time.

The owner’s granddaughter made all these great signs extolling the wonders of reading…

… as well as giving us fair warning of the impending doom:

(I was already afflicted.)

It always makes me happy to see bookstores — especially used ones! — doing well.  While we were there, all kinds of people came in to browse, buy, & swap.  Dave, the owner, explained their simple pricing structure: $3 hardcovers and $1 paperbacks.  “We want to make it easy for people to read,” he said.  He told us how he started selling books out of the back of his car and that things kind of snowballed from there.  Nice. 

Like I need more books, buuuut… 

I left with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (I borrowed & read my brother’s copy but wanted one for my own shelf.), First You Build a Cloud (I’d read KC Cole’s The Universe and the Teacup and just loved it.), and The Proficient Pilot (Barry Schiff’s aviation classic, which will be great for helping me get my piloting groove back).

I also couldn’t resist this copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  I seem to have started a little collection of Alice books without realizing it.  I am such a nut for old illustrated books and I just couldn’t let this one — printed in 1897 — stay on the shelf.

Bonus: free handmade bookmarks!  

I took the middle one... it color coordinates nicely, wouldn't you agree?

On the way out to the car we noticed Fat Cat Thrift across the parking lot.  I was lured over by these two little Mexican ceramic sinks that were sitting outside the door. I’ve been on the lookout for something unique that could become a birdbath for one of my gardens and at $10 it was a bargain. In the end I chose not to get one (they were a little too deep), but the store owner noticed my Miz Mooz art deco shoes and waved me inside.  “I think I’ve got a perfect pair of shoes for you…”  I wasn’t hopeful as I so rarely find thrift store shoes that fit - I’m a size 6 - but it turned out to be a Cinderella day!  Snagged a great scarf and purse too.

All in all, nice haul!  And two great new spots to add to my “What I like about Melbourne” list.  I should start exploring more in Columbus too; it’s sooo easy to get stuck going to the same places all the time.  What great finds have you stumbled upon while exploring your own town?

Nu2u Books - 2624 Aurora Road, Melbourne FL . (910) 429-4843 . Hours: Tue - Sat 12-6pm . Cash only.  ||  Fat Cat Thrift & Vintage - 2632 Aurora Road, Melbourne FL . (321) 544-6914 . Hours: Tue - Sat 12-5pm

Flying to Put-in-Bay

It feels a little late in the year to start the flying season (We usually kick it off in March with a spring camp-out under the wing), but with my travels and John’s travels and the Starfighter needing some oil and air systems attention, this is the first time I’ve been up in the plane this year.  I woke up on a perfect puffy-cloud morning and John said, “Where do you want to go?”  My first thought is always Kelley’s Island, but we had to be back in the evening and I’d rather save Kelley’s for a day when we didn’t have a clock ticking.

I thought of some of our usual favorite Ohio airports: Mad River, Highland County, Noble County, Mount Victory, but I wanted to try someplace new.  I remembered a photo John texted me once when I was out of town and he was giving the plane some exercise… he’d found a silver diner at an airfield up north somewhere.  “What about that place?” I asked.

It turned out to be the Tin Goose Diner in Port Clinton, at the Liberty Aviation Museum.  What a great spot!  It even had an airplane mailbox — so cute.  

Lunch was wonderful — I had half a grilled cheese sandwich and the most delicious baked potato soup (if you know me you know I am a soup fanatic).  It was the perfect place to plan our next stop.  

We decided to hop over to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island.  I’ve never been there, nor has John, but we always see the giant monument when we fly out of Kelley’s Island and wonder what it is.  It turns out to be the Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial, which “honors those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812” and also celebrates “the long-lasting peace among Britain, Canada, and the U.S.”  More info HERE.

While we didn’t go up to the observation deck, we lolled about in the shade of a pine tree while listening to the starlings and red wing blackbirds tweetle away.

After awhile we unfolded our scooters again and thought we’d ride into town.  It seemed a lot like any beachside party town: packs of college kids, bars, souvenir and t-shirt shops, even go-carts and mini golf (both of which I love but we didn’t have enough time).  We found the Village Bakery and Sandwich Shoppe and poked our heads inside. I neeeeded an iced coffee — and a pastry to go with it —  and John got a smoothie. I’m so glad we stopped in — everything was delicious and we had a nice conversation with the owner about the island. I’m looking forward to coming back when we have more than a couple hours to go exploring!

We usually see Put-in-Bay when we fly out of Kelley’s Island; this time it was the other way around.  I could see the state park beach, the quarry, the airport runway nestled in the trees.  I know we’ll fly there sometime this summer, but for now I waved hello.

It was so wonderful to be up in the air again after what feels like forever. I hope the year's flying adventures last through the long summer and far into Ohio's still warm autumn days. We'll see...

Venice Album

Last fall John and I boarded a train in Frankfurt and travelled through the Alps to Venice.  We spent four nights at a lovely guest house run by the Canossian Sisters, right on a canal in a quiet part of town. In this photographers’ paradise it was my grand intention to shoot an entire portfolio of imagery in this tiny time frame.  Venice had other ideas.

It takes more than a few days to get past the picture-perfect surface of the city, and I didn’t want to take the same snapshots that I could just buy in postcards.  I will have to wait.  The photographs of Venice that I want to make are going to come from Venice herself, when I prove that I am worthy by having more than a few days to wander.  To toss the map.   She showed me glimpses —  a few of which I have posted here — just enough for me to know there will still be treasures waiting when I return.