Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Last Real Day of Vacation

North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, Florida

Today is a sad day, one of great disappointments, the saddest day of any enjoyable vacation. It is the last real day of vacation. Tomorrow counts as vacation as well, but tomorrow is about nothing but traveling home, settling back into our regular lives, and being separated from our Erin once again.

I had to spend a couple of hours driving out to Port Charlotte to see my friend Bob Grumman again, which ate into the day a little bit. But we had plenty of time for a little fun.

Palms along Venice Boulevard, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)

We went to Venice, where there are at least two places called The Merchant of Venice, and which is probably the third Venice anyone thinks of if you say the word "Venice." We walked up and down Venice Boulevard in Venice, checking out the little shops there. We found a pen for the refrigerator we were thinking of getting, I found some good teas that I could buy in person (instead of virtually), and we had scoops of ice cream (or, in my case, sorbet). So it was enjoyable enough. It was also quite hot and sunny out, and Erin was smarting from a good sunburn she created yesterday. We stayed in the shade as much as we could.

Geof Huth on the Jetty, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)

I had the idea of visiting the Venice Jetty since we were nearby. We drove out there and even exited the car.

A Brown Pelican Eating

There was a nice breeze at the jetty, so we stayed pretty cool, and we enjoyed the sights there: the weird brown pelicans (which Nancy says look prehistoric), the tiny terns buffeted by the wind and making no headway, the crabs skittering over the wet rocks along the jetty, and the single curving leap of a dolphin--just once.


Brown Pelican on the Jetty, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)

The strangest pelican of all did nothing but stand stock still, one foot atop the other, on one rock, hardly moving at all.

The Beach from the Jetty, Venice, Florida

We could see beaches on either side of the jetty, but we didn't visit though. This picture is of the beach north of the jetty. South of it, someone was sail-surfing--I've no idea what the true term is--taking advantage of the heavy wind.

Erin Huth's Double Self-Portrait, Gulf View Grill, Englewood, Florida

At night, we went out for dinner, along with Aunt Joan, on the dime of our hosts, Mr and Mrs Mike. They have other names, but that's what I call them. I couldn't stand the waitress, who was shocked that I'd ask what kind of ice teas and lemonades the place had and who made us pass her the used dishes.

I ended up having tap water, which turned out to be unpotable. Erin described the taste for me: gritty pool water. I had to replace my water with hot tea. The food was good, though. I had a Caesar salad with anchovies (de riguer) and a great bouillabaisse. And we had fun. I took too many pictures that didn't come out. The best picture of the night was of Erin by herself. In my defense, she's well practiced in photographing herself.

Sunset, from Gulf View Grill, Englewood, Florida

From our window seats, we could even watch the sun set, whenever Mrs Mike allowed the blinds up high enough for us to see the Gulf of Mexico almost at our feet. There were power lines and a lightpole in our way, but still a sunset is a good way to end the day.

Tim, Erin and Nancy Huth, Sonic, Englewood, Florida

After dinner, GNET broke off from the other three and headed off to Walgreen's to buy medicine for tomorrow. Tim is still a bit sick (coughing, sore throat), Nancy's throat is really starting to hurt her, and my own sore throat has become much more severe since everyone else has gone to bed. After Walgreen's, we headed to Books-a-Million to buy Erin even more books, since she finished the two she bought a couple of days ago. I read the David Sedaris book she bought as well and Nancy read the other book, so Nancy and I bought more books from those authors as well today. As did Erin. Out of five books, only one wasn't a duplicate.

After book-buying, we went to Sonic for drinks. I had a strawberry limeade (good, but too much ice), Erin had a mango ice tea (good, but too sweet, and I love things sweet), Tim had a great banana shake (with bits of real banana in it), and Nancy had a great chocolate shake. Afterwards, we went home and packed.

There will be another posting tomorrow, and it might be a doozy. We're expecting a good amount of rain tomorrow morning in Florida, so our flights might be delayed--and we take off from Florida twice (we assume): once in Fort Myers and once in Orlando. (Erin, however, has another flight, leaving from Tampa, and she has to leave here at 5:30 tomorrow morning, about three hours before us.) The weather at home promises to be two to four inches of snow, which shouldn't hamper our travels, but who knows?

Weather.com makes this steely prediction for our tomorrow. Notice how much of this could affect us:

Severe storms head into the Southeast. These powerful storms with frequent lightning will produce additional large hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes through tonight.

Residents of Alabama (especially the southern half), Georgia (especially the central and southern counties), the Carolinas and northern Florida should continue to monitor the progress of these storms and be ready to take cover.

Sunday will feature the powerful developing storm system along the Eastern Seaboard and that will produce flooding rain and high winds along the coast from the Middle Atlantic States and southern New England Sunday into Maine Monday. Wind gusts from 40 to as high as 65 mph will occur, especially across eastern Long Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard and the Maine coast. Coastal flooding and beach erosion are also big concerns.

Meanwhile, interior areas of the Northeast (Upstate New York and northern New England), especially in the higher elevations, could pick up a considerable amount of snow (locally 1 to 2 feet) before the storm winds down on Tuesday. Heavy wet snow could bring down tree limbs and power lines and it will be a bear to shovel.

Life is always an adventure, just not always the one you wanted.

volveremos a las tortugas

1 comment:

Dees Stribling said...

I think someone should post a comment here. Looks like a fine vacation all around. And the Dry Tortugas! Now's that a destination to aspire for. Hope the return isn't too difficult.