tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341193362024-02-06T21:58:18.144-05:00Mission to the Dry TortugasGNET Huth Return to FloridaGeofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-7609214508695431572007-04-25T20:59:00.000-04:002007-07-08T12:03:25.628-04:00Finally, the StatsIt's been a while since the end of vacation, but I've been either busier than usual or too ill to function ever since we've returned. So only now am I getting to the point where I can sit down and put together the stats.<br /><br />0 Number of armadillos seen<br /><br />1 Number of armadillos heard<br /><br />2 Number of nights spent in Key West, Florida<br /><br />3 Number of states visited during the vacation (Florida, Maryland, New York)<br /><br />3 Number of laptops we took to Key West with us<br /><br />4 Number of principal vacationers<br /><br />6 Number of vacationers to the Florida Keys<br /><br />6 Number of sides to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas <br /><br />8 Number of nights spent in Polynesian Village, Englewood, Florida<br /><br />9 Number of people at our Easter dinner table<br /><br />9 Number of nights Erin was away from home<br /><br />10 Number of nights away from home<br /><br />10 Number of takeoffs and landings during the trip<br /><br />15 Speed limit in miles at Polynesian Village<br /><br />20 Number of distinct sandglyphs created<br /><br />27 Bottom floor of Sackners' house<br /><br />28 Top floor of Sackners' house<br /><br />45 Number of vacation hours Geof used to go on this trip<br /><br />68 Number of miles from Key West to the Dry Tortugas<br /><br />76 Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit of the water during our visit to Nokomis Beach<br /><br />92 Highest temperature in degrees Farhrenheit we experienced during our trip<br /><br />102 Number of our room in Key West<br /><br />104 Number of the Mikes' room in Key West<br /><br />130 Estimated number of miles to drive over all the Florida keys to our hotel in Key West<br /><br />200 Estimated number of photos and videos taken at the Dry Tortugas<br /><br />352 Number of miles driven from Englewood to Key West, Florida<br /><br />412 Number of miles driven from Key West to Englewood, Florida<br /><br />16,000,000 Estimated number of bricks in Fort Jefferson<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-51042747785394088072007-04-18T23:13:00.000-04:002007-04-18T23:22:27.972-04:00Okay, I'm a Bit Delayed<i>Central Parkway, Schenectady, New York</i><br /><br />For anyone still checking, I've been sick for a couple of days, so I haven't posted the final statistics for the trip. I should get around to this in the next few days, but I'm also heading off for Scranton tomorrow.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-8788838233130735072007-04-15T21:22:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:41.438-05:00Welcome Home (to Grey)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgQJAN8JcWT3ciijxJfXu98KgrR_SHemI71EcC7HLQOGA35oCKZVGa4O0LEZgf-EsKzplj8n0iKbelR5R8aCdYakeK9UiGbVJI0ea-hccodE3ojAZxerY-0vDXv6pYk7g4omT/s1600-h/2007.04.15+Slush+between+Cars,+Airport+Parking+Lot,+Albany,+NY.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgQJAN8JcWT3ciijxJfXu98KgrR_SHemI71EcC7HLQOGA35oCKZVGa4O0LEZgf-EsKzplj8n0iKbelR5R8aCdYakeK9UiGbVJI0ea-hccodE3ojAZxerY-0vDXv6pYk7g4omT/s400/2007.04.15+Slush+between+Cars,+Airport+Parking+Lot,+Albany,+NY.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053831514984249714" /></a><center><b>Welcome Home to Slush</b></center><br /><br /><i>Schenectady, New York</i><br /><br />Erin was the first one to leave in the morning. With a giant storm hitting the entire east coast, her car service arrived at 5:30 am to get her to Tampa in time for an 8:30 am flight. Nancy, generously, arouse from bed to spend some time with her, but I stayed in bed, doing nothing more but say goodbye to her when she left. I was up early enough afterwards and began the process of clearing my system of phlegm, showering, and putting the finishing touches on our packing.<br /><br />A couple of minutes after 8:30 am, we were on our way to the Fort Myers airport (Southwest Florida International). The Mikes followed us into the airport and made sure we were on our way. We bought a few items to entertain ourselves (a New York <i>Times</i>, some drinks), and we stood in line. Our flight was on time leaving for Baltimore and arrived in Baltimore a little early. Along the way, we hit some severe turbulence that shook the plane ferociously. Nancy noted that turbulence jostles the flow of the plane allowing us to feel how fast it was going. Best of all on this flight, a bolt of lighting appeared to hit the plane just outside our window. I saw the flash, and the plane shuddered a bit right at that moment, so I'm pretty sure we were hit. It couldn't have been more than fifteen feet from us. <br /><br />In Baltimore, we sat down for a reasonable lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We drenched our foot with the mild hot sauce on the table to add more flavor, but the food wasn't too bad and it was fairly cheap. Afterwards, we stood in line again for our last flight. Lots of bad turbulence in this flight too. (Tim and I kept making references to the great film <i>Turbulence</i>: "It's a Category 6 storm." "Is that on a scale of one to six?" "No, that's on a scale of one to ten!") No lightning this time.<br /><br />We arrived in Albany right on time, but had to wait about twenty minutes until our gate was open for us. (As soon as Nancy saw the weather, she noted she'd rather be in Florida.) It took forever for Southwest to bring us our luggage, and it was soaking wet. After an hour in the airport, we went outside.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMv8_HN_9DMXPvfRTuUKxRIlxUrPcmUiLdj0g1EUGddlkovl28EmlYE9vfrMpnK2PHr3l3KBsZRFmfJCeUtS5S7I0DAadFxWjHvjwGq9jIFHX3BNNOM1USiPAvKMVqmuTeysF/s1600-h/2007.04.15+Airport+Parking+Lot+1,+Albany,+NY.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMv8_HN_9DMXPvfRTuUKxRIlxUrPcmUiLdj0g1EUGddlkovl28EmlYE9vfrMpnK2PHr3l3KBsZRFmfJCeUtS5S7I0DAadFxWjHvjwGq9jIFHX3BNNOM1USiPAvKMVqmuTeysF/s400/2007.04.15+Airport+Parking+Lot+1,+Albany,+NY.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053831523574184322" /></a><center><b>The Albany International Airport's Parking Lot</b></center><br />The parking lot was dreary, full of slush, and being pummeled by a soggy sleet. Nancy called the precipitation "slushing."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBxUncvwWF3Z1FS0iuAsg9jZQS-p61InP0Y_6uY-kvy9nukH9IPGgBaYJWNjV7sIMDB4g1HyVmCJmT2wmUHMeOwNLZQ4rdVtpdZxB_p_2Iep30XddVlp0IN9_QCeYiifny4iE/s1600-h/2007.04.15+Tim+Huth+Cleaning+Snow+off+Our+Car,+Airport+Parking+Lot,+Albany,+NY.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBxUncvwWF3Z1FS0iuAsg9jZQS-p61InP0Y_6uY-kvy9nukH9IPGgBaYJWNjV7sIMDB4g1HyVmCJmT2wmUHMeOwNLZQ4rdVtpdZxB_p_2Iep30XddVlp0IN9_QCeYiifny4iE/s400/2007.04.15+Tim+Huth+Cleaning+Snow+off+Our+Car,+Airport+Parking+Lot,+Albany,+NY.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053831532164118930" /></a><br />Tim had the job of cleaning the car of slushy snow as I loaded the car and took a few pictures.<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5bezD9dvOcw"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5bezD9dvOcw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIM2DHVcmNhXhe2NxxUA40paQVthE0EisPzSYd6RLxqnVbQF6beKqPj-X3I33BbN350CTlrjh3TapZ4S8eP3EpofOvv3RQdIWv4CJ5hSHQP8YN9F2e-tC33E1QNKbzrGFieNd5/s1600-h/2007.04.15+Nancy+and+Tim+Huth,+on+the+Wet+Snow+on+our+Front+Lawn,+Schenectady,+NY.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIM2DHVcmNhXhe2NxxUA40paQVthE0EisPzSYd6RLxqnVbQF6beKqPj-X3I33BbN350CTlrjh3TapZ4S8eP3EpofOvv3RQdIWv4CJ5hSHQP8YN9F2e-tC33E1QNKbzrGFieNd5/s400/2007.04.15+Nancy+and+Tim+Huth,+on+the+Wet+Snow+on+our+Front+Lawn,+Schenectady,+NY.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053831536459086242" /></a><br />Home was no better. Our front lawn was covered with slush, as was Nancy's car.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XA5SLjc91y1sWTN156BjutxuyMr6ufi_FIZF4UuDCYuaa6bYqZVtB3R3rbegGVNFvlatvKUNZywM0fiZMWZcKiL8tOwRinysaYAHHZXXq9PKLqgOGO1veqVOAXGX6Neuarhm/s1600-h/2007.04.15+Our+House+Covered+in+Wet+Snow,+Schenectady,+NY.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XA5SLjc91y1sWTN156BjutxuyMr6ufi_FIZF4UuDCYuaa6bYqZVtB3R3rbegGVNFvlatvKUNZywM0fiZMWZcKiL8tOwRinysaYAHHZXXq9PKLqgOGO1veqVOAXGX6Neuarhm/s400/2007.04.15+Our+House+Covered+in+Wet+Snow,+Schenectady,+NY.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053831545049020850" /></a><br />Our house looked okay in slush, but it was soggy as well. It's a bit cold here, damp, and uncomfortable--so it's been a hard change on people not used to wearing socks anymore!<br /><br />We unpacked. Nancy washed the dishes. I began dinner and Nancy finished it as Tim and I picked the three dogs up from the kennel. Strangely, today was the most expensive day of our vacation by far, because we paid for our long-term parking and for kennelling our dogs today.<br /><br />Today was the official end of our vacation, but tomorrow will bring one last posting to this blog: the traditional listing of the statistics. <br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-28296556276402120842007-04-14T23:39:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:42.538-05:00The Last Real Day of Vacation<i>North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOybZaSq1yti8n9TQftncTgNOJzhvWfz1Yyv0IxVtqwxB2ICKWH4kqD7D3343SqjWo9yJzsVI1N_sJDUWo5pPVZKbcLJtQyq2jTnN5Dfsu44C_SsTZrmv6p2mfBR5-BehAn85/s1600-h/2007.04.14+Palms+along+Venice+Blvd,+Venice,+FL.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053495901944770658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOybZaSq1yti8n9TQftncTgNOJzhvWfz1Yyv0IxVtqwxB2ICKWH4kqD7D3343SqjWo9yJzsVI1N_sJDUWo5pPVZKbcLJtQyq2jTnN5Dfsu44C_SsTZrmv6p2mfBR5-BehAn85/s400/2007.04.14+Palms+along+Venice+Blvd,+Venice,+FL.JPG" border="0" /></a><center><b>Palms along Venice Boulevard, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)</b></center><br />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.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9_4DnXGpsDVa_3kZi-zS9_rkZCRoJ-UgtsEpFKLHaFGRXSOA8EdNH5hhIdZ-_O9JPn8w_VLH5A98p0USc0euW2cEbthULyGbzLaEA_-hnsWaEoRD9H-JHfa2rxlAqp-4xztE/s1600-h/2007.04.14+Geof+Huth+on+the+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053495914829672562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9_4DnXGpsDVa_3kZi-zS9_rkZCRoJ-UgtsEpFKLHaFGRXSOA8EdNH5hhIdZ-_O9JPn8w_VLH5A98p0USc0euW2cEbthULyGbzLaEA_-hnsWaEoRD9H-JHfa2rxlAqp-4xztE/s400/2007.04.14+Geof+Huth+on+the+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG" border="0" /></a><center><b>Geof Huth on the Jetty, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)</b></center><br />I had the idea of visiting the Venice Jetty since we were nearby. We drove out there and even exited the car. <br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKmn0ig3nSA"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKmn0ig3nSA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><center><b>A Brown Pelican Eating</b></center><br />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. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHk_yyx00vwcJ83GtZUGMuVX00Ysi1VMkZt3m2__yZpEZHgJi5-6LXDLwtjZPCsae2r6_Xr9W589r8BIGAckocEC4DONFAZJPVg4NhHQ4aB09lTd7U3iVftnOXbUgepZ1XVRo/s1600-h/2007.04.14+The+Standing+Brown+Pelican,+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053495919124639874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHk_yyx00vwcJ83GtZUGMuVX00Ysi1VMkZt3m2__yZpEZHgJi5-6LXDLwtjZPCsae2r6_Xr9W589r8BIGAckocEC4DONFAZJPVg4NhHQ4aB09lTd7U3iVftnOXbUgepZ1XVRo/s400/2007.04.14+The+Standing+Brown+Pelican,+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><center><b>Brown Pelican on the Jetty, Venice, Florida (Tim's photograph)</b></center><br />The strangest pelican of all did nothing but stand stock still, one foot atop the other, on one rock, hardly moving at all.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFIJ4mJVF9D7yBEraPpba3gt-1spqA9kMJUpcJ26DK9Rg6HgMmEEFTe1mtOKLiZbDl_ONeu-CyGrcK5q_ArhWOVMTK6_M_4OdxjVlPV42pHTDQZsF_FMnlggvwRHZ0ld9IV85/s1600-h/2007.04.14+The+Beach+from+the+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFIJ4mJVF9D7yBEraPpba3gt-1spqA9kMJUpcJ26DK9Rg6HgMmEEFTe1mtOKLiZbDl_ONeu-CyGrcK5q_ArhWOVMTK6_M_4OdxjVlPV42pHTDQZsF_FMnlggvwRHZ0ld9IV85/s400/2007.04.14+The+Beach+from+the+Jetty,+Venice,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053497478197768338" /></a><center><b>The Beach from the Jetty, Venice, Florida</b></center><br />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. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9D72B1z4trCwL0MLAEE4GcxgYnagRZgR_cYQpUaumYFkYb3_Tj_wU49mFRAQCJGW6oTWjq5_a5J_NWgeVtpwOnm4pXGazs0r76gB77xPLolT9KUnVpbaofy8N-TQo1vFvzfF/s1600-h/2007.04.14+Erin+Huth,+Self-Portrait,+Gulf+View+Grill,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9D72B1z4trCwL0MLAEE4GcxgYnagRZgR_cYQpUaumYFkYb3_Tj_wU49mFRAQCJGW6oTWjq5_a5J_NWgeVtpwOnm4pXGazs0r76gB77xPLolT9KUnVpbaofy8N-TQo1vFvzfF/s400/2007.04.14+Erin+Huth,+Self-Portrait,+Gulf+View+Grill,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053498620659069106" /></a><center><b>Erin Huth's Double Self-Portrait, Gulf View Grill, Englewood, Florida</b></center><br />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.<br /><br />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 (<em>de riguer</em>) 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. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFty5YXHOKe6xZR4REpP8BuM8hzZWcd3wTSNvhPMz108H_pqqHZx-NQMCgOp_-0U9ZGyk5_zk3JXThYJY8H3X9IVLyLHkEM9YBBxN4HdeWPdieFBSAx8kv-NuzbK42UfRfU8A0/s1600-h/2007.04.14+Sunset+from+Gulf+View+Grill,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFty5YXHOKe6xZR4REpP8BuM8hzZWcd3wTSNvhPMz108H_pqqHZx-NQMCgOp_-0U9ZGyk5_zk3JXThYJY8H3X9IVLyLHkEM9YBBxN4HdeWPdieFBSAx8kv-NuzbK42UfRfU8A0/s400/2007.04.14+Sunset+from+Gulf+View+Grill,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053497482492735650" /></a><center><b>Sunset, from Gulf View Grill, Englewood, Florida</b></center><br />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.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZWIyO-A0HCI5TEj_FIU9Pt2ydMtmj0KUr6KF7TbPZmNAiR8TGhO7ZfKsXWniTiY8znRZ44k-kYCTAF4dqCmPnS1VSsB0DwLGbP1qtAmfNGfuWzIASJiQa7MAwvzffjV3_EFa/s1600-h/2007.04.14+Tim,+Erin,+and+Nancy+Huth,+Sonic,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZWIyO-A0HCI5TEj_FIU9Pt2ydMtmj0KUr6KF7TbPZmNAiR8TGhO7ZfKsXWniTiY8znRZ44k-kYCTAF4dqCmPnS1VSsB0DwLGbP1qtAmfNGfuWzIASJiQa7MAwvzffjV3_EFa/s400/2007.04.14+Tim,+Erin,+and+Nancy+Huth,+Sonic,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053498629249003714" /></a><center><b>Tim, Erin and Nancy Huth, Sonic, Englewood, Florida</b></center><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />Weather.com makes this steely prediction for our tomorrow. Notice how much of this could affect us:<br /><br /><blockquote>Severe storms head into the Southeast. These powerful storms with frequent lightning will produce additional large hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes through tonight.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.</blockquote><br />Life is always an adventure, just not always the one you wanted.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-24989369340553470342007-04-13T23:09:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:43.841-05:00Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and Huths<i>North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, FL</i><br /><br />We're not starting our days quickly, or at least I'm not. I'm a little sick, nothing much, but there are bits of yellow-green phlegm and coughing involved. It takes me about two hours of hot tea and hacking to clear my passageways, all while feeling pretty well. <br /><br />Today, at least, we did something. At about one o'clock, with the sun high in the cloudless sky and the temperature at 92 degrees, we drove to Nokomis Beach, just slightly north of here, with the top of the convertible down. This short trip through the sunshine at the hottest and brightest part of the day was enough to turn the tops of Erin's thighs pink (though we didn't realize this till later).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1-e5_w1lCnwJQ9hSLeOPEPpCVXlwB_sYZIBKn67Iy04JH6AsxJrrinwiVx655owPfG-slZvHtk-4DUH1fmfjhjhmMMCxiuUqMHaYARGRY8xSmEyqemTjhxNES6qQQxhtMgjk/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Nancy+Huth,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1-e5_w1lCnwJQ9hSLeOPEPpCVXlwB_sYZIBKn67Iy04JH6AsxJrrinwiVx655owPfG-slZvHtk-4DUH1fmfjhjhmMMCxiuUqMHaYARGRY8xSmEyqemTjhxNES6qQQxhtMgjk/s400/2007.04.13+Nancy+Huth,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053117184613511106" /></a><center><b>Nancy, Hiding from the Sun</b></center><br />The water at the beach was warm (76 degrees, so warm to us). There weren't many people in the water, mostly the usual suspects: children and their childlike fathers. But we enjoyed a little swim, and Tim and I returned to the water more often than Nancy and Erin did. The beach was busy but not crowded. Some of the people were elderly white folk who appeared to be regulars on the beach since their skin was a rich coffee color. There was little wind. A dolphin curved out of the water a few times. And the sun shone continually.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDa2-2zW_wNRtx5W1MVN2bJwvYOzekT_FuXAMgfqqhUqWviJ7s5ZL2enqDbt836FC3Dtn0iMiFxlz0EouIHJSAUJ5nE5RVUbWINpGK_yFC-w4-Jn0NHQj98GwT8SkHiE20N09/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Erin+and+Tim+Huth+Swimming+at+Nokomis+Beach.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDa2-2zW_wNRtx5W1MVN2bJwvYOzekT_FuXAMgfqqhUqWviJ7s5ZL2enqDbt836FC3Dtn0iMiFxlz0EouIHJSAUJ5nE5RVUbWINpGK_yFC-w4-Jn0NHQj98GwT8SkHiE20N09/s400/2007.04.13+Erin+and+Tim+Huth+Swimming+at+Nokomis+Beach.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053117188908478418" /></a><center><b>Erin and Tim Huth, Swimming</b></center><br />For a better view of the dolphin, Erin and Tim came out into the water. I tried to take a picture of the shy mammal, but it always managed to disappear beneath the waves before the shutter of my camera clicked, and this was while out in the water with an underwater camera.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gVnaVrAeepb3nBRlJ3MtLuO0UVbJSR8ZcCYXxY__Kx8CU2mxsDzpzH183D3Egzgmv_A9TQoZjBG9ykrrbFfAq5W3A6uFJrQbQgPeHAjVQsAY4gmtpRaxPm_I8X-AK8whQQYX/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Sea+Floor,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gVnaVrAeepb3nBRlJ3MtLuO0UVbJSR8ZcCYXxY__Kx8CU2mxsDzpzH183D3Egzgmv_A9TQoZjBG9ykrrbFfAq5W3A6uFJrQbQgPeHAjVQsAY4gmtpRaxPm_I8X-AK8whQQYX/s400/2007.04.13+Sea+Floor,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053128566276845634" /></a><center><b>The Bottom of the Sea</b></center><br />While Tim and I were in the water, I took a few underwater pictures, but I had left the camera on the wrong setting for such photos, and the water was a bit too turbulent to allow me to do much. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjvvptfR0_BfkVwywaqnLCpqpsmYcvKuaTSAaoeliu1sdtF7sLbakDNRRA64cU_7JHPVPnODzi2VY-At9G-QV_L3K8gAi73jL_X3v2td5loeRjqPYBBQpE624Us6SPGbuFdNl/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Tim+Huth,+Underwater,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjvvptfR0_BfkVwywaqnLCpqpsmYcvKuaTSAaoeliu1sdtF7sLbakDNRRA64cU_7JHPVPnODzi2VY-At9G-QV_L3K8gAi73jL_X3v2td5loeRjqPYBBQpE624Us6SPGbuFdNl/s400/2007.04.13+Tim+Huth,+Underwater,+Nokomis+Beach,+Nokomis,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053128574866780242" /></a><center><b>Tim Underwater</b></center><br />Besides, there wasn't much to photograph save for Tim underwater and the sea floor.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkG24NOcTor60OKWCem4oCmb7zrmyXa_WNoHH06C9zVTUQx4YDliwguYqMpdPaP9GjBBe6-CHLnPHEAtShmTFaQLVtN6q5S2aPh9I9dQrqfn82MA6jVLyBJGAYbg6gVJlqxkV/s1600-h/2007.04.13+eye+stones+(version+2.3).JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkG24NOcTor60OKWCem4oCmb7zrmyXa_WNoHH06C9zVTUQx4YDliwguYqMpdPaP9GjBBe6-CHLnPHEAtShmTFaQLVtN6q5S2aPh9I9dQrqfn82MA6jVLyBJGAYbg6gVJlqxkV/s400/2007.04.13+eye+stones+(version+2.3).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053117193203445730" /></a><center><b>"eye stones"</b></center><br />Tim and I walked up and down the beach a few times, circling, like caged animals, between the signs marking the end of the public beach. On our first circuit, we ran into one black man, alone, with long dreadlocks, sitting on a stool and facing the water. What was most remarkable about him was that he was black, and I realized he was the first black person I'd ever seen on one of these beaches, transforming my experiences on the beach into segregated experiences. Later, I saw three black kids in a multi-racial group, which was a bit of a relief, but I wonder if this is somehow a strangely white area of the South--and why.<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GLQ6cL1l_o0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GLQ6cL1l_o0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><center><b>"When's Erasure"</b></center><br />On our trips over the middle sand of the beach, Tim and I were in search of good areas to create and record sandglyphs. Tim served as my assistant. I continued to make some movie glyphs along with the regular still-picture ones.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinC687XJtpkzKbjs73vDnoaVr_U7kKENnUG15cdHWFXvIJjQUF6It5B2KEIvatMVsjfdZ0a5Vvk5L8Ynrj5pD_veixUsu83fkPVyLXU4-YldFatdsandf1bgt6Nxrw3iiFFBlJ/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Tim+and+Erin+Huth+Searching+for+Armadillos.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinC687XJtpkzKbjs73vDnoaVr_U7kKENnUG15cdHWFXvIJjQUF6It5B2KEIvatMVsjfdZ0a5Vvk5L8Ynrj5pD_veixUsu83fkPVyLXU4-YldFatdsandf1bgt6Nxrw3iiFFBlJ/s400/2007.04.13+Tim+and+Erin+Huth+Searching+for+Armadillos.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053114843856334738" /></a><center><b>Tim and Erin during the Search for Armadillos</b></center><br />Aunt Joan sold her house today, so she's joining us for these next two nights, which will mean that seven people are sleeping tonight in this small two-bedroom house. But it's great to have her with us, and I made a big spaghetti dinner for us tonight. The making of dinner was a chore, because there was nothing to work with: no spices (save for a couple I snagged from Joan before she left them behind in her cupboard), no garlic press, no mushrooms, no bell peppers, no olive oil, and few cooking tools. But I made do, and the meal was okay, though not at all great.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG60ffCx6TtmGcJwc6cTus40lw1OOGCRDV2cGXQea0azAH1hvsSeRSi5DSi4KDlBM15FPM5vq5wHqOISG88F87NDRTbLmb5KPKnB-G9WzNVThXPGrzAbZeROxLy5hGjArZVfY/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Where+the+Armadillos+Hide.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG60ffCx6TtmGcJwc6cTus40lw1OOGCRDV2cGXQea0azAH1hvsSeRSi5DSi4KDlBM15FPM5vq5wHqOISG88F87NDRTbLmb5KPKnB-G9WzNVThXPGrzAbZeROxLy5hGjArZVfY/s400/2007.04.13+Where+the+Armadillos+Hide.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053114852446269346" /></a><center><b>The Brush Where an Armadillo Disappeared</b></center><br />After dinner, we went to that part of Polynesian Village where we were most likely to find armadillos. We didn't see any, but as soon as we arrived where we expected to find one, we heard the familiar sound of an armadillo crashing through the brush. Try as we might, we could do nothing more than hear armadillos.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-Qb88iluBAuR4H2N_J3E7RwO8DVi-zpsR9MobqY2v-VEJQW3cndh3Ay8EKLAR1CEU2z2wlzFZROC7cIfGF6toz39PeH9zSvM_Pb_JIA34-0ZjAHrrPECvAeloLUzjd-bhejL/s1600-h/2007.04.13+Three+Golf+Balls+Forming+a+Triangle.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-Qb88iluBAuR4H2N_J3E7RwO8DVi-zpsR9MobqY2v-VEJQW3cndh3Ay8EKLAR1CEU2z2wlzFZROC7cIfGF6toz39PeH9zSvM_Pb_JIA34-0ZjAHrrPECvAeloLUzjd-bhejL/s400/2007.04.13+Three+Golf+Balls+Forming+a+Triangle.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053114861036203954" /></a><center><b>Three Golf Balls in a Triangle</b></center><br />As the search progressed, Nancy decided to return home, since she's also sick. The remaining three of us continued the search, but Erin became increasingly nervous. The discovery of three golf balls laid out in a triangle creeped her out, and Tim started talking about <i>The Blair Witch Project</i>. But the triangles intrigued me. Of course, they suggest a triangle, but they are precisely the "therefore" symbol, which appears prominently in the novel <i>Cat's Cradle</i> by Kurt Vonnegut, who has just recently died.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Quote of the Day:</strong><br /><br />I realize that this dress is the color of my skin [bright pink], but I have nothing else to wear right now. (Erin)<br /><br /><i>ecr. l'inf.</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-7150051599215303082007-04-12T23:42:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:44.172-05:00Turbulence and Uno<i>North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />Today was almost a day of relaxing. We didn't do much at all except lounge around the house. It was something like a day of rest, especially for people who don't rest on vacation.<br /><br />Erin, Tim, and I watched a terrible cliche of a film with Ray Liotta (<i>Turbulence</i>) on TV, all the way through. I highly don't recommend it. At one point during the film, a large truck came down the street, stop a couple of doors down from us, and cut down a pathetic palm tree with only one front sticking out of its top. The process of taking down the tree was loud but quick. It took about three minutes total. (We had a tree in our yard removed once, and it took about four hours.) The truck stopped at the tree, a crane uncurled out of it and grabbed the top of the palm. A man on the ground cut the tree with a chainsaw, and the crane pulled the tree up high enough to drop it in the back of the truck. Then the crane's pincer held the remaining bit of tree, and the chainsaw cut it off right at the level of the ground. The truck left. Simple and over.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOpHEWX6VqaasK8CRW8IRREPVc_T2SM2zl4Ee0f7JTmNc3H0OgbtovF8NdCjgEY4VAdGI4YflDxJEkQbOKtp40grBnxT-da8WPM9WDFAqS7YmZGxRqYmH9xXNuOkR8_7tG8nB/s1600-h/2007.04.12+Cutting+Down+a+Palm+Tree,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOpHEWX6VqaasK8CRW8IRREPVc_T2SM2zl4Ee0f7JTmNc3H0OgbtovF8NdCjgEY4VAdGI4YflDxJEkQbOKtp40grBnxT-da8WPM9WDFAqS7YmZGxRqYmH9xXNuOkR8_7tG8nB/s400/2007.04.12+Cutting+Down+a+Palm+Tree,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052754234107195218" /></a><br /><br />We did go to the bookstore to buy a couple of books for Erin, so she'd have something to read, and Tim got a deck of Uno playing cards. That was my only trip today, though Nancy also went to the grocery store. I did spend too much time on work-related activities today. A few hours at least. (Email was heavy, and much remains unaddressed.) I also dealt with my mild illness, which sometimes causes coughing jags, by making myself cup after cup of hot tea with lots of lemon and lots of sugar.<br /><br />In the evening, Nancy and I made dinner (salmon again, green beans, and mashed red potatoes with skins, and we had Aunt Joan over again. Tonight is her last day in "the park" (Polynesian Village) because she's selling her house tomorrow. After dinner, Nancy, the kids, and I played Uno, a game most of us didn't know. The goal is to get rid of all one's cards, but the game is designed to keep adding cards to your hand, so it went on for a while. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i9hSLUip8WnCyBw0GG6A1jet4XU4QmSTViTiZ7BbQmM_hmxuO4Y9PSbe1kzsDg96BaSiDVC34c8Vy4e86450m04JqxCJTPYNzaC8OL3ck99b5IPJTU3a8gdrlhXIijRA1f47/s1600-h/2007.04.12+GNET+Huth+Playing+Uno,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i9hSLUip8WnCyBw0GG6A1jet4XU4QmSTViTiZ7BbQmM_hmxuO4Y9PSbe1kzsDg96BaSiDVC34c8Vy4e86450m04JqxCJTPYNzaC8OL3ck99b5IPJTU3a8gdrlhXIijRA1f47/s400/2007.04.12+GNET+Huth+Playing+Uno,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052754264171966306" /></a><br />At one point, Nancy went off to deal with the laundry and I took a short nap on the floor and dreamt of playing Uno. What woke me up was the realization that I hadn't really played a hand in a while, since all I had done was dream about it.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-83316450268738593912007-04-11T23:37:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:44.458-05:00Leaving Key West for an Archives<i>North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />I never enjoy leaving Key West. It is certainly too crowded at times and people smoke cigars everywhere, but it has some life to it, and a sense of freedom that (though unreal) is invigorating. But we left, nonetheless.<br /><br />I woke up sick. Somehow, I have finally caught the bug Tim has been nursing dutifully for two and a half weeks, so now it's my turn to be sick. I don't get sick too often, and this is my first illness in over a year, so it's inevitable. And, so far, it's not bad. After waking up, we moved quickly, showered, dressed, packed, ate, checked out (which we had to do in person--no rapid checkout), and were on the road in about 80 minutes. Not a record, but not bad.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXxjshdIGojU6xfOxA5tYbfeNHzUQFHFhlDNtoajO2mGBrDQVzpPy69dku0OliCn_OBpNmRFqSmd68yEAPWRKjG6q9yNDfg2tSdCtgqSbXSYqstQahrPbD9qMKcWYZeJdWCeW/s1600-h/2007.04.11+Erin+Huth,+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXxjshdIGojU6xfOxA5tYbfeNHzUQFHFhlDNtoajO2mGBrDQVzpPy69dku0OliCn_OBpNmRFqSmd68yEAPWRKjG6q9yNDfg2tSdCtgqSbXSYqstQahrPbD9qMKcWYZeJdWCeW/s400/2007.04.11+Erin+Huth,+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052381173247864626" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpxLWTgKs5JXMtqor-VrFsk1ltYmx40p6odhyphenhyphen5joRWOUcXfGcZiMZ3isjvdsoscdMPF2OFN02xviiFdR5XrbFWuMBIdx6K1hzwLPfCKT3KoLHOye1o_EHPepBPb7x38Ld_iVh/s1600-h/2007.04.11+Tim+Huth,+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpxLWTgKs5JXMtqor-VrFsk1ltYmx40p6odhyphenhyphen5joRWOUcXfGcZiMZ3isjvdsoscdMPF2OFN02xviiFdR5XrbFWuMBIdx6K1hzwLPfCKT3KoLHOye1o_EHPepBPb7x38Ld_iVh/s400/2007.04.11+Tim+Huth,+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052381186132766530" /></a><br />Tim decided it would make sense to take a self-portrait of himself and a picture of Erin just before we left. Cute shots that remind me that my children are growing up and moving away. <br /><br />It had rained on the keys and over much of south Florida last night, and this morning was overcast in Key West. This brought us a tiny bit of joy, because we realized that we had gone on our trip to the Dry Tortugas on probably the best day this week. The weather was idyllic (a term I'm borrowing from the National Park Service's website to describe that April day), we were warm but not hot, the water was perfect, the sea was gentle. I expected rain yesterday. The lack of it was a big bonus.<br /><br />Our trip out of the keys (driving about 130 miles on roads that can't handle much traffic) was slow, but it worked. We made it out in good time. Along the way, we saw a number of Florida Key sights: roadways almost at sea level, a tracery of bridges, and key deer. Well, only Nancy saw a key deer, protected from automobiles by a fence that kept it away. She tried to tell us it wasn't very pretty, but it didn't work. The rest of us (well, mostly me, I suppose) were still disappointed.<br /><br />We took a serious detour to Miami today to visit the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry. For a good idea of the core event of the day (putting driving aside for the moment), see <a href="http://dbqp.blogspot.com/2007/04/height-of-visual-poetry-and-view.html">my description of our visit, which I describe in detail elsewhere</a>. Even if you don't have the time or inclination to read the piece, be sure to look at the pictures. We ended up staying at the Sackners' for two hours, leaving just before rush hour really picked up in Miami.<br /><br />Soon, we were driving across I-75, the new Alligator Alley, and it lived up to its name. We saw dozens of alligators behind restraining fences along this highway. And when we were detoured off the highway, we still saw plenty of gators. It was an amazing sight, one of those experiences never replicated in Schenectady.<br /><br />After driving 412 miles (most of it by me), we were home in PV, where Nancy and I made a simple but effective dinner to end the day. The last few days have been tiring, but enjoyable. My only regret is that we couldn't've stayed for a little bit of the <a href="http://robertfrostpoetryfestival.com/schedule.html">Robert Frost Poetry Festival</a>, which includes a visual poetry event (I really wonder who set this up) and at least one haiku poet I know. I didn't know about this until we arrived, and it began tonight, so I was pretty much out of luck this time.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-73170813482464994892007-04-10T23:52:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:45.693-05:00A Day at the Dry Tortugas<i>Comfort Inn, Room 102, Key West, Florida</i><br /><br />There is no way for me to do justice to today's trip. I'm just too tired and too ready for sleep. So I'll post a few pictures, and maybe a video of a barracuda, then I'll decide later if I'll say or post more.<br /><br />Briefly, we took a high-speed ferry the 68 miles from Key West to Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas, and back--five hours of traveling round trip. Between these sea voyages, we stayed in the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/drto">Dry Tortugas National Park</a> for four and a half hours. <br /><br />The main cultural feature of the park is Fort Jefferson, a huge brick structure, supposedly constructed with about 16 million bricks and the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere. The fort, which takes up most of Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas reminded us of Fort Point, a fairly small fort set up in San Francisco to guard the bay. It now sits <strong>under</strong> the Golden Gate Bridge. These two forts must have both been constructed around the same time: the mid-1800s. Fort Jefferson became a prison during the Civil War and the famed Dr Mudd, who tended to Booth's wounds after the latter's assassination of Lincoln, was once a prisoner there. The structure is surrounded by a moat, once had a drawbridge, and is huge. Three stories tall, but surrounding a good amount of space. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzToeaxUHl0J-AOCVf47JXCmpLZ8cKz5QzneHua4cWxrMRkVxiYPa5KyXWIOasZsYX9TzH3tiDgAtX71nCb4Sd5ZklOQIVm1V-N8isl7-Eo_I-u5EjMrS7-p5hHYvhBR92ruts/s1600-h/2007.04.10+Fort+Jefferson+with+Brick+Damage,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzToeaxUHl0J-AOCVf47JXCmpLZ8cKz5QzneHua4cWxrMRkVxiYPa5KyXWIOasZsYX9TzH3tiDgAtX71nCb4Sd5ZklOQIVm1V-N8isl7-Eo_I-u5EjMrS7-p5hHYvhBR92ruts/s400/2007.04.10+Fort+Jefferson+with+Brick+Damage,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052013287824125362" /></a><br />Some of the brick of the fort is falling away, leaving me to wonder exactly what balance between preservation and destruction the Park Service is envisioning for this building. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNvN7Dao7b_S3vsoFoVNj2JjG2teGPmkAht6fxYqZFAncrbwGxdv1Nskh6KOgdpVoqd-nXtCBLvV_0aVRgmk8DsHar-K3AXPcYWoFf7sztKan778P2ZA8ZFwywl5grJSBp6f6/s1600-h/2007.04.10+Moat+around+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNvN7Dao7b_S3vsoFoVNj2JjG2teGPmkAht6fxYqZFAncrbwGxdv1Nskh6KOgdpVoqd-nXtCBLvV_0aVRgmk8DsHar-K3AXPcYWoFf7sztKan778P2ZA8ZFwywl5grJSBp6f6/s400/2007.04.10+Moat+around+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052015040170782162" /></a><br />I love the fort's moat, which is filled with seawater. For most of its extent, the moat wall separates the moat itself from nothing more than the sea. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzQ4Lwe5VgBsdDecri0ZH8Wm4XKYJiRMZIeox7iTpyoHwOgtA6QGlUA7PGdJCtmdTVIQDl70CZPrCgis4dHhtxpH5bZQYWdt2fDqB6RXdg6ZdHOcl8Cr9lMryZ0x7HN23_mux/s1600-h/2007.04.10+View+from+the+Top+of+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzQ4Lwe5VgBsdDecri0ZH8Wm4XKYJiRMZIeox7iTpyoHwOgtA6QGlUA7PGdJCtmdTVIQDl70CZPrCgis4dHhtxpH5bZQYWdt2fDqB6RXdg6ZdHOcl8Cr9lMryZ0x7HN23_mux/s400/2007.04.10+View+from+the+Top+of+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052015048760716770" /></a><br />From the top of the fort, there is a good view of Bush Key, which was overrun with thousands and thousands of nesting birds today. But the secret of Fort Jefferson is that the outer side of its moat wall supports the best reef around the Garden Key, and it is covered with all types of corals and teeming with other marine life.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoD9q8mbUct_qum_wNIQ0ksTNGKWcIjoPyCHpfGOATVfpoR6Xr7tG4Kh4szY3aSXuiT-SlEHyqnAXb28fGeneX8t6i2DQRof-EBPtxxM49Hq_VDjlzeuKBnCYsuTXRwtORW2im/s1600-h/2007.04.10+GNET+Huth,+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoD9q8mbUct_qum_wNIQ0ksTNGKWcIjoPyCHpfGOATVfpoR6Xr7tG4Kh4szY3aSXuiT-SlEHyqnAXb28fGeneX8t6i2DQRof-EBPtxxM49Hq_VDjlzeuKBnCYsuTXRwtORW2im/s400/2007.04.10+GNET+Huth,+Fort+Jefferson,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052017200539332082" /></a><br />Someone took a picture of our whole family at the gate leading into Fort Jefferson, allowing us one of the few pictures of the entire family on vacation.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vygbKo2Ixg8kHcn2JMiOD1XJr403yv3_DK8K-PbkqnhGZfRODjv3yD0uIeV1Shu4zajUOrVjaN4qefCmMwRyU0xlmNDYTsZTXE3qfmgfV76ykbSMu-QphmTmKR0kvKGudMvk/s1600-h/2007.04.10+Tim,+Nancy,+and+Erin+Huth+Snorkeling,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vygbKo2Ixg8kHcn2JMiOD1XJr403yv3_DK8K-PbkqnhGZfRODjv3yD0uIeV1Shu4zajUOrVjaN4qefCmMwRyU0xlmNDYTsZTXE3qfmgfV76ykbSMu-QphmTmKR0kvKGudMvk/s400/2007.04.10+Tim,+Nancy,+and+Erin+Huth+Snorkeling,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052017209129266690" /></a><br />What we really enjoyed was snorkeling. Our equipment didn't fit us perfectly (which really slowed down my swimming) and we drank a little too much seawater, but we saw some interesting sea life. We spent at least an hour and a half swimming in the water around Garden Key (circumsnorkeling the entire island except for the small part we had to walk across). <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaU7892PM6Hoyaozg_-JnMgkuj-V9SolfrJRQv4WxUhWmAlTTh9NIsgNIY0PNa88GFm13Wv_2VLpQejjh78tIKYxyUZChA9D0Mk6Zrk2aB94mUuXQ7hc-J9dryQJ2R425MXMS/s1600-h/2007.04.10+Giant+Lobster,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaU7892PM6Hoyaozg_-JnMgkuj-V9SolfrJRQv4WxUhWmAlTTh9NIsgNIY0PNa88GFm13Wv_2VLpQejjh78tIKYxyUZChA9D0Mk6Zrk2aB94mUuXQ7hc-J9dryQJ2R425MXMS/s400/2007.04.10+Giant+Lobster,+Dry+Tortugas,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052018218446581266" /></a><br />We had a digital underwater still and video camera that could hold over 1000 photographs at stunning resolution or about 30 minutes of video, so we have about 200 photographs of the park and its animal life. One of the most interesting finds was a giant lobster (I'd guess weighing at least fifteen pounds) that had set up house in a large gap in the moat wall of the fort. Since I was floating in the water as I took the picture and using the flash underwater for the first time, I didn't capture enough of the beast to give anyone a sense of its size. But it was large. <br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBNOtNO8mIw"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBNOtNO8mIw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><br />Erin and Nancy had barracuda resting by them, enjoying their company. But I decided to follow a barracuda, capturing my second pursuit as video.<br /><br />After our snorkeling, we headed back to the boat, showered on board, then set off for what is passing for the mainland nowadays: Key West. Tim saw a sea turtle on this trip, but the rest of us missed it since we were inside at the time. Otherwise it was an unremarkable voyage, except that it was the end of today's great expedition. The park was as good as we had expected. We just wish we'd had more time there. <br /><br />We ended the day having a good Cuban meal outdoors in an open courtyard at Mallory Square. Feral cats surrounded the space, but never ventured in. Roosters were everywhere, even walking at our feet, but as darkness fell they ended their day roosting in the trees around us. It was a great meal in a magical spot, but we thought little of it because we had been to the Dry Tortugas today.<br /><br /><strong>Quote of the Day (Erin to Tim): </strong><br /><br />I'm not high-fiving you for melanoma.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-38935278732588737762007-04-09T23:24:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:46.514-05:00The Cats and Chickens of the Conch Republic<i>Comfort Inn, Room 102, Key West, Florida</i><br /><br />Although 352 miles isn't that much for us to drive in a day, today was a little tiring. We awoke too early to get ready, so we could get on the road. Then the minivan we were renting from Enterprise ended up being an SUV with almost no storage space at all--and with six people in the car, we actually needed some storage space. Somehow, we managed to squeeze three suitcases, three laptops, five or six cameras, and a number of other bags into the car, and stick Tim in the back seat surrounded by all of it.<br /><br />Mr Mike began the driving and made it at least half-way across the state. We traded somewhere along the length of Alligator Alley, and I drove the rest of the way to Key West, which was fine. Driving is a meaningless activity to me, neither painful nor fun. But the driving took a while. We had to cross the state, turn south and drive past Miami, and then hop on the Keys, that string of islands held together with the highway US 1. It's more than one hundred miles from the beginning of Key Largo to the end of Key West. (These two keys have Key as their first name but are separated by dozens of other keys, all of which appear to have Key as a last name.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-PBzXe6RUn9RPT7PS_RpRo0G91wzopYv_qK8HefgcjfuK68jSVROhriGSOOzmL-az0bHo4a7Kd86zZ9jsbsT7caCQr_-cL_lLXw2eUnRwIiC29lBmIQsT37DK-uXyWK-EN5J/s1600-h/2007.04.09+Break+in+an+Old+Bridge,+the+Keys,+Florida.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-PBzXe6RUn9RPT7PS_RpRo0G91wzopYv_qK8HefgcjfuK68jSVROhriGSOOzmL-az0bHo4a7Kd86zZ9jsbsT7caCQr_-cL_lLXw2eUnRwIiC29lBmIQsT37DK-uXyWK-EN5J/s400/2007.04.09+Break+in+an+Old+Bridge,+the+Keys,+Florida.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051645947861232994" /></a><center><b>A Break in an Old Bridge in the Florida Keys(Erin's Photograph)</b></center><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BrFOb6aWmag"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BrFOb6aWmag" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><center><b>Seven-Mile Bridge, the Keys, Florida</b></center><br />We ate a hearty lunch of fancy fish sandwiches at one of the early keys, so I thought we'd never eat again. A couple of hours later, after enjoying the sights of driving through the Keys, we arrived at our hotel, which turned out to be quite nice. It does have a sour smell to it, which I find is common in southern Florida. It's some kind of unavoidable mildew that is sharp almost like urine but is something like the smell of a carpet drying out from being soaked with dirty water. This smell isn't overwhelming at all (and my nose doesn't register it anymore), but it's here, waiting.<br /><br />Key West is a little looser than other places. The streets downtown were filled with drunk people, many carrying open glasses of alcohol. Cats are everywhere, the polydactylic ones supposed descended from the cats at Ernest Hemingway's house. And chickens are everywhere, though I've no idea why. This hotel appears to have both an official cat (who spends all of its time lounging under a bush) and an official hen, who currently has two chicks.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5P91gySwtFg3Lz3jqALgdki6lBbda3z6Q4Mo6OgOLebDOoLqhqSyXZNY-0wqY0KyQgJf-xvGs7XYEs7vXwkx08SNjLduELUzovaiXaIHQBnqnhuvBz8ClKCk1x-1HSOnQkNuo/s1600-h/2007.04.09+The+Hotel+Chicken,+Comfort+Inn,+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5P91gySwtFg3Lz3jqALgdki6lBbda3z6Q4Mo6OgOLebDOoLqhqSyXZNY-0wqY0KyQgJf-xvGs7XYEs7vXwkx08SNjLduELUzovaiXaIHQBnqnhuvBz8ClKCk1x-1HSOnQkNuo/s400/2007.04.09+The+Hotel+Chicken,+Comfort+Inn,+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051652265758125474" /></a><br /><center><b>The Hotel Chicken of the Comfort Inn, Key West, Florida (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />A real problem we had was that, after an hour wasted trying to establish a wireless Internet connection, we gave up and had to ask to change our rooms. Now, our rooms are poolside, and we are the closest rooms to the breakfast buffet, both of which are perks, but the best perk is that we can actually read our email and post our vacation.<br /><br />After solving the Internet crisis, we drove into Key West, parking near Mallory Square so that we could see the crowds watching the performers at sunset, and so we could observe the tradition of watching the sunset from Key West's boardwalk. We were there too short a time, but the sunset was worth the trouble, and the performers were reasonably entertaining. I was disappointed in not seeing the famous performer who hands out phoney (truly phoney) banknotes and mixes humor with something akin to political commentary.<br /><br />One of the famous signs we saw today was the post showing the distances other places are from Key West. Erin was happy to see New York City included.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1uBSUDmS49qw0qavgQ-lz1PrVQT7zjm9VCp99FRJlB8CGYeRpqQhPMQwgOOPAMzgtY06H3Gbpm046xhlbshHjuMm4KghaoWHzqqEmL5m5Ly5WUey5cir2SdX_FxsqKNKfuwk/s1600-h/2007.04.09+Distances+from+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1uBSUDmS49qw0qavgQ-lz1PrVQT7zjm9VCp99FRJlB8CGYeRpqQhPMQwgOOPAMzgtY06H3Gbpm046xhlbshHjuMm4KghaoWHzqqEmL5m5Ly5WUey5cir2SdX_FxsqKNKfuwk/s400/2007.04.09+Distances+from+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051645952156200306" /></a><center><b>Sign Showing Distances from Key West(Erin's Photograph)</b></center><br />We ended up eating at a good restaurant, Red Fish Blue Fish, which served us enormous portions of food. Not one of us finished a meal. But we also began with appetizers (a rarity for us): gator bites and conch fritters. It's been a while since I've had alligator, and I didn't remember at all that it cooked up white. It doesn't taste quite like any other meat, but maybe a little like pork. We had to have conch, since we're in the Conch Republic, but it was good to have them in fritters, which were essentially large soft hush puppies, with tiny chewy bits of conch. I eat anything, but I've never had a good serving of conch, and I've tried many times to find one.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBhD4RPVSPFAP-mh3LxpQXTedZHdDrvhdOPTVBlrw9SQ0XOVjH9pGk7g0z2sUbvXXqcD4roSba0zg5Trf4yzxk62Viu-XGyNLDK8sDUDgEv6Us-I0jqFZJklXhVVZ70XGK-ZV/s1600-h/2007.04.09+Red+Fish+Blue+Fish+Sign,+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBhD4RPVSPFAP-mh3LxpQXTedZHdDrvhdOPTVBlrw9SQ0XOVjH9pGk7g0z2sUbvXXqcD4roSba0zg5Trf4yzxk62Viu-XGyNLDK8sDUDgEv6Us-I0jqFZJklXhVVZ70XGK-ZV/s400/2007.04.09+Red+Fish+Blue+Fish+Sign,+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051645956451167618" /></a><center><b>Sign for the Restaurant Red Fish Blue Fish (Erin's Photograph)</b></center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EsZYvQj4FeLNhsodcHyaqkd3dGHmhsXO52IJrjbDnR7SbyK_exvvD-oH-S-i1Rxw6pfF2I8NHvIcBzptTKmyvYp5hh8Sqwu2iXmRLHTyRbiumR3eqJT9vVsP_3OkOZbPLB3m/s1600-h/2007.04.09+Red+Fish+Blue+Fish+Menu,+Key+West,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EsZYvQj4FeLNhsodcHyaqkd3dGHmhsXO52IJrjbDnR7SbyK_exvvD-oH-S-i1Rxw6pfF2I8NHvIcBzptTKmyvYp5hh8Sqwu2iXmRLHTyRbiumR3eqJT9vVsP_3OkOZbPLB3m/s400/2007.04.09+Red+Fish+Blue+Fish+Menu,+Key+West,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051652257168190866" /></a><center><b>Menu at Red Fish Blue Fish(Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />And what is the Conch Republic? It is the free nation of the Florida Keys, but you can learn all about it by going to <a href="http://www.conchrepublic.com/gallery.htm">its official site</a>. Don't forget to read the history of the nation!<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-1102433735934965152007-04-08T22:23:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:48.853-05:00Getting Your Ham On<i>North Easter Island Circle, Polynesian Village, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />Today is Easter, which the Oxford English Dictionary Online Word of the Day service recognized by sending a remarkably illuminating entry for "Easter egg" (though I believe it accidentally left out an important mention of Canada in the entry). We recognize Easter by posting a photograph I took yesterday of a small reproduction of the crosses at Calvary--not exactly the right image for Easter, which is about the resurrection rather than the death--and by showing the tiny Easter baskets Nancy prepared for the kids this morning.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjMy-EJV1_Vcn1bknip3ReU98ZPIrK75eV3J78_TzZz4manAu_TWk5NCj7_uhAEZEdCS3x8wcI_8mp7W6RVtFyIzS6HOz_eS8FOVCOcznayHyKz1nBC2fJGfHAN-nd76m1x14/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Little+Calvary,+Manasota+Beach,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjMy-EJV1_Vcn1bknip3ReU98ZPIrK75eV3J78_TzZz4manAu_TWk5NCj7_uhAEZEdCS3x8wcI_8mp7W6RVtFyIzS6HOz_eS8FOVCOcznayHyKz1nBC2fJGfHAN-nd76m1x14/s400/2007.04.08+Little+Calvary,+Manasota+Beach,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051234731408476546" /></a><center><b>Little Calvary, Manasota Beach, Englewood, Florida</b></center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLfSYrV3tsP-b3ijS_8RoQw63cIGN_UkC2pT-z2_uUb3EowHR5w3J9FEuVDrGpHag16HwZSaP_mHwMW5bpDZ5px671cdA5rOZgF0OY8Fp2r_dhawUWRPjc-vlMyGeh3HTVmXH/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Easter+Baskets,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLfSYrV3tsP-b3ijS_8RoQw63cIGN_UkC2pT-z2_uUb3EowHR5w3J9FEuVDrGpHag16HwZSaP_mHwMW5bpDZ5px671cdA5rOZgF0OY8Fp2r_dhawUWRPjc-vlMyGeh3HTVmXH/s400/2007.04.08+Easter+Baskets,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051226008329898290" /></a><center><b>Easter Baskets, Polynesian Village</b></center><br /><br />The family split up a little bit today. I went to Port Charlotte to see my friend Bob Grumman, and I spent a good deal of the afternoon there. Everyone else stayed here entertaining themselves. Despite the excitement of Bob's house, I'll leave readers with nothing more than a picture of one of the flowers of one of the weeds Bob planted in his yard (thus nullifying its status as a weed). The flowers bunch together into a bouquet, sort like Queen Anne's lace, but in a more beautiful way. Just another example of how different plants are here than in our part of the world. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdSO-6tN97Oo-D7akZR81d9cvqu3U9AoXyi-e1d9BQ7JVr0kTZewPa8b_Dscg5JEufD2CLEjIWNTwTQQSVFbboWxcS0kJmDeNRORU0s1Csn8yyoNNXaYFK_HQ5jH15QfJnHkZ/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Unknown+Flower,+Bob+Grumman%27s,+Port+Charlotte,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdSO-6tN97Oo-D7akZR81d9cvqu3U9AoXyi-e1d9BQ7JVr0kTZewPa8b_Dscg5JEufD2CLEjIWNTwTQQSVFbboWxcS0kJmDeNRORU0s1Csn8yyoNNXaYFK_HQ5jH15QfJnHkZ/s400/2007.04.08+Unknown+Flower,+Bob+Grumman%27s,+Port+Charlotte,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051223225191090466" /></a><br /><br />What my family ended up doing in my absence was riding around the circles of Polynesian Village. The world of Florida is flat, which makes for great bike riding. And PV has the extra advantage of being almost totally free of cars, so we can ride in circles here forever. I assume we would be the thinnest of people if we lived in such a bike friendly place. (Though I've gained one pound a day every day I've been here so far, and we haven't gone out to eat once!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGADC3BwnHjhyphenhyphen-hAB3j_O4mePwWyT2ICa8fnQYTeHwUNUwB6MhYhwrDuD6ecBGQMMMVVm8Q6_1CiS8nO6P4UqFFi-nfLKd5ZdBtVM2MIG51XGYz3a4m9Ip1PWMuXv2mn-aAYM/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Egret+on+Car,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGADC3BwnHjhyphenhyphen-hAB3j_O4mePwWyT2ICa8fnQYTeHwUNUwB6MhYhwrDuD6ecBGQMMMVVm8Q6_1CiS8nO6P4UqFFi-nfLKd5ZdBtVM2MIG51XGYz3a4m9Ip1PWMuXv2mn-aAYM/s400/2007.04.08+Egret+on+Car,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051226016919832898" /></a><center><b>An Egret Resting on a Car in a Carport (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />On their ride through the park, they found an egret standing atop a car as if it were merely standing in a stream. Another view uncommon at home, but we never come down here without seeing egrets pause in carports.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPsNfoUuxWVrzc5FbwvCP-r0h0ZT3GbhoPsOV_edugYUtjAPNzYXxguMqZAQj0rwQS3N9WgsCgqivFFOX78R1Crq-RW07RzhJlGUTzwstxf-QzZLtxEnn_MzdPq4jjw0qM61s/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Tim+Huth,+Riding+in+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPsNfoUuxWVrzc5FbwvCP-r0h0ZT3GbhoPsOV_edugYUtjAPNzYXxguMqZAQj0rwQS3N9WgsCgqivFFOX78R1Crq-RW07RzhJlGUTzwstxf-QzZLtxEnn_MzdPq4jjw0qM61s/s400/2007.04.08+Tim+Huth,+Riding+in+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051226021214800210" /></a><center><b>Tim Huth Riding in Polynesian Village (Erin's Photograph)</b></center><br />As the three of them rode through the park, Tim and Erin photographed each other, just for fun. Part of the safety program we've put them through. This isn't really possible in places with many cars and speed limits above 15 mph.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HnQgR9UVExsktUai74o3lHS_bbikQtxaFRi6DfUaVX5W6crWxPrdTO-PCiRcuJcgNPWtqp94pwc7qtZAumCPScpOK7qRizlSb1WhXCtA-5P5XmKHJil5BN6EHZovzLezc0rr/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Tim+Self-Portrait+3,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HnQgR9UVExsktUai74o3lHS_bbikQtxaFRi6DfUaVX5W6crWxPrdTO-PCiRcuJcgNPWtqp94pwc7qtZAumCPScpOK7qRizlSb1WhXCtA-5P5XmKHJil5BN6EHZovzLezc0rr/s400/2007.04.08+Tim+Self-Portrait+3,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051226029804734818" /></a><center><b>Self-Portrait of the Tim as an Adolescent (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />Tim appears to be turning into Erin (who takes self-portraits all the time). The great thing about this shot is that the wind has moved Tim's hair off his face.<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3sZjFwdZpM"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3sZjFwdZpM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><center><b>Riding Bikes through Polynesian Village (Tim's Video)</b></center><br />And here is a good view of what bike riding is like around here. Nancy, obviously, isn't so sure that it's a good idea to ride a bike and shoot video simultaneously.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV72ffgJWSvj9XKlorWuAPACjtEQIGkoqjCeCbdIJskqAHAHzdRYqwAryUzOZ-uIwSp1b06PPaLDaXsAEkfP2PEp51L-7wigsx9b3iYcVWulaTxepS5OrTmX3xL2Lw13Q3J1C/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Walking+to+Easter+Dinner,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV72ffgJWSvj9XKlorWuAPACjtEQIGkoqjCeCbdIJskqAHAHzdRYqwAryUzOZ-uIwSp1b06PPaLDaXsAEkfP2PEp51L-7wigsx9b3iYcVWulaTxepS5OrTmX3xL2Lw13Q3J1C/s400/2007.04.08+Walking+to+Easter+Dinner,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051219467094706434" /></a><center><b>The Family Walking to the Rec Hall for Easter Dinner (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />I made it back from Bob's forty-five minutes before the 4 pm start for Easter dinner. This is a view of the entire family (sans Tim, the photographer) walking to dinner. My in-laws, Bud and Marge Frye and Marge's sister Joan Grant are walking with the three of us. We waited until 4 pm to start our half-block walk to dinner, but by the time we arrived the "parking lot" (a small grassy area) was full of cars. I'm not sure what surprised me more: that people in such a small space actually drove to dinner or that all the spaces were gone by 4:03 pm.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrN-nNsU_kNLaa3XRvihlgYFV114-jeknHruU3RIT5pHcU7xJnvIFhoosqJWEDGI1fIF_uwP2hFe9dG_GBVwmBhpHtTwy5VoHQ9mL3kkqwW6XkVqfUg-yb0L-lOqYRogBO6xh/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Alligator,+Pond,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrN-nNsU_kNLaa3XRvihlgYFV114-jeknHruU3RIT5pHcU7xJnvIFhoosqJWEDGI1fIF_uwP2hFe9dG_GBVwmBhpHtTwy5VoHQ9mL3kkqwW6XkVqfUg-yb0L-lOqYRogBO6xh/s400/2007.04.08+Alligator,+Pond,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051219445619869906" /></a><center><b>Polynesian Village's Lone Alligator Sunning Itself before Easter Dinner (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />As soon as we arrived, Tim (who takes after Mr Mike, AKA Bud Frye, in terms of friendliness towards strangers) learned from someone that the local gator was sunning itself at the edge of the pond. Once he told us, we hopped up and moved outside to take a look. At first, no-one believed that tiny alligator was real (that beast being such a shellacked entity), but once it moved, opening its mouth to try to scare us, we knew it was.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEVbQOfP75x0zeTvfekgu0XLUQO9fek21Z1EHC435kiyfU_bmtI4KCnkvNBdGNqWxgG7jhJBDDnXyqMaJsthfEiKhGTiAvm75mvfg3AbDqyhMtkesceprAuGYaP8G16L9cu8I/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Easter+Parade,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEVbQOfP75x0zeTvfekgu0XLUQO9fek21Z1EHC435kiyfU_bmtI4KCnkvNBdGNqWxgG7jhJBDDnXyqMaJsthfEiKhGTiAvm75mvfg3AbDqyhMtkesceprAuGYaP8G16L9cu8I/s400/2007.04.08+Easter+Parade,+Polynesian+Village,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051219441324902594" /></a><center><b>Easter Bonnet Parade</b></center><br />We've been here once before for Easter, so we should have remembered that the dinner included an Easter bonnet parade, complete with prizes for the prettiest, funniest, and most original. Nancy, Erin, and Tim were chosen as judges, since they were deemed unbiased (and since none of their relatives were in the running). Today there were about fifteen people (all women and girls this time) displaying their sometimes homemade bonnets.<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uyp_HxEKlNU"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uyp_HxEKlNU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center><center><b>Easter Bonnet Parade</b></center><br />The bonneteers paraded through the recreation hall twice, giving the judges enough time to make their decisions. Later on, the trio turned in their decisions, but the woman who'd chosen them came back to tell them that there were prizes already for the children, so the one child winner would be changed. (The guys, however, were a bit surprised that only one of their choices actually one--bringing the need for an unbiased appraisal into question a bit!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCvN9fZCp3oo8Pagiyuwl-LR8ITtQenv4SpMERsfWfV5yB6Px9CB1CO0zm4V2iCO9DM2TP-AzaG3mfmup2aI90gZCVqDGCTtIVNo3-ckmD-ec0T1Dp51iVUrjhqr5PiwbGqdJ/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Dinner+Party,+Easter,+Polynesian+Village,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCvN9fZCp3oo8Pagiyuwl-LR8ITtQenv4SpMERsfWfV5yB6Px9CB1CO0zm4V2iCO9DM2TP-AzaG3mfmup2aI90gZCVqDGCTtIVNo3-ckmD-ec0T1Dp51iVUrjhqr5PiwbGqdJ/s400/2007.04.08+Dinner+Party,+Easter,+Polynesian+Village,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051219454209804514" /></a><center><b>The Family at the Easter Potluck (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />We were joined for dinner with Dick and Mary, great folk, and we had a good time. This was lucky, since dinner, with all its additions (benediction, Easter bonnet parade, plastic Easter egg hunt, and raffle) lasted for about two and a half hours. As before, we had a seat in front of the large television, which was on and showing a golf tournament, so much of the crowd was staring our way throughout our meal. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNka0qH1aSN2vDHNDua_WHtpJcnnX6UWqF3fUZJhrqyMGVzRuxJe0DjOVqjqK-vc4clDr9SRzjuW06bRSCp4HgZHZZM9hUcDNvoUfWW3luBJNfy6LEceny5F8sjJNezRnIsAL/s1600-h/2007.04.08+Tim%27s+Easter+Dinner,+Englewood,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNka0qH1aSN2vDHNDua_WHtpJcnnX6UWqF3fUZJhrqyMGVzRuxJe0DjOVqjqK-vc4clDr9SRzjuW06bRSCp4HgZHZZM9hUcDNvoUfWW3luBJNfy6LEceny5F8sjJNezRnIsAL/s400/2007.04.08+Tim%27s+Easter+Dinner,+Englewood,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051219462799739122" /></a><center><b>Tim's Easter Dinner (Tim's Photograph)</b></center><br />Tables were called to dinner at random, and our table (#9) was called up "to get their ham on" [our plates] in the first half. There was plenty of food, way too much, and here's a sample from Tim's plate.<br /><br />After dinner, the four of us rode through the park a few times, having lots of fun. I learned that I barely need my hands to ride a bike--something I hadn't remembered. I could ride fast or slow without hands, I could make even sharp turns without hands, I could lean into a turn without hands, and I could drive over bumpy grassy areas without hands. I rode my bike this way all the way around the largest circle in the park without trouble. Great fun, so I wish I could ride a bike in such an area. I hate, however, riding anywhere where there are cars or crowds. <br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-91234154917232412102007-04-07T23:54:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:50.093-05:00Sand and Sunburn, Glass and Graffiti<i>North Easter Island Circle, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />The weather today was sunny and warmish (still the low 70s), so this was beach weather for us. Not swimming weather, but walking on the beach weather, so our trip to the beach was the big event of the day.<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3S6DfYCjJ-yv4d395_LkM0HV3IsTA0eYuXnXznADcEXEh8DCl990b7X97uqwGUsGzKW1pef-xg-kNDnN-A2v6dhjJdY4SCGKQF0xqNjg82PSinD6uftH6QAl2QKFlkVEVOZV/s1600-h/DSC03822.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050903116983551906" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3S6DfYCjJ-yv4d395_LkM0HV3IsTA0eYuXnXznADcEXEh8DCl990b7X97uqwGUsGzKW1pef-xg-kNDnN-A2v6dhjJdY4SCGKQF0xqNjg82PSinD6uftH6QAl2QKFlkVEVOZV/s200/DSC03822.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Trees on the Way out of Polynesian Village (Tim's Photo)</i></center><br />Starting our walk out of the park where the Mikes live, we were struck, once again, by how different the flora and fauna are here compared to where we live. There are almost no overlaps. We passed agaves, seagrapes, palms, palmettos, bougainvillae, and these weird pines, none of which grow outside in Schenectady.<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUjGiLvQRJ2_hVX1ubc_bDTPyfjz4zeoXlseBHGb1Lkf65SHNxyE9bX-bl75oCGW_S8r0CSum4USo0AlChmL4dPxn-jbMpfcbcdnh1axa8p1SyE8g47RW7Q5d1nptdEu2vC42/s1600-h/DSC09795.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruQCyQ4SnVi8BhV6xb2Ei63PPF806QvFlxVMpVOuLQ4VXRx8HQsCYFZjhZClFY3UjHfZfK33c8GUx-f5qcVjXDDdtjdEHX-OWjIC92k5svDMokDRaHboeu91JFq5GXwuYwcYK/s1600-h/DSC03833.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050903975977011138" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruQCyQ4SnVi8BhV6xb2Ei63PPF806QvFlxVMpVOuLQ4VXRx8HQsCYFZjhZClFY3UjHfZfK33c8GUx-f5qcVjXDDdtjdEHX-OWjIC92k5svDMokDRaHboeu91JFq5GXwuYwcYK/s200/DSC03833.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Terns over the Gulf (Tim's Photo)</i></center><br />The beach was breezy, too breezy, but we walked down to just before the point where erosion has removed the beach. Sandpipers and terns jostled for our attention.<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4UtJ4cltgRD4pIuyAfrVu8M2iJiY0lqtEbPA7KOvojQOz1K2Hnz3sugimiSjTwvrQ3e0DNsQADm5OFXELXP2s5NlNoRHDrlxhXxFmwow-eeFDnRk5k_3nWlknB0R1SJN45Cy/s1600-h/DSC09780.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050903980271978450" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4UtJ4cltgRD4pIuyAfrVu8M2iJiY0lqtEbPA7KOvojQOz1K2Hnz3sugimiSjTwvrQ3e0DNsQADm5OFXELXP2s5NlNoRHDrlxhXxFmwow-eeFDnRk5k_3nWlknB0R1SJN45Cy/s200/DSC09780.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Nancy and Erin (Erin's Photo)</i></center><br />We took pictures, many pictures, but present only a few of them here today.<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMyxjPdeguxpX3-bfkY1jBLNGMmt3zPN_68wGZFZRUHwOyX_5ym6pfVLMxBRy_GagTboV-Zx0CzZjzepmarrV5LjHOio2p5dOz3P-QnqREE4PdDZhQcK4_YeC_9udjaEUh-jP/s1600-h/DSC09784.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050903984566945762" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMyxjPdeguxpX3-bfkY1jBLNGMmt3zPN_68wGZFZRUHwOyX_5ym6pfVLMxBRy_GagTboV-Zx0CzZjzepmarrV5LjHOio2p5dOz3P-QnqREE4PdDZhQcK4_YeC_9udjaEUh-jP/s200/DSC09784.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Geof Sandglyphing (Erin's Photo)</i></center><br />I spent most of my time trying to figure out how to write in the sand quickly enough so that I could capture what I wrote before the oscillating waves wiped my words away.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNCFD8dtBAWNsqcvPpYQ_ckE0yYqerWSribjGcBFdPf9Fm417CKLny7Gqa86nTkdqI-rVfmp7WJIMztNl4uuy96091TFkqcHwP-5ZJhDAQ9g5UguBFKbVmUeiD8I3zs9KbyTQ/s1600-h/DSC09795.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNCFD8dtBAWNsqcvPpYQ_ckE0yYqerWSribjGcBFdPf9Fm417CKLny7Gqa86nTkdqI-rVfmp7WJIMztNl4uuy96091TFkqcHwP-5ZJhDAQ9g5UguBFKbVmUeiD8I3zs9KbyTQ/s200/DSC09795.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050912475717290066" /></a><center><i>Geof Climbing towards the Water (Erin's Picture)</i></center><br />After we left the beach, I suggested that we walk down under the Manasota Beach Bridge to look around. On the way there, we walked along this tiny boardwalk, among the mangroves. The posts holding up the boardwalk were covered with barnacles, and a crab was scuttling over one large set of these, so I set out to take a look and test the strength of the crustaceans' hold on the post. (Firm.)<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMG1yY7BMwANdIvsMTY9SpseQhtozBLB7o8myF2E-bh9vStSUxS_QLZRzJ8XE4AuNCPAv3X70GgA2fBiG8-agUa41hiNJpHtyNhyphenhyphenYb04g6IZ6hwd_dkx2Cs4armnehCHCKSKx/s1600-h/DSC09807.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050903988861913074" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMG1yY7BMwANdIvsMTY9SpseQhtozBLB7o8myF2E-bh9vStSUxS_QLZRzJ8XE4AuNCPAv3X70GgA2fBiG8-agUa41hiNJpHtyNhyphenhyphenYb04g6IZ6hwd_dkx2Cs4armnehCHCKSKx/s200/DSC09807.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Geof Holding a Tortoise (Erin's Photo)</i></center><br />After leaving the boardwalk, I spied a tortoise (or tortuga), and we ran to see it. We took his picture and taped him walking sluggishly uphill, which seemed a strange direction for him to go. So I followed him, and at a point near the top of the hill he sped up significantly and disappeared down a large hole into his den.<br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpOkTu_dUNN2dQHCyWDwEv_8sgne8bEPzfy4JOgoqq4p0ORl5mc0NZRodEIc8sGKPQRs9O20JunD9fxzolr6SJb1TzN2Co7Czh_OhH-V4Ja24QbrcZqgRvhv_QxwY4Xfkd8J6/s1600-h/DSC09818.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050906398338566178" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpOkTu_dUNN2dQHCyWDwEv_8sgne8bEPzfy4JOgoqq4p0ORl5mc0NZRodEIc8sGKPQRs9O20JunD9fxzolr6SJb1TzN2Co7Czh_OhH-V4Ja24QbrcZqgRvhv_QxwY4Xfkd8J6/s200/DSC09818.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><i>Tim Climbing under the Manasota Beach Bridge (Erin's Photo)</i></center><br />Right under the bridge the place is strewn with glass and graffiti, but we still stayed there a while investigating. <br /><br /><center><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-BSY-X8hdihcr96l3Jy8VmiR49tzRCO2EP_QFSSrCydDW7jTkH1qwrq3r5nGk98HhiOoXaf3HfxDDoD_aNzSXnjNBs6NSU7e6iFsktPENnWrVWLNNFdK2FyHHUTfYKmRVM83/s1600-h/DSC08673.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050907527914965058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-BSY-X8hdihcr96l3Jy8VmiR49tzRCO2EP_QFSSrCydDW7jTkH1qwrq3r5nGk98HhiOoXaf3HfxDDoD_aNzSXnjNBs6NSU7e6iFsktPENnWrVWLNNFdK2FyHHUTfYKmRVM83/s200/DSC08673.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMqhyphenhyphen6wqBfD8ijPOBC0KEd1SRQA3fR46RpXVoTIqQ6_WF-BPoRZpWq4v7V3YciKGwL-vQeb_pxcld7BpntJHgDKT_XVNsf9cyOtdgiiIq1CkTpu-hQPW34hQewJ7V054SLXyJ/s1600-h/sole.JPG"></a></div><i>A Sandglyph</i></center><br />This was also the one place where I could draw in the sand without waves immediately erasing my work, so I produced one punning sandglyph. <br /><br />Then we walked up the hill ourselves, onto the bridge, over the water, and back home. Eventually, we realized that the sun was hotter than we had thought and that we were all a little sunburned. Tim's neck was the worst, but my pate is stinging slightly. Maybe I should find a hat to wear on our all-day excursion to the Dry Tortugas. <br /><br />Later, we tried to help Aunt Joan pack, but she was out of boxes. Nancy took a little nap, and at least I also realized how being out in the sun can sap your energy. For dinner, we made salmon, asparagus, a salad, and my rendition of my mother's chicken rice. There were seven of us, with Joan.<br /><br />After dinner, the Mikes headed out for a two-and-a-half-hour Easter vigil service, while we went out to buy a few supplies: toiletries, habanero tortilla chips, spare rechargeable batteries for our digital cameras, and a memory stick for the camera Erin has that doesn't have one. (The last we bought outrageously on sale, and it is huge and can store over a thousand photographs taken at the highest setting on the camera.)<br /><br />Tomorrow is Easter.<br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-69239568492890932742007-04-06T23:14:00.000-04:002008-12-09T23:16:55.165-05:00The Scent of Grapefruit Blossoms<i>North Easter Island Circle, Polynesian Village, Englewood, Florida</i><br /><br />Okay, we're easing into vacation a little. I slept almost until noon, giving myself a little less than nine hours sleep. That sounds like vacation. Almost immediately after waking, I went outside to experience the weather. The air was thick with the sweet scent of honeysuckle, but there was no honeysuckle. Instead, the scent was coming from numerous small white grapefruit blossoms on a tree in the backyard. A strange sight, actually, since also on the tree were a few tiny blackened grapefruit, which had held onto the tree past their ripeness and shriveled into tiny dark fists of fruit. This opening to the day heralded life itself, the grapefruit encompassing both birth and death.<br /><br />We actually relaxed today, which is something I rarely do. I read the paper slowly. I enjoyed the warmth, because it's amazing how warm a sunny 72-degree day can be. Aunt Joan, Mrs Mike's sister, came to talk for a while, and she told us that she couldn't find the statue of St Joseph she buried in her front yard (to ensure the sale of her house).<br /><br />Later, I rode a bike around the circles here until I finally found her place. It wasn't hard to find St Joseph. Tim could tell where he was buried immediately and just tugged him out of the ground. A week from today, Aunt Joan is moving back to the Rochester, New York, area for good, so she was busy packing. She gave us some foodstuffs from her pantry, which I used later to make a tuna-tomato bowtie pasta dish for dinner.<br /><br />Nancy had the most fun today. She spent her time cancelling credit cards, and trying (ultimately, unsuccessfully) to get through to the Department of Motor Vehicles back in New York. But now we have a replacement credit card arriving here tomorrow, just in time for our trip to Key West on Monday. And all our other credit cards (well, whichever ones were in her wallet) are being replaced. <br /><br />Nancy wasn't the only person to lose something. Tim left behind the power cord to his cellphone. He wanted to buy a new power cord, but I thought the better option was to replace his entire phone (which is quite cracked and worn out) for free at the local Cingular store. So we drove out to Cingular, which wasn't nearby, since nothing except the beach is near Englewood. Amazingly, that Cingular couldn't access our account, because they don't have access to accounts in all regions of the country. (Is this not a national company?) We could buy a phone for full price, but I thought free was the better choice, so we drove back to PV (Polynesian Village) and ordered a phone over the phone. It will be here by Tuesday or Wednesday, and we won't be back until Wednesday night. Tim is now trying to conserve the power on his phone, so he can keep it working until we return here. <br /><br />At eight o'clock at night, the three men (Mr Mike, Tim, and I) headed out by car to Tampa to pick up the last member of our vacation team: Erin, who flew in from La Guardia tonight. This three-hour trip allowed us a chance to travel across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, to sit in a cellphone waiting area at an airport and read the arrival notices on a screen as if we were at a drive-in theater, and to park for a few minutes in an "immediate loading" area as an attendant tried to encourage us on our way.<br /><br />I forgot to take pictures during the day today, so all I have is pictures of our nighttime trip back from Tampa:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_iDqqVLWb05yLbQCrieXbonwtFz0FM6JYrLq1Yf1d3r0eeBw0wqzzGcGnnIiZfD3jtZoVJ_A-BYmtii_wpWnMv5bg1HFIPTbGTxMC4e1mLsY6_igDvZaXPpHcy7tB1JJ0kyy/s1600-h/2007.04.06+Sunshine+Skyway+Bridge+3,+Tampa,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_iDqqVLWb05yLbQCrieXbonwtFz0FM6JYrLq1Yf1d3r0eeBw0wqzzGcGnnIiZfD3jtZoVJ_A-BYmtii_wpWnMv5bg1HFIPTbGTxMC4e1mLsY6_igDvZaXPpHcy7tB1JJ0kyy/s400/2007.04.06+Sunshine+Skyway+Bridge+3,+Tampa,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050520405332706978" /></a><center><strong>Sunshine Skyway Bridge</strong></center><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlb-aol7e_ToyaTsAZutXkHTkXmDV-SrBEO8E-gNcqBdPnbShVFzOZZrfUOxUBoUo16lUyTIdCwaptzVwbigNdCPSD1KItT6_oF0HcM2d7mktcWomvD3Cd5M09yHM5mNh4CAP/s1600-h/2007.04.06+Sunshine+Skyway+Bridge+2,+Tampa,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlb-aol7e_ToyaTsAZutXkHTkXmDV-SrBEO8E-gNcqBdPnbShVFzOZZrfUOxUBoUo16lUyTIdCwaptzVwbigNdCPSD1KItT6_oF0HcM2d7mktcWomvD3Cd5M09yHM5mNh4CAP/s400/2007.04.06+Sunshine+Skyway+Bridge+2,+Tampa,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050520418217608882" /></a><center><strong>Sunshine Skyway Bridge</strong></center><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nlQ90CbGFMwdOzoPlq2EaIT8vq_RARP1JRz89DIPJx9qKKFg8NY4dhWOC_d8R-MyredIcBNaYRk1vtTrj0qgPtb5bUZ9KEdL-Bjv8jBoEg9ymMkJ7n-BgM6Tw-MIIMKLvvYL/s1600-h/2007.04.06+Bud+Frye,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nlQ90CbGFMwdOzoPlq2EaIT8vq_RARP1JRz89DIPJx9qKKFg8NY4dhWOC_d8R-MyredIcBNaYRk1vtTrj0qgPtb5bUZ9KEdL-Bjv8jBoEg9ymMkJ7n-BgM6Tw-MIIMKLvvYL/s400/2007.04.06+Bud+Frye,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050520422512576194" /></a><center><strong>Budmond Frye (AKA Grampy, AKA Mr Mike)</strong></center><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgmjbxwuDoxZDv6lCtp9xsLhEVyG2q0YJ-BizB4RTHrep5jMkfzulwInIyT2_WEsCCGiNUFRqeHmfvrbxoXC-kbdEWT8bDat6VEJOhjlUefTlgdHnLYey2fHFhwmgZbY7p7-3/s1600-h/2007.04.06+Tim+Huth,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgmjbxwuDoxZDv6lCtp9xsLhEVyG2q0YJ-BizB4RTHrep5jMkfzulwInIyT2_WEsCCGiNUFRqeHmfvrbxoXC-kbdEWT8bDat6VEJOhjlUefTlgdHnLYey2fHFhwmgZbY7p7-3/s400/2007.04.06+Tim+Huth,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050520431102510802" /></a><center><strong>A Serious Tim Huth</strong></center><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLk3OVTH7eeVvvUIXgFb2mpWl7mjsDZDdRB0qRVNuJJApb7bKc3ic04Mwky3d9fZSlNCe2BQfcqDSye_lCkzzOSgzcamMST9drQsLjJGuYzIk7vwTeuv-WTkr7v_CftcH6BAV0/s1600-h/2007.04.06+Erin+Huth,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLk3OVTH7eeVvvUIXgFb2mpWl7mjsDZDdRB0qRVNuJJApb7bKc3ic04Mwky3d9fZSlNCe2BQfcqDSye_lCkzzOSgzcamMST9drQsLjJGuYzIk7vwTeuv-WTkr7v_CftcH6BAV0/s400/2007.04.06+Erin+Huth,+near+Tampa,+FL.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050520435397478114" /></a><center><strong>A Blurry Erin Huth</strong></center><br /><br /><i>volveremos a las tortugas</i>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34119336.post-89251965133281571252007-04-06T01:52:00.000-04:002007-04-07T10:45:47.496-04:00Something Like a Beginning<em>North Easter Island Circle, Polynesian Village, Englewood, Florida</em><br /><br />I'm not sure today was the best way to begin a vacation, especially our first real vacation in a few years--and the first time in many years that the four of us will be together. But you work with what you have.<br /><br />What went wrong? In the end, nothing; in the end, everything. Today, Nancy attended the funeral of a favorite student of hers, a kid who had killed himself last week. The shock of that death is hard enough, but when coupled with the reality of an emotional funeral it probably became even a bit harder today. (And by "today" I mean "yesterday." I just haven't made it to bed yet.) I left the office at the last possible moment myself, held up by some problems I had to deal with at the last minute. The last time I had a deadline at the end of the day, the same thing happened. Amazing.<br /><br />Once Nancy, Tim, and I made it home, we did some last-minute packing (stuffing toiletries in the suitcase, nothing much), filled bowls throughout the house with cat food and water, and prepared to leave.<br /><br />Before I mention the next part of the story, let me just say that I'm the person in the family who always loses things. The other night, I lost my wedding ring. I went searching for it "everywhere," but it didn't turn up. Not that it really matters, since this is a replacement wedding ring. I lost the real one on a train trip from Albany to New York City one summer in the 90s. But it's nice to have one. I found the ring last night, after having given up the search. So all was well, and I simply waited to see what I would lose next.<br /><br />But it wasn't me who lost something. It was Nancy, the person who almost never loses anything. And she had lost her wallet. This was a big issue, since we needed a government i.d. card to move Nancy through airport security, so we tore up the house, and searched "everywhere." We never found it. She thinks she left the wallet on the diningroom table, but the table was bare. Maybe she had put it in her backpack, but the wallet wasn't there. Finally, I said that we couldn't wait any longer, that we had to leave. I had Nancy get the only other picture i.d. she had, her school i.d. (technically governmental), and we left the house not knowing if we would make it through security and onto the plane.<br /><br />We worried about that for naught (by which I mean we worried in the normal manner). Apparently, the absence of a high-quality identification card merely forces you to go through mildly more rigorous security--actually a bit less rigorous than I've had to endure. So Nancy made it through security, and we made it onto the plane.<br /><br />The flights were uninteresting. We flew from Albany to Baltimore, where we had a 105-minute layover, enough time to allow us to sit down for an unimaginative but adequate dinner. Then we flew to Orlando, which was a surprise. I could find nowhere on my itinerary where it said we'd be stopping in Orlando, no place even where it indicated the flight was "direct" instead of "non-stop." So we discovered the Orlando leg of our trip while standing in line to board the plane.<br /><br />All our flights were on time until the last leg, but in Orlando we had to wait for connecting flights, so we landed in Fort Myers forty minutes late. Not so great when we still had eighty miles to drive. My father-in-law drove us to Polynesian Village, a retirement community consisting of streets in concentric circles. Though completely benign, these streets always cause me to imagine the Dantean circles of Hell.<br /><br />The other good news is that the temperatures are dropping around here (though the weather is still moist and warm to me), and rain is expected for the next three days. So I'm not sure this is the best way to begin a vacation.<br /><br /><em>volveremos a las tortugas</em>Geofhuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04763053227479195348noreply@blogger.com0