Wickles

I am officially hooked on these wickedly delicious pickles! If you like pickled anything you must try these. My friends on Anna Maria shared these yummy pickles with me and now I am sharing with you!

From RachelRay.com :: These winners start off sweet and end with a bang, thanks to a blend of dill, garlic, cider vinegar and fiery chile peppers. An Alabama family started selling the pickles, made from a secret 78-year-old recipe, just 8 years ago (before then, they just gave them away as gifts). Judges loved the "supervinegary" taste and "serious kick." Raved one, "They taste homemade."

From the company website: "Using a secret 70-year old family recipe differentiates Wickles products from all others. A custom blend of spices and ingredients makes our products Wickedly Delicious and truly irresistible. The recipe is a family secret that until a few years ago was just used for family and friends who were lucky enough to get a jar. When we started making Wickles for holiday gifts we never imagined those wicked little pickles would take on a life of their own."

Charleston, SC

On my return from AMI I stopped in Charleston for a couple days to visit with my dear friend Carolyn's daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth was in the process of looking for a new apartment so I helped her find a nice place to live. Here is a picture of Elizabeth, on the right, with her new roommate in front of their new apartment complex.

The view from their balcony - not too shabby!

And a little shopping trip at Target for some essentials!

Whale car

During my drive north through Florida I spotted this car that I had to take a picture of. It was a VW bug painted to look like a whale. There was a big fin on the roof and a tail on the back. I took this on the highway just outside of Orlando - I assume the whale car was headed to Seaworld!

Wine tasting

Enjoyed a lovely evening of wine tasting on my last evening on Anna Maria Island. Our host selected 6 wines from Chile which the group sampled and enjoyed very much. As you can see it was quite well done!

Bonus was the great view of the Gulf and the sunset over their endless pool

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Nothing like a morning of fishing

Up at sunrise....

Ed pulls the first grouper in

Then Cindy

No picture of me catching but here is our collective catch. We caught 20 + each but only had 5 keepers (over 22 inches)

These groupers are real fighters and give you one heck of a work out!

Thanks Andy and Molli

It's so hard to see the wonderful season here on Anna Maria come to a close and to leave friends behind but the time has come for some of us to return to our "other lives! Tonight we enjoyed each others company one more time thanks to our generous hosts Molli and Andy who treated us to a wonderful evening at the "Sign of the Mermaid". Thanks for the memories!

Molli and Andy:

Sally, Julie, Robyn and Cheryl:

the "triplets"

Ed, Kadee and Cindy

Boating Monday

Another fine day on the water! Captain Andy took the gals (Molli, Julie, Sally, Robyn, Cheryl and myself) for a little ride (about 4 hours) today! We stopped at the Starfish on Cortez for a yummy blackened mahi mahi salad. Robyn even took a turn at the helm.