The "It's Made With Ice Cream...It Has To Be Good! Story

Hemingways on the island of Antigua.

It was an ordinary day.  Walking up the stairs at Hemingways Caribbean Cafe on the island of Antigua with my wife, Carol, and traveling friends Jere and Just Sue.  Halfway up the stairs I yell to Jere, "How about we have a banana split for lunch!"  It was more a statement than a question, and he yelled back, "Sounds good to me."  Hey, we're on vacation and you should be able to have dessert anytime you want.  Fifteen minutes later we were digging into our delicious treats while the girls were eating their rather bland salads.  Now, you do know what a REAL banana split is, don't you? A fellow by the name of David Strickler invented the banana split in 1904 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  He happened to be a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy who enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store's soda fountain.  His creation, which actually was called a triple ice cream sundae, originally cost 10 cents which was twice the price of a regular sundae.  In no time it became a popular treat with the students of nearby Saint Vincent College who frequented the soda fountain between classes.  David eventually bought the pharmacy, naming it Strickler's Pharmacy.  

Jere Just Sue and Carol talk to the waitress at Hemingways.

In 2004 the city of Latrobe celebrated the 100th anniversary of the invention of the banana split while at the same time the National Ice Cream Retailers Association certified the city of Latrobe as being the city where the first banana split was made.  Not wanting to be outdone, the city of Wilmington, Ohio claims that they split a banana lengthwise, threw it into an elongated dish and allegedly created the banana split.  The year was 1907, three years after David's invention.  Perhaps they never heard of Latrobe in Wilmington.  

A REAL banana split.  Banana split in two and placed in
an elongated dish.  Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice
cream are piled on next with caramel, strawberry and
cocolate sauces next.  Topped with whipped cream and cherry.

The treat actually gained popularity in a Chicago Walgreens Store when Charles Rudolph Walgreen adopted the banana split as a signature dessert at the original drug store's soda fountain.  A banana split has a traditional manner in which it must be made.  The banana must be cut lengthwise and placed in a long narrow dish called a boat.  The classic banana split is made with three scoops of ice cream; one each of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry served between the split banana.  

Our treat at Hemingways. 

A sauce of each of the three ice cream flavors, chocolate, strawberry and caramel (vanilla) are drizzled onto the ice cream, then crushed nuts and whipped cream tops the ice cream with a maraschino cherry on the top of each one.  I must admit that the dessert that Jere and I had placed in front of us on the second level of Hemingways might not have been a REAL banana split, but it sure was good.  Perhaps then never heard of Latrobe either and how you make a real banana split.  We are heading back to the island soon and will try it once again.  And...if it is still the same, we will have to eat it anyway.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Amazing, Yet Scary!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking deep beneath me at the two dozen or so sharks that we were told would not hurt us as long as we didn't move to quickly.  Yeah, right!  Easy to say when you aren't the one swimming above them.  

Leaving from Stuart's Cove in the Bahamas.

Carol and I, along with traveling buddies Jere and Sue, were taking a snorkeling tour along the coast of the Bahama Islands.  We were riding on a large boat out of Stuart's Cove, making several stops to look at the life under the surface of the ocean.  After a few stops we were told we would make one more stop to view...sharks.  I was one of about a dozen others on the boat that thought that would be interesting and prepared to enter the water.  

The Nurse shark.  Looks scary to me!

The anchor was dropped and the helpers on the boat dropped a large container of "chum" to try and draw the fish.  Below us we could see the sharks arriving.  They didn't look too big, but then again they were pretty far down underneath us.  "Nothing to worry about, since they are only nurse sharks," we were told.  I guess the one telling us that hadn't read the comment on Wikipedia telling readers that the nurse shark is the fourth ranked shark in documented shark bites on humans.  

That is me with legs spread apart next to the ladder.

Those who were willing to be "surface bait" were told we had to wear our flippers, since our toes would be easy to bite off.  We also had to be as calm in the water as possible.  One by one we entered the water and worked our way along a thick rope that had been strung to a buoy about 50 feet away.  Since my last name started with "W", I was the last one into the water.  At least that's what I told them.  

The sharks swam over the back of the boat.

Looking down at all those sharks fighting for pieces of the last boat load of people began to take its toll.  Being that I was the closest to the boat, I returned first, about two minutes after I entered.  The mate in charge assured the captain we all made it back and the  chum bucket was lifted to the surface...along with the sharks.  HUGE, ABSOLUTELY HUGE, so they were.  I must have taken close to 100 photos of the sharks as they tried to outdo each other going along the back ramp of the boat.  I did survive, as is obvious!  Now, I tell you about my experience, because yesterday I watched a young woman by the name of Kimberly Jeffries swim with a 50-year-old, two and a half ton, 20 foot long shark called Deep Blue.  

Did you go to see this movie?

Not an alleged harmless nurse shark, but a killer fish like the one that appeared in the movie "Jaws" and killed boat captain Quint.  You know, the killer Great White!  This shark can swim at speeds of over 35 mph and to depths of almost 4,000 feet.  The great white has no known natural predators other than, on rare occasions, the killer whale.  The Great White is responsible for more recorded human bites than any other shark.  Deep Blue was feeding on the carcass of a dead sperm whale off the coast of Hawaii.  Diver and photographer Jeffries had hoped to capture images of sharks in the water feeding on the dead carcass when she noticed tiger sharks at the rear of the boat.  Exactly what she had hoped to photograph.  Then, maybe 30 seconds later she, and her crew, saw a massive shark gracefully swimming near the carcass.  

Kimberly Jeffries swims and photographs Deep Blue.

She said she thought her heart was going to explode with excitement.  Deep Blue had last been sighted over a year ago near Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.  She felt confident, since there was a readily available food source nearby, that she could swim with the shark and photograph it.  The images she posted were amazing.  She reached out and touched the Great White a few times.  And to think I was afraid of an alleged nurse shark!  Wow!  I believe that everyone has a few monumental experiences in their life and for Kimberly, this has to be one of her monumental experiences.  Check online to see some of the videos recorded of her encounter with Deep Blue.  Just Google "Deep Blue".  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

PS- A few years later Carol and I, along with Jere and Sue, traveled to the Bahamas once again.  And, naturally, took the same snorkeling trip out of Stuart's Cove.  But, this time I chickened out and didn't swim with the sharks.  The only brave one on this trip was Sue who totally enjoyed her experience and didn't have to be the last one in the water.  Good job Sue!

Kimberly swimming with Deep Blue.  Just amazing.  Notice that Kimberly is not wearing air tanks.  She only has a snorkel mask for breathing.  That's also amazing.

  

The "The Island Of Tintamarre" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on Orient Beach looking Northeast toward the small island known as Tintamarre.  It is an 80 acre island that at one time had it's own King, Navy and airline.  

This map shows the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten
with the small island of Tintamarre to the top right.

It is situated to the East of the Orleans quarter of St. Martin, the French side of the two country island known as St. Martin/Sint Maarten.  Carol and I had a boat ride a few years ago where we got to see the back side of the island which still has some woodland on it, but is no longer inhabited.  The coast line of this small island is the most abundant in fish in the surrounding area and you can still find an plenty of limestone on the island.  The island is known locally as "Flat Island".  At first it was said that the French took possession of the island from the English, but then passed it to the van Romondt family.  The first to come to St. Martin was Diederik Johannes van Romondt who arrived from Holland in 1801.  He served as governor of Sint Maarten from 1820 to 1840.  The last known member having the van Romondt name was Diederik Christian who died at the age of 76 in 1948 at Mary's Fancy, his estate in Dutch Cul de Sac on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten.  

The beautiful island of Tintamarre.

Diederik Christian move to the Isle of Tintamarre, which he owned, in 1902 due to a dispute over property taxes in Sint Maarten.  It was reported by a French journalist in 1913 that he was The King of Tintamarre.  After that he began to receive letters from Paris, Italy and Germany from women who wanted to be lifelong partners with him so they could be Queen of Tintamarre.  I'm not sure if that ever worked out or not.  Many of the people who worked for him on Tintamarre were from the nearby island of Anguilla.  Here he raised 60 to 70 head of cattle and about 540 sheep, grew fine island cotton and made cheese and butter which was renowned throughout the West Indies.  In 1931 he sold the island to Louis Constant Fleming, a merchant and mayor of Marigot, the capital of St. Martin.  It was said that during WWII Tintamarre was a place for submarines to recharge their batteries.  In 1945 an airport with a 500 meter dirt runway was developed by the French along with a protected lagoon suitable for "flying boats".  

A pontoon plane landing near the island.

Soon Tintamarre became the base of a regional airline, CAA Stinson Trimotors ("Sompagnie Aerienne Antillaise").  There was a brief "Golden Age" for this tiny island with its 20 inhabitants and its airport.  That was until March 22, 1947 when a disastrous night take-off from the unlit airstrip killed a pilot.  Then on May 22 of the same year a plane crashed into the sea between Tintamarre and St. Barths which killed two. 18 days later, during a night take-off, three more people were killed.  Didn't fare well for air travel to or from the island.  On September 1st of 1950, a hurricane put an end to the old CAA airplanes that still sat on the island.  The last traces of the dirt airstrip were erased in the 1956 and 1960 hurricanes.  

Boats carrying nude bathers arrive for exploration of the island.

The only activity that takes place on the island today is when the "Nude Cruise" from St. Martin arrives and the naked patrons explore the island looking for traces of it's history when Mr. D.C. van Romondt was the King and was romanticized by journalists.  They just may find a few screws or bolts from one of the CAA airplanes or a hoof from one of the goats that roamed the hills of the island years ago or maybe a stone or two from one of the old buildings that at one time sat on "Flat Island".  Carol and I have seen the island up close from boats, but have never stepped foot on the island.  Beautiful place, but I guess it's use as a site for a town has passed years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Exploring The Wild In Style" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading north out of Lititz, Pennsylvania to make a visit to Cabela's, Inc. in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  The ride will take about an hour, since we are taking the back roads to take in the scenery.  The store is about a quarter of a million square feet in size and extremely impressive if you are an outdoor's person.  Our chauffeur today is Hal and I am sitting in the rear seat of his Ford Escape with Jeff while Barry plays shotgun for today's trip.  The four of us have known each other for many years, since we taught school together in the Manheim Township School District in Lancaster County.  

Main entrance of Cabela's in Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Hal had been to the store quite a few times while Jeff and Barry have visited a time or two.  Today will be my first visit to the mammoth store that specializes in supplies for hunters and fishermen.  The company, which was recently sold to Bass Pro Shops, does well over 1 billion in sales each year and attracts 60 million visitors a year.  

Stepping into the world of fishing and hunting

The store has over 400 employees who are some of the most interesting and helpful you will ever meet.  Hal told us the story of the place and how the entire area around the store was constructed after Cabela's was completed.  The parking lot is as big as some residential neighborhoods.  Anyone entering for the first time has to be impressed at the size of the place.  Tough to see to the other end due to the immense size of the interior.  If you aren't a fan of stuffed animals and taxidermy, this isn't the place for you.  Has to be a couple of hundred preserved animals of all sizes in the myriad of displays around the store.  The rest of my story will be a visual one to show you the immense size of the place and the quality of products they sell as well as the High Temple of Taxidermy.  I naturally had my camera with me.  I have only identified a few of the photos, since most are easily identifiable and the rest I have forgotten their names.  Enjoy!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on images to enlarge them.

Entering the fresh-water aquarium

Friends from left are Barry, Hal and Jeff

The second level has a lunch room

John, one of many fabulous employees

The end of the journey.  Took almost 2 hours to explore the place.

The "There It Was...Bigger Than Life...And Still Scary!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife and I decided to explore Lancaster County by car, seeing if we could find a few places we had never been before so we headed west on SR283.  Before long we saw a sign for Elizabethtown and decided it was time to see parts of the county we had never visited.  Before long we were on Main Street and when we approached the square headed south toward the sign that said Falmouth.  We had read for years about the town that has held annual goat races since 1978, but had never been there.  Town is located in Conoy Township that is famous for lowering a stuffed goat on New Year's Eve.  

Cooling towers from Three Mile Island were to our right.

The last census told the tale about the town which had 420 residents.  As we approached the western end of the town we looked off to the right and there it was.  Two large circular cement towers spewing steam into the noontime sky.  There it was...bigger than life...and still scary.  Wow!  It was back on March 28, 1979 that reactor #2 of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station released radiation into the air right down the road from Falmouth, PA.  

Along the road in front of TMI stands this plague.

Not only was radiation released but the nuclear core was damaged and thousands of residents evacuated the area.  It was in the news for days in our area.  We were within the limits of evacuation, but most people near the city of Lancaster did not evacuate.   Carol and I drove down the final incline with the Susquehanna River in front of us.  Should we bear right and head toward the island?  

View as we approached the cooling towers.

For as much as we have heard about Three Mile Island, we had never in our lives explored and found the island.  I guess it was time even though it was still a bit scary.  Two of the four towers were spitting steam into the air as we drove about 200 yards away from them as we passed the island.  To our right was the Exelon Generation Training Site as well as a small grove of cherry trees.  We stopped to read the plaque that sat amongst the trees and found that the Yoshino Cherry Trees were presented to the GPU Nuclear Corporation by the Japanese Engineers who were assigned to the TMI-2 research and development program in May of 1988.  We sat in the car for quite some time looking at the massive cooling towers right in front of us and wondering what we would have done had we lived in the houses that lined the road across from the river and power plant.  

The Yoshino Cherry Trees presented by the Japanese.

Would he have grabbed the kids and driven as fast as we could away from the disaster.  Did most of the people who live there do just that?  After a few more photos we turned around and headed back to the sign telling us we were in Falmouth and decided it was time to head back towards Elizabethtown.  I doubt very much if we will ever duplicate our drive exploring this area of Lancaster County again.  Ever!  It might be close to 40 years ago that the catastrophe happened, but getting this close to those scary memories is more than we could take.  As we drove east through Falmouth we vowed never to return again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Sitting in our car directly across the road from the cooling tower #2.

Training center for Exelon Generation Training Site.