March 30, 2012 Cruising Down the River

A one hour cruise on the Myakka River was a great way to spend the afternoon and to celebrate the arrival of a replacement driver's license. Someone, and you know who you are, did a huge favour by going to the DMV and getting those valuable documents here this morning. Thank you.

The river cruise boat meanders along the twisty Myakka River while the narrator provides those who want to listen with some interesting information. For example, did you know that a female alligator lays 40 to 50 eggs after a gestation period of 60 days? Fortunately only about 10% of those hatched survive beyond the first year.

The river is a protected area and so the beauty of the vegetation along its banks remains untouched. Particularly intriguing are the air plants that sit on the huge live oaks and yet take nothing from them. They get their nourishment from the air, dew and dead insects.  Fun day.

March 27, 2012. Sometimes...

Not all days in Florida are spent at spring training games or on the golf course. Some days are spent reading, shopping, doing chores like laundry or even gardening. Yesterday was like that. Today was a golfing day, 18 holes, to be exact.

 Somewhere on the back 9 we decided to put some money in a drink machine to quench our thirst. However, when I reached for my wallet it wasn't there. Thinking that I must have left it on the counter at the pro shop, we finished our game. Unfortunately, it was not at the pro shop and to make matters worse, another golfer determined that hers was also missing.

Further investigation revealed that they must have been stolen from our golf bags while we were on the putting green, waiting for our turn to tee off.  The police responded quickly and we filled out reports. Then it was time for the arduous task of calling banks, canceling cards and reporting other important cards missing. Luckily there was very little cash in my wallet and the thief didn't try to use any of my cards. 

Since there are those who believe (sometimes I do but sometimes things just suck) that there is always an upside to everything, I will say that the upside of this is that we get to hang out in Venice for a few more days while we wait for replacement "stuff" to arrive. Plus, the golf course felt so sorry for us that they gave us a coupon for another 18 holes.

March 24, 2012. Cirque Italia Aquatic

Before Cirque du Soleil, the word "circus" for me, conjured up images of lions, elephants and various carnival acts. Yesterday we watched a circus troupe from Italy perform "Cirque Italia Aquatic" here in Venice. It bore no resemblance to my old  ideas of a circus and was just as good as a Soleil performance. We were indeed dazzled by all the  acts, in particular a woman walking across a high-wire, singing, all the while with a man standing on her shoulders! It was truly breathtaking. You should go.

March 21-23, 2012 Baseball, Golf and Ice Cream

We woke up early on Wednesday morning and enjoyed watching a small herd of white tail deer munch their way through the tall grass, just a few meters away from our campsite. 

 

After a walk to the camp cafe and a chat with the campground hosts we drove to Sarasota where we took in a Jays vs Orioles ball game. The Jays were behind until the top of the ninth when they scored four runs to win the game by a score of 6 - 3.

Myakka wildlife

There seems to be a huge magnet that keeps pulling us to our friend's place in Venice. The drive from Sarasota is so familiar that Westy could almost do it on her own. We enjoyed dinner together and retired early.

Thursday is golf day here. We played in a best ball tournament and in spite of the extreme heat, had a great time. The easygoing nature of this group of players makes golfing with them very enjoyable.

Friday's chores included a walk to the local coffee shop, a bit of shopping at Publix, a glance at the Bealls' sale, a trip to pick up tickets for the Cirque d' Aquatic tomorrow and a drive to Nakomis groves for their famous orange ice cream.

 

It doesn't get  much better than this.

March 15 - March 20 First PGA Tournament, First Snake, Myakka River State Park

It was great to be back at my writer friend's place in Venice and to spend time with her and her family. On Friday the five of us headed north to Palm Harbour and the Innisbrook Golf Resort to take in some round 2 play of the Transitions Tournament. Although neither Tiger, nor Phil were playing, there were some very highly ranked players on the course. Watching from the edge of the fairway is so much better than watching from the living room. It was an experience that, given the opportunity, I would do again.

Saturday was a day of rest for everyone, as we had all had a busy week. We enjoyed some home made macaroni and cheese and the home made 

shamrocks on the table to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. A great dinner was followed by a yummy brunch on Sunday morning. We had booked three nights at Myakka River State Park and so we said "thanks for everything and a bientot" to our Venice friends.

Myakka River State Park is one of the largest parks in Florida, covering 58 square miles. There are lots of things to do in this park, everything from hiking, to canoeing, to fishing to airboat tours of the lake. One of the most fascinating things to do is to stand on the bridge and watch the alligators which are abundant. We were told that a lot of dogs go missing in this park. One of the best hikes is a mere 45 minute nature trail that includes a canopy walkway and 70 foot tower where you are above the treetops. The view is spectacular.

On our drive into the park we saw our first Florida snake. Luckily for us, we were in the van and the snake was not!

We spent part of Monday at Sunshine Auto in Sarasota getting a window repaired and look forward to staying put and enjoying the park for a couple of days.

March 11 - 15, 2012, Baseball, Manatees, and Camping

On Sunday we watched the Jays defeat the Braves from our awesome seats just to the right of home plate. After the game we stocked up at Publix and headed to our overnight site which was less than stellar...our first "miss" when it comes to places to stay overnight. Needless to say, we pulled out early on Monday morning, had breakfast at McDonalds and took advantage of their WiFi to try to locate a place to park for Monday night. Luckily I was able to locate a place in Largo that had one site left. It was a great place with a pool,  laundry facilities and an "all you can eat" shrimp restaurant located next door.

We left Largo on Tuesday morning to go to Fort De Soto Park for two days. We enjoyed our campsite overlooking the water and relaxed for the rest of the day. On Wednesday we met up with our friend from Jacksonville in downtown St. Pete's to take in a Team Canada vs Toronto Blue Jays ball game. Our tickets for this game were about 2 meters from the Blue Jays on deck circle....literally within chatting distance from the players. While Toronto won the game handily, the Canadian National Team put on a good show for all the Canadian fans.

The rest of the day was spend relaxing at our campsite at Fort De Soto. The guy at the site next to us, who was a kiteboarding instructor, went out with his kiteboard  and put on quite a show, doing tricks while the wind lifted him to a height of about 40 meters in the air. Fort De Soto is a great park.

On Thursday morning we explored the fort before heading to The Manatee Viewing Centre at Apollo Beach, one of Tampa's power stations. Manatees gather there when the water is below 68 because the water in the reservoir is very warm. A couple of manatees surfaced for us and of course, we took several pictures.

From Apollo Beach we drove to Little Manatee State Park where we spent the night. We did a short hike there and for the first time ever I experienced what my Jacksonville friend said were the early symptoms of heat exhaustion. it was extremely hot, close to 90! At any rate, we got back to the campsite safely, drank lots of water and cooled down in the shade.

Today we said good bye to our friend from Jacksonville as she headed north and we headed south, back to Venice for a few days. Tomorrow we are going to watch some PGA golf at Palm Harbor where The Transitions Championship will be played for a 5.5 million$ purse. Maybe we will pick up a few tips from the professionals.

March 7 - 10, 2012. Markets, State Parks, Friends and Ball Games

When we pulled out of Fort De Soto Park we headed south over the Sunshine Skyway and found our way to The Red Barn (a giant flea and produce market) in Bradenton. Our goal there was to purchase some freshly made kettle corn. We found the kettle corn stall as well as stalls for strawberries, beans and apples. The prices were excellent, for example, a box of strawberries for $1.00!  We took some kettle corn to friends in Venice, did some laundry there and headed off to Oscar Shearer State Park, where we spent two nights.

 On Thursday morning we took advantage of the pancake breakfast being offered at the Park's Nature Centre and enjoyed blueberry pancakes, orange juice and coffee, all for $4.  The rest of the day was spent at a ball game in Sarasota, the spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles. It was a great game with the home team coming away with the win on a very hot afternoon.  While we were at the game Westy was getting a coolant hose replaced at Sunshine Auto, a great shop with a super mechanic named Ron. The motto above the door at Sunshine Auto is "No VW should ever die".

 On Friday morning we went on a guided hike with one of the Park rangers. We learned all about scrub jays, saw an eagle, a cardinal couple, saw bobcat tracks and were educated about the complicated issues surrounding park management.  We were thrilled to spend Friday night with a friend in Venice where we enjoyed a trip to Bealls, a bicycle ride and a delicious meal of Thai food.

On Saturday morning we drove north to Dunedin to watch the Jays defeat the Astros by a score of 5 - 2.   Bautista hit 2 home runs and there were several great plays made in the field. It was a great game in the gorgeous Florida sunshine.  Today, the Jays take on the Braves and we have great seats for the game.

March 4 - 6, 2012 Bradenton and Fort De Soto

On Sunday we watched the Jays defeat the Pirates again by a score of 8 - 5. This game was played in Bradenton, the spring training home of the Pirates. At first we were glad to see that our seats were in the shade, however, that soon changed as the wind came up and the temperature dropped to the low 60's. Luckily we brought socks in our bag and were the envy of those sitting next to us as we pulled out heavy socks to put on with our sandals.

After the game we drove about 30 minutes to Lake Manatee State Park where we had a reservation for the night. Florida's state parks are great; very clean, lots of room on the camp sites, electricity and water at each site, hot showers and even hiking trails.  We walked one of the trails at Lake Manatee and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the park.

Awesome site at Fort De Soto Park

On Monday we headed to Fort De Soto park, a beautiful Pinellas County Park consisting of four Keys jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico. Our camp site is facing the water and affords a view of seabirds, fish jumping and people, as well as pelicans, trying to catch them. It has been a relaxing two days here. As I look at a map of the area I am reminded of the many winters my parents spent in St. Pete's Beach and the fun times spent with them on March Breaks.

Today we head south again and will spend few days in the Sarasota/Venice area.

March 3, 2012, Blue Jays

It was an easy drive from Zephyrhills to Dunedin and the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.

 The street lights in Dunedin are decorated in Welcome Back Blue Jays banners and there are Canadian license plates parked everywhere. We paid $5 to park in someone's yard as there is very little parking at the stadium.  There are no bad seats in this small ball park, except maybe today. Some had to endure 88 degrees of direct sun for nine innings. Our seats were excellent as we got some shade after a few innings. The water and beer sellers were doing a brisk business,entertaining all by advertising, "beer flown in from Canada and cold water from the Oakanagan, just for you eh!" The Jays beat the Pirates by a score of 7- 1. Three great double plays and a couple of home runs made the game very exciting.

We spent the night in an RV park and slept fitfully as a wild rain and wind storm blew through, taking the thermometer from the 80's to the 60's.

Today the Jays are playing the Pirates in Bradenton and we will be there.

February 27 - March 1, Zephyrhills

I have been told that the population of Zephyrhills decreases by 60% in April when all the snowbirds head home. Looking at the number of  55+ parks, three wheel bicycles and golf carts it is not hard to believe that most of the people in this town  are older winter residents.We came here to visit family for a few days, after spending three great weeks in Venice.

Country music seems to be the name of the game here in Zephyrhills. Music concerts and jam sessions abound. Other interests seem to be golf and skydiving. Today on the golf course we were easily distracted by the sounds of small aircraft dropping people out, and the awesome sight of all the colorful chutes heading for earth.

It is very hot in Zephyrhills...upper 80's yesterday, 90 today!

Good news: Rocky is improving and sent me a slobbery kiss!