Jekyll Island

Once again I was accepted to present at the Distance Learning Administration conference, held at Jekyll Island.  Since it was close to our anniversary and we didn't go last year, we decided to take a couple of extra days and spend the weekend before the conference and enjoy ourselves.  That we did. 

Jekyll Island has an interesting history, as a retreat for the very wealthy, from 1888 to 1942.  We did get to stay at the club house and it was so much fun.   

 

The beach was nice.....so clean, clear and soft

Entering the island....

 

Cool bridges

We visited Horton House as well on the island

 

 This Cemetery was haunted...I am sure...we were here, and I heard a dog howl from far off, and it got cloudy and I said to Kevin "this place is haunted" and as I said that, the thunder came and it started pouring rain, so we ran back to the car. 

  

One evening we even took a boat ride and went to find some dolphins

 First we found other wildlife

 Then we saw the dolphins, tons of them....at one point we could see about 20 around the boat. 

J.D. Gross Mousse au Chocolat

I am working my way thru the mammoth box of chocolate from Germany, and one of the items in there was the J.D. Gross Mousse au Chocolat "bar". I use the word bar loosely as the package includes several individually wrapped mini bars a little larger than a Kit Kat stick. What these bars are is a rich chocolate mousse (38% cacao) enrobed in a layer of dark chocolate (53% cacao).

One of the bars in the package

The outer coating is a slightly hard chocolate that has a strong (slightly bitter) chocolate favor. Think of it as a way of containing the soft mousse inside. The mousse inside is very soft, similar to what you may find in many truffles. Without the outer chocolate container the mousse would not hold any shape. The favor of the mousse is good, and has a slight grit, but the favor of the outer chocolate hides some of the flavor of the mousse. Overall I am glad I got this bar, and I am having a hard time rationing out the servings. The package recommends 1 or 2 bars per serving and I have to agree that it is plenty as the bars are quite rich.

Sweet Sweet Wine.....thanks Kari

This past weekend, my friend Kari came to visit.  We had a really great time and had a chance to catch up.  We hadn't seen each other for what seems like a very long time (a few months).  Anyway, Kari brought me my birthday present, that she made herself: 

And inside?.....yep a nice bottle of wine....

And when I open it, the cork will go in this nice large jar I have on display.