North Carolina Outer Banks and Vicinity

Macrine and I spent a weekend in Nags Heads, North Carolina in the mid 1990's. A couple friend from Washington,D.C. invited us to their summer home one weekend. We drove all the way to the Cape Hatteras Light House and on the way we passed by Virginia Beach. We also visited the Wright Brothers museum and also the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum. It was a fun sight seeing trip although it took us about six hours drive from our house in Colesville, Maryland. The weather was perfect since there was no hurricane warning at the time of our visit.
The Outer Banks (also known as OBX) is a 200-mile (320-km) long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States. They cover approximately half the northern North Carolina coastline, separating the Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Outer Banks is a major tourist destination and is known for its temperate climate and wide expanse of open beachfront. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has four campgrounds where visitors may camp.

The Wright brothers' first flight in a powered, heavier-than-air vehicle took place on the Outer Banks on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near the seafront town of Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers National Monument commemorates the historic flights, and First Flight Airport is a small, general-aviation airfield located there.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
The treacherous seas off the Outer Banks and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is located in Hatteras Village near the United States Coast Guard facility and Hatteras ferry.

Geography
The Outer Banks is a series of islands: from north to south — Bodie Island, Roanoke Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island. The Outer Banks is considered to be the areas of coastal Currituck County, Dare County, and Hyde County. Some consider the Outer Banks to stretch as far south as Cape Lookout including portions of Carteret County. Areas south of Cape Lookout in Carteret County are considered the Crystal Coast, which for tourism purposes has been coined the "Southern Outer Banks", but geographically is generally not considered part of the Outer Banks. The northern part of the Outer Banks, from Oregon Inlet northward, is usually considered part of the North American mainland, although it is technically separated by the Intra Coastal Waterway, which passes through the Great Dismal Swamp occupying much of the mainland west of the Outer Banks. Road access to the northern Outer Banks ends in Corolla, North Carolina, with communities such as Carova Beach accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. North Carolina State Highway 12 links most of the popular Outer Banks communities. The easternmost point is Cape Point at Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island, site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Typical Vacation House in Nags Head, North Carolina

The Outer Banks is not anchored to offshore coral reefs like some other barrier islands and as a consequence often suffers significant beach erosion during major storms. In fact, its location jutting out into the Atlantic makes it the most hurricane-prone area north of Florida, for both land falling storms and brushing storms offshore. Hatteras Island was cut in half on September 18, 2003, when Hurricane Isabel washed a 3,000 foot (900 m) wide and 30 foot (9 m) deep channel called Isabel Inlet through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of the island. The tear was subsequently repaired and restored by sand dredging by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Note: This is No. 18 ( Part 1) of a series of articles on places that the Katague Family had visited or resided in US since 1960.

Miami Beach, Florida

Miami South Beach on a typical Winter Day
Macrine and I had been to Miami Beach twice in the early 1980's during the American Chemical Society Meeting. We stayed at the well-known Fontainebleau Hotel. One evening there was a dance contest. We participated and won 3rd place in the CHA CHA. We also toured the Deco District and South Beach described in detail below.

Miami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on March 26, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Miami", despite being a distinct municipality. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. 55.5% of the population was foreign born. A 2005 population estimate for the city was 87,925. Miami Beach has been one of America's pre-eminent beach resorts for almost a century.
The Fontainebleau Hotel and Resort

In 1979 Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.

Image and cultural depictions

South Beach (also known as SoBe, or simply The Beach, the area from 1st street to about 25th street) is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach. Topless sunbathing is legal on certain designated areas of the beach. Before the TV show Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was under urban blight, with vacant buildings and a high crime rate. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area. Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film Scarface and The Birdcage. The New World Symphony Orchestra is based in Miami Beach, Florida, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Lincoln Road, running east-west between 16th and 17th Streets, is a nationally known spot for great outdoor dining, bicycling, rollerblading and shopping and features and galleries of well known designers, artists and photographers such as Romero Britto, Peter Lik, and Jonathan Adler.

Jewish population

Miami Beach is home to a number of Orthodox Jewish communities with a network of well-established synagogues and yeshivas, in addition to a liberal Jewish community containing such famous synagogues as Temple Emanu-El (Miami Beach, Florida) and Cuban Hebrew Congregation. It is also a magnet for Jewish families, retirees, and particularly snowbirds when the cold winter sets in to the north. They range from the Modern Orthodox to the Haredi and Hasidic – including many rebbes who vacation there during the North American winter.

There are a number of kosher restaurants and even kollels for post-graduate Talmudic scholars, such as the Miami Beach Community Kollel. Miami Beach had roughly 60,000 people in Jewish households, 62 percent of the total population, in 1982, but only 16,500, or 19 percent of the population, in 2004, said Ira Sheskin, a demographer at the University of Miami who conducts surveys once a decade. Miami Beach is home to the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach.

LGBT Community
The gay community in Miami Beach has dramatically deteriorated over the years. By 2010, most LGBT populations moved up north into Broward County.[9] Random anti-gay attacks and Miami Beach Police brutality against gay men are the most recent evident factors attributing to the exodus of LGBT culture, residents, and tourists. Ironically a new gay friendly mayor, Matti Herrera Bower, came together with increased corruption and homophobia in the city's police department. Also, since the new mayor took office in 2007, an ordinance to close parks and beaches where gay men congregate was executed, which led to an ongoing harassment of single men in general. As a result, Miami Beach male tourists regardless of sexual orientation have been increasingly becoming targets for the Miami Beach Police Department, resulting in wrongful arrests and deaths. In 2005, a local gay friendly radio station, Party 93.1 FM changed its format from dance to rock. As a result, Issues Over the Rainbow, South Florida's only gay-oriented FM talk show was cancelled. Gone along with the show – the station's sponsorships of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival; Care Resource's annual White Party gala to fight AIDS; and Winter Party, a five-day fundraiser in early March that benefits South Florida gay charities. In February 2010, ACLU announced that it will sue the City of Miami Beach for an ongoing targeting and arrests of gay men in public. According to the ACLU, Miami Beach has a history of arresting gay men for simply looking "too gay".

Other Information

According to the Morgan Quitno Awards, Miami Beach is one of the most dangerous small cities (population between 75,000 and 99,999) in the country. Each December, The city plays host to the major contemporary art exhibition Art Basel Miami Beach. In November 2007 and 2009, a multi-media art festival ("Sleepless Night") was held based on Nuit Blanche.[

Climate-Similar to the Philippines

It has a tropical monsoon climate with hot humid summers and warm winters like the Philippines. There is a marked wet season during the summer months, with dry winters that feature much lower humidity. Miami Beach is one of only a handful of U.S. locales that has never recorded snow or snow flurries in recorded weather history.

Miami Beach's location on the Atlantic Ocean, near its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico make it extraordinarily vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms. Despite only experiencing one direct hit from a major hurricane in recorded weather history, (Hurricane Cleo in 1964), the area has seen indirect contact from hurricanes Betsy (1965), Andrew (1992), Irene (1999), Michelle (2001), Katrina (2005), and Wilma (2005). Miami's Beach reminds of the Philippines.

Note: This No.17 (Part 1) of a series of articles on places that the Katague Family had visited or resided in the US since 1960.

Disney World, Orlando, Florida

We visited Disney World in Orlando, Florida in the Late 1980's during an American Chemical Society Meeting.


Magic Kingdom theme park, one of 4 Theme Parks in Walt Disney World Resort, captures the enchantment of fairy tales with exciting entertainment, classic attractions, backstage tours and beloved Disney Characters. It is similar to Disney Land in Anaheim, CA but there is more walking to see all the attraction and rides. You better wear walking shoes. One day is not enough!

It is designed like a wheel with the hub in front of Cinderella Castle, with pathways spoke out across the 107 acres of Magic Kingdom theme park that leads to following 7 whimsical lands:

•Main Street, U.S.A.® area
•Adventureland® area
•Frontierland® area
•Liberty Square
•Fantasyland® area
•Mickey's Toontown® Fair area
•Tomorrowland® area

The fireworks in Disney World is comparable to the Fireworks during July 4th in the Mall in Washington, D.C. ( we have seen the Mall Fireworks almost every year when we were still residing in Colesville, MD)



Note: This No.16 (Part 1) of a series of articles on the places that the Katague family had resided or visited in the US since 1960.

Is the Philippines a Good Destination for Retirement?

The Philippines is a great place to retire for many reasons. First is the people, they may be different from ones you may know back home that have become very western. The Filipino is easy going and generally happy. They tend to smile a lot which makes a great change from the sour faces we are used to seeing around us each day. The pace of life is much slower and the attitude to just about every aspect of life is more relaxed. If you want to really get out of the Rat race then the Philippines is the place.

The Philippines is also a relatively inexpensive retirement destination where you can make your retirement dollar really stretch. There are many that are surviving very comfortably on less than $1000 per month. If you have more you can really start to enjoy some Compared to back home the cost of living is much cheaper. You will save heaps on all of the basic including accommodation, food, utilities and transport. Some imported goods can be a little more expensive but if you are prepared to look for local substitutes then you will save even more.

How many of us could afford to have our own house maid or driver back home? Can you imagine hiring a live in house maid that gets up early each morning to prepare things? That works six days a week! The cost of a such a house maid is less than 2000 pesos a month. In dollars that is just $35 a month. How many can you afford?

The Philippines has all the modern amenities you expect. There are plenty of restaurants serving international cuisine, night clubs and entertainment spots, golf courses and other sports, shopping Malls and of course the beaches where you can just lay in that hammock and sip your favorite beverage under the shad of a coconut tree as you watch the sun set over the sea.

If you are single then perhaps one of the most attractive (pun intended) aspects to the Philippines is the Filipina women. Renowned for her beauty and femininity. The Philippines is truly a paradise for a single man.

Top Good Reasons Why Living, Retiring or doing Business in the Philippines
The Philippines is the only English speaking country in Asia. It has a culture known for its hospitality, beautiful beaches and warm and friendly people. You can experience a high quality standard of living for a very low cost. And that means with loyal live-in maids and helpers, cheap taxis, fine rental homes in quality neighborhoods, with rents so low you will have a hard time believing it. And it has a wide range of entertainment from exciting night life to golf, international restaurants to stunning resorts beyond compare. It also has many intangibles to bring you joy for no money at all. Ask any of the Americans living in the Philippines and ask of the foreigner living here too.

Why Will You Love the Philippines, the Filipinas, and the Filipinos?

Living, Traveling and Retiring in the Philippines as a foreigner or "expat," is a dream come true for me. Beaches, ocean and mountains are all at my doorstep. The sun almost always shines here, where I live, out of the northern typhoon belt.

Almost all Filipinos and Filipinas adore foreigners, expatriates, (expats) who live here or retire here. And they welcome and appreciate or just tourist too, the only English speaking country in the world were foreigners from any country are respected and admires.


I was first here in 1980, two times. But in my two stays of several months, it got in my blood. Even after the first visit, I knew I would be back. But it took ten of the longest years in my life. I counted the days though I was reasonably happy where I was until I got back to what I consider my paradise. You too, will become addicted to the sunshine, smile and laughter if you come over to this best kept secret in the world, or it was until the Internet gave people access to information about the joys and wonder of living in the Philippines. Filipinos are too shy to promote their "poor," country, to me the richest in the world because of the Filipino people, the beauty of them and their culture of happiness, sharing and love.

So we expats who live here help promote the Philippines. It is truly a fantastic place to visit for many reasons. You will find out more on the website and if you join our free mailing list, Living, Retiring Traveling, and Doing Business in the Philippines. And if you want it all with you and more, do get the package of valuable information books and newsletters at Philippine Dreams.

As a man, I love to see the beautiful Filipinas smile. I even enjoy the smile of the men, coming from their hearts. I know many foreign women find the Filipino men polite, romantic and attractive. Many foreign men are attracted to Filipinas and marry them. Some stay here, some take their wives back to their countries. Some return to the Philippines later, to live or retire. Some only return every year to visit. Once you have been here, you will come back. The Philippines and the Filipino people are addictive.

Generosity is part of the culture in the Philippines. Getting to know the Filipino culture will greatly enhance your living or traveling experience. But it is not something you have to do. The Filipino people are very tolerant of foreign culture and customs. They understand it's hard to adapt to another country right away. Filipinos have traveled the world as contract workers, and know the problems of acculturation.

The Filipino people make you feel needed and wanted here. When I lived in the States as a retiree, I felt lost in my own country. But here I feel wanted and appreciated, not yet put out to pasture. I can be a provider of help and information, and an asset to this developing country. I'm not just a barnacle on the bottom of the ship of the United States. Other foreigners living and retired here share this feeling with me. I hope you also get to experience the hospitality and the joy of being needed here. If you find it hard to understand or accept another culture, you will not be happy in any country, certainly not here. This website and our Yahoo list, Living, Retiring, Traveling and Doing Business in the Philippines, are great places to start learning the Filipino way.

Conclusion: The Philippines is the only English speaking country in Asia. It has a culture known for its hospitality, beautiful beaches and warm and friendly people. You can experience a high quality standard of living for a very low cost. And that means with loyal live-in maids and helpers, cheap taxis, fine rental homes in quality neighborhoods, with rents so low you will have a hard time believing it. And it has a wide range of entertainment from exciting night life to golf, international restaurants to stunning resorts beyond compare. It also has many intangibles to bring you joy for no money at all. Ask any of the Americans living in the Philippines and ask of the foreigner living here too.


Source: D B Rainer, http://hubpages.com

Fresno Underground Gardens, Sequoia and King Canyon National Parks

General Sherman Tree
In the mid 1970's, while still residing in Modesto, the David Katague Family visited Sequoia and the adjacent King's Canyon National Parks. We saw the giant trees including the General Sherman tree- the largest tree on Earth. On our way back we stopped in downtown Fresno to tour the Forestier Underground Gardens. I enjoyed this tour very much since I an a avid gardener. If you have not visited Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and you live in the Central Valley of California, you are missing some wonders of nature and I suggest put it in your schedule next summer.

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California, in the United States of America. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans 404,051 acres (1,635 km2). Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (4,000 m), the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the contiguous 48 United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) above sea level. The park is south of and contiguous with Kings Canyon National Park; the two are administered by the National Park Service together.

The park is famous for its Giant Sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five out of the ten largest trees in the world, in terms of wood volume. The Giant Forest is connected by the park's Generals Highway to Kings Canyon National Park's General Grant Grove, home to the General Grant tree among other sequoias. The park's Giant Sequoia forests are part of 202,430 acres (81,921 ha) of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Indeed, the parks preserve a landscape that still resembles the southern Sierra Nevada before Euro-American settlement.

Kings Canyon National Park is a U.S. National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. The park was established in 1940 and covers 462,901 acres (187,329 ha). It incorporated General Grant National Park, established in 1890 to protect the General Grant Grove of Giant Sequoias. The park is north of and contiguous with the Sequoia National Park


Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno

FORESTIERE patterned his underground world after the ancient catacombs of his native land. The Roman arches dominate the underground landscape while the stonework provides stability and beauty. But unlike the dark catacombs that protected the remnants of the lifeless, Forestiere designed well-lit courtyards and grottos to bring forth the radiance and vitality of life. This network of rooms, grottos, and passageways once honeycombed almost 10 acres, and numbered nearly 100.

FORESTIERE preferred his cool underground lifestyle to that lived by most people of his time—above ground in hot, wooden, “sweat boxes.” His unique home included a parlor with fireplace, a summer and a winter bedroom, a courtyard with a bath and a fish pond, and a kitchen with all the conveniences of his era. This earthen home was
his friend and protector from all types of inclement weather.

Amazing Underground Sights and Wonders

It has been said that “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Every twist and turn throughout this delightful underground maze brings a new beauty to behold. The stonework, the scallop-shaped seats carved into the walls and passageways, and the lush greenery of trees/ grapevines growing beneath the ground proclaim Forestiere’s
love for life, nature, and the divine Creator of it all.

ESCAPING the intense Fresno heat is as easy as descending a flight of stairs. Step down into the cool, welcoming arms of nature-shaded rooms and courtyards. Amazingly, the underground climates here (micro-climates) change depending on the location. Temperatures can range anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees from above ground, or just a couple of degrees from one spot to another. This photo shows a citrus tree (once bearing 7 varieties of citrus) growing at a second underground level (about 22 feet down). The different levels also affect the timing of tree blossom appearance and protect them from frost.

Note: This is No.15 ( Part 1) of a series of articles on places that the Katague family had visited or resided in US since 1960.

I Love Dim Sum and Fresh Lumpia

I love Dim sum. We used to spend a leisurely lunch at a dim sum restaurant every Sunday, just after our weekly Sunday 11AM mass when we were still residing in Colesville, MD. But today, My wife and I had not visited a dim sum restaurant for almost a year now. I am suffering from hunger pangs and salivating just writing this post, because I remember the delicious dim sum dishes in the photo above as well as the one below this paragraph.

Dim sum is the Cantonese term for a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.
Sweet Buns-yum,yum

History

Dim Sum is usually linked with the older tradition of yum cha (tea tasting), which has its roots in travellers on the ancient Silk Road needing a place to rest. Thus teahouses were established along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would also go to teahouses for a relaxing afternoon of tea. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding various snacks.

The unique culinary art of Dim Sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries transformed Yum Cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience. In Hong Kong, and in most cities and towns in Guangdong province, many Chinese restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises, often enjoying the morning newspapers. For many in southern China, yum cha is treated as a weekend family day. Consistent with this tradition, dim sum restaurants typically only serve dim sum until mid-afternoon (right around the time of a traditional Western 3 o'clock coffee break), and serve other kinds of Cantonese cuisine in the evening. Nowadays, various dim sum items are even sold as take-out for students and office workers on the go.


While dim sum (touch the heart) was originally not a main meal, only a snack, and therefore only meant to touch the heart, it is now a staple of Chinese dining culture, especially in Hong Kong. Health officials have recently criticized the high amount of saturated fat and sodium in some dim sum dishes, warning that steamed dim sum should not automatically be assumed to be healthy. Health officials recommend balancing fatty dishes with boiled vegetables, minus sauce.

Fresh Lumpia
My other favorite dish is the Philippines Fresh Lumpia- the one made from "ubod"-the heart of the coconut. Lumpia are among the most famous of all Filipino dishes. These are not the fried, eggroll-like lumpia you may have tried, but a lighter, home-style version, in which delicate egg pancakes are rolled around lettuce and a tasty chicken, shrimp, and vegetable filling. If you have adventurous guests, let everybody make their own lumpia right at the table-it's a great way to get a dinner party rolling!

Here's a recipe for the fresh wrappers and a typical filling. Instead of the coconut heart(ubod),the recipe below used jicama sometimes called the Mexican turnip or sincamas in the Philippines. In Marinduque, the availability of coconut heart ( ubod) is limitted since it is againts the law to cut a coconut tree without a permit. To get a permit requires so much documentation and time, it is not worth it. So we get only ubod after a big typhoon when a few coconut trees are uprooted by the typhoon.

Wrappers
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
About 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Filling
1/2 cup julienned onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, thinly sliced
1/4 pound medium raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, and halved
1-1/2 cups finely julienned jicama( or coconut heart(ubod) if available)
1/2 small carrot, finely julienned
2 green onions, finely julienned
2 teaspoons oyster-flavored sauce
1 teaspoon Filipino fish sauce (patis)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 tender lettuce leaves



Recipe: Fresh Lumpia (The Philippines) http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/1999/asia/lumpia.html