Travel – Page 4 – Karla's Cottage

A Blessings Angel fund raiser for Florida’s hurricane victims.

By Karla Nathan / October 17, 2022

My trip to Florida was short but so,so, very nice. We were in Siesta Key, our favorite city and were relieved to see so little sign of damage from the storm.

Many places weren’t so lucky. To help out, (in a small way, but every bit helps, right?) I decided to craft one of my sea shell fairies into this spectacular shell that I bought. Oh my, it’s so pretty! I had thought about using a shadow box, but when I saw this, I knew it would be the ideal home for my little Blessings Angel.

Here she is in her iridescent shell at the beach.

While still in Florida, I posted about her on FB. I am asking for bids to raise money for the official disaster relief fund set up by the state.

If you are interested in making an offer, please contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I will announce the person with the highest donation Tuesday evening, send their donation to

https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/

and mail the Angel to them.

The Beauty at Bridgerton

friends, Lori's Class, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 14, 2022

I am home from a varied and jam packed full of fun trip.

And speaking of jam packed- you should have seen my luggage!

I started my journey flying to Asheville, then hiking with my baby boy, then off to Charleston in a rental car for Jenn Hayslip’s Bridgerton event. I had one bag filled with kits to teach a class.

Plus my normal supplies to take my pal, Lori Oles’ class, as well as a selection of items to sell, and even more supplies for projects to work on at the beach.

Siesta Key was the final flight of my trip, off to see my sissies.

My two, overly stuffed, giant pieces of luggage and equally bulging carryon had to include warm clothes for the mountains, dress up things for the art event, and beachy outfits. Along with kits, supplies, wares for the market, and little gifties.

All I can say is thank goodness that suitcases have wheels. Even if they don’t like thresholds and rolling onto elevators , those wheels made the juggling of all those bags possible.

Still, even with all that packing, I screwed up. I didn’t pack proper attire for the big party. I brought a dress, but it wasn’t fancy enough. So, the kind hostess, who also has multiple, amazing, to die for closets full of gorgeousness, had me try on her clothing until we found something that could work on a grandma attending a ball.

Jenn’s wardrobe is suitable for being the bell of the ball every day of her life and it was a joy to be invited to play in those closets! Here is what she wore. And the dress she loaned to Lori. Neither one of us packed right.

Everyone else brought their finest gowns! Oh my, the dresses were lovely.

Looked at this beauty! Wow!

Jenn’s adorable husband got it right and was a great sport while looking cute as can be.

Jennifer does not miss one detail when it comes to making every aspect of her events perfect.

So I felt bad about letting her down with my lack of fabulousness.

But that kind hearted lady was gracious and generous about finding a fix for my attire.

I felt very pampered instead of embarrassed by the way she handled my faux pas.

Everything about being in this luxurious home was pampering.

And beautiful.

Simply, delightfully, beautiful.

I could’ve just wandered around and gawked all day, the home was that pretty. Lori and I wanted to play a drinking game, where every time we heard someone say the word PRETTY, we would take a shot. But, since I am a very bad drinker and have never done a shot in my life, I’d have lost quickly. I’m more of a wine sipper.

Every city that I visited and all the people I saw, made for such a lovely adventure. I’ll leave you more pictures of Jenn’s perfectly detailed and pretty, pretty, pretty party for now, and will have more about the rest of my travels later.

Cheers!

Seashell fairies at Indian Rocks

fairies, Ryan, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 7, 2022

I had a restful, and much needed vacation with my sisters at the beach.

Indian Rocks is not my favorite beach, mostly because of the lack of shells. But the ocean was beautiful, the sunsets were colorful, and the company was the best. Plus, I managed to find just enough shells to make two fairies.

And I am being very precise with my words telling you that, there honestly were not many shells.

I was pleased to be able to make one fairy and felt very lucky to have scrambled enough shells together for her, then told myself on the last day that I wanted to find a heart and create an Angel for my Ryan before I left. The wind was rough that day so I decided to walk into it for the first part of the stroll, knowing it’s always easier to return with the wind at your back, not in your face.

These bits and pieces came my way on that last, windy walk and I was able to construct this for Ryan, just as I’d hoped to. I sprinkled a few more of his ashes, listened to his song again, and told him that I love him.

But he knows that.

Here is the first sprite I made. Her hair looks like she was battling the wind as much as I was, doesn’t it?

I consider her more of a fairy, and the second one is an Angel. But I guess it is all in the eyes of who sees them and what they think of them.

That is, if anyone actually sees them. But that isn’t the point of making them.

The beach fairies are a blessing and a thank you to nature that I make for the pure pleasure of crafting them.

My sissies took me to another beach, where I also gathered some shells to bring home. I’m hoping to craft some shellfolk in epoxy with those, so will have some to share that aren’t just memories that wash away in the surf.

At the beach

family, Ryan, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 4, 2022

Last week, I spent five days at Indian Rocks with my sisters. We had very pleasant, although a bit windy, weather.

And lots of time to sit on the edge of the water and let our toes wiggle into the disappearing sand that washes out with the waves.

My niece was also visiting with her family, so we had good company to hang with. I actually had someone there who liked getting in the surf, and at the same time that the temperature was ideal for swimming! The only trouble was that my head is still wonky from Sugar plowing into me, and I didn’t want to jostle my brain by getting flipped around too much while wave jumping.

So I mostly just waded out into about waist deep water and made the big girl choice of not body surfing back in.

Ugh. Being practical and safe sucks.

Indian Rocks is relaxing, which is what I needed. My Dr. told me that I should be resting, so that is what I did. Most of the time, I was sitting on the beach or the balcony wearing dark glasses and not reading.

By mid week, I actually was feeling better. I still avoided going out much, and stayed in when others went out to eat a few times.

Typically, I walk for hours when in Florida, but this time, it was pretty low key, with shorter strolls. On one trip up the shore, I came across this dead bonnet head shark, about 2’ long. That was something I’ve never seen before. He looked about the way I felt, after dealing with weeks of concussion discomfort, fog, and kind of an overall flatness. I simply have not been myself.

Still, I did get out to explore the area, it wasn’t all droopiness and exhaustion. We went antiquing and exploring a couple times too. The beach we stayed at had a serious lack of shells.

I mean, sadly so. I am always glad to find broken bits to use in my sea shell fairies, but dang, this place mostly had shapeless crumbs.

So my sisters took me to Passé Grille beach after I did some research on nearby beaches to hunt shells on. You really can’t tell from this photo, but behind me are piles and piles of shells, like snowdrifts. We went to the tip of the island, which was rocky and excellent for catching all the ones that washed up.

Another morning, we played tourist at the Don Cesar. We have stayed there before, but it’s pretty pricey, so this time we were visitors, not guests. And you know what? That works out pretty well. Honestly, the rooms there, while being elegant, are too small. Renting a spacious condo, driving to and spending time walking through the Pink Palace, strolling their beach, then having some ice cream is a better way to go for us.

We were there before it got hot, then did some antiquing after.

Shelling wasn’t great, but better than Indian Rocks, (which could be said about any beach because Indian Rocks is about as bad as it gets). I found enough to make a heart for Ryan.

It was the anniversary of his death.

I listened to his song and sprinkled a handful of ashes. I always take a little bag with me when I travel. I know, pretty weird, but Ryan was always such a good travel buddy. Funny, he hated, absolutely hated to travel, but when we made him go on family adventures he had the best attitude of anyone there and was helpful, thoughtful and fun to be with.

So I like to find a quiet spot, sprinkle some ash and tell him how much I’d have enjoyed having him with me.

Florida Friends

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 29, 2022

As we always do, we had a good time on our Florida Sister Trip.

We tend to meet interesting friends along the way.

We are people who stop the car to make use of the delightful props the state of Florida provides for us.

And this spot in St Pete next door to an antique mall was full of opportunities to mingle with the local critters.

We also gravitate toward parking lot signage.

By the look on this mermaid’s face, I’m not sure if she enjoyed meeting us as much as we did meeting her.

The ice cream store mermaids at John’s Pass are always happy to have us visit, though.

But I think my favorite new buddy is the 20’ tall flamingo at the Tampa airport.

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Garden, guncles, Travel, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2022

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing. While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth. So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

Which is where I found these! I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins. Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating! That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks. They feed you endless, yummy, seafood. I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals. Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this. I love those two so much!

St Augustine Seashell Fairies and Gnomes

Dew Drop, dogs, fairies, family, Food and Drink, sea shell fairies, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 27, 2022

You have to love the beaches of St Augustine, and well, just everything about that city.

Technically, I guess it was Butler Beach, a tad south of town. The dogs needed to be on leashes, which wasn’t quite as much fun for them, but the place is soooo pretty, we adore being there.

Shelling for fairies wasn’t as easy as our previous stop, but I managed to wrangle a few sprites into shape to place on the beach our last day.

Tide was coming in soon after these were made. My husband asked to see the fairies, and as we walked over to them, they slipped out into the waves.

He said he’d always been confused by why I spend so much time hunting for the shells to make something that has no permanence, but now got it. That it was the joy of creation, not the creation itself. I don’t think those were his exact words, but it was a sweet conversation, however he phrased it.

It has been pointed out to me, that this gal has three boobs.

hmmm

Not what I was going for, but I sure see it now. I just thought it was a pretty gown with a ruffled bodice. Her striped socks are my favorite part, they look like pieces of the same shell but were found at opposite ends of the shoreline.

One thing I appreciate about this area is the long, flat stretches of sand. Ideal for walking. And there is a “road” along the back where you can drive, so we bring our truck with all of our paraphernalia for the day. We can easily haul a tent, chairs, and coolers to settle in and spend an afternoon.

And I have never seen it too busy. The weather wasn’t perfect, but even when it is, it hasn’t been crowded when we have visited.

After living in a 19’ RV with four dogs for a few weeks, we decided to find an Airbnb while our boy, Dewdrop, and her mother came to see us. It was sorta last minute, so we took what we could get. And we got pretty lucky with this spacious, new house.

I was sold when I saw photos of the fence. What a luxury to just open a door to let dogs out, after being in an RV park and needing leashes!

Oh, and the pool was a bonus.

I already mentioned that our weather was less than perfect, but the grand fairies still spent time out there. Then they’d run to the hot shower and I’d have warm towels waiting for them in the dryer. So the pool wasn’t wasted, even if we couldn’t enjoy it as much as we’d like.

Renting the house was a good move, I cannot imagine what our trip would’ve been like in hotels or another, smaller rental we’d looked at. This one had spacious areas and a covered porch. We sat on the patio while it rained to drink our coffee in the mornings, and it felt very vacationy.

The house was around the corner from some cool, but swampy walking trails. I doubt if I’d take dogs over there on warmer days when gators are active.

We were right down the street from the beach access too. Now, would I have preferred a home with the surf as a backyard?

Well, dur.

But- this one was close. We could zip down quickly between rain spurts if we wanted. And that fence for the dogs? Such a pleasant thing to have when you are crazy enough to travel for five weeks with four mutts.

Most of the trip, we avoided big crowds. Except that rainy Saturday when we, like the rest of the spring breakers thought they’d put on raincoats and go visit the historic downtown. But even then, we avoided the biggest rush of them by looking for a place to eat on side alleys, not the main road, George St. We also took a drive north to Vilano Beach to go to a place that didn’t have a two hour wait like most places in town. I guess I’ve spent enough time in the area to know the ins and outs and avoid the most touristy spots.

You never know when you plan a trip what weather you’ll get. All you can do is hope for the best and be flexible, look for fun where you can. We had planned a big day kayaking out on a crystal spring, but had to cancel. We even scoured the weather map looking for a break in the clouds within a couple hours of driving time.

Nope, no weather break for us. We hunkered down and made the most of our time.

Enjoyed the beach when we could, went to the seafood market and cooked, played games, and just enjoyed each other.

Fresh, local food to cook together, lots of long walks and giggles. It was a great visit, even if I was wearing a raincoat.

Seashell fairies and hearts at Walton Rocks Dog Beach

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 24, 2022

Our first beach stop on the never ending zig zag of a trip was Ft Pierce, which I’d never been to.

I will have to admit that Ft Pierce isn’t high on my list of cities that I love in Florida. But- this trip was about the dogs, and the dog beach there was off leash, which isn’t always easy to find (Jupiter and Ft De Soto also have off leash beaches, and those are spectacular, but we couldn’t get reservations nearby).

The KOA we stayed at was new and quite nice. So, yes, I guess this city was a good place to be.

And while the beach wasn’t the powder sugar of Siesta Key, that I love so much, the shelling was just my style. HEARTS galore!

And so many broken bits and bobs to make into fairies and a mermaid. These are not the typical shapes of shells that most people look for on the beach, there weren’t a lot of perfectly pretty shells. Because the shore was a bit rocky, the waves beat up stones and shells to create the ideal pieces for the kind of things I like to find on beaches.

I did happy dances up and down the shore, finding hearts everywhere I went. On many beaches, my main hold up in piecing together a fairy is often the head. I look for smoothed out, oval shapes and they usually are the last part to find. Some fairies take an entire week of shelling in certain cities, others come together quickly, like the three that I made in Ft Pierce.

There were hearts up by the parking lot too.

While I say that Ft Pierce isn’t my favorite city to go to, I reckon I should weigh my needs. For that week, and what we wanted, it was ideal. Lots of space for dogs to run and play, heart shapes and fairy pieces everywhere, plus a clean new campground to park our tiny home on wheels.

So yep, maybe I do love Ft Pierce? The town itself is a bit on the low end of the tourist scale, but there are nearby cities to run to if I needed to pick anything up. This is not a place I’d go to stay at a hotel on the shore with family, but for what we wanted, it couldn’t be better.

We could walk forever and be mostly alone with the dogs.

And an ocean view, is always a precious thing to have.

Other cities might have softer sand and less rocks, but being able to let four dogs run and play in the surf, to walk for miles without crowds, and to have a view of the crashing waves as we strolled?

Priceless.

Gideon’s Bakeshop and a Jam Packed Disney day

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2022

We had a whirlwind trip through Orlando. No, more than that, it was like a Kansas tornado going through!

There wasn’t a lot of stopping to enjoy the flowers during our one day at the parks, but our evening before and morning after were pretty mellow.

The visit was a later add on to our trip, we had planned on being home about then. But, Sugarwings was starting spring break, and her dad offered to meet us in Florida, so we flew the grand fairy on their very first solo flight and met the brave kid (who did just fine) in Orlando.

And if you know me, you might have noticed there is something about Orlando that I just love. Yep, I indulged myself with a Disney visit. We camped at Ft Wilderness, on an off and on rainy couple of days. The temps were warm, and we had ponchos, plus the rain thins out crowds so we were just fine. The pool was practically empty, and not a single other person was in line at the food truck we went to.

Terry met us at Epcot and the frenzy began the next morning with an early entry for resort guests. And man, did we ever hit the ground running. We “rope dropped” (going to the most popular rides early before lines got to be hours long) then between Terry’s and my booking skills and Disney knowledge, we became power mad. Scheduling and layering ride reservations faster than a bluebird can find a Princess who just broke into song.

Seriously, we over did it. Our prowess in maneuvering ourselves out of standing in lines had us pushing ourselves to the limit to ride every single thing we could at Epcot then buy a park hopper pass over to Magic Kingdom.

Now, I am not saying I didn’t enjoy our adventure, it was amazing! But in retrospect, it might have been slightly crazy to start at 8 am and go to midnight, non stop.

We had a blast.

And we stopped when the kiddo wanted to, Terry and I enjoyed sitting while Sugarwings explored some areas. It wasn’t complete competition to set a record for most rides rode in one day. Terry hung in with us til evening, and I was skeptical about staying ourselves, we had a few moments of exhausted irritation, but we rallied, snacked, and kept rolling. I’m glad we did. Late nights at Magic Kingdom, when the crowds thin after the fireworks are pretty, well, magical.

There was very little shopping til the rides closed at 11pm, and stores stayed open til midnight. But we aren’t there for souvenirs.

(By the way, the two little buildings on each side of the castle, make for ideal photo ops)

Here is our breakdown:

Over 25 rides

Over 33,000 steps

16 hours

2 parks

And yes, I woke up slightly tired the next morning. But we had some time to spend between when we had to leave the campground, drive to St Augustine and check into our rental house.

Disney Springs has RV parking around back, and seemed like a good place to while away an hour or so.

It was still early, and Gideon’s Bakeshop was just opening, already with a 30 minute wait. Later it becomes so long that they take your name and call you back, sometimes hours later. Really? Hours to wait for a cookie?!

Oh, but it is quite wonderful inside.

Quite.

Since we avoided lines all day at the parks, I figured 30 minutes for a cookie wasn’t bad.

I would show you the cookies, but they were so good, they disappeared before I got a photo.

If you get a chance, you should get one. And one to share is probably plenty because they are 1lb each.

New friends. No, frien-emies, I think.

Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 17, 2022

We rented clear kayaks to float down Silver Springs with Terry and Dale, our adventure partners from last fall’s Marco Island trip.

The river was magical.

This is my view through the bottom of my boat.

We got to see wildlife everywhere, including the mating dance of these birds whose names I have forgotten.

Because my view of them was interrupted after realizing that there was a little gator right in front of us, in that floating grassy area. My attention was quickly taken away from the birds to this tiny monster.

That was just the first of many we paddled by that day.

We saw what seemed like dozens of cute turtles in many varieties (I like the last guy’s orange tummy), and a couple of manatees too.

There were pretty little dragonflies, and lots of herons.

But I think that staring into the eyes of an 8’ gator was the highlight of my day.