Some Signs - Some Birds - A Bowl of Chowder

We stopped at a bakery for a smidgen of desert. This sign was present. We are not big into donuts but if we were we would keep this in mind. It is always best to have a balanced diet.

This is always a humorous sign. We have seen variations such as "I love you more than Biscuits and Gravy" so you can decide for the appropriate wording and meaning, at least those of you that like biscuits and gravy

One day out looking around we found some shorebirds. Many, many thousand. Mostly Western Sandpipers but Short Billed Dowitchers and other species as well. They are always amazing to watch in large groups as they take flight. How do they avoid running into one another?

This is just a fun sign that brought a smile to our face. The duck character above the sign is worth a smile as well.

We saw this sign in a restaurant a short time back. We have really, really tried to adhere to this sign. At various out of the way locations including Pie Town, we have found fabulous pies. They all had to be home made, excellent crusts, wonderful filling and most often an accompaniment of ice cream. When it is a long ways to a big store you must make things from scratch and then they invariably turn out better tasting than store bought. Eat more pie.

When you are cooking anything, this is certainly true. Lots of ingredients and one of them is essential.

We found some Caspian Terns at low tide one day. There were about 23 loosely grouped together just standing in the sand or mud area awaiting the incoming tide. We had not seen that many at once in quite a while. These four were off by themselves.

This sign bespeaks the coast. We find it very comforting to have a shell in our pocket and sand in our toes. Often times it is the little things that are the best and most comforting.

Here we can find some wisdom in this simple hand written saying. We think it tries to convey a message to keep the perspective and make sure you respond accordingly. Not bad advice at all, not bad at all.

Did we say shorebirds? There were lots and lots of shorebirds. Fascinating to see and hear them feeding. Several years ago we were in Kachemak Bay Alaska by Homer for the Shorebird Festival. The main group of shorebirds numbering several hundred thousand are there May 8th to may 12th (Approximately). These little guys have a ways to go and need to go quickly.

We saw this, what looks like a cookie jar, in a store window and thought of all you cookie eaters out there. We are not sure if this is one of the real commandments, probably not, but maybe it should be.

We are sure none of you have stolen cookies at one time or another, ha.

We have seen a tremendous number of Common Loons here. This appear to be a juvenile as it markings are not bright and distinct they are rather soft and muted. This Loon does not appear to be in Breeding Plumage which we would expect at this time of year. They are very large birds and dive for fish. They too need to head north soon to their breeding grounds.

In our quest for clam chowder we stopped at a restaurant name Castaways here in Long Beach. We found out they are owned by the same people that own The Roadhouse that we had posted about earlier. Hence the clam chowder recipe is the same so we altered our order and got their Oyster Chowder. It was fabulous unless you do not like oyster, then it would not be very good. There were 6 oysters in the bowl of chowder. The flavor was wonderful, spiced appropriately, and the potatoes and celery were cooked perfectly. This is an excellent chowder not clam chowder but excellent nonetheless.

Since we just talked about food this sign seemed appropriate. it brought to mind the standing rule in our house when growing up "Here is what we are having for dinner, eat it or don't eat it. This is not a short order cafe". In essence, eat it or starve.

We hope you enjoyed a little look at some signs, birds, and chowder. We try to find the fun in life as we travel about and then try to convey some of that lightheartedness along to you.

If you have any questions please send us a note or leave us a comment.

Eat more pie, stay safe, and most of all have fun - enjoy life. George & Deanna