Sunny Skies, Warm Temps & Me

80 degree temperatures, warm ocean water, sugar sand beaches and sun sun sun.  

I just spent nine days in the land of warm winters and it was glorious.  I'm back in New Hampshire now where we hit a high of 39F today and it snowed over an inch.  

Highlights from my blissful trip...

Arrival evening at the Rooftop Bar in St. Pete

Pelicans in the Inter Coastal in St. Pete

Wishing Tree at the Dali Museum in St. Pete

A Break from the Cold

I hit the wall with the weather about two weeks ago.  That's when I started looking for a way out.  Low vitamin D levels & gray skies contributed to an ongoing cranky fest that wouldn't stop.  My husband said to get the hell out of Dodge, go to Florida, visit friends & soak up the son. 

I leave tomorrow.  Neither my sons nor my husband are going but I will see one of my sons in the Keys were he's working temporarily.  

Some photos from past trips.

Naples, 2012 

Holmes Beach, 2009

My awesome family

Trickle Down Economy

While in Florida last January, my husband toured the Panhandle which he described to me as a long drive's worth of construction halted mid-development and left to decompose in the hot Florida sun.  He was especially struck by the poverty stricken aspect of many towns whose citizens were most likely the blue collars workers and whose part-time residents the well-off folks with second homes.  

His comments are beneath this telling shot which you may double click to enlarge and read.

Singing For Your Breakfast...

This is one of my best friends. She lives in the Keys and works for the best breakfast places down there, Harriette's. She is as cheerful as she looks and sounds; always has a smile for everyone, never a cross word. When my husband and I visit, we stay at her place and it's always a treat. She has the biggest heart in the world; she spent 12 years working with severely physically and mentally handicapped children in Dolphin Human Therapy. It was a very successful procedure until the man who owned the business lost his lease and shut it down. She and her co-worker tried to buy the business but couldn't get the funding. So, back to waitressing she went.

This is a cute little ad she did for the restaurant owner. If you're down there, stop in, make sure she's your waitress and order a big meal. Tell her "California Girl in New Hampshire sent me". She's a California girl too!

Beachin' It Part 3 Final Installment

First Night at Sunset

After the Storm

Island Liquor Store

Great Blue Heron

Beachin' It Part 2

We made it!

Funky Motel

"My name is Bond, James Bond."

Sunrise on the Anna Maria Pier

More to come in the next few days!

Beach Rental

I have wanted to happily share our vacation photos as soon as we returned from Florida. However, I am dependent on my husband to review each one, photoshop at will, then downsize to a reasonable number of pixels that will work in a blog or email. So far he's done two. I don't know how to find the photos on his computer because he has hundreds of files. And I wouldn't know how to downsize them anyway so...I wait.

In the meantime, here are three photos of the home we rented on the island. They call it "Sunfish". I captured them from the vacation rental site. The house was an old beach ranch, circa 1950's. The owner did a remarkable re-hab. He split the house into two condos then renovated top to bottom. He took out the low 8' ceilings and created vaulted ceilings. He put nicely turned crown molding and framed molding throughout; 12" x 12" Mexican pavers for the flooring, new textured wallboard painted a caramel color; Mexican tile in the bathrooms. Our side was 3 BR, 2 1/4 BA; very spacious with a nice flow-through floor plan. The pool above is on the other side of the house. It's shared with the 2BR 2 BA condo. Everything was new and clean and beautiful. He even built a rooftop deck with a view to the ocean. It is a little piece of heaven on a heavenly little isle.

Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Pier photo by Jack Elka Photography

For all who want to know where we're headed on vaca, here's a very neat USA Today article on Anna Maria Island.