Scans, Frank's Birthday Dinner, and North Carolina - a busy week

I have been missing from the blogosphere for a few weeks only because I didn't feel I had anything of interest to post. But I have saved up a few items for this post.


1.  I had my most recent MRI and CT scans the end of June. The great news came back last week - no new progression or new growths. So I get another 8 weeks break from exams and/or treatments.


2. Frank's birthday was last week and we celebrated at The Black Pearl on Main Street in Dunedin. This is a special occasion restaurant with a neat black and silver art deco interior. We started with a shared seared pork belly served over cheese grits - it was wonderful, may have been the highlight along with the dessert. 


This was followed by a mixed green salad with a nice raspberry vinaigrette.


For our main courses, I opted for a twice cooked Long Island duckling served over rice and a cranberry and apple demiglace. Frank had a very nice beef stroganoff served over spaetzle. 


And for dessert a luscious tarte tatin, made to order, order early or allow extra time to prepare. The apples were thinly sliced baked with butter, brown sugar, spices and topped with puff pastry. It was a work of art. and tasty as well.


3. The next morning we flew to Asheville, NC and a short drive to Maggie Valley for the annual family gathering and to celebrate my brother's birthday. Ah, it was much cooler than St. Petersburg; a nice change. My niece and nephews rented a nice 3 bedroom, plus loft space, log house, high up on the mountain side overlooking the valley. It had great views and cool breezes. We had a good time with my slightly crazy family. I think at one point there were 20 people in the cabin for meals.


Frank and I skipped out a couple of afternoons to visit Asheville and Highlands. I would like to spend more time in Asheville - it is unlike any other town in North Carolina (at least from my experience). It has a great historic downtown area loaded with restaurants, art galleries, and shops. The Highlands business district on the other hand, is about 6 blocks long, but is filled with nice shops and restaurants. We stopped at Wolfgang's Restaurant and Wine Bistro for a glass of wine and a mid afternoon appetizer. (We are always attracted to any place that has bistro in the name). I had a bowl of Shrimp and Lobster Bisque and Frank had a trio of fish tacos. Both were very good. 


We arrived at TPA yesterday afternoon after a very busy, but enjoyable, 4 days in Maggie Valley.