Time to return home

The last several days have been real nice weather wise but the day before we are to return home it turned really wild and windy. There is lots of blowing sand and debris along the seashore and the forecast is for tornadoes on the gulf coast and in northern Florida, and the weather steadilly worsening in the area where we have been staying. Time to leave I guess - We have had a lovely break and could very easilly get used to the slower paced lifestyle - Ed is not ready to come home yet.

Ed is pleased that we did not drive while in Florida. Why? - nobody uses their vehicle turn signals.
How do you know if the person in front of you will turn left? They slow down and turn.
How do you know if a person is changing lanes? They pull in front of you.
Simple, I guess but it is strange that such a poor driving habit exists so universally. Perhaps turn signals are an expensive option in Florida vehicles.

The flight home was fairly straight forward with a short delay in leaving Toronto for aircraft mechanical problems. We were happy when it was announced that a different plane would be brought from the hangar. Ed does not like quick fixes and assurances that all will be good.

On the flight from Fort Lauderdale, the person sitting next to Ed presented a bit of a challenge. He was not a particularly big man - just a bit greedy - he wanted some of Ed's seat as well as his own and was all elbows and shoulders while reading the newspaper. Ed did not appreciate the intimacy with this persons body parts and the guy's general lack of courtesy. A short discussion resolved the issue but a turf war persisted throughout the flight.
The situation was aggravated by the man having really bad body odour and mouth breath that could strip paint - very unpleasant. But Ed is resourceful and turned the overhead ventilation nozzle on full blast and angled it vertically down to create a fresh air barrier between himself and Mister Smelly - not a perfect solution but it did make the journey a little more tolerable.

We are home now and looking forward to catching up with family - we have missed you all very much.

Out and about in Hollywood, Florida

A couple of days ago we took a long bus ride, 2 hours each way, down the coast to Miami. If you have lots of time and not in a hurry, it is a great way to see the local area and people watch. There are many characters who ride the bus and we take the opportunity to talk to folks when we can. We wandered the Bayshore Market area, had a very nice sea food lunch and enjoyed the art decco buildings in the South Beach area.

The weather has been quite changeable, some days 80F and others cool and cloudy. Today is one of the cooler days so we took the opportunity to use the local trolley bus to get to a nature reserve. It is a wetland and mangrove swamp area and home to many bird species,fish, butterflies and lots of crawling and creeping stuff. We saw lots of trees, water and weeds but not much else. We did see some beautiful butterflies and some birds but our expectations did not quite align with reality. We did have a nice walk.

When we returned to the beach area "Canada" Fest was in full swing along the broadwalk. There were booths and tents representing everything Canadian and we looked forward to a pleasant couple of hours browsing the displays. If I had been Rip van Winkle and had just woken up with no prior knowledge, I would have assumed that Canada is only a french speaking country. The booths providing local information presented their displays in English but but all others were in French - signage, brochures and spoken greetings. We thought this was a very poor representation of what Canada actually is. Perhaps we should go with the programme and start taking french lessons. :)

There appears to be a problem with the site as I am unable to upload photographs. Hopefully I will be able to do this next time.
Stay warm.

Flat Stanley

We have a small friend with us, his name is "Flat Stanley". He was given to Christine by one of her workmates on behalf of a grade 3 little girl in Calgary. We have been asked to allow Stanley to enjoy our trip with us and record his adventures to share later with the grade 3 class.

The lifeguard explained the rules of a safe visit to the beach.

Ed introduced Stanley to the pool

Sun is good in moderation but don't forget to sun block

Stanley is enjoying the beach and ocean, and learning about local wildlife.

We will also gather items such as postcards, shells. etc and present them with the photographs to the kids class when we get back.

A day at the race track

We did something very different yesterday  - we spent the afternoon at a local race track. We both had a lot of fun - it was quite surprising that we could get as close to the horses and riders as we did. The name of the facility is Gulfstream Park - it looks quite new and is a very impressive place. We didn't lose any money as we did not place any bets. We need help from an "expert" to understand all the jargon and terminology associated with odds etc. We were able to park ourselves right at the finish line and watch a few races and listen to the horses thunder by. Very exciting.

Can you hear us cheering on the winner?

We also found that someone is impersonating Christine and has opened a restaurant in her name. We walked up and announced ouselves as the owners, hoping we could get a free meal but they were having none of that. :)

Hanging out at the beach

Today was another beautiful day at the beach, very warm and sunny. We spent the morning laying around at the pool. Ed had a swim and then we went for a stroll along the tide line collecting shells and kicking sand.
We had a light lunch and walked along the Broad-walk in the late afternoon.  We watched seven cruise ships sail off as the sun set. Two of the ships were Cunard - Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth - calling into Fort Lauderdale as a stop on a world tour. They caused quite a lot of interest in the local media and many folks were expected to be on the bridges close to the port to watch them sail by. We watched from a local restaurant as we drank beer and ate pizza.

Take care and stay warm.

Update from snow free Florida

Yesterday -Thursday 13th January - was a cold 43F in the early morning but sunny,  so the expectations were that it would get warm quite soon and it did. By lunchtime it was warm enough to be out and about in tee shirts and shorts with a light top for the shady areas. There are no complaints from Christine and Ed though - as it appears we are the only snow free state in the US - even Hawaii has snow in some areas.

We have settled into a routine now and most days are similar. We go to bed between 10 and 11 pm and get up in the morning between 6 and 7. Christine is always up before Ed as she loves to sit with a cup of tea on the balcony, in the quiet, and enjoy the beatiful sun rises. Almost every morning there is a pink glow on the eastern horizon as the sun comes up - very peaceful.
Ed is not missing having to get up for work at 4:30 am but is more than happy to go for a run along the seashore at 8 in the morning. His running has become more consistent and has progressed in length to around 10K - just less than 60 minutes.

Mornings are often spent around the pool - swimming, beachwalking and reading are the major events. Ed will go out for a news paper and coffee once in a while but otherwise time just passes without urgency.

We have become very good at getting around on the local bus - some days are quite an adventure but we usually reach our destination without too much trouble. Christine seems to have a sixth sense of where to catch buses and at what times they will come. Bus schedules are not always available and it has become a bit of a game with us to collect the paper copies of the schedules. One of our voices can often be heard to say "Have we got this one?" or "Do you think we willl need this one?" - tough decisions I know.

A flock of parrots roost in the trees around our building. They are a pretty bird - bright green with yellow heads, and to us quite unusual to see,  but they are noisy. They make as much noise as a a bunch of magpies do at home. There are lots of birds in the area, as they over winter here, and at dusk they start to congregate for roosting. It is like a scene from the Hitchcock movie The Birds - there are thousands of them - don't look up or sit under trees as you will probably need the dry cleaners afterwards.

We will check in again in a few days - stay warm.

Around Hollywood Beach

The beach area and boardwalk is very close to where we are staying and is a great place to stroll and people watch. We often go out there in the evening for a walk and catch a bite to eat as the sun sets.
The boardwalk is a paved walk perhaps 30 feet wide and is three to four miiles in length and joins several seaside towns. Along it are many nice restaraunts, cafes and beach wear shops.
The area was busy when we arrived but since New Year has passed it is much quieter - very nice.
Ed has been out with all of the other energetic folks and run the boardwalk three or four times already.

On one of our beach walks we came across this strange looking guy and many of his brothers. A box jelly fish, I believe and a nasty guy you don't want to mess with. They travel the currents and strong winds drove them onshore. The air bag keeps them afloat and beneath are 2 to 3 feet long tendrils armed with many poisonous spikes - not something you would want to swim into. I will do my laps in the pool thank you very much.

The beach outside of the condo at 7:30am

A view of the beach from the veranda of an ice cream parlour - I said the place had turned quiet after New Year. I think some one must have shouted "SHARK".

I think I just sat on Ed's icecream

We did ask the policeman if he wanted a cone but he said he was very busy

Day out in Fort Lauderdale

Yesterday (Monday Jan 3rd) we took the local bus and spent the day exploring Fort Lauderdale.
The river walk is a beatiful area with a paved way which meanders through gardens, over bridges and in among some very impressive buildings.
There are many large motor launches tied up along both sides of the river and there is obviously a lot of money "living" in this area.
After walking along the river we made our way to Las Olas Boulevard which is a very scenic and interseting street. It appears to be the main shopping and commercial street of the area. One end of the street is a typical downtown area with very tall buildings and as you continue walking it slowly transforms into what looks more like a village area.  In this area there are numerous restaraunts and bistros, art galleries and curio shops - a very intersting area to enjoy and walk.
The bus ride home was quite an adventure - it was quitting time - around 5:00pm and the bus was packed with folks trying to get home. The previous bus had been canceled and there were some very unhappy campers. For us it was just entertainment.

I am not sure if you eat the fish or the fish eats you at this place. We didn't take a chance and gave it a miss.

My next car!!!!!

And while I am shopping, my next boat :)

This is a gravity clock and is operated by running water and many balls around 200mm diameter. It is amazing to watch and see the balls climb an elevator and be discharged at various places around what looks like a really big roller coaster. Very neat.

The Cruise

A day or so after we arrived, mum and I were out exploring and we were approached by a young lady who enquired if we would be interseted in a free afternoon cruise. Mum and I gave each other sideways glances (what's the catch kind of looks) and asked almost in unison - "Is this a timeshare?" The lady assured us no and explained that she was trying to fill the boat for picture taking of this season promotional brochure. We didn't need asking twice and had a lovely afternoon sailing the intracoastal waterway.

We felt very special when the drawbridge was lifted to allow us to proceed.

We passed a nature reseerve and saw a family of racoons playing at the waterside and numerous kinds of birds including Osprey. We had a great afternoon and the price was unbeatable. We also passed numerous marinas and some very impressive and expensive mansions. Even in severe economic downturns some folks still do vey well.

This home is owned by the guy who invented the intermittent motor for car windshield wipers. I hope I can think of something as simple while I am down here and my mind is not clogged with work junk.

Just hanging out

Today we hung around the pool area and had a very lazy day. Both mum and I read a few pages of our books but not too much else. Being free as the birds is a very nice feeling.

I have started to read a book on my e reader and I must say it is a fun way to read and very convenient - thanks for the set up help Katie. It is much more manageable than a paper book but I doubt I would dare take it in the bath as I am in the habit of dropping off to sleep and have already drowned a couple of books. Paperbacks become a bit wrinlkly but are still usable but I doubt the e reader would be.

The weather has taken a bit of an upturn and today was very sunny and comfotable at around 80F. It was quite cool and breezy when we arrived but each day has been a little better than the last and the forecast for tomorrow is predicted to be similar to today.

Happy New Year

We would like to wish you all a very happy New Year.

It is often said that you should start the year as you mean to finish it, and here we are on the beach in Florida.

We came from this:

To THIS!!!!

How lucky are we?