Celebrating the holidays Florida-style

December 23-January 2, 2014
Cortez, Florida
Holiday Cove RV Resort



With our five grandchildren and their parents in Southern California and my sons in Oregon and Nebraska, it is a little hard to totally embrace the Christmas spirit. We are, of course, also used to cooler weather and, when we were lucky in Oregon, even a little snowfall.  This is our third winter here in Florida since we have been living full-time in the motorhome and while we love the beach and sunny weather here, we would rather be celebrating the holidays with our kids. We are fortunate, however, to have my brother and his family, and also my aunt, nearby in Zephyrhills which softens the angst of being far away from our families a little bit. 

For Christmas Eve, we went to my niece’s home for a large holiday meal and festive gathering. My great nieces and nephews are almost all college age or older now. I even have one great-great niece who is seven, making my brother a great-grandpa already! 



Christmas morning was sure a quiet one for us. No little kids to wake us or a big Christmas morning brunch to prepare. We kept it real simple this year by only buying a couple presents for the dogs. We figure our whole lifestyle right now is the big present we are giving one another. The dogs, on the other hand, seemed to need a little extra something: Everlasting Treat Dispensers. (We did also have two presents to open from Eddie Bauer from my step-daughter and son-in-law--sweet!)





I wanted to do something different to celebrate Christmas Day, so we made a plan to have a picnic at our favorite beach with another couple whom we met last year in Fort Myers.  I made crab cakes which I tried to keep warm ‘til we arrived, and we also had salmon spread, prosciutto and melon, brie and cherries. Of course, we also brought our favorite drinks to toast to each other while watching the beautiful waves and shorebirds. Pati and her husband Murray had to wear their Christmas gifts from their daughter: a bikini t-shirt for her and a ripped muscle shirt with a nipple ring for him—funny. Too bad I didn’t get the photo of Murray in his shirt though.



When we arrived at the beach this man was feeding the shorebirds—a big no-no!  I took a deep breath and let it go rather than say anything. Don’t people know not to feed wild creatures???



We stayed long enough to watch the sunset in its varying stages. Unfortunately, at the end it went behind a big bank of clouds that seemed to come from nowhere, but before it did I managed to get some shots that captured the mood of the day.









The day after Christmas, Vic and I went to see one of several movies on our viewing list: American Hustle. The film was entertaining, well-acted and kept our interest, but it is not a great movie. We try to see all the movies that are likely to receive Oscar nominations, and that list is pretty long already—Philomena, Nebraska, Saving Mr. Banks, Inside Llewyn Davis, August: Osage County—among others.  So, more movie-going will surely be a part of our time here.

We also took two days to do some much needed dog grooming. Fortunately, the dogs are very accustomed to this ritual.



Just four days after Christmas, we returned to Zephyrhills for my niece’s birthday. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, almost perfect for taking a drive. Plus, Vic will go almost anywhere for Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.



We also enjoyed watching the Bears vs. Packers game at the birthday party. Even though my family is from the Chicago area, many of us are Packer fans.  Even the dog, Gracie, had her game clothes on. We left before the game ended, but listened to it in the car. The Packers ended up winning the NFC north championship when Aaron Rodgers threw a 48 yard touchdown on 4th-and-8 at the last minute!  We are looking forward to seeing the 49ers vs. Packers showdown at Lambeau field this Sunday for the NFL playoffs. Vic grew up in San Francisco, so we will have a little rivalry going on between us.



On Monday of this week, we took a lovely bike ride in Robinson Preserve with a small group from our park. We happened to be real lucky to see a myriad of shorebirds (including spoonbills and wood storks!) feeding at low tide. I only had my cell phone for a camera which always seems to happen when the best photo ops show up.



The day before New Year’s Eve my niece Shannon and her boyfriend came to visit us. I took them to happy hour at the Swordfish Grill  just a few blocks from us, then we went for a walk on the beach, and I fixed fresh grouper on the grill for dinner. It was fun to share our little corner of the world here in Cortez with them.



New Year’s Eve for us started with a walk to our local tiki bar to have some char-broiled oysters and listen to some music. The music wasn't too good, so we took a ride to Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach (about one mile away) to check out the music scene there and discovered a great spot on the outdoor patio at the Blue Marlin Grill.   I ended up going to bed before midnight, but Vic stayed up to watch the big ball drop. 



On New Year’s Day we rode our bikes a short way to the Cortez Bridge to take a look at about 30 offshore race boats passing through. Too bad they all had to slow down for the slow wake zone under the bridge as it would have been more fun to see them actually racing.  A group of guys on jet skis joined in the fun as the boats were passing through the bay.

We ended the day with a short bike ride with friends and a New Year’s toast together at our place. It feels good to be ushering in a new year full of possibilities. Let’s make it a great one!

“What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal

 on what you bring to the New Year.” — Vern McLellan

Enjoying a week of fun in the sun

December 7-14, 2013
Cortez, Florida
Holiday Cove RV Resort



With most of the nation in a deep freeze, we have been especially grateful to be enjoying temperatures here in the low 80s and high 70s. It has been a glorious week here while our hometown of Corvallis, Oregon has had record cold and snow with school cancelled five days in a row!  I do admit to missing the thrill of those early morning calls saying that school was canceled. When you retire and have every day “off,” you do lose something of the pure joy of an unexpected day of freedom. Perhaps the trick is to live each day as a “snow day” or in our case a “beach day”--the perfect trade-off.





On Saturdays though, I still like to keep the ritual of strolling through a farmer’s market.  Even in winter in Corvallis, there is an indoor farmer’s market with fall vegetables and lettuce and other organic goodies and baked goods. The best farmer's market we have found in Florida is the one in downtown Sarasota. It has many locally grown fruits and vegetables and a potpourri of other offerings including unusual entertainment.









Sarasota is a beautiful waterfront city that reminds me in many ways of Portland with its thriving art scene, hip clubs and cafes, and great shopping (think St. Armands Circle). If we drive down Longboat Key from our park, it takes about a half hour to get there and it is well worth the visit. We are looking forward to checking out Sarasota's more notable attractions such as the Ringling Brothers Museum, Mote Aquarium, and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Yes, the local bucket list of things to do here this winter is ever growing.

We also need to keep the dogs in mind when thinking of things to do in the area. One favorite is to take the dogs to a small neighborhood park about two miles from here which is on the bay. It is not advertised as a dog park, but they allow dogs off leash. They are in heaven playing in the water and running free—something they need to do on a regular basis.



We also like to find doggie daycare places nearby when we are staying somewhere for a while. After quite a bit of internet research, we chose one that we wanted to tour, Bayside Pet Resort and Spa. It is about 15 minutes from us and is the cleanest, most inviting place we have ever seen for dogs. We haven’t left them often overnight, but would have no qualms about them staying here where they get plenty of play time outside with other dogs and lots of individual attention. We plan to take them here for a few half-day sessions in the weeks ahead just to give it a try.



Other pastimes this week included having dinner with our new friends Dave and Suzi of Beluga’s Excellent Adventure. Dave has a sixth sense for dogs (probably from raising several guide dogs) as Jetta is usually shy with new people, but she was in Dave’s lap in no time. All I managed to get was one blurry photo. I am hoping we will have more photo ops of their new relationship.



We also went with our friends who are staying at the campground next to us to try out Jose’s Real Cuban Food Restaurant, a place that has been featured on Guy Fiero’s show Diners Drive-In’s and Dives. The place is a little bit of a hole in the wall café with only a few tables and long counter, but it was spic and span with lots of good spicy smells emanating from the tiny kitchen. We tried their pulled pork and Cuban sandwiches with black beans and rice. The food was good and very reasonably priced. They also offer samples of their specialties which is quite helpful for choosing from several offerings.



Other joys of the week were spending time at our favorite beach on Longboat Key, getting the kayaks wet for the first time since we were at Glacier National Park in September, and eating my first soft shell crab sandwich at the Starfish Café, a well-known local spot just a few blocks from us on the bay.







We have also been enjoying our pool here at the park as the water is kept at a perfect temperature and it is large enough to be able to swim laps and get some decent exercise. Every Wednesday the park holds a happy hour by the pool where everyone brings an appetizer to share. It is a lovely way to get to know both the long-term residents and many short-term guests who flow in and out of the 97 sites available here at the park. Suffice it to say, we are enjoying this locale.



Whenever we are in Florida, I become a little obsessed with taking photos of birds. Here are just a few of the shots I took this week while kayaking at Robinson Preserve. Too bad I couldn't get any photos of the jumping mullet: the salt marsh was teeming with them, but they disappeared every time I clicked the shutter.

Checking out Robinson Preserve

January 15-16
Cortez, Florida
Buttonwood Inlet RV Resort



We met a couple in the park who bike nearly everyday to Robinson Preserve, a coastal park that just opened to the public in 2008. This 487 acre preserve is just a few miles west of downtown Bradenton or eight miles north of us in Cortez. The preserve has a kayak and canoe launch, a 50’ observation tower, 2.5 miles of paved trails for biking, and more than 5 miles of shell and coastal trails for hiking.  Surprisingly, to us, dogs are allowed on leashes on all the trails.



The afternoon we visited the preserve we didn't have a lot of time to hike the trails; we were just scouting the place out for future adventure possibilities. The park is free and seems to be especially popular for jogging and biking. The main visitor’s center was closed but sure is a welcoming structure. This building was originally the Valentine homestead built in the late 1800s in nearby Palmetto. The home was in danger of being demolished in its original location, so the owners, in an effort to preserve the history of the place, donated it to Manatee County and the house was transported on a barge down the Manatee River to its current location at Robinson. It then took two years of painstaking restoration to bring the home back to recreate the historical features of the home. Inside the center, visitors can learn more about pioneering life in the Palma Sola area, watch a live view from the observation tower’s camera, and see a 300 gallon mangrove habitat with live creatures. The hours of operation for the visitor’s center are 9-4 on Saturday and Sunday and it looks like it is open from 8:30-12:30 Wed-Fri, but better to check first.



The kayak/canoe launch is right near the entrance to the preserve. It winds through a mangrove inlet to the Manatee County Blueways Trail which connects to the Manatee River, Perico Bayou, and Palma Sola Bay. According to their trail guide, “a 5-mile roundtrip adventure would start at the launch and meander through the preserve to Palma Sola Bay and back.”





Just a short distance away from the launch site is the biking trail which leads to the observation tower.  There are a few places along the way that even allow fishing (which surprised me considering that it is a preserve, but it is all catch and release) or you might just want to take a rest on a bench and enjoy the peaceful setting. 



A short distance down the trail you can see the observation tower.  We didn't get that far on our exploration of the park, but I think it would provide a good view of the various ecosystems-- waterways, marshlands and uplands--and wildlife in the area.  Rumor has it that there are small beach areas along the trails with benches and picnic tables with a great view of the Skyway Bridge and St. Petersburg.



We were able to see the osprey nest that is well known in the park. It looks like there is a baby there, but I am not sure if it is a young osprey or the female.



We both agreed this place is a real gem and one we would like to explore by foot, bike, and kayak.  Another great bonus is that on your way out of the preserve, there is a great little farm selling amazing fresh produce that is mostly grown on the grounds (and the prices sure beat the local markets.)  There is also another attraction to visit nearby: the Palma Sola Botanical Park. We didn't know about the botanical gardens, but there you can visit ten acres of tranquil gardens with three lakes for free—and dogs on leash are welcome! 

I am closing with a photo I took earlier in the day at the beach (the same goes for the opening photo).  I just love the shorebirds on the Gulf. For some weird reason, this Tern reminds me our our dog Rico.