Water's Edge in Weeki Wachi

Tonight we went to dinner at a place called Water's Edge in Weeki Wachi, Florida. The reviews were great and we were looking forward to a fine dining experience.

I have to say I was SLIGHTLY disappointed.

We got our menus and quickly saw they didn't have mussels. My son, my parents and I love mussels.

We had a wonderful server, who I can only fault on not bringing out butter and sour cream for the potatoes when they came out. Other than that, she was great!

The salad was nothing "original", just a classic salad, until the house dressing was poured on. I don't normally like spicy or hot, but their Peach Habanero dressing was absolutely divine! I wanted to bring some home!

The bread was the best I've had in a long time. It really tasted fresh and homey.

The scallops were delicious! I don't think I've ever had better scallops. I ordered mind grilled with Champagne Lime sauce on the side. Just a little bit drizzled on, not too much to overpower the scallops, and I was in heaven.

My potato was awful. Overcooked and hard. Almost ruined the dinner.

My parents had the porkchops. Mom thought they had a great flavor but were too tough to enjoy. Dad doesn't complain unless something is seriously wrong with his food. Servers like him.

My son and niece split some awesome mozzarella nuggets. Okay, so I snatched 1/4 of one. YUM! My son also had some great, fresh fish fingers. I was worried they would be the frozen Mrs. Paul variety and the good stuff wouldn't be wasted on a child. So glad I was wrong! He actually ate most of his dinner! My niece had spaghetti, and only complained that there wasn't more.

My brother was kind and took the kids home so my parents and I could enjoy the remainder of our meal. We also ordered a chocolate martini. I had one once in Hershey, and while I'm not much of a drinker, that was delicious! This one was okay. The dusting of the chocolate on the rim was missing, and I couldn't see through the drink to see the kiss on the bottom. But it was alright.

It's a bit pricey, but I think we'll go back again.

Falling Awake

I just finished Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz. It amazes me that this author has so many pen names, and it's because of that I accidentally bought another author's book. But that's another story. Let's get back to Falling Awake.

The story, I'll admit, kept losing me with some of the Level 5 Sleep terminology. I was able to connect with Isabelle, which for me is a very important part of reading. If I can't like the hero/heroine of the book or some other character, then I don't want to read it. And while I'll never be the size 8 gal with perfect hair and the cute little turned up nose and angular cheek bones, there's always something about a character's personality that I can relate to. Isabelle's desire to reinvent herself and her experiments with hairstyles sounds exactly like something I would do. Oh, and the fact that she's maxed out financially.

The one thing that this book did do for me is turn me off of trying to interpret my dreams. Being offered a Teacup Yorkie puppy for only $9 and asking "what's wrong with it" really has no meaning for me. I just met my friend's new little puppy and it made me realize how much I miss my Yorkies (may the rest in peace). There's no hidden meaning for the future hidden in the dream.

I never thought about the "carriage" that takes me into the dreamworld either. I fall asleep dreaming of winning the lottery that I never play. I'm always putting a tenth of it aside for a rainy day, paying off family debt (mine, my parents, and my brothers), setting some aside for the kids, and then giving the rest away. The other day in my dream I was buying a friend's home on "short sale" and then giving it back to them along with $20,000. Their house is not for sale. And I don't have $20 to my name much less $20,000 to just give away.

The story itself was very interesting. I really didn't see it coming with who was the real bad guy. At one point I thought it was Beth, then Lawson playing two sides (quickly dismissed both of those), and then Isabella's brother-in-law. That last one was a long shot, but with his late meetings, his trouble with Ellis, his agreeing to the dream class, and a few other things I really thought maybe he was suppose to be the bad guy.

And at one point I thought Vincent was the guy in Isabelle's class that Tamsyn fell for. We never heard from him again though. Who was he?

My disappointment was that the book had nothing to do with the Arcrane Society. I got hooked on Jayne Ann Krentz by reading Second Sight (written under her pen name of Amanda Quick) and was excited when White Lies came out in paperback, continuing the story of the Arcrane Society in the 21st Century. I was really hoping that the dreamers were part of the mystery introduced to us in White Lies, but they weren't. The book stood on it's own storyline.

Part of me is hoping to have another story come out about Vincent Scargill or Dave. Since it came out in 2005, not sure if that's going to happen.

Out of 5 stars, I give it a 3.5. Do I recommend it? Yeah, it's a pretty good read. Great for while on the road.

Oh, and when I went to check out to see if there were any other blogs out there about this book, I came across this book (currently out of stock at Amazon), Falling Awake: Creating the Life of Your Dreams by Dave Ellis. Thought it was interesting that Ellis is the main character in Krentz's book, and Dave is the brother of a victim that plays a minor but important role. I found it on a self help site that might be worth checking out. There's an audio clip about the twelve steps on achieving your dreams. If you check it out before I do, let me know.

Sweet Dreams

A colleague of mine has recently been hurt in a biking accident and is still on the path to mending. Because of this he's unable to ride his bike and he's also not sleeping as well as he use to. I made the suggestion of melatonin. It's a nice natural sleep aide, and the few times I remembered to bring it with me while traveling, it sure does help me sleep.

Another suggeston is a good cup of tea. Last night I enjoyed a nice cup of "Tranquil Dreams" from Teavanna. I slept so great! Right now I'm sipping on Roobis Chai and Mate Vana, and I'm not wanting to munch like I usually do. As a matter of fact, I am ready to travel with my teas with my little tea ball and tea carriers. No more relying on the weak flavored teas from the hotel, I have the robust flavors to help me sleep or get through the day.

Booking Rooms

This summer I've traveled a lot, and stayed in a lot of hotel rooms. I've been trying to save points for a little trip to the Nickelodeon hotel with Joey and Zoe, so I tried to stay at Holiday Inn at times. However, we book via Expedia for work and a lot of times it's better for me to stay at a Hampton or a Marriott hotel because they are pre-paid.

I've made a decision not to stay any more at a Hampton or Marriott if I can help it. I'd almost rather stay at a Motel 6 just on principal. Let me explain why.

Neither one will let me get my points for staying there because I'm not going through their website to book my room. I'm not being LOYAL they say. Hello? My work says book through their Expedia account, I still select your hotel even though it might be a bit more $$ or it might not be as close to my training site, but I'm not being LOYAL?

Also, lately I've been more impressed with Holiday Inn Select. I just stayed at one in Phenix City, AL and it was wonderful! The room was CLEAN (no dirty underwear like I found in Hampton Inn in Ft. Lauderdale), the beds were comfortable (unlike the bed at the Fairfield Inn Marriott in Orlando across from Universal Studios), and the people were friendly (unlike the people at Quality Inn in CT). Oh, and the floor was not wet and moldy smelling like the Hampton Inn in Birmingham, AL that gave me a cold.

So I'm planning a trip with my son and niece. One night will be paid for thanks to the points I saved up from Priority Club. Because they were LOYAL to me, no matter where I booked, I will also add another night onto my stay and pay the big price to make a weekend out of it.

Loyalty rewarders -this is important. Sometimes business travelers have to go through certain companies because it's their company policy. Be business friendly. Give us our points.

And we'll be LOYAL when it's time for personal trips.

Reading while Traveling, Intro

I am an event where people learn how to take their blog to the mainstream. I'm not interested in really going mainstream, but I do want to blog about something that means something to me. I currently blog about educational technology, and I realized there are times that blog goes off on a tangent and doesn't always stay focused. But I travel a lot for professional reasons, and when I travel I read. No, not those professional books such as The World is Flat, but those fiction books that totally draw you in and if you're not careful you might miss your flight.

Yeah, I read. I don't tune out the World by plugging into my iPod. Half the time my iPod is dead. As a matter of fact, I'd be 1/2 embarrassed to tell someone about them my playlists. I tried to listen to podcasts or listen to books on tape, but unfortunately I tend to tune them out in the end and my mind wanders. My eyes must be engaged in the process. Engaging my ears and mind is not enough. I'm visual. I need to see what I'm doing!

Plus, you can't listen to a podcast during take-off and landing. But I can read a book.

The travel is because every once in awhile I'll come across a great hotel that's reasonably priced, experience a great flight, or have a horrible dinner at some place that serves hair with their food. I'd like to share those ups and downs with you. Okay, so I want to share them as a way to journal my trips, but still.

Right now I'm in IzeaFest in Orlando, FL. I'm staying in the Fairfield Marriott near Universal Studios. I'll share my experiences later tonight after the events.

Dang. Two numbers away from winning the camera that I really need. Mine was damaged in a fall on the beach. Cameras and sand do not mix.