Janet Evanovich - "Finger Licking Fifteen"

Just finished this book - it was great! If you love a good laugh and "cozy mysteries" you will love reading Janet Evanovich. She is a great writer, her characters that are in each of the series will not disappoint you! I am keeping track of all her books written and making it a personal goal to read every one of them! Try them, they will make you laugh until you cry!

Paige

Ft Myers / Naples FL in May - Vacation

We recently spent two weeks traveling from VA down to N. Myrtle Beach SC and on to Ft Myers/Naples FL. Had a ball! The weather was great, it only rained two evenings and they were short showers.

Some of the places I visited were:

The PIT Resturant - SC

Apache Campground in N Myrtle Beach FL - did not think much of this campground, we were in the middle of "Bike Week" and the spaces were on sand, not cement.. cramped together. Every one was nice though and offered to help us set up, we only stayed here for two nights while we looked at real estate in and around Myrtle Beach. My favorite area was of course South Beach and the Pawley's Island area. - You must eat at the PIT (Pawley Island Tavern-Above) and visit "Pawley Island Hammocks" - they are famous for their hammocks!

Next we traveled on to Ft Myers Beach FL. Stayed in South Fort Myers and saw many interesting things at the "Woodsmoke Campground". Every morning when I got up to walk my dog Daisy we would walk down by two of three ponds.. I was surprised one morning to see "sea otters" playing on the bank.. I ran and got my camera and took these shots below.

I watched the otters play for about 15 minutes, they were not scared of me or Daisy and would come up to shore and just "chatter" at me there were three of them! There were also beautiful cranes and ducks swimming on the ponds. Signs warned "do not feed the Alligators" but I never saw one here.

We took a day and visited "Bonita Dog Beach" - Daisy loved it! We went over with two friends we met from the campground - Dave and Carol and they had two dogs, we took all three dogs and had a cookout on the beach - what fun! We saw dogs of all breeds and sizes and they all got along fine! There are no rules on this beach.. all breeds allowed. We took hotdogs and cooked out on the beach. This was off the Gulf and the water was a beautiful deep blue, the sand white and clean. I loved the Bonita Beach area near Naples!

New Reads I would like to share!

... As I was vacationing this past two weeks I found a great bookstore outside of Savanah GA! They had mysteries on sale for .99 cents! I picked up some good books:

Janet Evanovich - "Finger Licking Fifteen"
Ed McBain - "Learning to Kill"
Steve Martini - "Shadow of Power"
Nancy Pickard - "Twilight"
Johathan & Faye Kellerman - "Double Homicide - Santa Fe"
Sandra Brown - "Play Dirty"

I found these in a little bookstore - used in the mall just off Rt 95. We had stopped to camp at "Savanah Oaks" a campground there. If you look off exit ?94? you will see a Shoneys and several fast food places the Mall can been seen from 95 - check it out he acutally has two bookstores in that same mall with all books under $3.00. We were traveling on our way from Ft Myers FL back to VA.

If anyone has read these books please let me know what you think of them! Thanks! Paige

Minimalist Cardigan - Interweave

Minimalist Cardigan - Interweave

Snow Snow & More SNOW!!

OK Enough snow now!!! I am in Harrisonburg, Va and it has snowed about 15 inches, then last night it snowed ANOTHER 4-5 inches! It has snowed so much here that the Post Office will not deliver the mail!
I got out in my four wheel Kia Sorento today! Why can't the mail be delivered?? School has been out for days and businesses are offering to put employees up in hotels close by to keep them coming to work!! Things are crazy! Glad I don't have anywhere I HAVE TO BE this week!
If you are not getting all this snow be glad! I have gotten a lot of reading done, found several new Mystery writers some of the good books I have read lately are:

"Dark Tort" - by Diane Mott Davidson ( ok but just like her others - good recipes in book!)

"Shemcreek" - by Dorthea Benton Frank ( Great book! New Mystery "lowdown Country author I discovered when I was in SC - try her books...

"Pawley's Island" - by Dorthea Benton Frank ( Great book about SC and family)

"Bulls Island" - by Dorthea Benton Frank ( Fast read - one of her BEST!)

"In for a Penny" - by Kathryn R. Wall ( another SC "Lowcountry Author" - GREAT!!)

AND... one not so good....

"South of Broad" - by Pat Conroy - I did not like this book, I bought it after visiting Charleston as it was on all the bookstore shelves... I love that city and thought for sure it would be good... it did not describe that beautiful city .. could not connect with the weird characters, read it slowly.. took me three days... that proves it was not good.

So, there you go guys! Paige's Book Review! I have gotten a lot of reading done, averaging a book every two days! I have discovered I can buy them cheap on EBay, read them then turn around and resale them... costing little of nothing! Fun pastime!

Until next time.. happy reading, knitting, or whatever you are doing in this Blizzard of 2010!

Paige

Georgetown, SC

Georgetown, SC

Georgetown, SC

In our travels South on Hwy 17 we found a quaint little town called "Georgetown". It sits on the inland creek with a nice marina and tree lined streets. Some of the homes such as the Perry-Clevland House date back to the 1700's. If you are traveling to Myrtle Beach or Charleston make sure you check this out!

More pics of N. Myrtle Beach & Charleston SC

THE PIT RESTAURANT

RT 17

LITCHFIELD, SC

Here are more pictures I have taken on this trip to SC. I like the South Myrtle Beach area the best - not quite so crowded! The beaches are beautiful! The Litchfield SC area has a hidden gem of a restaurant off HWY 17S - Look for "The Pit" Restaurant! The walls are pasted with dollar bills customers have left with their names, city and state written on them then they leave them on the wall as a souvenir! I ate the BEST Shrimp and Grits there I have ever had!! A little hard to find but a GREAT place to eat, have a beer and listen to music! Just look for the mailbox and the gravel road behind the shops on RT 17.