Daytona Beach, Florida

Shawnnee and her husband Troy did a lot for us. Not only did they offer a home away from home to Holli when she was in Boston, they also "traveled" me some way cool dirt from Daytona Beach, Florida. The sand was just like I remembered the sand in Key West. Baby powder consistency and the little extra they brought me was cool too! Sea weed that looked like it had pyracantha berries on it. I am glad that blogs don't have smell a vision too! Oh my, let's just say, the sand was so (smelly) beautiful, it took my breath away! They brought me such a large amount that I even had some extra that I could add to my salt water fish tank. The fish were in heaven. I will post about that later. It was interesting too that they brought it to me in a water bottle. I imagine that most people take bottled water with them to the beach and that is the reason that most people send me samples using them. Thank you Shawnnee and Troy for sharing your adventure with me! And just a side note: Troy, you gave her the "words of encouragement" when she needed it the most in her life, and those words will never be taken lightly, and too, will never be forgotten. You (and the sample of sand) are appreciated!

Famous by noon tomorrow...

Or is it infamous? I love going to my stat finder and seeing where all the hits to the blog site are coming from. On Sunday, for no particular reason, I happened to have an enormous amount of "hits". I wondered what was up, because I didn't really have anything very quippy to say about anything, I didn't post anything new, not a single thing was updated or changed! Then, after finding out that Florida apparently reads my blog, I discovered what was up. Go to http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/floridapolitics/entries to see for yourself what all the excitement was about.

After doing so, be sure to go to the calendar for the Sunday December 14th posting. How fun!

Charlie Crist and Florida Dirt

Thank you Mr. Crist for not 1 but 2 samples from your great state. Mayakka sand is the state soil of Florida. It was almost powdery in consistency and was a pretty shade of gray. The other sample given to me was from the Capitol building in Tallahassee. If interested in Mr. Crists' initiatives visit this web site: http://www.flgov.com/ and click on "Subscribe to Notes from the Capitol. I hope to visit Florida again someday. The beaches are beautiful. My sand from Key West is amazing and I will post about it later.

Sequoias and Space Shuttles

Just a random post about 2 things. The top photo is what was given to me by my nephew. He collected it from the base of the world's largest sequoia tree. The one below was taken at the last space shuttle launch. Both of these make me think about all the cool places I've yet to get or even see dirt from. A question I get asked quite a bit is where is the ONE place in the world that I would like to have dirt from. I've contemplated that so many times in my life. My first thought was Bethlehem. Not just the city, I have dirt from there. But the actual location that the Savior was born. Mt. Sanai, where the 10 commandments were given to Moses. The exact location that Joseph Smith was given the Gold Plates to translate. How about Mecca?Areas that I actually feel a connection to. Then, I think about the temple grounds of all of the LDS Temples throughout the world. And so far, I actually do have a good start on some of these. On a smaller, less spiritual scale, any historical site would be grand. Mt. Rushmore, the locations of the Civil War, the Alamo, the grassy knoll, Ford's theatre, the 4 corners, the Berlin Wall (or where it once was), and many more. Then, what about all of the places that sports history was made. Wimbeldon, PGA events, but particularly Augusta National in Georgia or St. Andrews in Scotland, oh...the Kentucky Derby. There are so many options! Legends and Lore...Billy the kid's burial ground, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's hideouts, wow. Now I'm on a roll. See, this is the great thing about collecting dirt. There's always new places to explore, even if it's through someone elses travels. That's why I'm always saying...May your journey take you somewhere...I don't have dirt from.

BEACH SAND...dirt's favorite cousin

I recently got an email from Donna Boyd, the grandmother of Beau Brooks, one of my favorite players that shared our home during baseball season. She told me that dirt collecting was an interesting hobby. And although she didn't collect dirt, she does have several bottles of sand. One in particular from a beach in Destin, Florida. Her family meets together each summer and at Christmas at this location. She saves a little sand in a bottle and it serves as a constant reminder of the great times shared with her family. Along those same lines, whenever one of my daughters is asked where they would like to go on a family vacation, the answer is always unanimous. Anywhere with a beach! The following are my collection of sand from beaches around the world. When people ask me about sand in my collection, and I already have it from a certain location, their response is usually, "Oh, you don't want it from there then." No 2 grains of sand are alike, I promise. Note the 3 bottles of sand from Maui on the right. All from Maui, all different. Sand, dirt, beaches, call it what you want. I love to look at it. Thank you to all of you that have sent me sand from beaches you have visited on your cruises, vacations, fishing trips, bon fires, exercise outings and clam bakes! Hey Donna, I checked on my collection and guess what? I don't have any from YOUR beach! (hint hint)

Major League DIGS

My good friend Julie Hatch recently published an article in Owlz Illustrated celebrating the 100th anniversary of the tune, Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I love the song, but just send me some dirt! My friends Judge Smith and Even Steven are such big baseball fans that they made a goal before they die to attend one professional baseball game in every major league park there is. I encourage this behavior! I just remind them to be sure to grab me a sample of the field before ordering their first hot dog and suds! The following shows dirt from Major League Ballparks. As you can see, I only have a FEW more to go... Keep me (and my dirt) in mind next time you go to enjoy America's favorite pastime. Oh, and just a suggestion, but maybe it's time we re-write the tune:

Take me out to the ballgame
Got to get some dirt now
Just pick a base it don't matter to me
I'll be happy if I get all 3
So just put some soil in my jar
I'll be grateful you know
for it's GOT TO GET me some dirt
Or why bother go?

That one's for you JULES!

Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
Anaheim Stadium (Anaheim Angels)
Shea Stadium (New York Mets)
Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)
Candlestick Park (San Francisco Giants)
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta Braves)
Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
The Kingdome (Seattle Mariners)