they don't wear blazers in miami anymore-at least not that i saw!

when monday came, i borrowed shea's hammock and made plans as i went. first stop: (where else?) the donut experiment on anna maria island! i just wanted to make certain that they still tasted as good the 2nd time around! thank heavens, it did! i went in search of parking to go down to the beach, but parking on a.m.island is scarce! so i just kept going because i knew there would be a place at coquina beach! i found a spot near a restroom, shower area and set the hammock up in the perfect area behind the lifeguard station.

not a bad spot!

it should go without saying that i was in paradise! i fell asleep for a bit and then a little later, i saw a man walk up to the lifeguard and tell him something (hard to read lips from that distance); he then got into his little sand-rover-thing and drove off. some little girls came running up to their dad from behind the dune. they were so excited when they told him there were sea turtles! so i grabbed my camera and made my way around the dune to see them! it was especially exciting, as shea and i had observed the turtle rescues earlier...they were cuties!

cowabunga dude!

wonder how many were under there waiting for nighttime to get out!

there was a small crowd gathered, and the lifeguard had put the little dudes into a 5-gallon bucket, and said he was waiting for some rescue people to come and take them away. one of the older ladies in the crowd (if you can call 7 a crowd), was explaining that she felt something crawl over her foot and thought it was 'one of those little crabs' (i hadn't seen any crabs on the beach since i'd arrived). she proceeded to brush it away, then looked down and realized it was a baby sea turtle-imagine her surprise!!

after a couple of pics, i went back to the comfort of the shade and continued to be lazy and relaxed.

while i was laying there, i saw some beautiful sails up over the beach-parasailing!  that looked like a bit of fun! so i texted shea to see if she'd ever been, and decided to try to book tickets for that evening. the lady was super friendly, and she said she had me down, and if anything came up, she'd call to let me know! then i decided to go down to the little snack shack down the way. i'm still working on trust issues of leaving things on the beach unguarded.

when i arrived, i was looking for something light, just to tie me over until dinner. so i went up onto the deck and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a diet coke, and the lady at the register-area was having a discussion with the park maintenance guy. for as much as i hate small talk, i must have inherited some gene from my dad or something, because i often either say one thing that leads to a full-blown conversation, or people strike up conversation with me out of the blue. sometimes, i'll just say one silly little thing, and it completely draws me into a conversation--must stop letting those thoughts exit through my mouth!

anyhoo, i learned all about the ridiculous protocols for state park employees-good times. but hey! i got a delicious grilled cheese! so simple, yet so comforting! when i got back to my little area, almost no sooner did i get back into the hammock before i felt a huge raindrop-so i immediately unstrapped and got everything to the car before i was completely drenched. i decided to stay and just watch for a bit and see if it passed over. it did, and then i got a call from the para-sail company and they apologized, but they were going to have to cancel because they were having to move all of their appointments back due to the rain, and at the moment there was lightning. boo.

it may have been a good thing though, because when i met shea back at the house, she wasn't feeling great, which means that a ride like that might not have gone so well. she self-diagnosed: sugar overload and dehydration from soccer camp. so i insisted that a nap would do the trick...only...for me a nap is 20 minutes and BOOM! let's go! shea's body doesn't know how to nap apparently, and i didn't want to wake her up, so i just did some work; i worked on this awesome postcard! a postcard that i had to put in an envelope in order to send it off to trish; hopefully she appreciates that!

when shea finally exited her state of hibernation, we went for poppos tacos-not bad! in fact, an excellent dinner to end out the 1st weekend! (regardless that it was monday, shut up).

 tuesday morning, i wanted to get the earliest start possible so that i could get to hellen's before she had to leave for an appointment with her mom.  the drive down to miami was really uneventful. what would miami adventures hold? would it be more like csi miami, or more like miami vice with crocket and tubbs? i am happy to report that it was really like neither! although, i have determined that it could probably never be home for me. big city...dressing up and putting on make-up are not among my favorite things. there is a time and a place, but in my ideal world, every-day-life is not the time, nor the place! (thankfully hellen was still willing to be seen in public with me!)

when i arrived, i heard the voice of an old friend on the other side of the door as it opened, and it was so good to see hellen again! we had just enough time to catch up a little, before she had to take her mom in. i settled in a bit, had some time to do some work. her husband came home with sofi from the daycare, and i got to meet this little firecracker of girl, with the most amazing head of curls! i think part of her personality is wrapped up in those curls!

i was thrilled that jacira and karla were able to carve out some time for dinner-i know there is always so much going on in the summertime, especially with families in town and places to go, etc. so it was great when jacy arrived and we were able to catch up- she has not changed! kind, fun and so caring. nor has karla-funny as ever-she was sharing some great 'mom' stories! we were laughing just envisioning everything!! especially the holes in the yard-omg! we had some tasty mango with salt and pepper-delicious! i have decided that i really need to eat more mango (which is why i purchased and ate some today!). we went to dinner at a great little central american restaurant and a huge appetizer plate with pupusas-ah! yum, i was impressed! but more than anything, it was the company that did my soul good. the funny thing is that saying goodbye is kinda' like see ya later, and it feels like we'll see each other again, sooner than later (i mean, why wait 24 years to reconnect?! ridiculous, i tell ya!).

it had been an especially long time since i'd seen this one-karla had left eis after our 10th grade year-such a joy to see her again!

jacira and i-my spanish-class friend..and just all around friend; i'm betting that part of what makes her a successful teacher is her caring spirit!

riquisimo!

these gals are pretty stinkin' amazing! so glad i got to spend time with them!

i loved being able to stay with hellen, because it gave me a glimpse into normal life-and one doesn't come by these glimpses every day. running errands with people is such a great opportunity to chat and laugh and just share thoughts about what's going on, so i do consider this time precious!

on wednesday, hellen kept sofi home, okay, not really home, because we weren't home most of the day! after the first stop, we decided to go down to miami, lincoln road to walk around for a bit. we took the stroller for sofi and made our way down the road to an area with several restaurants. we opted for rustic pizza, which was delicious! great salads, and even greater pizza! i'm just a sucker for margherita pizza! yum! the only drawback of eating outside is pigeons. pigeons wouldn't be so bad if they didn't strut around pretending that they owned the entire walk! and if they didn't scare sofi so much..not sure if she was scared by them, or merely annoyed.

i had so much fun sharing the back seat with this one for a few days!

you can't really see it, but there is a great little mist sprayer there!

and we got to pose together in front of the coolest wall full of singer sewing machines! 

we left as the sky was beginning to gray-up and there was lightning in the distance. so we began our little trek back to the car, and were trying to remember which parking lot we had left the car in. we located it without too much of a hassle and made our way to the pharmacy to pick something up-sofi's movies were entertaining, and it was hard to believe that by the time we got back to the house, it was so late! we had a little coffee with some sweet bread and just talked-i couldn't even begin to retell what all we chatted about, because i'm sure we were all over the place!

thursday we took sofi to her school and i got to meet her teacher and see her classroom-this was particularly fun because it connects some dots-karla's kiddos had also gone here, and i remembered on fb, hellen had asked for some recommendations about where to take her, and this was one of them. so seeing it made it more real-she's a lucky little girl! she is going to be so prepared for school both academically and socially!

after we dropped her off, we went down to wynwood walls in miami, in search of the actual little park. it was an impressive area! it was fun looking at all of the artwork. we decided that truly, some of the most creative artwork was on the walls of the buildings surrounding the attraction. i love it when townships recognize the importance of revitalization!

check out that wall! i love this girl! 

for lunch, we went to a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall bar and grille that had one of the most amazing hamburgers i have ever tasted! i think part of the secret was the pencil fries and the guava paste, not to mention the sweet potato fries-in love!

best burger ever!! i would certainly go back for another!

we made it back in time to pick sofi up from school and once again, coffee in the afternoon (it's how we do). later that evening, i got to meet hellen's brother and sister-in-law. we went to their home for dinner, although we weren't too hungry due to the amazing burger at lunch. BUT when someone offers you HONDURAN tamales, you don't say no! these are usually a Christmas delicacy, but for whatever reason, they had some and they were willing to share! that was amazing. loved meeting the fam-they are so fun and easy-going!

unfortunately i had to leave on friday--time is always much too short when you're with old friends!
i was in far too much of a hurry to get this posted, and i failed to include one of the most important parts about miami. hellen was a most gracious friend! she wouldn't allow me to pay for any of my meals when we were out-which i was totally not expecting! and she had a gift that she'd meant to send earlier-it was a gift for the boys! including some sweet artwork from sofi! touching! so thoughtful! thank you, hellen for being you! what a treat it was for me!

the drive is short enough to not be long, but long enough to enjoy and unwind. while i was driving through the everglades, i was certainly thankful for the fences around the glades, as the stop and go for wildlife on the road would not be very entertaining. i did look over to one of the ponds and saw an alligator peeking his head out. not nearly as exciting as mayakka state park! ;) i was very impressed by the rest areas, though. almost confused by the roads that wound around and under bridges to get me to it, but impressed none-the-less.

i did appreciate the WAZE app! it took care of things and even re-routed me around a slow traffic area..or so it said. for all i know, it may have just been taking me on the scenic route because it knew i was a tourist. (?) anyhoo, i got to see an area that i was unfamiliar with and then got me into bradenton a little after noon. it was pouring down rain, so i couldn't go to the beach, and shea would be at work until later in the afternoon, so i went to starbucks. while i was there, i worked on my first post about vacation.

and now you are probably wondering, well... how did the last weekend end? and trust me, i will cetainly let you know!

julie

florida part 2, weekend part 2: alligators, drum circles and more food (than should be legal)

i cannot even begin to express my frustration right now. i had this amazing post finished and ready to go-thought i'd saved it (as i had hit the save button) and while i was trying to upload the pics, it told me to log out and log back in, and the bulk of the post that i had written and polished off tonight was ~poof~ grr. i will try again, but no promises as to the comparable amazingness of the first post. uf.

we were looking for a good day, and it was granted! we had chosen this day to go to mayakka state park to see the alligators and get the everglades feel without having to go to the everglades! so course, we had to fuel up for the day. that consisted of stopping in to station 400, one of the cutest little breakfast/brunch spots in sarasota, off the beaten path! adorbs. a little piece of history-this little train station had been dismantled from indiana and pieced back together in srq-and was now a little cafe! bright and chipper, this place! pretty certain shea had the fry up and i KNOW i had the huevos gringos-delicious! we stopped by whole foods for some fruit to snack on later in the day, then feeling ready to conquer the day, we were off to mayakka!

you know i did...just because i had to. they weren't like donuts. but hey, they were still pretty good!

upon arrival, we stopped at the first bridge in hopes of a first sighting. there were two people on the bridge, who came off the bridge and walked onto a little pathway because they thought they saw something. we peeked over to the area where they were heading and sure enough, there was a slight glimpse of a head in the shade under the tree, but we weren't really close enough to appreciate him/her...and at this point, there was no need to get closer, as shea is much faster than i am, so i would get eaten first. so we proceeded to the trail.

shelter first!

we opted for the 1 mile trail instead of the 20 miler-no need for a marathon today. and even on this 1 mile stretch, while it was quite pretty, there wasn't a whole lot of variety. shea was telling me about a reality show were they drop naked people into wild places and leave them to survive for X amount of time. and they had used this park for one of the shows. so as we walked, we were survivalist planning. i'm pretty sure with our plans, we could've out-survived any of them! not that i would ever do a show naked...i have this modesty thing going on. everything pretty much looked the same until we arrived at the tower. the tower was worthy. we went up the first tower and i thought that was it, but it led to a little swinging bridge-coolness, and then onto a much taller tower that overlooked the treetops. what a gorgeous view and a refreshing breeze! we got up there and began snapping photos and another couple made it up and almost immediately went back down, as the male-figure was a little woozy and uncomfortable with heights (would've been good to know before they climbed the thing, i would think...just sayin'). once we heard a multitude of voices, we decided to descend from the deck. because no one wants to share an amazing upper deck scenery with the crazies. (them, not us). i knew neither of us would throw up, but you never know about children and weak-spirited travelers.

because amazing beauty deserves to be seen...and the view from the top was gorgeous as well. ;)

and of course the picture of us taking each other's picture. duh.

suspension bridge-pretending we're like...indiana jones in the wilds of anywhere

lots of stairs, generously built and funded by lots of people, including a whole slew of peruvian kids!

we then drove to one of the great fishing areas. when we got out to the little fishing platform, we saw 2 alligators on one side, and there was a big fella on the other side, where there was a lot of fishing going on. a lot of smack talk by a young nerdy fisherman. we were so unimpressed and making our own narrative under the breath. well, for all his talk, he did hook a big mouth bass. snaps. and it was probably about a 9-12 pounder. i don't know about shea, but i was really happy to see him leave to put it in their cooler back at their campsite! but then there were the kids and such. i'm sure we were totally in the way, watching, but we wanted to get selfies with the big guy! (alligator, not fisherman)

and...when on vacation, we get what we want...there he is

 every time someone snagged a fish, we stood there silently cheering on the alligator and hoping that he would get his fill. and he did snap two good sized fish from the lines! #teamalligator. we decided he was doing the fish a favor, and if we were fish, we'd rather have him do us the favor of keeping us from being un-drowned..asphixiation by air? (idk), i mean...to be a fish and go to a frying pan? this guy was a true humanitarian...alligatortarian. (?) and shea also made the comment that she felt flying alligators would be terrifying. so...we restricted them to dragonfly wings -no eagle wings, because as soaring alligator would be much more terrifying than a flittering, fluttering alligator..singing happy music...

got it! 

there was this kid fishing next to me, and he did a foolish move, trying to be cool and get his bait near the alligator, but he crossed lines with a couple of ladies, and got his line all tangled up with one of them. she kinda' reprimanded him, he said sorry and she proceeded to try to untangle the lines. this went on for about 5 minutes and he's still standing next to me, they are about 7 feet down, and i told him to slacken the line a little bit as they were trying to untangle it and having quite a time (not a good time, mind you, they were so annoyed)...and when i told him to do that, he said, "they can just cut the line, i have other hooks and bobbers." i told him to walk over there and let them know. they were even more annoyed at that point because he coulda' told them that at the very beginning of this tangled mess! by then they had it undone. this is why i don't fish with little boys. ok, let's be real-i haven't fished in years!

and of course, you can't go to an alligator park without some guy thinking he has to tell his alligator story about getting fined for wrestling an alligator in a state park, now he knows better...#initiateeyeroll ...

on the way back to the car, we found the perfect spot for senior pics, because senior pics are for everyone- 

yes, i was terrible at posing for my real senior pics too.

we found the birdwalk and went out in search of more alligators and birds. my mom would've enjoyed this area, as she is becoming somewhat of a birdwatcher these days. there were no gators, but there were plenty of birds!

once we were finished with our alligator hunting, we set off for siesta key beach.

to me, this is perfection.hearing the roar of the ocean relaxing in part sun, part breezy shade

upon arrival, we found a little spot to set up camp (hammock and beach chairs...what else does one require? nothing.) pretty much, as soon as we arrived, the hippies began to arrive as well with their bongos, jembes, tambourines, hula hoops and flags, among other things. they began setting up and drawing a huge circle in the sand, and tourists and visitors began to set up on the outside of that circle to watch the goings on. soon enough we would see that circle grow.

growing a crowd of onlookers

 we were next to the sand volleyball court, and after settling into the hammock, some guys began playing a pick-up game of sand volleyball. so as i was napping, i kept hearing,"uh oh!" and "OHHHH!" and it never failed to make me nervous and cringe just a little thinking i was going to get smacked in the head. finally their little group dissipated and i was truly able to rest! eventually shea went off to play in the ocean for a minute and i continued in my state of comfort...um..guarding the valuables...yep that's it! when she returned, we found a bag at the picnic table that someone had left behind-maracas! when one leaves maracas behind, the only thing for the finder to do is shake those things! so, despite the fact that we did not bring our hula hoop nor our tambourine, we DID take our newly borrowed maracas to check out the drum circle crazies.

maraca-laca-serious-face, time to get down to bidness!

what we found was not shocking. although, that said, there was a girl in a wolf-skin outfit. it seemed fairly legit and somewhat disconcerting that she would be wearing it in this heat. where does one get a wolf-skin outfit? full outfit...she didn't look like a mighty warrior who could defeat a wolf in the midst of trying to save oneself...hence, my question again. where did she get this thing?

maybe she did fight the wolf, and that's why she needed the knee brace...or maybe she was smoking pot and fell down her stairs...

the drummers

somehow, the circle closed in tighter, but there was still some dancing going on.

we were trying to be stealthy in our capture of jingle-summer-santa pics...

there were a group of the hippy-folk walking around with clip boards trying to get residents to sign a medical marijuana petition.

 we walked around, observed, took some pics, danced...

the kanakuk dance...

when with locals, do as the locals do...except not the marijuana part...#dancingwiththestars

 so the video of the above picture is actually rather humorous...

when the sun set, we had to find sustenance (as if!); this led us to a little place called: EAT HERE, and we ate there. i appreciate dining with shea, as she is all about sharing. this allows us to really enjoy a variety. so we ordered the lobster/shrimp tacos, and the fancy grilled cheese. they were both delicious, but my recommendation would be the grilled cheese, simply because i was comparing value and taste of the tacos to tide tables (the one place where we do NOT share). while we were waiting for the food to arrive, shea had to get her hair in order with her thingamabob or whatchamacallit- i really don't know, and she had to go through the entire song, trying to remember its name, only to realize that it was actually in one of the scenes, not the song...

#mermaidproblems

 and after dinner, we did what all people should do...we found the nitrogen flash frozen ice cream across the street and took our yummyness for a walk down the main stretch to see the shops and restaurants. it was short. the perfect way to end a day full of adventure!

coming soon-monday adventures and miami vice!
jrob

florida part 2, weekend 1 part 1: food, friends, fun, food

it's impossible. impossible to be on a diet and enjoy yourself on vacation with friends, because there are so many amazing restaurants, and so much socialization happens when you break bread...especially when it's coconut bread!

disclaimer: i may get some of this out of order, as i've been blessed to experience so much! my friends are amazing hostesses!

i got back to bradenton on friday. i arrived at the house fairly early in the afternoon, and i just hung out in shea's room while she was at work and took a nap and i think i may have written a letter or something. when she got home for work, we went down to sarasota and walked around st. armands-some of the cutest little shops..spices, trinkets, and nut-shop among the mix. the nut shop was fabulous, mostly because they had free samples everywhere! ah-the malted milk balls...the size of jupiter...

saturday was THE BLOCK! this is a group that shea and her roommate, brooke go to on saturdays as a way to minister to the kids in one of the local neighborhoods-lots of playing going on! it was so fun to watch them interact with their kiddos! they have so much fun and make those kids feel so loved on! #rolemodels

shea as the artist of the day, modeling poses 

they gravitate toward her and she gives them some big-sista love!

using the bubble machine! they are fascinated by that thing!

all kinds of games, sporting, and lizard hunting...thank goodness it got away! #whatpetadontknow

then we walked the crew home!

after that, we dropped brooke back at the house and made our way to anna maria island. first stop, and most important...anna maria island doughnuts, aka: the doughnut experiment. woah! so these are custom-made donuts. we walked in and the place was full of people, but the process went fairly quickly. step 1: get the form and make your choice of donut glaze, then one topping choice. so we got maple bacon, vanilla raspberry, chocolate heath bar, caramel sea salt, and caramel delight. only the two of us (don't judge). split them and it was amazing! the donuts are small-ish. they kinda' melt in your mouth. the machine in the back is kinda like the oldie in the book homer price, only a little different...fun to watch them grab the donut and dip-it was phenomenal!

get 'em while they're hot!

from the top, clockwise: caramel delight, maple-bacon, caramel seasalt, chocolate-heath, vanilla-raspberry...#meltinyourmouth

dear donuts, you can't hide from me just because you spell your name with the 'ough' ! nice try!

we took a walk up to the pier, and on the way we saw a little historical house. i pointed at it and read the sign that said: fell into the ocean in 1926. the little house by the sign was interesting, so we went to check it out. the guide was still there, and he told us the story of the place. it had been built at the end of the pier, and a family lived there. one night, the pier gave way and the house fell into the ocean, with a couple of people in it. fortunately they were able to get some help to get it out and it was relocated inland and eventually became a part of the historic society. it was really quite interesting. then we walked down to the pier. then we made our way back to the other side of the island, where the beach is.we took off around the bend and found a couple of rescue folk trying to save some turtle eggs-as the nest had been compromised and was about to be completely washed out. it was really interesting. (i had a pic i wanted to post, but i promised not to, as it is a controversial issue...integrity) hopefully the little guys hatch. we kept going, but the tide was way up and there wasn't really anyplace to walk, so we went back.

we ended up making our way to the beachhouse restaurant. there was a bit of a wait, so we walked a little ways on the beach, then sat on the deck until we were paged. once we were sat, we got to partake of the amazing coconut bread. yum. it reminded me of HONDURAS, because whenever we used to go to the beach, we would get a bag of coconut bread-rolls. they were a little lighter in consistency, but the taste was comparable. the coconut shrimp and fish dip with bread to dip. it was just what we needed before going into the ocean and playing with the go-pro and wiping out. sacrifice the body for the pic...that's what i was told.  then there was a little laying in the wind/sunshine to dry off. on our way out, there was a guy who was just standing there looking off into the horizon and i had no idea what was going on. i think i may have been in their wedding pics. #photobomb

patriotic- duh.

love the lighting-fine line between the sun colors and the grays in the ominous clouds!

coconut bread! we should have pulled a shea and "eat-a-half, pack-a-half" as they keep bringing more-don't want them catching on! (or just buy a bag to go, but that's not nearly as adventurous! :))

that evening, we went back to sarasota-st. armands and we walked down to lido beach for the sunset-everyone was watching the sunset; such a popular event-and the great thing is that God keeps doing it over and over and over again, and it just never gets old! as we were returning from the beach, we saw an older gentleman (not a surprise around here), but he looked like a santa clause. shea said she thought he was one of the drum-circle hippies. and there he was with a clip board on a corner talking to someone. 'hmm...maybe he's recruiting people and advertising for the drum circle sunday night', was our thought (we'll get back to this). when there is a kilwins ice cream shop in the area, you are wise to just go ahead and start there, and then decide if you have room for dinner...which is just what we did! just thinking of it-i exhale and almost forget to inhale because i'm savoring my first taste of caramel sea salt ice cream in a waffle cone! move over DQ, you're outta' your league!

kilwins-can't be beat!! i cannot believe i've never experienced this yummy-goodness!

so..this is supposed to be my LO,WISH YOU WERE HERE! look.

we then made our way to columbia restaurant (don't be confused, it's not columbian food, it's cuban). they had the signature 1904 salad-huge, so we split that and a mojito pitcher. both excellent choices! the waiter left the remainder of the seltzer water that he didn't use, and shea may have decided it would be best to take that with us, and scoop out some of the mint leaves that were remaining in the pitcher to take home and re-create..worth a try! E for effort?




up next, alligators and wolves!
julie