Rain in Florida is different than rain in Pittsburgh. If it’s raining in Pittsburgh, it’s gross for hours before, during and after. It’s saturating and everywhere. In Florida, it could rain for ten minutes and be done. On one side of street, it’s pouring; the other is dry as a bone. We experienced some of that while driving to and from Sarasota.
On our way to the beach, we stopped off at a Cuban market for lunch. Delicious! While ordering, one of the guys wasn’t gelling with my English, so I switched to Spanish. It felt good to speak Spanish again, but I felt so out of practice. And, man, people talk fast!
While at Siesta Key beach, Connor loved running and chasing the gulls. He would get really far from the tent just chasing bird after and bird, arms stretched in attempted flight. It was fun to chase him and bring him back only to start the process again.
The other thing he would do was hilarious and gross. While we would hold him in the ocean, he would lean in and lick our shoulders or cheeks or whatever he could because of the salt. So gross! And hilarious!
The sun provided quite the show. While it was high in the sky, I couldn’t get passed how hot and bright it was. The sand is white and reflecting everything back in my eyes. You would think with the sun pounding this super-fine white sand, it would burn your feet, but the sand was cool and comfortable. Amazing! Then, as the sun lowered, it revealed a beautiful beach sunset. I took SO many pictures. I left a lot of them out… but I can’t bring myself to delete them (I’m sure one with the initials V.R. can relate to that quandary).
Sarasota was beautiful! An amazing beach, and so much fun to spend time there with such good friends.
Posted by Todd on Sunday Oct 2, 2011 Under Family, Vacation
And it’s 80-something in Tampa! At the beach we were reminded why the Gulf of Mexico is so nice. The water felt like warm bath water. We could swim and play without going into hypothermia (thanks, Lake Eerie!). It was wonderful. Liz and I both had creative ways of putting on sun screen, so we both ended up with creative sun burn patterns on our backs. A lot of hand prints.
The beach was relaxing and beautiful, but we were unable to stay forever because the Machin’s sons were being babysat at home. On the road home, the car gave a slight shutter, and Richard murmured, “Uh-oh!” Everyone looked at him and asked what was wrong.
“Um… we’re out of gas.” The car immediately started to slow down. Always thinking on his feet (just not enough to keep the tank full ), Richard did not put his foot on the brakes. Instead, the hazard lights went on, and we costed two blocks. The car lost enough momentum, I jumped out and pushed… about ten feet to the gas pump! What fortune! What could have turned into an arduous and terrible experience is very much a fun and enjoyable story!
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
Shock of all nations! We went to the beach again. We did much of the same… waves, sun, snacks, castles, kids, reading, etc.
After the beach we went to Steamers and ate a TON of crabs, shrimp, clams and oysters. Why, you ask?
IT WAS LIZ’S BIRTHDAY!!!!! She is a whopping 25 27 years old now. Way to go, Liz. (Stay tuned for updated pics later this week). It was a lot of fun, and definitely a new experience. We had to crack open about six crabs per plate. I ate some crab brains. A spider was in one of my clams. Did that get us a free plate? A discount? Special attention? No. Nada. Zilch. It was the first time we had to work so hard to get at our food. But, hey, it was worth it. When we got home that night, we had some delicious ICE CREAM CAKE. It was called Oreo Delight. Made up primarily of Oreos. And Ice Cream, of course. It was a nice way to celebrate Liz’s birthday.
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
We biked to the beach today. Not a bike, mind you. No, a much more efficient vehicle. A surry. *cue Oklahoma Surry music now* It was quite the ordeal to pedal that much weight around on one single low gear. It felt as though we were pedaling up an incline both ways. Connor loved it. He slept most of the time there and back. Richard helped push the surry while on his bike. We could definitely feel the difference. It is very safe to say Liz and I are somewhat out of shape. Just a bit.
We went to the bike beach, and it was very much deserted. It was quiet and beautiful. Great waves provided a lot of entertainment. It seems as though most of the big, cool shells were deposited here as well.
The ride back was full of swarms of mosquitos. All in all, though, it was a lot of fun. It has been a relaxing week with a lot of beach exposure.
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
Another all day beach day. Oh, and Connor decided to model for us the latest in baby swimwear. We found a tide pool where he could sit relatively undisturbed by the waves. He enjoyed the salt water, and eating more sand. I kept up my commitment to boogie-boarding. What fun! What sun!
It was Richard’s Birthday today. To celebrate, we went out to AJ’s Fine Dining Establishment (Popular since 1985). After our meal there, we went back home and ate Double Chocolate Extreme Ice Cream Cake. It was like that Ella Fitzgerald song… “Heaven, it [tastes] like heaven…”. Afterward, we watched Salt. Ummmm… all I can say about that is it prominently featured a character called the “Spy Master”. It was pretty lame. But we had fun laughing at the absurdities.
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
Tuesday brought with it Connor’s new awareness of crawling. No longer does he stumble through his crawling– He is a full-fledged army crawler. Whenever he looks at Mr. Chips, the Machin’s dog, he laughs hysterically.
When we went to the beach that afternoon, there were high winds and red flags up. Dangerous conditions. So we set up camp, and enjoyed the gentle exfoliation of the wind-blown sand. The waves were a ride, and we put up with the adverse conditions for as long as possible before giving up and heading home.
How could I forget about the Island Creamery?! Best… Ice-Cream… EVAR!!! They serve homemade waffle cones with homemade Ice-Cream. Delicious. Their scoops were about as large as my fist. Fantastic. That’s where Liz’s Friday birthday cake came from. If you are within driving distance of Chincoteague, I highly recommend coming out here to experience it.
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
On Monday, we made it to the beach. We buried each other, ate sand, and enjoyed the ocean. I turned into a 14 year-old infatuated with my boogie-board and riding the waves. Unfortunately, I am a pasty-white near-30 year-old who is no where near 14. But, hey, I still had fun.
Posted by Todd on Saturday Aug 28, 2010 Under Family, Vacation
Driving down from Pittsburgh to Chincoteague Island, VA went a lot smoother than anticipated. Connor entertained himself in his car seat and we only needed to stop for major meals and diaper changes. We were prepared ourselves for wailing and gnashing of gums as we drove the eight hours down.
Once we crossed the bay bridge from Maryland to Virginia, we started to look out for a place to eat lunch. We only saw things like Bob Evans, Applebees and Panera Bread. As we passed one more (and seemingly the final) batch of restaurants, The Machins, who we were traveling with, made a u-turn. We thought that meant we were headed to Panera. But we were wrong. They found a Sonic! What a perfect place to eat for a family on a road trip! No need to leave the car. We let Connor play on the floor, and the dogs (did I mention Little Bit and Wesley came along?) played on their leashes.
On arriving at our bungalow in Chincoteague, we immediately unloaded, dropped the dogs off and headed off to the beach. During the trip, we caught a glimpse of the wild horses Assateague (the national park where the beach is) is famous for. We lit a fire and enjoyed the company of friends, fire and mosquitos.
Rain in Florida is different than rain in Pittsburgh. If it’s raining in Pittsburgh, it’s gross for hours before, during and after. It’s saturating and everywhere. In Florida, it could rain for ten minutes and be done. On one side of street, it’s pouring; the other is dry as a bone. We experienced some of that while driving to and from Sarasota.
), Richard did not put his foot on the brakes. Instead, the hazard lights went on, and we costed two blocks. The car lost enough momentum, I jumped out and pushed… about ten feet to the gas pump! What fortune! What could have turned into an arduous and terrible experience is very much a fun and enjoyable story!
