Chillaxin'

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The Tide Was Low

Peace Rive from the boardwalk

Peace River from the pier at the end of Harborwalk

but the wind was high

On the pier at the end of Harborwalk

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Harborwalk

We take the dog for a walk every.single.day while we are in FL, assuming the weather is good.  We have enjoyed clear blue skies and warm temperatures, which means we have been out walking.  One of our favorite places to walk is called "Harborwalk" and it follows the Peace River as it flows into Charlotte Harbor. 

There have been a few changes along the walk since last year.

2011

There is a new Tiki Bar this year...

That handsome man & his nice dog are still here

 

 

 

Last year we saw three manatees and several dolphins.  We saw this dolphin last week.

It's hard to take good pictures of dolphins

Last year they started working on this section of the walk.

2011

It's been widened and paved,

2012

lights and landscaping were added,

even benches, doggie bags and decorative trash cans were installed.

There is a lot of wildlife around here.  Last year Bill saw an alligator along this section but he got so excited he couldn't make his camera take a picture.  Since wildlife can't read the "sidewalk closed" signs they didn't realize the concrete was wet.

Obviously some type of bird

Not sure yet, still learning

I feel like I should know these, raccoon maybe?

Bear?

These are so cool ;o)  There's a snake print too, but I didn't get a good photo.

It's a really nice walk, maybe 2-3 miles.  There are two piers where people can get off the walk and overlook the river.  So can their dogs.

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Wordless Wednesday 1/25/12

Adult Beverages

 

hahaha

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"Hotel Port Charlotte" Mural Update

When we left last March, this was the status of one of the new murals in Punta Gorda.  It was started after we arrived last year; I think the artist works very fast. 

This is how it looks now, all done.

Not only is this one finished, but there is a completed one on the building next door. 

These were finished faster than I completed Wendy & Dan's wedding quilt. 

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Four Words I Hate To Hear

A little background.  We arrive and are settling in nicely.  I'm out walking the dog, along the road, within a few houses of home.  I'm at the corner when the neighbor pulls into his driveway and out jumps his passenger.  I can hear her telling Bob, the neighbor, "I have to go say "hi" to the dog."  "I can't wait to meet the dog."  She is literally jumping for joy as she heads toward Titan and me.  She doesn't ask if it's okay to say "hi" or meet the dog, she just comes bouncing along, all excited and talking like she has had way too much caffeine already.

Me:  "You can meet him but he has to be polite."  Fat chance of that, Titan is just as bouncy as she is.

Her:  "Oh, sure."  She doesn't, however, wait for him to calm down or sit down, she just comes running up talking rapidly in a high, excited voice and waving her hands all around.  "You're beautiful, what's his name, how old is he" blah, blah, blah.

Me:  "Titan, sit" (yeah, right)  "His name is Titan, he's 2."  "Titan, sit"  (still no luck)

Her:  as she kneels down to see him face to face  "He's very friendly" as he's trying to jump in her face. 

Me:  "Yes, he's very people friendly but he isn't great around other dogs."

Her:  Here they come, my least favorite words to hear coming from a stranger's mouth, especially one that just met me and my dog.  "I'm a dog trainer." 

Me:  (thinking to myself)..."Great" with much sarcasm  "He's usually better behaved."


Her:  "Well, that thing on his face is clearly cutting off the circulation."

Me:  (to myself)..."You're a dog trainer and don't know what a gentle leader is???"

 Her:  "Do you take him to the dog park?"

Me:  (again, to myself)..."Didn't I just tell you he isn't great around other dogs?"  "No, we don't take him to the dog park."  

The dog park generally has several dogs running around off leash.

Her:  "What about the dog beach in Venice, do you take him there?"

Me:  (to myself)..."What part of the "I'm a dog trainer" in you doesn't understand the part about "he's not great around other dogs?"  "No, we don't take him to the dog beach, either, he isn't great with other dogs."

The dog beach, which has dozens of dogs running around off leash, is reached by going through the dog park, which also has dozens of dogs running around off leash.

Her:  "My dog helps me train dogs." 

Me:  (to myself yet again)..."Perfect, that's just perfect!"  "Oh, that's nice."

Her:  "You know, it's really important to socialize your dog." 

Me:  "Yeah, I know.  We work on it when we're home."

The entire time we are talking, she's very animated, talking a mile a minute and Titan never once settled down, just kept acting like an overexcited dog trainer on crack.

In my limited experience, the dog trainers I know and have worked with always teach the importance of asking permission to meet a dog.  They teach that if the dog is not calm and relaxed, it doesn't get any attention.  Two strikes for you "I'm a dog trainer" lady.  

The property she is occupying was vacant last year, which was perfect as it backs up to our property.  I'm convinced that she is being passive, aggressive about allowing her dog to "help" Titan.  We go outside and shortly after that, she comes out with her dog (a very calm, uninterested in us dog, I will give it credit).  She lets her dog out off leash and I see her chasing/following it through our yard and around the neighborhood.  Bill saw her walking her dog, on a leash, through our yard just past the flags for the invisible fence.  I figure she is putting her dog's scent in our yard so Titan can pick up on it and get used to it.  

It's going to be an interesting three months.  

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Shit!

Thank you very much for picking up after your dog!

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Wordless Wednesday 1/18/12

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Sunrise, Sunset

People who know me know that I don't see many sunrises.  I think they are beautiful and would enjoy seeing more of them if they just took place later in the day!  Soooo, you probably won't see any sunrise pictures in this blog.

Sunset 1/15/2012

Almost every evening we sit outside with the dog and watch the sunset, which takes place around 6:00 this time of year.  Bill enjoys a cigar, I have a beer or glass of wine and the dog runs around the yard and plays with his toy. 

Although the sunset above is beautiful, it was taken from the bridge down the road.  The sunset we see every night looks more like this...

because it sets behind the house in our backyard.  Bummer.  When Bill hits the megabucks, we'll sit on our lanai and watch the sun set over the ocean.  Until then...

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One of These Things is not Like the Others

 Can you guess which one doesn't belong?

You read it right, it's a MASERATI!!!

The flying B stands for...BENTLEY!!!

Obviously, our little Toyota Rav 4 is in very good company but alas, is not like the others.  We often begin our walks at the Fisherman's Village parking lot.  Generally, we park on the grass at the end of the lot; we never know what will be parked next to us when we return.

This beauty was there earlier in the week, all the way from Ontario.

That yellow one next to it isn't half bad either. 

Even the Coke cooler on the back is uber cool.

It's embarrassing when I have to wipe the drool off Bill's chin.

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Safe Travels

As reported earlier, we have made our trip south for the third year.  We even bought a roof top carrier in order for Bill to see out the back window.   I'm happy to report that the three days on the road were mostly uneventful, with the exception of snow in VA.  We enjoyed using Bill's smart phone to keep track of the snow so we weren't surprised.  We did hear from Bill's sister-in-law reporting a five car collision, which was apparently behind us, thankfully.  

Titan was a great backseat passenger and began the trip very alert and making sure that Bill was heading in the right direction.

Left turn ahead, then a right turn.  Stop sign...STOP SIGN!!!

It didn't take long for him to curl into a ball and settle into a nap.

I love riding in the car. zzzzzzzzzzz

Our first overnight in VA was nice and quiet; however, Titan didn't do very well the second night.  We stayed in a nice motel with inside entrances along a corridor.  This establishment did not have any restrictions on pets (such as weight or breed) and did not charge an additional pet fee (which can be as much as $25) so there were a lot of other dogs.  Anyone who knows Titan knows, he's not a big fan of other dogs.  Walking him was always an adventure and he spent the entire night "on alert" pacing, parking himself in front of the door just waiting for someone or something to pass by so he could warn us.  We finally put a footstool and a chair in front of the door to keep him away.  Thankfully there wasn't an emergency; we would have killed ourselves trying to get past the chair and over the darn footstool in order to get out the door.  He was extremely vocal and we worried that we would be kicked out if anyone complained.  It was a very long night and we have made the decision that we must stay in a place that has outside entrances.  We will pay a little more if it means a few less dogs.

We are very happy to be here, settled in and enjoying beautiful weather.

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It's That Time Again

Tomorrow we are heading back to Florida for the winter.  YAY!!!  The weather so far this winter has been down right balmy but tomorrow the high is predicted to be 18*!  It's time to go.  Three days on the road and we will be back in short sleeves and sandals.  YAY!  There will be lots more blogging once we get settled. 

Until then...

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