February 25, 2012 Carmen, bikes and Rocky

Last evening we went to our very first opera. Janet took us to the Sarasota Opera House to see Carmen. Carmen is a French opera about a gypsy woman,  a soldier, love, jealousy and of course, murder. It was a wonderful experience. Thankfully, the translation was provided but I enjoyed trying to comprehend some of the lyrics before looking at the translation. My meager French remains meager.

Today we went on a bike ride to the beach where we watched surfers, dolphins and lots of boats on the waters of the Gulf. A stop at the gelato shop on the way back provided us with the nourishment to peddle the 5 miles back home.

On a sad note, my little buddy, Rocky is not well. He is the cutest little dog I have ever met; my neighbour's dog who helps keep me in shape by walking with me 4 or 5 times a week. Some positive vibes sent out to Rocky would be appreciated.

February 23, 2012 Not a vacation

I have been asked the following question on a number of occasions lately: "So, how are you enjoying your vacation?"  My reply has been the same each time, "This is not a vacation, this is my life."

 Being retired means choices, many choices; among them travel. And so, traveling, golfing, beach combing, hiking, camping, reading, spring training games, long walks, spending time with good friends and sometimes afternoon naps are not vacation, they are just what I do. Tuesday was beach day, Wednesday was walking and gardening day and today was golf day. Tomorrow we will go to the opera in Sarasota. This is not vacation, this is my life.

February 17, 2012. Boca Grande

Boca Grande is a little island off the west coast of Florida, about 30 miles south of Venice. The island is a mixture of wealth and natural beauty. While there are many huge homes and several gated communities, the island is very laid back and boasts 0 gas stations, 0 fast food restaurants and 0 traffic lights. The most  beautiful part of this island are the beaches. The warm white sand next to the turquoise coloured water is very  inviting. In fact, it would be easy to spend many days on Boca Grande.

After walking around the town, where the locals travel about in golf carts, we decided to stop at the local ice cream parlor....yum, need I say more? We spent a couple of hours on the beach before meeting up with friends for dinner at the South Beach restaurant, a restaurant that is literally on the beach. Eating crab stuffed shrimp while watching the sun set over the beach was nothing short of spectacular. It was a perfect ending to a perfectly relaxing day.