Where the wild things are

This past weekend we were lucky enough to have our first house guests! Jason and Rachel made the trek up from Miami for the long weekend. They arrived late Saturday night, then got up early to head to an RV show in Tampa for the day. Wade and I had to stay home and work (no, not kidding), but met up with them for dinner at the Salty Dog when they got back that evening. It was chilly, but fried fish and rum punch can warm anyone up. :) It was great to catch up on the happenings in Miami.

The next morning we were off to Myakka River State Park to canoe and check out some trails. First, we walked through the canopy walk bridge and got a panoramic view of the park from the observation tower. The weather was perfect for hiking so we headed to one of the backcountry trails where we saw feral pigs and piglets, armadillos, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (my first), a huge flock of Robins, and some really cool areas of wild Florida. We checked out one of the campsites you could hike to and are really excited to try them out in the future. (Below: Wade, Jason, and Rachel looking for the sapsucker)

We headed back to the car to put the canoe in the water, but unfortunately, the wind had other plans, so we had to call it a day (although we did see wild turkeys along the road). Instead, we headed home early to partake of the perfect temperature by swinging in the yard and lounging in the hammock with margaritas and good rum. We grilled quesadillas for dinner, make smores in the fire pit, and almost polished off the pitcher of margaritas while watching a movie.

Tuesday morning we were moving slowly thanks to the margaritas and rum, but finally rolled out of bed to head to Selby Botanical Gardens. A cold front had rolled in over night so it was incredibly cold and windy (despite being bundled up, we were still freezing).

We had packed a picnic lunch, but after doing a loop through the gardens we were more interested in getting home to warm up than picnic. After lunch Jason and Rachel packed up and headed back to Miami. We were sad to see them go, but were left with lots of good memories and laughter. For more pictures, check out our Picasa site.

Freezing my buns off

Yes, the title pretty much sums up the theme of my last trip to DC: FREEZING. The first two nights I stayed in DC in a hotel with my coworker Michelle, who was lots of fun to travel with, and a nice change from traveling alone. As Floridians we were freezing the whole time (it was in the 30s) since we had to do quite a bit of walking around town. One night we went with two local coworkers on a bit of adventure as we experimented with the DC bus system to find an authentic tea house and the local Patagonia store (yes, I know, I have a problem).

The last two nights we spent in Maryland for a retreat for work (oh, and the last day the high was 19 degrees!). It was fun to meet so many people from all over the program (CA, TX, NY, DC, NC, MA, and even Mexico) and hear what they all are working on. I also enjoyed the drive to MD as there were Canadian Geese everywhere! (It's the small things in life that amuse me) The last day of the retreat was Michelle's birthday so we had dinner in the airport together before catching our flight home. It was nothing fancy (is that possible in an airport?!) but it was fun to spend her birthday with her. Wade picked us up at the airport that night but my suitcase didn't make the flight back with us...

I have a near phobia of checking my baggage (hence my obsessive compulsion to cram everything for a week into a carry-on) due to the fact that luggage left to its own devices never seems to arrive where and when it's supposed to. So I thought I'd outsmarted the system by carrying on... nay, nay! Although flight attendants these days barely have much to do (some airlines don't serve drinks or snacks and show a video on safety, but still have flight attendants - I am not kidding) they seem to have a hard time assisting in their one sacred duty: getting as much of people's crap into the overhead bins as possible. Lately, more and more people are carrying-on luggage (so they don't have to pay for something that used to be free!), but most attendants don't seem to really care about how efficiently things get put into overhead bins. I've seen gigantic overhead bins "filled" with two jackets, a purse, and a child's Barbie "suitcase". Due to this kind of highly thoughtful packing, my suitcase got taken from me and checked for our flight - not pink ticketed so I could pick it up on the boarding ramp, but full-out checked (also something new). This delightful scenario resulted in my bag not making it's way home until a full day after I did. Go figure, and fliers beware! Go out of your way to be nice to those attendants that do make a sincere effort to get your stuff on the plane, they are few and far between. Thankfully it didn't matter much since I was headed home, but the stuff in my suitcase felt literally frozen when I got it the next day making me wonder if it had spent the night freezing on the tarmac!

Gator Mania

We had the privilege of being able to watch the national championship game (Florida Gators vs. Sooners) in a house full of rabid Gator fans. : ) There is something to be said for the atmosphere created by die-hard fans that scream at the TV, dress entirely in their team's colors, and request to watch (and win) the game for their only birthday wish. Normally we're aren't the sports-watching type, but with a crowd that enthusiastic it was impossible to resist!

Jimmy's birthday was actually the day after the game, but since it ended just after midnight that was close enough. We went up to watch the game at Meg & Jimmy's in Tampa , and as our tribute brought birthday cupcakes decorated in Gator colors.
(Given my addiction to baked goods, are you really surprised that I took a picture?!)

It was a great night to hang out with a bunch of fun people, eat pizza, and then have a sleep over (a nice alternative to driving home at 1 in the morning!).

Below is the birthday guy and the newest Gator fan of the family, Trey. He was smiles as always, until it was time to go to bed!

Here the guys are enjoying some liquid gold (aka beer) that is literally flown in by one of Jimmy's friends who is an Airforce pilot. Must be nice... wonder if they ever do runs down island for Caribbean rum... :)

New Years Blast!

Mark this one down as one for the record books, we really know how to party hard in Sarasota! This picture pretty much sums up the holiday, both the Eve and the 1st:



The 24hr flu-bug decided to pay a visit to the Mrs., so she and the cats decided to sleep for something like 36hrs straight. As such, we rang in the New Years listening to the fireworks outside with Cara felling a little hot at a whoppin' 102 degrees. But after about 48hrs she was back to normal. Note: I was delegated to take over the blogging duties as memory is a little shaky for the Mrs. during the ordeal. Extra Note: The title is a relatively accurate representation of the non-sleeping moments for the Mrs...