More of Thanksgiving in Florida

Poolside in Maitland, FL - under the bamboo canopy

We spent two full weeks in Florida, 5 nights visiting with R. and G. They were busy working and focusing on their Iceland trip most of the time and we tried to stay out of the way.

One night we cooked lomo al troppo in the outdoor fire pit. It was more delicious and succulent than all the other loin-encrusted-in-a-salt-cloth experiences of previous visits, I thought.

"lomo" in the fire

The husband played some rounds of golf but I didn't go out much on my own. So I relaxed in the mostly very nice weather, occasionally sitting in the sun by the pool and doing a little picking at and watering of the garden plants. The husband went into the pool once (it was chilly!) and the hot tub once.

We didn't know how to change the AC settings, so sometimes the house got a little stuffy in the afternoons and I got more than a little hot under the collar. The nights were cooler to cold, with no bugs, allowing for the patio door to be wide open (well, not while we were sleeping).

We always try to do something a little fun while dog-sitting in Florida. Last year we went to see a SpaceX launch at Cape Canaveral. This year the husband had purchased tickets to a Black Hawks/Panthers game in Sunrise, Florida. He was able to obtain some re-sold season ticket holder seats which included parking, but no free food--like everyone else in our section, who were indulging in all sorts of gourmet things like chocolate covered strawberries. It was an exciting game in which the Hawks won in overtime after they were behind the whole game. It was the best live game the husband has ever seen. He was hyped! On the way to the parking lot I picked up a Panther scarf from the ground ... not sure what to do with it, but we still have it.

Room with a view on Pompano Beach

It was a bit of a trek to and from the BB&T Center to our hotel on Pompano Beach where we had a nice room with a balcony/view of the ocean. On Sunday morning the husband sat and read under an umbrella on the beach and floated in the ocean, which he quite enjoyed, while I putzed around and ate brunch at the outdoor bar. The bartender was from Port Huron, Michigan and had some time to chat. I think he got $7 for his efforts, which was primarily making me one Bloody Mary. We ate dinner and breakfast at the hotel for convenience. After all, valet parking was $30 a day plus tips. It turns out they don't have much selection in dark beer in south Florida. Too heavy, I guess, but we found a Havana Amber brewed in Miami that was malty/nice.

We were back in Winter Park by 4:15 PM to pick up Toffee from Val's house (yes, we needed some overnight doggie care). Val had gifted us with a couple of donuts from a local shop:

Yum. Treat after hockey game.

Later we picked up R. & G. from their Icelandic Air flight. They had a bad flight and were starving. A hamburger and fries at Five Guys on the way home helped.

As is our tradition, we found a Netflix series for the week, which I cannot recommend and will not name! It was someone's concept of life in heaven, which somehow takes place in an abandoned community with perfect mid-century-styled houses. It all made about as much sense as a long dream sequence on a sleep-challenged night.

We also had a dinner and a movie night, intending to see "The Girl in the Spider's Web" with Claire Foy, but one of us got a coffee headache and had to walk out! A dinner at Cheesecake Factory was postponed until after the service at FPCO on Sunday. I had the Monte Cristo, the best version I have had so far, although it did not photograph well. I am on a quest, searching for the best ever marriage of ham and jam!

One day we spent a couple of hours shopping for Thanksgiving food and one day I spent preparing it. One day we went shoe shopping for golf shoes and I bought some plastic "Birks" which I didn't even know existed. R. says Birks are not cool in Florida. We lunched at Tijuana Flats.

Me: NOT cool, even in leather...

And another day I browsed the local Whole Foods, and ate lunch at the The Glass Knife, a recent addition to Winter Park. I brought home a tabletop balsam fir with stand included from Whole Foods, from North Carolina, for $30.

Can't get away from the popular Founders brews! - At Whole Foods, Winter Park

We also made our annual pilgrimage to The Coop in  downtown Winter Park for an inexpensive meal of fried chicken and southern fare.

On the last night in Florida we viewed Iceland photos on the big screen--a fresh Icelandic travelogue. Now I don't have to go!

So I learned a few things about the land of "fire and ice" that has become such a hot tourist spot in recent years. I didn't realize that the whole island is heated with geyser steam--not just a few spas. The landscape is varied and surreal, with black sand, high cliffs, clear streams, and waterfalls everywhere. Very few trees grow on the island, and limited species of animals thrive there. Greenhouses are used to grow food. And they DRINK.

The kids brought back "spirits" from Iceland, Arctic Char, delicious herring in a jar, chocolate, thyme, salts and a cookbook. I was gifted with a bottle of birch liqueur and found out that the Icelanders use birch bark and angelica archangel as unique botanicals in their distilling process. I think I grew that plant once in my aunt's garden. but we didn't use the seed pods for flavoring. Or distilling! R. and G. ate lamb, fish and reindeer, and even sampled fermented shark, a thing you apparently must do as an authentic tourist. When in Asia, stinky tofu and 100-year-old eggs. When in Iceland, fermented shark!

 After watching the video they shared on Facebook, I almost threw up myself, imagining the taste of this aged, ammonia-imbued. disgusting stuff. And I've eaten some pretty odd stuff: sea slugs, Colombian ants, peacock breast.

R. made a board of Icelandic herring and things left over in the refrigerator for us:

And then we returned home to enjoy that horrible Icelandic Horse Flu which they, so generously, also shared with us...