Lettuce Entertain You!

Hi All -

So, let's see. First, the medical updates. I had my allergy tests done - was tested for 49 allergens (ouch, ouch, ouch) and was negative for all of them (mold, dust, ragweed, etc.) - everything but one....DOG. I can't believe it.

I am still on a bunch of meds, am treating the dogs with dander-reducing solution, and have banned Deuce from our bedroom. He was not amused.

Say What?

We had an epic battle of wills the first night we kicked him out of the room, which lasted until 1 am. But since then, he has been a little angel, and has slept peacefully downstairs with Miss Mo.

I still may have to take allergy shots, but I'm trying the other options for a while first.

Meanwhile, Glenn got his MRI results back and not only had two bulging discs, but also two ruptured discs in his neck. He is now undergoing some physical therapy which he thinks is helping, and has a back brace that he wears on occasion, which makes him look like he just parachuted into the living room.

We had a pretty quiet weekend. We went to Old Hyde Park Village on Saturday to walk around and window shop, which was fun. And on Sunday, we went to Lettuce Lake Park, a park near Tampa that was recommended on TripAdvisor.

The park had lots of nice trails. Back in this area, the cicadas were so loud, Glenn and I had to yell to hear each other.

Dora the Explorer

It's hard to believe we were just minutes from the expressway.

After much walking, we found the raised boardwalk that goes around the lake and through the swamp area.

At the lake, you can see these huge cypress trees coming out of the water.

And that's not all that was coming out of the water!

Our first alligator sighting since we've been down here. This guy was very close to us and nice enough to pop out on shore. He was probably 5 or 6 feet long.

We also saw two baby alligators. This little guy was a cutie. I wanted to take him home to be Deuce's playmate. (Plus as my friend Julie said, alligators don't have any dander. They're hypoallergenic!)

Anyway, it was a great place to walk around and commune with nature.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Signing off, from the wilds of Florida - Us

Davis Island and Clearwater Beach

Hey all -

Another beautiful week in Florida. I was just thinking this morning how amazing it is to come out of the gym and hear seagulls. I really do love it here.

As I may have mentioned, Glenn and I have been having some minor health annoyances. He had an MRI this week due to some ongoing shoulder pain (he fell asleep in the machine, which apparently is unprecedented). I have also been seeing the chiropractor and apparently have a pinched nerve and some wayward discs in my neck, which has caused my thumb and index finger to go numb.

Additionally, I am having allergy tests done tomorrow. We'll see if I am allergic to alligators or what.

Still, all of this has not stopped us from continuing to explore.

Saturday, we took the dogs on an extremely hot walk around Davis Island. I kept dumping water on Deuce and Mojo because I was worried the heat was too much, but they did fine.

Davis Island is a cute little man-made island just over a bridge from downtown Tampa. They have a little airport and harbor, and lots of very nice homes. Lisha and Chad are considering moving here.

You can see it's quite lovely.

And you can see downtown from here.

That evening, while the dogs were peacefully sleeping, we headed to Clearwater Beach.

The Pier you see here is Pier 60. They have a sunset celebration here every night with acrobats and different performers. They also have a little market of junky stuff they sell on the pier - glowsticks, bad manatee figurines and homemade candles.

We went to the roof of the Pier 60 hotel, but didn't stay long enough to watch the sunset as it was a hot and shadeless location. Plus we were hungry.

Clearwater Beach is a lot more touristy than a number of other beaches we've been too. It's pretty impossible to not feel like you are on vacation when you are here.

Anyway, we ended up having a surprisingly good dinner of snow crab legs at a place called Cooters. (That's right, for those of you keeping track, we've eaten at a place called Crabby Bills, Sea Critters and now Cooters. There is apparently no limit to silly restaurant names.) The place had a Terrible Towel hanging from their ceiling, and lots of Steelers and Pens stuff, so Glenn felt right at home.

Afterwards, we walked along the Pier and got some lovely beach breezes.

We witnessed some drama as a ton of emergency vehicles and boats showed up, apparently to rescue a person(s) who was swimming (or failing to swim) way out on the ocean. We saw one girl picked up on a jet ski and returned to the beach, but then the search continued. We didn't hear what happened anywhere, so I'm just going to assume everyone got out okay.

Still, it was a lovely evening and a full moon.

Anyway, that's all the news from here. Hope you are all well and enjoying the end of your summer. It just keeps going here. ;-)

Party Bus to Lakeland

Hi All -

So in case you've worried about the fact that Glenn and I are in a whole big weird new state and have only our dogs and lizards for company, let me allay those fears. Chad and Lisha have lovingly invited us into their social circle, and this past weekend, we got to go with a bunch of folks to Lakeland.

Our new friend Rachel had a friend who had opened up a winery/restaurant in Lakeland (The Red Door Wine Market), and wanted everyone to go together to check it out. Since Lakeland is a long ways north in cow country, everyone pitched in and rented a bus for the festivities.

Here are the girls:

(Lisha, Kathy, Rachel, KK, and myself)

And here are the guys:

 (Ken, Brit, Chad, Glenny, and John)

Here we are on the road. It was a pretty posh bus.

There was one more couple - Erin and Xavier (below), who showed up a tad late, so they aren't in some of the group shots. We went to Erin's birthday party about ten years ago, and she was in Lisha's wedding with me - we've been good friends with Erin ever since. She recently adopted a baby boy, named John Patrick (JP), and we'll be going to his first birthday party in September.

Glenn and Xavier were wearing very similar shirts, and hence made quite a cute couple.

Anyway, the restaurant brought us 3 or 4 courses of food, along with a wine pairing for each, and we had a very fun, relaxing evening.

Upon arrival, I told Glenn I wanted to finally get a decent photo of Lisha and I together, and this is what he came up with.

You see what I have to put up with here?

On the way back, there was much hilarity as Chad attempted some sort of wild dance move and accidentally kicked out one of the sconces on the bus. Here is that special moment. You can tell Lisha is proud.

So that's pretty much it. Some new friends and a fun night in Lakeland. I suppose I'll sign off by letting you know that one of Glenn's new favorite talents is taking pictures of himself making funny faces. Enjoy!

43 is the new 29

Hi All -

Sorry its been a while since my last post. This past Tuesday was, as you all know, my birthday (Wooooo!). Glenn took me out to a nice dinner and presented me with a necklace he bought me in Marco Island. So pretty!

Not sure why that pic is sideways, but you get the idea.

Anyhow, we had more general festivities over this weekend. On Saturday, Glenn and I went to Historic Pass-A-Grille Beach. Not sure what makes it so historic, other than the fact it is old.

We went to dinner at a place called Sea Critters and sat out on the dock.

There were, in fact, a number of sea critters there, including a school of catfish.

Here's another sea critter, wearing a starfish necklace.

After dinner, we went to the rooftop deck of a very old restaurant called the Hurricane to watch the sunset. Lisha and Chad had actually taken us to this spot ten years ago.

It was a nice breezy spot to watch the sun sink into the ocean.

All in all a fun evening.

On Sunday, we headed to Davis Island to take a class in Stand Up Paddleboarding. We will probably get some more pics in the days to come from the place's Facebook page, but here is one - Glenn and I are in the foreground, receiving a long list of instructions.

I had long thought that paddleboarding looked peaceful and relaxing, just gliding over the water, and was very excited to try it.

Instead it was an exhausting workout. Every muscle in my body was shaking after about ten minutes, and when I got off the thing, I started seeing spots and seriously thought I might faint into the sand. It is harder than it looks and it was hot as hell.

You have to concentrate the whole time to keep your balance, and you can't stop paddling because the momentum is what helps you balance (like riding a bike - when you stop, you fall over.) So NOT relaxing.

When we were done, I said to Glenn, "Hey, let's never do that again."

I'm probably the first person ever to hate Stand Up Paddleboarding, but I am willing to live with that distinction. Glenn did well and neither of us fell off, but that's definitely the first and last time I do that.

Maybe we'll stick to birdwatching.

 That's it for now, peeps!