Catching up...

My people said that I couldn't go to the beach this week unless I caught up on my blogging. Doesn't anybody realize that I am a busy dog - I have a lot of things to do down here in the sunshine state and that doesn't include sitting inside at a computer terminal. I dragged my paws long enough and I think they are serious about the 'no beach' thing, so here goes...

Amazing what can be found on a simple walk down the neighborhood street. TIMMY!! (you know, the turtle that everyone has as a kid and names it Timmy.)

Hell0000000 in there...

That thing was BIG. And I am told that they are not called 'turtles' here - it is either a Florida Cooter or a River Cooter...cooter, hooter, tooter - who cares?! I just wanted to play. And let me tell you that when he decided to take off, that cooter was FAST...look at the picture and the (relative) blur of his legs...

We found a new dog park one afternoon. I ran, and I ran, and I ran, and I ran...then I ran, and ran...well, you get the picture! Whew...I was exhausted. Couldn't even hold my head up to drink my water. Guess it's true what they say about the humidity here - really sucks the energy out of you!

Afterward we went to a 'dog-friendly' restaurant called the Tarpon Turtle and sad outside on the patio overlooking Tarpon Lake...guess who/what decided to join us for dinner...!? Now that reptile was FAST! Every time something fell into the water... *splash*chomp*gone*... yikes!

We also went on an adventure to the other side of the state where we were going to watch a space shuttle launch (whatever that is), but we ended up going to a park and a couple of beaches instead. Fine by me. There was this big, friendly thing swimming around the Indian River on the Space Coast - actually, there were about a dozen manatees hanging out, including a little baby! They were so ugly that they were cute. This one was a big male, about 12' long, and he kept snorting water at me. If they weren't so big, I would have gone swimming with them.

We spent a day at a beach just north of Cape Canaveral. Yippee! I love the beach. But nobody told me the Atlantic Ocean was a different beach experience than the Gulf of Mexico. Tasted the same....aackkk!

Wait...what are these waves?? Oh my gosh - look out! They just keep coming and coming...whoaaaa...here comes another one - and another - and another...look out little doggie!!

Run! Turn and run. Run away. Run fast.

Run, run little dog. The waves are going to eat you!

Aughhhh....

Bbbrrrrrr....

bbbblllllaaaa...

Nothing cures a salty dog like a good roll in the warm sand! Ahhhhh!

Yea, I love the beach!

I have no idea why I am forced to endure the humiliation of baths, haircuts and the ridiculous plaid scarf. I hate plaid.

Damn!

OK - there. I'm done. Can I go to the beach now??

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words *(people notes)

There are times when it just isn't possible to accurately convey the whole story using words. There are times when you just 'had to be there' to undersand the humor. There are times when it is advanageous to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. There are times when it is best to let the pictures tell the story and let the viewer fill in the blanks. There are times when 'what happens in Florida stays in Florida'. There are times when you realize a blog might need to be password protected. There are memorable times spent with friends that you wouldn't trade for anything. The week Deb & Hunter came to visit us from Alaska was all of those things!

And now, in the words of the late, great Paul Harvey "Here's the rest of the story..."




Plane Trip * Road Trip * Odie the Roadie * Renaissance Festival * Beer * Men in Kilts * Men in Hats * Hard Cider * Men in Kilts Competition * Real Men Wear Kilts * I 'Kilt' the Last Person Who Called it a Skirt * Beer * International Bier Garten * 'da Bier's * Bagpipes * Bag Clips *Duke Basketball * Chicago Bulls Basketball * Fresh Shrimp * Fresh Scallops * Fried Shrimp * Fried Tacos * Fried Green Beans * Fried Pickles * Pictionary * Perfect Margaritas * Women's Basketball * Men in Kilts Playing Basketball (wrong) * More Margaritas * Bellybutton Lint * Jupiter * Mema's Alaskan Tacos * It's a Small World After All...



It's a Small World After All... * Flea Market * Cuban Coffee* Ybor City * Little Havana * More Cuban Coffee * Need More Coffee * Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks * Road Trip * Dora, Dora, Dora * Tampa Bay Brewing Company * Beer * Cigar City * Arturo Fuente * Beer * Pretzels & Mustard * Pretzels & Cheese Dip * Pretzels & Beer * Prune Yogurt (oops!) * Pit Stop * Port-a-Potty (hooray!) * Dunedin Brewery * Mardi Gras * No Beads * Beads?!? * Beads!!! * Beer * Flannigan's Irish Pub * Irish Jig * Hand Jive * Chicken Dance * Beer * Band * Beads * Dora * Designated Driver * It's a Small World After All...



It's a Small World After All * Time to Get Up * New York Times * Coffee * Road Trip * Dora * Disneyworld * Epcott * Teacup Ride * Pirates of the Caribbean * Space Mountain * Kennedy Space Center * Saturn, Jupiter, Venus? * Space Shuttle * Beer * Beer 'n Brats * Brats & Sauerkraut * Fish Reubens * Fish Tacos * Salmon Tacos * Smoked Salmon * Beer * Road Trip * Dora * Tarpon Springs * Sponge Diving * Seafood * Beer * Baklava * Greek Food * Gyros * Grape Leaves * Oopa! * Ouzo! * It's a Small World After All...



It's a Small World After All... * Road Trip * Dora * Dive, Dive, Dive * Beach Lemonade * Bocce Ball * Santa at Beach * Beach Punch * Beer * Beer Nuts * Peanuts * PeliCAN * Yes We Can * Paint Can * Paint Ball Alley * Painter's Pants * Pink Car * Pink Shrimp * Sam's Bayside Bar * Hurricanes * Hurricane Hanks * It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere * Time to Go * Road Trip * Plane Trip * It's A Small, Small World!!!!!!

I LOVE VISITORS!!!

I love having people come to visit!! I especially love people who play with me, scratch my back, carry me when I am too tired to walk, take me to the beach and feed me treats. But I gotta tell you - these people who came all the way from Alaska to visit me brought the best treat ever...SMOKED SALMON!! And they shared it with me! Ahhhhh - I love being a dog. Thanks Deb & Hunter - you can come back to visit anytime (just don't forget the salmon!).

More Florida Learnings...

#1. Kumquats. What deserves to be named 'kumquat'? Well, I figured if the locals get so excited about a kumquat that they have a huge, annual festival to celebrate the kumquat then it must be something fantastic, right? Let me just say that as a dog I will eat pretty much anything...yes, even really disgusting things (and you all know what I am talking about). I ate my first and last kumquat on that fateful day. Blech. Aaauuuggghhhh. Bbbbllllaaaach. Those cute little fruits that look like miniature oranges are not good eating - unless they are mixed with lots of sugar and whipped stuff and poured into a chocolate pie crust! And I am pretty sure that Paul would agree with me 100%.

#2. Sunglasses. For dogs. Really? If dogs were made to wear sunglasses then we would have been given opposable thumbs and better ear cartilage so we could at least put them on and keep them on without little elastic straps under our chins. We were not meant to wear sunglasses. Ever. I don't care if this is the 'sunshine state'.

#3. Swimwear. The important thing here is to have comfortable swimwear that doesn't rub or cause chafing because the combination of sand and salt can be very abrasive. When strolling the beautiful Florida beaches it is important to look good. And you don't want bad tan lines either. Do you think this swimsuit makes my butt look big??

#4. The grass is not greener...and the sand is not whiter. We did a 3-beaches-in-3-days tour looking for the perfect beach and discovered that the beach we had been going to all along was absolutely the best. I'll admit that I had high hopes for the pet nude beach (ok, in dog terms that is the leash-free beach), but it just didn't measure up. It was pretty funny watching Paul and Jeannie try to play bocce ball there - random dogs would trot over and take the balls every time Jeannie threw a fantastic point! Tee-hee!

#5. Nature meets technology... I already told you about the bald eagle that has been scoping me out and trying to chase me down in the hood. Well, I found out where he lives! With his wife and soon to be hatched babies. They are nesting in the cell phone tower a couple of blocks away. Unfortunately, that gives him a distinct advantage in watching my every move. He went after a vulture the other day - don't mess with that eagle - he means business! Maybe that also explains why my text messages get garbled (or maybe that is the opposable thumb issue again).

#6. Jeannie can still move pretty fast when she has to. How did I learn this?? First was the armadillo attack while walking in the dark. I, of course, went after something lurking in the bushes and when I got within a few inches - it turned and started to charge at me. I thought this looked to be a fun game, but Jeannie yanked my leash, reeled me in and pulled me backward down the street - she was moving!! But so was that armadillo!! Those little buggers are FAST when they are mad. The next day there was a gargantuan spider that jumped off the vacuum onto the tile floor and started running across the dining room. That woman had that vacuum plugged in, turned on and went from 0 -60 in a millisecond chasing that ginormous spider around the house. Score 1 for Jeannie - 0 for spider.

#7. Going for car rides is still my favorite pastime. Good thing because we have definitely put some miles on! Wheeeeee....happy trails!

P.S. No, Jeannie was not speeding down the toll road while taking pictures while driving...honest!