thirtysomething...

Got back today/tonight from Berlin/Dresden/Prague... I'm exhausted. I'll update after recovering this weekend.

That is All.
Shop Smart.
Shop S-Mart.

Compact Discs are of the De5il!!!1!
Especially if you shake the crap out of them on a long exposure

Something Different... Check out Camera Tossing over at CameraToss This one is my first. And NO I'm not throwing the D70 about.

So today John & I went to The Noisy Oyster on East Bay Street for lunch. Mainly because right across the street there's a candy shop & everyone at work was craving Teh Sugar. Had to wait about 15 minutes for a table 'cause there was a cruise ship in town. The food was pretty good and the service was on par with lunchtime service. Our sweet teas were always filled, except for the last when it was unsweetened, tables were clean, yada yada yada. John & I split an appetizer of Fried Gator Tails. I had fried clams & shrimp for the entree while John had a burger or something similar. Ate. Got the checks & sent them off with payment to the waitress. John paid with a credit card & I laid down cash.

So here's the actual point of the story:
My bill was $20.57. Our waitress, who shall remain nameless, brought John's CC slip for him to sign and then disappeared. One would think I would have some change arriving...I gave the woman a twenty and a five. Nope. No Change. Normally I'm a good tipper. On average I'll leave 20 percent if nothing was messed up, didn't have to ask for drinks, etc, so I was ready to leave her 3.50 or so. We waited atleast 10 minutes... the tip getting smaller and smaller. Finally she came by the table, not to ask if we needed anything else, but only in passing. I said, "Excuse me (insert waitress's name.) Where's my change?"

"I thought you didn't want any," she replied with an angry look upon her face and turned around to go to the register.

I looked at John and was like "WTF? Are you kidding? Did you see that? She thought 25 percent was OK? And didn't even ask if I needed change??" He's sitting there laughing his ass off. :shakeshead: She returns with my change ($4.50) and stomps off. Riiiiight. We're already late to get back to work and still HAVE to go to the candy store, cause everyone was craving Teh Sugar. John stands up, "Let's go, finally." He's still laughing. I stand up and throw a buck and a quarter on the table. Argh.

We still went to the Charleston Candy Store across the street. Didn't buy anything though. There was a crazy woman, that I've known as a customer from other jobs and try to avoid at all costs, handing out glazed pecan clusters and I was still very pissed about the Waitress. Not to worry though, there were still Chocolate Chocolate cookies left from a trip to the Harris Teeter way before lunch. :D

ATTN: Waitstaff of the World
Do not assume that ANY of the change is for your tip. And really don't tell me you assumed it was so. It is MY decision and MY decision only (unless it's a party of 6 or more...) on what tip I leave. Especially freakin 25 percent. I don't care if you've been getting crappy tips all day (I noticed other staff frowning when they would count the money). Maybe there's an issue as to why your tips are low. Pull that crap and you're lucky you got a buck and a quarter. Treat me with respect from the minute I walk in the door to the minute I'm back out the door and you'll always get what you deserve, most times more. If not, then you're lucky to get anything more than a bad note in my blog with a link to your restaurant.

So... Cumberland Island and the Greyfield Inn were very cool.

The Inn was probably the best B&B/Inn I've ever been to. The atmosphere was great. The staff was superb. The house was unbelievable. I would go back faster than Scarlett can slap Rhett.

When we first got to the island after a 40 minute ferry ride, I was still a little unsure about the whole thing. A member of the staff greeted us at the boat landing and we all walked up to The House while other staff members took our luggage from the landing, to the house, and deposited said luggage in our rooms. Everyone took a short tour and received brief history lesson of Greyfield Inn. Heather went upstairs to our 4th floor room and took a short nap while I wandered around the grounds "relaxing" (read smoking & shooting a few photos.) After that I was fine & actually very happy to be where I was.

The food was marvelous. Appetizers & Cocktails @ 6:30, Dinner at 7:30. Salad, Entree, Dessert. Mmm Mmm Good. Everyone sits at a large dining table, like what you see at a dinner party in the movies.
[yelling]Please pass the salt![/yelling]
Everyone's dressed in nice attire. Men in Jackets, etc etc. If you need an adult beverage during the day there's an "Honest John" bar with an occasional bartender, otherwise fix it yourself & sign the Chit. Lunches were prepared for you in a picnic style, so you could eat it where-ever you liked. Out on the Porch, in the dining room, in your own room, out on the property, where-ever. Lactose Intolerant? Not a problem. If something had cow's milk in it, I got something very similar to what everyone else was eating (if not better) as a substitute. The Staff knows. Never was I asked "Are you the one??" Magically it was known. :) Oh yeah, the fridge down in the HUGE kitchen, it was always "open to grab leftovers". Nice.

The house was very cool. It had a definite "Upstairs Downstairs" feel to it. (Go watch Gosford Park) The First (ground) Floor was the dining and food preparation floor. The Second Floor had the Sitting Room, The Library, and The Bar. This floor was also the main entrance floor. Appetizers and Cocktails were served in the Sitting Room, and IIRC, there was a bedroom or office off the Library. The Third Floor had the majority of guest rooms. All of these rooms were on the front of the house and all shared a few common bathrooms. I don't know how many rooms there were on that floor. I'm guessing about eight. The Fourth Floor had two rooms on opposite ends of the house. Both rooms had private bathrooms and large king-sized beds, which were very comfortable.

The Inn's property, or as they call it "The Compound", is covered in huge old oak trees, barely smaller than the ones here in Charleston. There is a barn that has bicycles for you to ride around on the island (because yours is back in Fernandina Beach, FL.) Plenty of tables and chairs scattered around to eat lunch or scavenged leftovers on. A few houses dot the area that family (Carnegie) members still live in.

In the early mornings (before breakfast) you can take a "Bird Tour" to the southern part of the island. This is a great time to see most of the animals that live on Cumberland Island and the sunrise on the beach. Wild Horses. Armadillos. Birds. Snakes. Raccoons. Wild Pigs... After breakfast there is a 3 to 4 hour tour that takes you to the north end to see more of the original houses, and the CONSIDERABLY less developed areas. Swamps, fields, marshes, you name it. You can do both tours, one, or neither. It's up to you. The rest of the time everything is really up to you. No phones, no internet, no cars, no worries, no nuthin. Go explore. The whole time on the island is very relaxing.

It was well worth the cost, it ain't cheap. My individual bartab was about what it costs to stay in a nice hotel in Charleston for one night. We met a group of wonderful people, guests and staff alike. If any of you are reading this: :wavey: & Thank You! Heather and I will DEFINITELY be back.

A few of the photos I took are below.

EDIT: 14 Feb 2006 (new photo hosting)

Click the thumbnail for Photos!!

Getting ready to pack for an Adventure to Cumberland Island, GA, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Me & Teh Wife getting hitched. :) Woo Hoo. Doesn't really seem like 10 years has gone by. Well, tonight it doesn't. I guess it's not hard to believe though. 2 Houses owned, the 2nd (& current) being downtown Charleston. Which is also in preparation to be renovated. Luckily that will all be done while we are in England. Pets born and died. Cars bought & sold. 3 different "careers" for me. Heather's been with the same Company since we moved to Charleston from the Upstate. My brother got married. Heather's brother is getting married next June. My brother just had a daughter. Ahhhhh! It HAS BEEN TEN YEARS....


Anyway, a little info on the Adventure. :)

Cumberland Island is Georgia's southern-most barrier island. The island is also part of the National Park Service as a National Seashore.


From the National Park Service website:
"Cumberland Island is 17.5 miles long and totals 36,415 acres of which 16,850 are marsh, mud flats, and tidal creeks. It is well known for its sea turtles, wild turkeys, wild horses, armadillos, abundant shore birds, dune fields, maritime forests, salt marshes, and historic structures."

Sounds pretty cool, no? We'll see. We're staying at the Greyfield Inn. Originally it was built in 1900 as a house for Thomas Carnegie's daughter, Margaret Ricketson. In 1962 Lucy Ferguson (Margaret's daughter) open the house as The Greyfield Inn Resort. I'm actually looking forward to the island, but the Inn, well, they've got too many "Rules & Regulations" for my liking. We'll see.

From Greyfield's website

Condé Nast Traveler
"Greyfield is Tara by the sea...I feel like I'm visiting very rich relations."


The New York Times:
"...gently undulating dunes open on to a beach that is nearly 1,000 feet wide at low tide surrounded by the Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is possible - indeed probable - to walk long stretches of the beach without seeing a human being, though shorebirds - herons, egrets, and pelicans among them - are always in evidence...Greyfield is just the sort of place one expects to find on an island characterized by its timelessness. Outside, wild horses graze on the front lawn lawn under the gnarled, moss-hung branches of ancient live oaks. Ornamental palms and stands of bamboo inch up to its broad veranda, where guests have been known to spend entire days, lounging on the porch swings and comfortable wicker chairs."

Hopefully I'll be able to post up pictures when we get back. If I figure out how to post them up...

So I finally went through with it. I've got a blog. :meh: We'll see how long I keep up with it. The Wife wanted me to set one up so family & friends can "keep up" with us while we are over in England. We'll be there for at least a year, maybe a little longer. Probably won't be moving over until the end of the year. I'll use this to show off photography for the most part, with a few quips every-once-in-awhile.

That's all for now.


VampD