Vultures

Dear Friends,

We had no idea vultures could be do destructive.  The flyer in our trail map said they eat the rubber off of cars.  Yum!

Love,
H & B

Bird Watching

Dear Friends,

We took a break from our bike ride to check out the "birdwalk".  There are all sorts of cool birds in Florida.  A couple that was traveling from the Netherlands helped with the photo.

Love,
H & B

GREEN!

Dear Friends,

We have seen lots of cool lizards in Asia and Florida. This tiny guy was one of the most colorful!

Love,
H & B

Park Alligators

Dear Friends,

The sign was right on.  We must have seen at least 6 alligators in this river. There were some brave (or stupid) guys fishing own on the banks.  We were safely watching from a bridge.

Love,
H & B

Myakka River State Park

Dear Friends,

We took a great bike ride around the State Park today.  The scenery was amazing and we saw some cool critters.  What a great way to spend a Thursday!

Love,
H & B

Key Lime ?

Dear Friends,

We saw this sign on the way into the BBQ the other day. We were wondering what this  would actually look like. Unfortunately, we never found the stall selling this delicacy.

Love,
H & B

Sun Coast Beach BBQ

Dear Friends,

This weekend we ventured over to the Beach BBQ which had a chili cook-off and award winning barbeque. There was lots of yummy chili and pulled pork for the meat-eater in our family. The people watching was enjoyed by both of us.

Love,
H & B

Rick

Dear Friends,

We're glad to know that Rick's got our back.  We can definitely tell we are back in the sue-happy US.  We're sure he has lots of business here in Florida as we rarely see a motorcyclist with a helmet.

Love,
H & B

Greyhound Racing

Dear Friends,

We loved the small planes pulling the banners along Siesta Key.  They were advertising several Happy Hours as well as the races. We didn't make it to any of them.

Love,
H & B

Ladder Ball

Dear Jim & Linda,

Thanks for introducing us to Ladder Ball!  We had great time with that and all the other games.  Cannot wait until next time!

Love,
H & B

Landshark

Dear Friends,

Yet another fun car here in Florida. This one was parked near the beer tent.

Love,
H & B

The Surfin' Plumbers

Dear Friends,

These guys had a great booth set up at the festival. They have an advertising plan but not sure of their plumbing ability.

Love,
H & B

Surfboard

Dear Friends,

I have a feeling we could have been the owners of this treasure.  But, we don't have room in our suitcases...darn!

Love,
H

Funnel Cakes

Dear Friends,

What would the Shark's Tooth Festival be without funnel cakes?  Of course, there was all sorts of other great festival food there too...giant fried potatoes, pizza, ice cream and most importantly, beer.

Love,
H & B

Got Bacon?

Dear Friends,

Not sure what the deal is with the bacon infatuation here in the US.  But it is ALL about bacon.

Love,
H & B

Pond

Dear Friends,

The pond outside Heather's  parent's place is housing a new guest. We often see this alligator out there in the mornings before the fountain gets turned on.  We did see him once strolling down the sidewalk after dark.  Mostly he keeps to the pond and that's the way we like it.

Love,
H & B

Shark's Tooth 10K

Dear Friends,

One of the things I miss about not living in the US is the local running events. While we are here, I am going to try to make as many as possible. This morning, it was the Shark's Took 10K in Venice.  I was lucky to have my "biggest fan" there to cheer me on and take photos.

Love,
H

Spring Break

Dear Friends,

Heather and I finally made it to Florida for spring break. It only took us 23 years!

Love,
H

Pest Control

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Dear Friends,

We love these pest control cars we spotted around town. The ears and tail make the car unforgettable.

Love,
H & B

Beach Bikes

Dear Friends,

Florida has lots of bike lanes on the roads and many trails around the towns and parks. Luckily we don't need to rent bikes as we have our own. Off for ride!

Love,
H & B

Fishing

Dear Friends,

The pier in Venice Beach is full of hopeful anglers.  We saw all sorts of fantastic fish being pulled out of the water.

Love,
H & B

Mary Kay

Dear Friends,

Who do you think is the proud owner of this pink Mary Kay Escalade?  The CEO?

Love,
H

Happy Easter!

Dear Friends,

On our visit to Jerusalem last fall we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was one of many mosaics there. Happy Easter!

Love,
H & B

Hibiscus

Dear Friends,

Florida has fascinating birds and beautiful flowers.  I love the Hibiscus.

Love,
H

Habitat for Humanity

Dear Friends,

We were lucky enough to find a Habitat project here in Florida. We have spent a few days helping to refurbish a house. We are the youngest volunteers by far as everyone else is retired. It has been fun getting to know the other volunteers and hear their stories while we are busy painting and getting the house ready for new residents.

Love,
H & B

Glass Fish

Dear Friends,

Doesn't everyone need some handblown glass fish?

Love,
H

Barber Shop

Dear Friends,

I just love small town America. 

Love,

H

Jimmy Buffett

Dear Friends,

Buffet and Florida go together like PB & J.  Wish I could have caught the owners of this van on camera as well.  And, no, this was not at a concert, just in town.

Love,
H

Alligators

Dear Friends,

The 5k run I was in the other day looped around this lake. The gators all stayed in the pond as no doubt the 200 runners scared them away.

Love,
H

Dolphins

Dear Friends,

I have been to the beach twice now where I have seen dolphins. On this trip, there were several swimming around.  They are hard to catch on camera!  Guess I really don't have a future as a nature photographer. : )

Love,
H