A whole lot of nuthin' goin' on

Yesterday was a "catch up" day - spent a lot of time updating my Squidoo articles since I've been woefully lacking in this area. Woke up to 12 sales this morning so something is working. I sold a $3500 camera body off of my Senior Citizen Gift Ideas article the other day - that's a cool $140 in commission or so. The internet is just full of free money, and I'm trying to explore other ways to grab some.

So, I spent yesterday taking 3 nice walks with the dogs. The morning walk was though Bahama Village, one of the original areas of Key West. I actually think Bahama Village has gotten a bum rap as being a tougher neighborhood. I walk through very confidently with Killian by my side and stop to talk to everyone who beckons me. People on that side of the tracks are very nice and real. It's more of the locals who live in Bahama Village, many in the original conch houses that were built elsewhere and shipped to and assembled on a foundation here in Key West.

Two tired dogs

The structure in the picture is an old church in Bahama Village, right across the street from The Hemingway House. I thought it was beautiful.

The pool was next up for an hour or so. I'm trying to lay low with the tanning thing but it's difficult not to get tan in Key West. I am covering up every inch of my body with strong SPF so hopefully that will protect me enough.

Walk #2 included Killian walking to get some fresh seafood. Snagged a pound of the best grouper I've ever had and a pound of large pink shrimp which I wrapped in bacon (heads and all) and cooked up for dinner on the grill. Delicious.

Wasn't planning on walk #3 but, at 10:30 pm, wasn't quite tired yet so took the dogs just around a few blocks. They gain many accolades from the folks on the street, making it sort of difficult to get up a decent speed on a walk. But, it's fun to stop and talk to everyone.

Not sure what today will bring but I'm feeling the beach. I might take the jet ski out to the sand bar and just hang around out there today. We shall see. Stay tuned.

On the grill

And, on my plate!

Doggone tired!

It's not only the drunks on Duval Street who come home and pass out - it's the dogs too! I took the dogs for a long walk last night and came home to find them both passed out in about 5 minutes. Killian was reluctant to even wake up to come to bed 4 hours later. Nice to see him so pooped. He's doing well here - training is going pretty well, considering I still haven't managed to hook up with a professional dog trainer. Turns out I know a thing or two about training myself and actually have been implementing what I have learned over the years. He's still dog aggressive but that too will end. Next Wednesday, we plan on attending a dog class over at the soccer field. There's 5 other dogs who form a cohesive group so he'll be odd man out which is just what he needs.

Smathers Beach in panorama view from my Sony camera

Yesterday was my first official day in Key West all on my own. A very strange feeling considering I haven't been alone for a week in, oh, about 20 years. I was a bit out of sorts for the first part of the day and did a lot of thinking while sitting on the beach. Spent a lot of time snapping pics with my Sony underwater camera which I love. Here's an article I wrote on Squidoo about the camera (will be updating it later today with more pictures): My personal review of the Sony DSC-TX10 Underwater Camera. Mostly thinking about a job! I need to update my resume, which, of course, I don't have with me at the moment and get it circulating. Not sure yet what I want to be when I grow up but, for starters, I suppose I'll head back to Clinical Trials as I've always enjoyed the work. I love working with clinical trial data - making it stronger and cleaner so trials pass the FDA. We shall see. Perhaps I'll become a professional dog trainer instead!

After the beach, I stopped at the Key West grocery only to find that I'd left my credit cards at home and had limited cash. I'm used to just charging everything so it was a very interesting experience to have to watch prices. Boy, do I have sticker shock down here in Key West! First off, things are at least 30% more expensive than in DC and, second off, the selection leaves something to be desired. I'm actually ordering quite a few supplies off Amazon as I have Amazon Prime (free shipping) so it makes sense.

After shopping a bit and picking up some fresh veggies, I came home and hit the pool for just a quick float and some reading on the Kindle. Not sure I'm 100% sold on the Kindle Touch although I do like it. Somehow though, I keep forwarding past where I'd been reading just by picking the thing up and then I can't quite figure out how to get back! Eh, I suppose a quick looksie on the computer will give me the answer.

Dinner was prepared on the grill and I had two very willing dining companions - the dogs roused themselves for a few hand outs.

I've been back to writing a few articles while here. I had slowed up considerably in the months before Mom died as I just didn't have the interest, time or energy. Some of that is coming back, thankfully. Here they are:

Sport fishing on a charter boat - 5 things to remember

Key West Cars - this one is fun

Using the Instant Fisherman Fishing Pole - here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Not sure what today will bring. Stay tuned tomorrow to see what I manage to get into!

You call THAT a car?!

Decided to surprise Sharyn yesterday and rented a little electric car for us to use to buzz around the island. Yes, I have the truck with me but it sure is easier to get around in a teeny weeny car. Much easier to park too. And, yes, before any of you readers is a smart ass, we fit...

So, we headed out to see Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden which is an acre chocked full of forest type foliage and 32 parrots, all rescues. We spent about an hour talking to the parrots - some of whom were quite entertaining. Here's a few pics:

As you can see, Lucy was trying to get at me. I stayed just out of reach though. I'm smarter than the average bird...



I also took some videos, the most fun of which was Sharyn talking to the birds. She was singing and the birds were looking at her like she was nuts. Pretty funny, all in all. Video will follow.

The garden was beautiful though the front part is an environmental easement and there is talk that part of the acreage will be taken for development. Not exactly sure how that works as doesn't make much sense to me. Regardless, if you're in Key West, Nancy Forrester's Hidden Garden is a pretty cool place to spend an hour or so. The birds really are fascinating. As are some of the tourists...who shall remain nameless (Sharyn....).

After our trek through the wilderness, we were hungry so we headed over to Higgs Beach to Salute on the Beach for some of the best mussels and shrimp salad in town. Salute is, not surprisingly, right on the beach. There's a beautiful dog park right across the street which has 2 sections - one for Killian sized dogs and one for Gizmo sized dogs.

Next stop was White Tarpon for martinis. Met a really nice retired vet who has 8 animal hospitals in Tampa area. He has a home down here that is vacant part of the year. Tried to get him to adopt me to no avail...

Next up was the manager of the new Tiki Bar at White Tarpon. I got his name and number as he's going to be pretty helpful in future months. He kindly offered to go look at any place I ask hin to, either for rental or buy. Nice to have good friends.

Nightfall found us turning our little electric buggy, albeit a bit sadly. We relaxed at the house for a bit before hitting the streets and ending up at Pete's Piano Bar for a while. Always a fun show.

Came back and took Killian out for a walk back Duval to get a sausage and peppers. He did very well, weaving around the Spring breakers.

More Key West Fodder

Going under A1A to the Gulf 

Spent Sunday back on the jet ski for just a bit. I was piloting and, of course, John fell off - well, so did I but I ditched intentionally so we didn't capsize the ski. John used the occasion to remind me that, when I pilot, we always end up in the water. I think he was just a poor sport....

Jetted off to the gulf side which is so shallow it was a bit scary. There's places where the water goes from 8' to 1' with no warning whatsoever. So, we turned around and headed for the blue Atlantic which doesn't have that problem. Rode back out to the sandbar again and flopped around for a while before heading back - we'd gotten too much sun on Saturday so it was the prudent thing to do. Besides, we didn't have a beer opener with us (a guffaw that won't happen again)....

Decided to come home and get cleaned up. After a short walk with the dogs, we headed down to the White Tarpon for just "one" cocktail. Well, two cocktails later we were weaving our way up Duval. Note to self: those martinis are strong! Met up with Sharyn and decided to try Martinis, a newer bar on Duval. Very nice. It has the sofa seating like John and I like and good quality cocktails. After that, I think we waddled down to the Bull and Whistle but may have to consult my cohorts for more info.

I do know, though, that we spent the majority of the our eveing at Pete's piano bar. If you're ever in Key West, it's a must go-to place. There's two facing pianos and the guys who play are like a comedy team but they really do play the piano, and well. They're really a lot of fun. It's spring break down here so the younger college kids were a lot of fun to watch bop around as we elders sipped our 2-minimum cocktails. A great time was had by all. One of the teeny boppers came over and told me what a fine man I had by my side. I know!

The next day found us packing John up for the rather sad trip home. I was really saddened to see him go as I've discovered that home is where John is. The house just isn't the same without him. But, ah, the sadness didn't stop Sharyn and me from buzzing up the keys in the car to find a beach upon which to perch for a few hours. We ended up at Bahia Honda Park at mile marker 37 which, you think would take about 40 minutes to get to but not on Rt. 1. An hour later, we pulled into paradise as can be evidenced by these pictures:

Just a stunning place to set for a spell

The beach stretches on for miles north and south

After snorkeling around and seeing just a few fish, Mangrove Groupers, we sat and read Kindles until our skin started to sizzle.

Coming back to Key West, I decided to try out my new little fishing pole that John gave me. It's the best thing EVER! It's folds to just around 8" long but expands to a full sized rod. I pulled it out and a man and woman watching asked "Are you really going to catch fish on that thing?" I said "Just watch me." Threw on a hook, a few split shot, a piece of squid and the very first cast brought up this thing in the first pic which I think might be a grouper (albeit, one who might be yellin' for mama....

Sharyn even got in the act although she's not as adept at casting as I am. In fact, good thing we both had sunglasses on! But, we sat and fished for 40 minutes or so and have a blast. Here's a few more of my trophies:

Came home and made a delicious dinner of fresh scallops and snapper that I'd talked a boat captain into throwing my way. All in all, a great day!

And, love these pics:

It takes a big man to walk a small dog -
especially in Key West!

She likes it up there - honest

Got caught up in relaxation...

...and had a temporary blog-pause. Been having a wondrous time. John came into town on Friday so we've been moving and shaking around here. We spent Friday night and, after a few sangrias and some pizza, it was off to an early bedtime. Ah, but that meant that we got up yesterday at 5 am so we could see the sunrise.

 Yesterday was magnificent. We started off walking around the Key West cemetery on the cemetery tour - very interesting. Here's my favorite grave - it's a mother and child. They went to New York on a trip when the child was only 3 years old and she fell out of a hotel window. The mother died 2 years later and they're buried in this grave. The most wondrous thing is, that when I was looking at these pictures, my camera captured a light beam coming right through the wreath that the mother is holding - the wreath symbolized eternity. I think this picture is proof that a mother's love is undying.

After the cemetery tour, John and I took the jet ski over to the Atlantic side of the island for a ride. Blue water abounded and the ride was great. We had to go past mangroves (which held no manatees that I could see) but, after that, we opened her up and flew across the ocean. What fun! We ended up at a sandbar only to remember that we had no anchor, having lost it last year. So, when a MacGregor sailboat appeared, we asked if we could hook to them. And a friendship was formed! The couple, John and Jeanette, live down here in the Keys and couldn't have been any nicer. They brought their 11 year old boxer, Minnie, along so we had much fun watching her cavort on the sandbar.

When we got there, the sandbar was about 2 feet under water but, after hours of laughing, chatting, and general merriment, the sandbar was just about 8" deep. Ah, but we had to move on. So, we exchanged info and hope to see John and Jeanette in two weeks when John's in town again and we hit "the bar."

Came home, showered and got cleaned up for a rambled down Duval Street to the La Concha hotel for the most beautiful view of the sunset on the island. People think Mallory Square has the view but they've seen nothing yet. Here's some pics - 360 view of the island from the top of La Concha:

Killian!

So, while I'm in KW for a while, I've decided to hire a one-on-one dog trainer for Killian. Little did I realize how quickly he wants to learn (Killian, not the dog trainer).

I started off this morning to walk Killian, training clicker in hand. It took me about 100 feet (to the stop sign) before it "clicked" with hm. He was ON! And, man, was he ON! We walked down Duval until I spied a dog and yelled to the guy that I wanted to walk by. The guy was more than willing to control his dog as I guided Killian, with clicker, right by. A sharp "Leave It" was all it took to snap Killian's  head away from the facing dog and back to me. Very amazing, all in all. I worked with him about 40 minutes or so and then brought him back to the house where I swapped out wee Gizmo. For what it's worth, it's much easier to train a larger dog. Gizmo, being of slight stature, gets away with all kinds of crap - and everyone, including me, lets her.

Gizmo and I ended up at 801 Bourbon street where we met my new best friends, Vincent and Rob (not a couple). They just happened to both embrace us at the same time. Gizmo quickly disappeared with Vincent but, not to worry, I knew exactly where she was at all times. We chatted and I found out some great Key West secrets, including the best spot on the island to spy the sunset. I'll never tell!

I wandered off and ended up walking up and down Duval street all day! I just swapped out dogs and training mechanisms.

Can't wait for John to get here in two short days. We're heading out to the cemetery tour on Saturday with Sharyn in the morning and then John and I are hitting a deserted island in the afternoon on the jet ski. Sunday will find John and me taking the kayak tour at sunset and then meeting up with Sharyn probably for a late dinner. He leaves Monday and I'm already missing him!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy

My fish call did nothing to get the fish jumping on my line yesterday - in fact, this pic is of the largest of my two catches. It was too small to keep and, since I'd hooked the poor yellowtail through the eye, it wasn't going to make it so the boat mate just reset the hook and I used him for bait - still to no avail.

The guy next to me caught 3 beautiful keepers. I threatened to throw him in...

After our 4 hour fishing tour, Sharyn met me and we wandered up Duval street. We had our own little pub crawl including a long stop at Irish Kevins and a wander to the dueling piano bar where the parrot ate my fingernail clean off. Sheesh.

Later in the evening found us walking into the cool house and just sitting back and relaxing. A perfect way to end a perfect day. Here's a few more pics:

St. Patrick's Day in Key West

Was walking the dogs at 6:30 am and had already passed 2 leprechauns in full regalia. The city was on fire by around 9. There's a very small Irish bar right around the corner from the house and I couldn't figure out why there were so many people lined up to get in at 10 am. Turns out that they sold 900 tickets to a pub crawl in town! That's about the full population of Key West!

I headed out to Ocean Key where I had a marvelous time sitting at the pool, reading the "newspaper" which doesn't carry much news, and watching the boats on the gulf. Started to burn after just an hour so hit the homestead where I floated in the hot tub (which wasn't hot) for a bit before napping. Ah, the travails of Key West...

I took Gizmo for a walk up Duval to a small rum bar John and I found. The proprietor, Bob, served me and gave me a hefty discount as I'm a local! How cool! I'm a local in Key West. Loving it. Gizmo was on my lap for the time I sat on the bar stool and drew quite a crowd. 7 very tipsy very funny men came in and passed her around. She was loving it. They left and a quiet and calm came back over the place. Perfect afternoon.

I found a teeny place to buy fresh fish called Tomasito's. Mama Cita, the proprietor, sells, from what I gathered through our communication gap, any fish that her husband and son bring home. So, dinner for Sharyn and me was fresh shrimp that were the best I've ever in my life had and stone crabs. Now, I'm not such a fan of stone crab as I really don't care for cold seafood and the claws have to be eaten cold. They also are quite expensive and, bang for the buck, there isn't much for me.

Dessert was a waddle over to Better than Sex, the most wonderful dessert shop on the planet. They open from 6pm - 2am and only serve dessert. The place is very dimly lit so quite sexy, not that that helped Sharyn and me. We bellied up to the bar for chocolate rimmed Merlot glasses and an exquisite piece of bread pudding. Waddle back home took slightly longer but then bed was wonderful.

So, here i am, 8am in the morning for another day in Paradise. What to do, what to do....I'm thinking a day at the beach may be nice but have to walk the dogs first. Trying to get 7 miles in a day and have been pretty successful of late. Ok, readers, hope your day is as great as mine is about to be!

Bahama Village stroll

Got up early yesterday (and today!) and strolled up Duval to the Atlantic side to watch the sunrise. With a cup of hot coffee in my hand and two fairly obedient dogs by my side, I sat on a chair on the beach and watched the sunrise. It was truly awe inspiring. 

And, my "awe" moments continued when I went to the grocery store to stock the house up with staples and some fresh vegetables. It's very very expensive down here but, I knew that and it is what it is. I often wonder though how the waiters make it on tips. I tend to tip more than 20% while here as I'm a fan of spreading the wealth and they certainly need it. Housing is ridiculously expensive. I bought the local paper and was perusing the ads yesterday - there's one ROOM to be rented right over a storefront on Duval for $1,000 a month! WHAT?

Anyway, later yesterday, I took a wander with Killian through Bahama Village - one of the oldest sections of Key West. A lot of the houses are "Conch style" and were physically built in the Bahamas and then shipped to Key West for permanent inclusion into the colorful history of the island.

Afternoon found Sharyn and I floating in the pool, reading books, and chatting about nothing in particular and everything in general.

Evening found us watching a movie with a bowl of popcorn in my lap. How perfect a way to spend an evening.

Key West!

After an uneventful ride (thank you, God!), we arrived in Key West around 11 am yesterday and dropped the jet ski at Hurricane Hole marina on Stock Island. I decided to put it up out of the water in a boat hotel - I can call and they will have it in the water, ready for a ride. Sadly though, there's few places where one can ride in the waters of Key West as most of the area is deemed a sanctuary. That's ok though, we can still head up the Gulf coast on it and I'm interested to see the keys from the water side.

After dropping the ski, we made our way to get the keys for the house. With a bit of trepidation, I opened the door of the Tobaggo house only to be faced with - pure Nirvana! I mean, this place is the stuff dreams are made of! Sadly, I'll never find a place to buy down here that is 1/4 of the beauty in which I'm living for 6 weeks. The picture does NOT do it justice (note to self - learn how to use camera...). With two bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, and a backyard that is to drool over, I'm about to be the happiest woman on earth - that is, I would be the happiest woman on earth if only John were here (and Bobbi too!) at the moment. He comes in the weekend after next and I just can't wait!

Anyway, the house is truly lovely and way more than I ever expected. See, I'm a fan of not expecting much and this is why. I'm rarely disappointed and frequently delighted to find more than I expected which is certainly what happened this time. My bedroom is gorgeous, my bathroom has a very nice large jacuzzi. The house is stocked to the gills with fresh towels and linens. The hot tub out back wasn't very hot but we can work on that today.

Sharyn and I walked around exploring the house with our mouths hanging open. She was thrilled to find that the website was wrong - her bedroom has a nice queen bed instead of a pull out sofa! Very nice indeed.

After stowing all of our assorted sundries, we took showers and hit the streets, sans dogs. They were quite content to stay in the house and, I imagine, doze the night away. Sharyn and I wandered down to the White Tarpon where we rang in our Key West extended vacation with Key Lime martinis. While there, I started talking to the bartender and it turns out that she (Jesse) went to school with my nephew. Too funny! Got him on the phone for a moment of reminiscing and some good laughs over the chance meeting. Also met Karen who works at one of the local museums where the "Robert doll" lives. The story of this doll, who is haunted, is very weird. Evidently, a quite eccentric gentleman, named, strangely, Robert, got this doll and treated it as though it was his brother. He even gave it his name, "Robert" and the man started using his own middle name instead. He had a whole room in his house devoted to "Robert's" needs such as a small doll bed, doll sized furniture, etc. Legend has it that the Robert doll is haunted although Karen said she's never seen it move but has heard the "giggles" twice. Needless to say, the museum is on my to-do list.

After that, Sharyn and I headed over to the Conch Republic for a great meal of fresh fish, for me, and fresh tuna bites on her salad. All in all, a truly delightful time and just the right start to our Key West time.

I'm hoping to take a lot of photos this trip, as I learn to use my Nikon D5000 and my sony waterproof DSC-T10.

Stay tuned. I'm going to try and update this blog daily with our movings and shakings around the Conch Republic!

Dolphin HO!

We headed out of Savannah around 9 this morning for the drive to, we thought, Ft. Lauderdale. Savannah is so picturesque, we couldn't resist stopping the car on the side of a road and walking briefly through a park. Beautiful trees, azaleas, people with dogs abounded. After snapping a few shots, we headed to where my Pilot's GPS told me to go - we thought. After making 3 swipes around the block (ostensibly killing time until one of us could figure out how to get on the freeway), we turned the Pilot, jet ski, us and the dogs south on 95 toward the Keys.

Since John did such a good job yesterday finding us that hotel in Atlanta, I called my "consierge" again today to hook us up with a beach front hotel in Lauderdale by the Sea. More difficult than one might think while expecting to room with 2 4-legged companions. While we were mulling what to do, one of us (I think it was me....) came up with the rather brilliant solution of not staying there! Duh! I'm still not used to having all this freedom. Anyway, we had John check the upper keys and, well, here we sit in a hotel smack dab on the Gulf!

The hotel is about what you'd expect for the Keys - laid back, clean enough but certainly not anywhere near fancy. In fact, if you were picky, it's not the spot for you (poor you). You'd miss a pretty good time. The sign in the lobby said it all:

We spent a few hours in the tiki bar listening to accoustic guitar, eating shrimp and fish dip. How amazing was that?! The dogs were very well behaved, and I gave Killian a little tune up in obedience. He's doing so very well - more like the Killian of old. He's very attentive to both Sharyn and I and rarely strays or pulls on his lead. Bobo is another issue....

The day was just totally topped by the fact that we've been watching dolphins feed right off the shore for the last few hours. I've tried to get some decent shots and hope to get many more before my 6 weeks in Key West are over.

Key West Bound!

Yesterday saw Sharyn, Killian, Gizmo and me rushing like a herd of turtles to get out the door and hit the open road to Paradise. We left around 10am and pulled into Savannah, our first stop, around 7 pm. Now, normally, we would have made better time but 2 of us (who shall remain nameless) got antsy and had to get out of the car periodically (ok, it was Sharyn and me)...

We stopped and let the dogs out every few hours and, since we're towing the jet ski, we had to give the car a couple of good drinks along the way.

Savannah is gorgeous and I only wish I had more time here. We're smack dab in the middle of downtown, no mean feat when pulling the jet ski. The nice woman at the hotel desk had to call a guy in his room to come move his car so that I could have the only large spot in which to park the truck and ski. It was quite comical to see 4 of us try to figure out how to back the ski into said spot. After a bit, I just went around the block and came in face first. Now, this could well present a problem today when I have to back out....should have thought more ahead.

Sharyn and I saddled up the dogs and headed to dinner at a town square (the place is all squares!). We ended up in the City Market area where a beautiful fountain periodically spurts water in tall plumes. Sharyn and I were both impressed with how gentile the city seems; people wandered around and all seemed to be having a great time. We settled in a restaurant with outdoor seating so the dogs could be with us. I love that this city is so dog-friendly. Every place should be like this! You see every kind of pure breed and mongrel mixing and having an all around good time. Killian was a bit on end walking to the square but, then again, he's a country dog in a city setting. The backfire from a bus would have made Killian's fur stand on end if he wasn't shaved bald in prep for Key West. But, the walk back was much better. He relaxed as did I. He's actually been quite the trooper although Gizmo is a pain in the ass. I've pretty much figured out that I'll put Gizmo in an obedience class in KW and do private lessons with Killian. I'll be busy!

Ok, off today down to Fort Lauderdale which shows a 7 hour drive on MapQuest. In fine Joe-fashion "I can beat that time." My dear father would always try to beat his best time driving from Arizona to Maryland. I think, one time, he made it in, oh, 4 hours. More later!

Key West, Here I Come!

I spent the last 5 years caring for my aging Mom, Gertie, who died Feb 15, 2012 - just 2 short weeks ago. As part of my rejuvenation, I've long planned to runaway to fabulous Key West, Florida and that's exactly what I plan on doing. I'll be spending 6 weeks (this time around) in a cottage 1/2 block off Duval Street with more trips planned for later in the year.

Key West, Florida is paradise - at least, it is to me and those I love the best. I used to travel to the Keys with my family during winter school vacations where we'd charter the Float Along, Ted Schmidt's boat. I know that Ted is gone but those days of watching him feed his pet pelican a small fish from the back of the boat instilled something in me. We'd catch Wahoo, Barracuda, and Dad even won a trophy for a 300 lb Grouper.

Key West ocean breezes are invigorating, the people are fascinating, and the atmosphere just couldn't be more laid back and perfect for this time in my life. I planned the trip before Mom died and told her about it. She was quite pleased that I was going to have this adventure.

So, in this Key West Travels blog, I plan on documenting my adventure to and around Key West. Sharyn and I are driving down with Killian, my Aussie, and Gizmo, my littlest girl dog, leaving the second week of March. We'll be towing the jet ski as there's almost no better place in the world to have water wings than Key West! Sharyn will stay with me the first two weeks and then fly home. John will be coming in every other weekend (flights are already booked and ready to go!) so we'll have time to really miss each other before each reunion. Assorted friends are planning on coming down for a visit also so, all in all, a wonderful time is planned.

The very first Key West adventure I have in the works is a personal dolphin tour. I'm not one to visit zoos or aquariums as I think that it's a shame animals meant to be in the wild are in captivity. That's not to say that I don't support charities that rehab animals - that's high on my lift. But, as to seeing a killer whale jump through a hoop, count me out. I much prefer the times we've spent floating on a boat or in a raft off the Key West reef and have seen wild dolphins in the vista. Bobbi is the official dolphin spotter but I hope to elevate my talents to her skill level.

We're also going to go on a head boat fishing charter out of Key West so Sharyn and I will, hopefully, fill our freezer with fish for days to come. John also bought me this extremely cool collapsible fishing pole so I can jet on out to fertile grounds and catch my own yellow tail tuna. Yum!

So, dear readers, come along with me as I go about the beginning of the rest of my life. I believe I'm on the path to nirvana.

Note: all pictures on this blog are copyrighted by Lori Burdoo. Please do not use them in any publications without my permission. But, you're in luck - ask me and I'll probably share!