When in Rome...

So, Jonathan and I are in (not so) sunny Florida visiting his parents. I thought Florida was supposed to be warm.

Apparently, I was wrong in my assumption.

It is absolutely FREEEEEZING here. I even had to scrape ice off the windshield. What's up with that? I want to go to the beach so badly...but there is NO WAY. I would end up with Popsicle toes, a runny nose with snot that froze on my cheeks, and pneumonia.

That is SOOOOo wrong. I mean, Pensacola has the most gorgeous sugar sand beaches.

'sigh'

I am holding on to hope, however. According to the weather forecast, it's supposed to be 70 on Saturday. And if it does reach temps above 60...I'm dragging Jonathan to the beach.

In the meantime, I've been sampling some "local" fare. I discovered a lovely soft drink called Cheerwine.

I had never heard of it.

Ever.

That is before last week when I started reading the "Mitford" book series by Jan Karon (they're quite entertaining). They drink Cheerwine in the book. It sounded so refreshing that when we were in the grocery store and I spied it on the shelf...I was tempted to get it. Then, a young man zipped right up to it and grabbed a 2 liter bottle of it. He exclaimed, "YESSSSSSS!!!! They have it!!". I asked him what it tasted like and he said it is as unique as Dr Pepper...but better.

That decided it. Jonathan and I grabbed a bottle to take home. (and a few days later, we picked up a 12-pack of cans to bring back to Texas).

It hails from North Carolina. And (according to the can) has been around since 1917. That's a long time. That's around the time of Model T cars, electricity in the home, and the invention of the wheel. Heck, that's even before my mom was born (oh she's gonna kill me).

I like the name. It's happy. It conjures up images of barefoot kids in overalls, sitting on the wooden steps of a country general store after a long, hot day of fishin' at the swimmin' hole. Except in my image, they aren't drinking it out of a 2-liter bottle, they're drinking it out of glass bottles.

It's a pretty shade of burgundy (probably why it has "wine" in the name, duh). It tastes like cherry with a hint of Dr Pepper and a splash of Pepsi. Mostly cherry. I like it. A lot. Darn, just when I was giving up soda altogether.

Another thing that is popular down here are boiled peanuts. These just sound nasty. They've been around even LONGER than Cheerwine (says so right on the label).

1838.

In retrospect, after having tasted them, I don't think that date is when the company was founded. I think that's the actual date these things were canned.

They look sort of appealing according to the label...

But in actuality, this is what they REALLY look like. Nothing like "truth in advertising", eh? Margaret Holmes (whoever she is) can keep her old "bahled" peanuts. Yuck.

I think they should be called Swamp nuggets.

To say they are disgusting is an understatement. They're beyond salty. They are more briny than the Great Salt Flats of Utah dissolved in the Dead Sea. I'm not kidding.

Not only are they pure sodium, they are waterlogged to the point of being mealy. Now, in my book, peanuts are supposed to be CRUNCHY and roasty toasty...not saline-ified mushy blobs.

Jonathan loves them. He bought 5 cans of the darn things.

I won't fight him for them. They're all his.

So, I guess that means I flunked being a Floridian, but I pass being a North Carolinian with flying colors!