A Christmas morning “Merry Christmas” from our home to yours … and best wishes for a happy and healthy (and full of hiking!) New Year.

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You’re staring at a plate of food and wishing it was yours. It was mine, yesterday, for lunch in beautiful downtown Madison, FL at the One Eleven Grill. I’d been there before, shortly after they opened, and had a salad that was memorable, but returned yesterday for our company Christmas party - I recommended the spot - and everyone was pleased with their meal. Especially me. These garlicky green beans are some of the best I’ve ever eaten, the pulled pork - topped with a smidgen of Pammie’s BBQ sauce, piquant and with a kick - was just perfect, and these folks know how to do fried green tomatoes.

My thanks to the folks at the One Eleven for an excellent party and meal!

A link to this video was posted in one of my travel writing groups today. I just got around to viewing the video, and sheesh … I will never use a glass in a hotel room again. It’s something you just don’t think of, but it makes perfect sense: there isn’t a dishwasher in the room, so the probability of the glass not being sterilized between guests has to be pretty high. Bring your own (water) bottle!

A little slide show I put together of Christmas at Rainbow Springs.

…Christmas in Florida! Okay, there’s no snow, but twinkling lights on saw palmetto are what you’ll see on a trip to Rainbow Springs State Park, a family favorite near Dunnellon.

Digital cameras have done wonders for capturing the weirdness of Christmas lights. The above shot was taken with flash, and yet the lights still appear to be radiating from their heat source … as they do, and the naked eye can’t tell. But the camera can!