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!

Hi-ho...hi-ho...it's off to work I go...

When Jeannie said 'Odie, do you want to go to WORK today?' I might have misunderstood and what I heard was 'Odie, do you want to go for a WALK today?'. Work - walk - they are both four letter words that start with 'W' and sound a lot alike. I was so excited...I love walks! But I was very confused about why I had to get brushed and wear a ridiculous green scarf. Then I found out that work and walk are two very, very different words.

So, we walk up to the front doors of this huge building, and I'm thinking that this is the biggest Petsmart I have ever seen. Only after we get inside do I realize that this is nothing like a Petsmart. There are no other dogs, no rawhides, no birds in cages, no hamsters, no squeaky toys. Bummer.

But then what happens is magical!! I get to ride in elevators, sit in laps, lay in beds, get brushed, get petted, prance around the hallways, get carried around, get back scratches, get my picture taken, get hugs & kisses, and then get petted some more. Who needs kibble when you get pampered all day. All that is required of me is to let people pet me and tell me how cute I am. Are you kidding?! I LOVE WORK!!!!

After a few hours of strenuous, stressful sitting on beds and getting petted I get to go home and take a long, leisurely nap. What an awesome job!

On the days I am not working I get to enjoy my time in Florida. I have learned a few things in the past couple of weeks:

1. Do not, I repeat, do not drink the water at the beach no matter how thirsty you are or how much sand is coating your tongue. It is bad.

2. The bald eagle that lives in our neighborhood is big. And scary. If it begins circling above while on a walk - go home as fast as possible - just get to safety. I have seen that bald eagle and it looks at me like I am just a little tater-tot with a tail, or a fuzzy McNugget trotting down the sidewalk. Run & hide.

3. Manatees deserve the nickname 'sea cows'. They are really, really big. And fat. But cute in an 'only-your-mother-could-love-you' kind of way. Do not attempt to jump in the water to swim with them because you will get in all kinds of trouble.

4. The Monkey Bar does not allow dogs. But there really are monkeys on the island behind the bar. So why can't I hang out at the bar if the stupid monkeys can??? My people went to the Monkey Bar and all I got was this stupid picture...

Damn!