22 Words That Have a Different Meaning in Chicago-- Part 3: The Beach

First, what it means everywhere else.

8.  DIBS--  Claiming something that's yours.  In Chicago it is a parking space saved by you because you dug it out of the snow.  You mark it with old chairs or some other piece of furniture.  Fights can occur if people disregard your "dibs."

9.  DRAKE--  Guy who hates Chris Brown.  (Not sure what this about>)  In Chicago it is a fancy, expensive hotel.

10.  THE BEACH--  A tropical sandy beach with blue waves coming ashore.    In Chicago it is a sandy beach by a REALLY COLD Lake Michigan.  OK for sunning, not too much fun for swimmin'.  No kidding, that water is C-O-L-D!!!!

11.  THE CELL--  Place for prisoners.  In Chicago, it was the name of the stadium where the White Sox play.  Now named something else, but still called Comiskey Park by most fans.  I still call it that.  And, it is still the Sears Tower and will still be the John Hancock whenever its name gets changed.

12.  THE BEAN--  Food that makes you fart.  Chicago--  Art in Grant Park.

--RoadDog

A Few Things About Topsail Beach, N.C.-- Part 3: Missiles and Pirates

The article mentioned a top secret missile development program taking place during World War II.  Actually, it took place after the war was over.  It went a long way toward jet propulsion and missiles.  You can find out a lot more about it at the Missiles and More Museum.  Several concrete towers were built to observe and record the flights of the missiles and still remain standing.

Topsail Island and Topsail Beach (and North Topsail Beach) got their names from the age of piracy.  Pirate ships would hide behind the barrier island and wait for their prey to come by.  Merchants ships, however, were always on the lookout for the top sails of the pirate ships which could be seen rising above the low vegetation of the island.

Ahoy There!!  Pirate Ship A-Hiding Behind the Island.  --RoadDog

Topsail Beach Edges Out Others for Best Little Beach Town in USA

From 27 June 2016, Trip Advisor "14 Beautiful Little Beach Towns in USA."

Topsail Beach, North Carolina edged out 14 other small beach towns in voting for best beach town in the country.  It just barely squeaked by Jamestown, Rhode Island, Traverse City, Michigan and Morro Bay, California.

I have now inherited a condo at this beach, but unfortunately, live too far away to get to it much.

Anyone Looking for a Place at the #1 Best Little Beach Town in the USA?  --RoadDog

Ten Great American Beaches

From the July 18, 2012, Yahoo! Travel by Melissa Burdick Harmon.

VENICE BEACH,  California.  Famous for people watching
SIESTA KEY, Florida--  eight miles long
HANALEI BAY--  Kauai, Hawaii

VIRGIN ISLAND'S NATIONAL PARK--  St. John's, US Virgin Islands
WILDWOOD, New Jersey
CANNON BEACH, Oregon
LADIES BEACH, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

OCRACOKE ISLAND, North Carolina
HORSESHOE BEACH, LaJolla, California
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas

With the Snow on the Way, Getting Into Beach Mode.  --RoadDog

"Just Got Back to Illinois": End Trip

To paraphrase that old CCR classic "Looking Out My Back Door."  As JF said, "Just got back from (TO) Illinois, Locked my front door, oh boy."  We got back home here in Spring Grove, Illinois, last night after three weeks and over 3,000 miles.

Both going and coming back were marked by some pretty bad weather, including an unexpected snowstorm in Indianapolis and sleet and snow in Tennessee on the way down and all the winter storms across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee on the way back.

Then, we had the cold and even a half inch of snow in our driveway which made unpacking all the more fun.

This was also our longest-ever trip, three full weeks (breaking the old record of the 2006 Route 66 trip by a day.  But, 16 of the days were at THE BEACH with most of them 70s and sun.  We just had to learn to live with those days.

Some of the snowbirds spending months in Florida wondered why we didn't stay for a couple months or more.  Unfortunately, I'm still a guy who likes to be on vacation, but after a couple weeks, I'm starting to hanker for home.

Off the Road Again.  --RoadDog

Now That's Trop-Rock for You

Finally got the old radio headset going out here on the deck by the Gulf of Mexico. For some reason, it was tuned over to the AM side (which I usually don't listen to except for games, too much yap otherwise and when I listen to the radio, I WANT music).

After a Mexican station, I ran into WPCF 1290 AM which plays nothing but Trop-Rock, Jimmy Buffett-style music. Every so often, they have members of Trop-Rock bands say something, and so far I've heard Howard Livingston of the Mile Marker band and Johnny Russell of the Beach Bums. We've seen both at Captain's Quarters up on the Chain of Lakes back home.

They also play soca, reggae and zydeco music.

Digging on WPCF, 1290 AM and hoping they stream over the internet, as I'll definitely listen to it at home.

So, I Have Found My Station While We're Here. --RoadDog

Criteria for Picking a Great Beach Motel

Whenever Liz and get to a new beach, the first thing we do is take a ride about. We look first at places on the water or at least across the street from it. Then, we want to find a mom and pop place with one or two stories.

You can usually tell that the motel is a good place if the landscaping and exterior or in top shape. You never know for sure what you're going to get with a mom and pop. Sometimes, we will ask to see a room, but usually if the outside is good, the inside is good as well.

Next, we want to see if there are nearby bars and proximity to any place we want to go.

If it meets these criteria, it's a go.

We found just such a place in Panama City Beach, the Driftwood Lodge, dating back to the 50s with he same family running it. Even better, nightly rentals are $55 to $60 during the off-season, which is now in the Florida Panhandle.

We have a room just across the dunes from some of the whitest sand you'll ever see, and, then there's that water. I'm typing away right now at a picnic table overlooking the beach. Makes for slow typing above and beyond my two-finger technique.

Across the street, we have a place with NTN and $1 pints of Coors Light and a locals bar called Donovan's Reef, the same name as our favorite place in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, out home NTN bar.

Thinkin' We Just Might Stay Awhile. --RoadDog

When Is a Beach a GREAT BEACH!!!

When "Dr. Beach" says so, that's when. The good Doctor, aka Professor Stephen Leatherman, has spoken and this year, the top beach is in my home state of North Carolina, and it's Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach out on the Outer Banks. It is a place so remote, that even the Good Beach Doctor's crew at Florida International University had to look it up.

It is the first-ever non-Florida or Hawaii beach to make the top ranking in his annual top ten ranking of beaches.

Ocracoke is at the southern end of the Outer Banks, and accessible only by boat of private plane. This is also where infamous pirate Blackbeard met his death in 1718.

The article says that Leatherman uses 50 criteria to compile his rankings, and a 1 to 5 scale. No beach has ever gotten a perfect 250, but Ocracoke was in the mid 230s. The sand was lily white, so it lost points there. Other criteria include number of sunny days, frequency of rip currents (real nasty things), and the extent of oil and tar Balls (whatever they are).

In case you're wondering about the 2007 top ten:

1. Ocracoke Beach- Outer Banks of NC
2. Caldwell Island State Park- Clearwater, Fl
3. Coopers Beach- Southampton, NY
4. Hanalei Beach- Kauai, Hawaii
5. Coast Guard Beach- Cape Cod, Massachusetts
6. Hamoa Beach- Maui, Hawaii
7. Main Beach- East Hampton, NY
8. Coronado Beach- San Diego, Ca.
9. Lighthouse Point Park- Daytona Beach, Fl
10. Siesta Beach- Sarasota, Fl

I'd like to nominate Topsail Beach, NC, if there is anything left of it after the Noreasters get through with it. Also, the one at Hollywood Beach, Fl., is a great one.

"Ocra-what? Best Beach is remote" by Martha Waggoner AP.

Real Rough Job to Pick these Beaches, BUT, Somebody's Gotta Do It. Hey, Where Do I Sign Up? --RoadDog