My Trip to Shorty's Bar B Q

November is a great time to travel to Florida. The weather at home is starting to turn from the heat of summer to the coolness of fall. Miami is still hot and rockin'. My significant other and I went to Miami and did not know what was waiting for us in regards to dining. We were planning on trying Cuban cuisine since we would be in and around the area of Miami that is known for its great Cuban food. What we were not planning on was eating Bar B Q. We are rather a strange lot, we Texans, we think that the only BBQ that is worth eating is in Texas. I WAS WRONG. Shorty's Bar B Q in downtown Miami was quietly waiting for us to come and partake.

I ordered the rib dinner. It was the best choice. Or so I thought. My significant other chose the combo meal. We shared our meals and they were fantastic. The meats were cooked perfectly to the point that juices were dripping as we cut. The side dishes were very good. Of course, when you eat BBQ, it is all about the meat.

The wait staff was friendly and very helpful. We were strangers when we went in and felt like family as we left.

As we sat at the long tables designed for communal eating, I felt a true sense of community in this establishment.

I hope I get another chance to eat at Shorty's. They made me a believer!

January 11,2008

Baby it's cold outside!! For those of you old enough to know the song that these words came from I send you greetings. For those of you too young to know, well, that's OK too! I have just spent thirty minutes on the phone with my sister who lives near Washington, DC. She says that the weather is like the beginning of spring there and she wishes for snow. Happiness to me is NO SNOW. I am thinking of Miami, Florida. Last November, my significant other and I went to Miami to watch our offspring compete in a swimming meet against the University of Miami. What wonderful weather. We stayed at the Residence Inn in an area that is called "Coconut Grove". I am a great supporter of the Marriott Hotel chain but, I have to say that I was not impressed with this property. If it were located on the beach, it would be fine. I just felt that the property was too old for today's standards and not grand enough to be seen as a "Grand Old Property". What I was impressed with was the best Bar B Que restaurant that I have ever eaten in that far away from Texas. The name of the restaurant is "Shorty's". I have three criteria for eating out and they are: great food, reasonable prices , and great atmosphere. Shorty's has all three. I suggest that you try this restaurant.

My Trip to the Canary Islands-Post 1

CANARY ISLAND TRIP- JUNE 2007

I flew from IAH, Houston Intercontinental Airport, to London, England. I had a seven hour layover until I could board my next flight to Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Foreign airports can be strange and lonely places. I have found that a smile on my face and an attitude of needing help will get you farther down the road than any other. The security at London Gatwick was moderately easy to get through. I asked any and everyone I could as to where to go and what to do with five hours to spend. I found the express train ticket counter and bought one to Victoria Station. Great train trip. Thirty minutes later I am outside the train station catching a taxi to Harrod's department store.

TRAVEL TIP- Change enough money before you leave IAH to get you through whatever you are initially planning to do in the country you are going to. Example- I changed enough dollars to have 100 pounds. I knew that I would need some for the taxis to get around London and a little extra for food and drinks. Jet lag can mess you up....bad. You do not need to worry about this money stuff when you first get to a foreign country, believe me there are other bigger challenges that await.

TRAVEL TRIP- Harrod's is a destination not a stop. I found out the hard way. I now know I can spend an arm and a leg in less than one hour. You can get into Harrod's before 10am if you get breakfast there.

Taking a taxi from Harrod's to the Hard Rock Cafe proved to be an interesting experience. Trying to get used to riding on the left side of the road was a little scary at first.

This is the 30th anniversary for Hard Rock Cafe London. If you have an all access type card, you will be happy as you bypass the other three hundred people lined up to go in. There were no lines in the gift shop across the street.

Leaving the Hard Rock at noon and going back to the train station is a perfect time to get caught in front of Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guard. What luck! Taking pictures of this event was even more special because we sat in a taxi and saw everything up close and personal.

TRAVEL TIP- It is ok to be excited about seeing things as a tourist. Cabbies went out of their way to show us things when we showed how excited we were to be in their wonderful country. (And it doesn't hurt to travel with your daughter who is nineteen and beautiful.)

Taking the train back to the airport is easy. You just do everything backwards and remember which way you exit the airport and reverse it to get back. Four total hours were spent in London and much was seen. Others traveling with us took a four hour double-decker bus tour. They were running for the plane and totally exhausted. They were even jealous when we talked about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Taxi versus bus, you do the math.

Break Out the Champagne! This Ship is Sailing!!

This is the inagural story on this blogspot. To those of you who love to travel and swap stories of wonderful people and places to see around the world and our own backyard, this is the place for you.

Why the title,"Third Coast Travel Queen"? I live in the coastal area of Texas. People in the travel industry have used the term, "Third Coast", to identify the coast of Texas.
And if the truth be told, I tried to get ,"Texas Travel Queen",
and it was already taken.

Disclaimer- I do not profess to be the best at anything. I will promise to you that I will work on my writing skills. I do have a tendency to write like I speak.

Claimer- I do like to travel. I have a limited budget. I find something interesting about everyone I meet. I like to share ideas with anyone who will listen, or should I say, "Read".

I am constantly inspired by my partner of twenty-four years. This is one of those inspirational times.

In the future, I would like to focus on specific issues concerning travel. For now, I will just say that I have had some interesting experiences in the past couple of weeks. I hope sharing them will enlighten and inspire you to travel.