i wish vacations would never end! tx is too far from fl

so, thursday. shea had to go into work for a couple of hours, and then we rummaged around to get all of the necessities for JAWS PART II...shark tooth hunting. we made the necessary stop at sonic and then off to the beach (fortunately we were traveling south, because the northbound lane was backed up for over a mile). after we found parking, we made our way onto the beach to find a good spot to set up.

searching for jaws...or at least pieces of him!

 we began the scoop and sift process, shea likes to scoop and then sift up on the beach. me, i prefer to stay in the water and sift there. this is due to my dislike for being dirty. i tried to sort through the pile up on the beach, but i couldn't handle it. i need to be in the water in order to rinse my hands and such. i also did my best to keep my back facing the sun, as to avoid getting too much sun on my front side (where i'd gotten an abundance of sun earlier-and was beginning to experience the beginning stages of bubbling-which would start the peeling). i found a few, but we finally took a break and decided to lay and soak up the sun. may or may not have fallen asleep-to great music...oops. when i woke up, shea was appreciating the hummus and salsa chips, so i joined her (i'd eaten most of the previous hummus at the house!). then we decided to walk down the beach and see what we could find.

while we were walking we experienced the viewing of an older european male-in-a-thong...it was a little sketch. and while trying to avert my eyes, shea made sure to point him out! ouch-my eyes are ruined!  a short while later, shea stopped at a fallen tree, where she found a crab and took a little break, while i continued on down the beach, and found a great little spot where the water was leaving a path of shells on the sand...so as i stopped to look more closely, i found several little teeth, when shea came over, she found several as well. and then along came an older gentleman and found 2 fairly good sized teeth, then kept walking. shea decided to run back for the go-pro. it was about a mile back. bathing suit running...she probably played the baywatch song in her head the whole way...wait, do they have a song? i decided that it would be really cool if we had a little robot that could 4-wheel-drive it in the sand to carry the go-pro and a towel down the beach, following us like if it were following us with a tracker. we'll have to get our robotics team on that! anyhoo, we ended up finding a good haul of teeth before we headed back.

special isolated tree-place-area...i'm sure you weren't the only one with this great idea!

when we got back to our spot, one second i was packing things up and shaking sand off the chair, the next, shea let out a little gasp, and when i turned around, there was this beautiful giant of a bird, right behind me! after a selfie, he started to move away, and shea set up the go-pro-we've become quite the bird corrall-ers!
slowly walking around the back side of the bird, it chose the perfect path straight past the camera!

bird-buddy!

such amazing birds-he was probably looking for food

the sun was pretty low, so we decided we needed to stop at the pier at sharkey's in order to get some fun sunset pictures. i am not a professional beach frolicker- i had to practice-about 3 takes later, there were some decent ones that didn't look totally 1980s robotic...but it wasn't pretty. when everything is in dropbox, i will update them! then we turned it into yoga poses and from there, karate. we played until the sun got too low, then we headed back for dinner at st. armand's. we ate at the daiquiri deck-soft shell crab sandwich, mahi bites and sweet potato fries-yum! i was in luck because shea was having none of the eating-of-the-legs, so it was a jackpot for me! (love sharing meals-everything should be tapas style!) as we ate, the live musician had a fabulous playlist, but his tone was a little off-he was flat/ monotone on pretty much all of the songs, which made it really difficult for shea to sing along with-which is not a huge loss. ;) i almost got video to prove it, but not quite. afterward, we stopped at the tourist trap shop, but didn't find the cap we were looking for. also decided against the henna tattoo-opting for kilwin's instead, because we hadn't had our ice cream stop yet! it's probably a good thing that we contained it to one ice cream stop this visit! the cones were perfect! totally worth it, even though we should've probably eaten less at dinner in order to really appreciate the full effect of kilwin's...kilwin's shouldn't be ventured on a full stomach, although, we are brave, and we took the challenge.

shea is a professional frolicker; i'll load more when they're available!

friday morning we got up early for parasailing. i turned on the keurig, and forgot to push the go button=no coffee for me. boo. we got to bridge street, and found parking, then we went in search of 200 bridge street-which was, no surprise, at the top of the pier. so we checked in, and they sent us down to the metal dock to wait for the bright yellow boat. there was a family of four waiting as the boat pulled up. we entered the boat and the captain & parasail pro began to give us instructions. the safety instructions were brief-very unlike kanakuk...we decided we would've felt 100% safer with hank at the helm! i trust his caribiners and ropes! on the quick boat ride out, we did see dolphins, and then we stopped pretty abruptly, because i think they accidentally ran over a crab trap and got something stuck in the engine, so parasail pro had to lower himself into the chilly water to get things untangled and back in running order! this guy was a mix of beach bum and skater dude-with the black leather and metal belt...you can imagine why they didn't inspire much confidence!

parasailing!

more parasailing!

and yes, to parasailing!!

anyhoo, at some point, small talk happened. not on purpose-almost out of habit; i blame this on my dad. i felt like i had to converse-it's not a terrible thing, it opens the possibility of networking...what if it had been someone who could have been helpful down the road? but i did learn that they were from iowa (slater, north of des moines), they are cyclone fans, none of them like seafood, last year they went to san antonio for vacation and their youngest son fell in love with taco cabana...they drove to florida, school ran from aughust 18 through june 6th because of snow days...the oldest boy hasn't finished his SB homework...too much trivia. shea laughed at me-self-inflicted pain; i don't love it, but i do it to myself. boo.

so we went first, and lifted right off. we upgraded to the longer line, so that we could fly higher! it was pretty cool, but we didn't see more...in fact we didn't see any sea-life apart from a trash bag floating below the surface. we couldn't figure out exactly what to do with our dangling feet, and finally opted for crossing them. it would've been even more fun had i not been dealing with the ridiculous burn on the back of my legs! ouch!

once we got back, we decided to walk over the drawbridge to the STARFISH for lunch. best seafood!! the wait was long, but always worth it. all tables were full even after we got through the wait in line. we waited around on the dock for a bit and when a family began clearing up, shea went over to grab their table. she waited patiently and one of the guys at the table even asked if she was waiting for a table, and knew that she was. just as the family stepped away, some man was walking down the steps, and said, "oh! perfect timing!" thinking that he was getting this table, but shea had already staked claim. they guy looked at her and asked, "oh, were you waiting for this table?" YEP! but she told him since it was just the two of us, they could sit on the other side. they guy declined and pouted about it, and he and his friend walked down to the end of the pier where there was a swinging bench. better for us! #notfeelingguilty when our food finally arrived, we had the most succulent scallops-so tender! delicious shrimp, calamari and hush puppies!

QUESTION posed by shea: in a fight, who would win, the heron, or the pelican? i say pelican, because they're tough...their beaks could break the heron.

we walked back to the car and then drove to the sea haag, where i contemplated purchasing some small souvenirs, but my friends aren't really into chachkies...but i love looking around this place. when we got back to the house, i found a place to store some stuff so that i don't have to haul it back and forth when i visit...as this has become my new favorite vacation-visit. and shea slathered up in coconut oil...if the temp had dropped 15 degrees, i fear she would've hardened like the tin man, and i would've had to start chipping away. fortunately nothing of the sort happened. although, all the way to the airport, i kept wishing i had coconut creamer in my coffee... #subliminalcoconutmessages

the traffic was ridiculous on the bridges between bradenton and tampa-ridiculous, i tell ya! but we arrived in time and the security wasn't bad at all. it was a full flight, and the person in the middle seat next to me encroached a little into my space-i found myself being super conscious trying to allow for the space needed..it was an uncomfortable 3 hour flight. and upon arrival, i really wished i hadn't worn shorts, because dallas did not greet me with a kiss of warmth-nope...it was more like a cold sholder...nastiness. ready for sun!

meeting a friend for breakfast tomorrow-love it when friends pass through!
jrob

flying alligator beats vampire. shark beats flying alligator, vampire shark beats all!

so we got to the condo and as late as it was getting, there was really only one thing to do: eat a little ice cream and watch the only thing on worth watching-friends re-runs, and then i was off to bed and out!

the morning brought sunshine! it was AWESOME! and we determined that breakfast would be simple muffins from dunkin donuts, because shea had experienced her first blueberry muffin from said establishment, and was impressed (it was a bit of a fumble the way she found out she liked them, but a great story-you'll have to ask her about)!

we were driving in the general direction of the DD, and shea was worried we may have passed it (not scared worried, more like 'hmm...where could it be'-worried). so she asked siri, and the closest location that siri was willing to give us was about 37 miles away...but shea was POSITIVE there was one just ahead, so i kept my eyes peeled-there it is, no it's not, yes, yes, that's it on the right! (strangely the logo wasn't normal...it was dunkin, alright, but usually the words are stacked, these were written horizontally, and not in the color scheme). so we pulled in and went to the counter. i ordered my blueberry muffin, coffee and diet coke (you'll be happy to know that since vacation, i haven't partaken of diet coke-going to make the effort to cut back! again..). i handed the girl a $20 and she didn't have change, so she said she'd go to the back to get change. so we waited. after a minute or two, another gal came up, i imagine a manager, and said 'change-girl' would be right back, but she'd go ahead and get the drinks ready for the next in line and looked right past shea-who MUST have been wearing her invisible ring...one ring to rule them all....anyhoo, in the meantime, the other gal must have gone to the mint to print out some money and stamp some coins, because it took forever. manager-type told me i could get a diet coke from the cooler to the left, so when i went to said cooler, TRAGICALLY, there was only regular coke and some off brand of crazy drink, so i told her that, and she looked baffled! (money bags had still not returned). the manager-type went back to get a refund for me when the other gal finally returned with the change.

i think everyone else's orders went smoothly. no wonder siri was so hesitant to direct us to them-that dd was a hot mess! and she was just trying to spare us!

we arrived at lily's home, and this adorable little cocker spaniel was soft as velvet! but of course, she's a 'DESIGNER DOG!' shea had to find the can-opener and so we looked everywhere! where in the world could it be?! well, we took her for a little walk around the neighborhood and around the pond, stopping at an older neighbor's home to let her know shea would be there all week to take care of lily. it was very obvious that this was a place of treats and comfort. she knew exactly where the treats were, and what to do to get them! we left after a few minutes to continue around the pond, and shea went through the scenario of what she would do if walking lily and an alligator appeared. it sounds like she'd have a new handbag (not that she'd use it), and an alligator paw (that, she would find a way to use....like my creepy baby hands, no doubt!).

we then took off on another day of adventure-ca' d' zan (house of john..RINGLING!)  and shark tooth hunting!

first stop: the grounds of the john ringling, of the ringling brothers-like big-top circus! wow! the grounds are beautiful! the house is probably spectacular, the view from the back 'patio' certainly is...and the trees all over the grounds were imported from a plethora of countries. the obvious favorite were the massive banyan trees-humongous! fascinating- it would certainly have been fun to be a kid around here, playing hide and seek among these beauties! definitely a relaxing, quiet area.

entrance- welcome!

fascinating mix of trees and plant life!!

back side of the mansion that looks out to the bay

pic of me taking pic-LOOK AT THIS PATIO! just waiting for a party! (and by party i mean like 5-10 close friends-anything else is just over-population).

check out the architecture! beautiful!

ASLAN's table! 

someone hiding from the busy-body guards on constant patrol

we didn't pay for the tour of the house or the museum, but i'm sure it's very interesting (not nearly as interesting as the beach, but perhaps for a stormy day adventure). we did sit in the little tourist intro movie that tried to talk us into purchasing tours...and learned that there is a great video about john and mable, and that after john had passed, one of the directors purchased/imported an italian theater-house and that is where they hold many of their spectacular shows on site. all about the show...THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!

just so you can get an idea of the immensity

dog's eye view! woof woof!

must have at least one 'leaping for joy' pic

once we had enough pics, we went down to venice-a beach called caspersen beach, with darker sand. my understanding is that there is a reef not too far offshore where the nurse sharks come to breed..have babies...and when the babies lose their teeth, the current washes them ashore. so we stopped at walmart on the way there to acquire some gear-88 cent plastic strainers-what all of the professional shark-tooth hunters are using these days- WE SPARED NO EXPENSE! when we arrived on the beach, we staked our claim to a little plot of beach and began the process of collecting. when the waves roll in, and out, a ledge of shells, coral and such accumulates. that's the place to scoop from. so we began to rinse, sift and sort...rinse, sift and sort, with our professional gear.

shea taught me how the pros do it...find a tooth and hold it in your mouth until you have enough to put into the collection container. as i was doing this, i kept imagining tomorrow's headlines: IDIOT DIES OF STOMACH PERFORATION BY SHARKS TEETH-NOT A SHARK BITE! jrob, did you get your tongue pierced? umm. no, shark tooth accident.

so we didn't fill the container to the mark we were shooting for..i suppose that just gives me a reason to return! 

for real, though, finding treasure is exciting! 

this is pretty much an independent sport, so while i was working, i had a lot of time to think about some very deep things. i came to the conclusion that shark DEFINitelY beats vampire. hands down, no contest. EVERY time. sorry, not sorry, twilight fanatics. yep, shark wins EVERY time, unless..it's vampire shark. in that instance, i believe VAMPIRE SHARK WINS. here's the thing, shea spoke with authority on the issue and claimed that shark even beats flying alligator, because flying alligator's arms just aren't long enough to punch shark on the sensitive part of the snout, like the surfer dude...particularly during sharknado.

toward the end of the hunt, the water continued to get rougher, and it actually bowled me over at one point and i scraped my leg up on the coral and shells...i mean, a shark bit me, yeah, that's it! AND he drew blood trickles from these legs of steel. time to go before becoming shark bait. i tried to get some of the sand out of my suit before we left, but i fear i may have actually allowed more sand in! i even tried to rinse out a little at the public shower by parking, but you can only do so much before it is frowned upon and is considered borderline illegal..i mean, there were children present! ;) even at that, i had a little beach when i took a shower back at the house. one-piece suits are NOT the way to go when at the ocean.

my shark bite--battle wounds. you should see him!

we rinsed off, picked up lily and still made it back to tide tables for my last fish tacos-shea was feeding my addiction in hopes of winning over a #teambradenton...it may be working, as i am STILL dreaming of fish tacos! and the sunset did not disappoint! i could imagine myself as a regular there-lily was comfy-i'm sure the boys would love lounging by the causeway on the dock!

lily, the designer dog!!

you can barely see the rainbow, because the sky was already so beautiful!

and why WOULDN'T you want to come here at every possible opportunity?

the view, the smell, the company, the food- cue pharrell williams with HAPPY!

after dinner checking out the 'back-up-dock'

so we went back to lily's and shea continued trying to figure out how to make the time-lapse work, but had still not figured it out by the time i went to bed. but apparently overninght, something uploaded/downloaded/synced...idk, but shea said it something had worked with the app, and she was going to try to figure it out and pull it all together.

oh, so that can-opener that we couldn't find from the beginning of the post? well, shea got a text from lily's mom, and it was hidden in plain sight-camouflaged, if you will...#moderngadgets now we know!

next post: last day and traveling home.
julie