Florida Part II

So not only did we play around in the kayaks but the next day we set out in the Salty Dog II for a day of boating and fishing.

We anchored down the boat and swam to a little island to eat lunch and to find shells. Pocket was feeling a little sea sick so he took a break.

We saw a sea turtle and a dolphin. Later in the day we went to Cabbage Key for a Pina Colada. Ever heard of Cabbage Key? Ever head of the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise"? Yup, that song was written there by the good ol Jimmy Buffett. It was an odd little island with all sorts of birds and strange homes.

The next day we got up before dawn to play a round of golf. Well I should articulate that i did not play golf but drove the golf cart in between chapters of my book, "The Other Boleyn Girl." When we got to the course, it was misty so much so that you couldn't see your ball 10 feet in front of you. It was surreal and felt like we were in a movie or something.


On Saturday we took a road trip down to Everglade City to take an airboat ride and spot some gators. it was a warm day and we stopped for ice cream at a little shop where the woman scooping ice cream informed us that not only does she scoop ice cream for a living but she is the city's lone real estate agent, and works at the bank. We stopped off at Totch's air boat tours and I got to hold a 3 year old gator!

i couldn't believe how soft they feel. not what i was imaging at all. The air boat ride was a lot of fun and we did see a gator! in fact, we took the boat right over the top of the gator! Hot Pocket even got his chance in driving the air boat (but proved that it cannot be done by landlubbers because he made us crash into a mangrove.) Perhaps the best part of the air boat tour were the pelicans that came onto our little boat. they were so close...i'm guessing less than a foot that you could see them all up close. One even hit my shoulder with his wing.

yeah that's my foot!

We went kayaking to the beach and had a shark experience which is better told in person and not by blog. Let's just say that it was scary and felt just like a movie. It was a 10 foot bull shark that attack people!


The little kayaks turned into sail boats so I tried my hand at sailing and loved it. We also saw my beloved manatees at Burnt Store. They were so neat that i was this close to taking one home with me.

I'm back! are you jealous yet?

Our trip was FANTASTICLY AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY INCREDIBLY relaxing and fun. We left very early on Tuesday morning and pumped ourselves with caffeine and got ourselves to the airport. And then the worrying kicked in. What if we have to wait in line to check in? What if we get stopped at security? What if they make me throw away my Burts Bees chap stick? What if our flight is delayed and we miss our connecting flight? What if we can't figure out our way around the Atlanta airport? What if our bags don't arrive in Fort Myers? If you haven't been able to tell until now, I'm a neurotic worry wart and my husband loves me for it. It means all he has to do is sit back and relax because he knows his wife has planned for EVERY SINGLE problem or concern that could happen to us to the nth degree. All i can say is It's exhausting being so awesome.

But here is my little shout out to Delta Airlines. Everything went FINE. The flights were on time, we took the atlanta shuttle to the next terminal with no problem, the bags arrived, and everything worked like clockwork. I don't travel by plane that often but when i do it is usually filled with delays and curse words. Delta was so functional and perfect that I have to say, "Yay to all you Delta employees! you are doing a mighty fine job" I find it ironic that I am praising an airline for do what they are supposed to do...boy has customer service changed. But i digress, it was a great Delta experience.

anyways, back to the reason you are reading this. We got into town and we immediately got in the boat and went around in the harbor. we ate a magnificent dinner. The house we stayed at is my best friend's parents second home in Punta Gorda and it was beautiful home. We were so lucky to be invited. It was wonderful hanging out with our good friends. we went to bed early totally wiped out.

On Wednesday we got in the sea kayaks and paddled around in my friends backyard. That's right. their backyard. It looks like this:

That's the hot pocket about to get in to the sea kayak. Let's see if he makes it in.

Oh look at that. He made it in. Such a boat hog

Then we got in the van and drove to Gasparilla Island which is mainly known for it's very ritzy richy homes and beaches. I envisioned the whole island would be filled with sasparilla swilling old cowboys but doh! i was wrong. it's GASparilla. Not SASparilla. We had a grand old time just laying out at the beach drinking beer and mike's. we read and attempted to boogie board. I even got in the water and sat in this chair thing that rocked in the waves. it was so fun. And can i just tell you, that humidity does wonders to my hair!? It was all wavy and cute looking. and i didn't even have to do a thing to it!

We ate lunch on Gasparilla Island and we ordered "gator bites" for appetizers. "Oh what a cute Florida name for some breaded chicken!" i thought. well, apparently it really was alligator! and it was deeeelicious. delicious i tell you.

I snapped this picture randomly. I don't know what a smoked mullet is. But it kind of makes me want to go back and ask Cody. On the other hand, i think i prefer to let my imagination run wild.

8/26/07 Day 2: Goonies! Goonies! Goonies!

We left the campground pretty early and ate a very large breakfast in Hood River to compensate for our minuscule dinner. We stopped at Multnomah Falls and it was truly incredible. I would totally recommend going!





From there we thought, "Hey! A trip down the entire coast would be so fun!" So we drove through Astoria, Oregon where the movie Goonies was filmed. The entire 20 minutes of driving through town was filled with repetitive, "Hey yooooou guuuuuys" and "Do the Truffle Shuffle" and singing the Cyndi Lauper Goonies song.


My grandma's twin sister, "Auntie" to you, was stationed in Fort Stevens during World War II. It was a military post where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean and the Japanese fired shells on Ft Stevens making it the first continental attack since the War of 1812. She would always tell me stories about Ft. Stevens and the time the Japanese submarine was seen going up the Columbia River. It is now a park and i was so excited to check it out. It was hauntingly creepy and thoroughly fascinating. It really made me feel a little closer to my Auntie and made me miss her a whole lot. She passed away 2 days before my wedding nearly three years ago.

We then traveled down the coast to our little coastal village, Yachats. It took us a dog's age to get there and we were so happy to make it to our little home away from home. we spent the rest of the evening beach combing and taking it easy.

We went through Ocean Odyssey vacation rentals and they have TONS of different places to rent. if you want to check them out click here

8/25/07 Day One: Somewhere in Middle America

Yay for vacations to the Oregon Coast! We left the good ol' City of Salt around 6:30 am and had a very pleasant drive. We entertained ourselves with many, many podcasts that had us cracking up the entire time. Our favorites were: x96 Radio From Hell and NPR's Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk. We drove really, really far and when we got to the Columbia River we thought it was about time to try and find a place to stay.

It was about 4:30pm on a Saturday night and the only camp ground we could find was 20 miles outside of Hood River, Oregon, and there were only 3 spots left. We jumped at the opportunity to stay ANYWHERE but when we found our camp site, we realized we didn't pack a thing for dinner. Therefore, dinner comprised of apples, cheetos, and a couple of granola bars. yummmm.

Westward, Ho!

Wait...don't call me a ho. We leave at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow morning. well, i wouldn't say butt crack seeing that we are leaving at 5AM! We have no idea where we will be staying on the first leg of the trip but i suppose that's the fun of it.

Our plans include, hiking in Siuslaw National Forest, whale watching and deep sea fishing in Depoe Bay, and a tour of the Rogue Brewery in Newport. We will also stuff our faces with clam chowder, fish and chips, and fine oregon wine. A few days in portland with some old friends will be really nice too.

I will not have internet access so you will just have to wait to hear how awesome this trip will be.

TTFN-
me and the hot pocket