Clearwater? Sarasota? Who Knows Where the Next Dream Leads?

Well, starting Friday we've been all over the place here in the Gulf coast area of Florida looking for that place that "just feels right" and can be our next home. At this point in our lives nothing is "forever." What we may like and even love as a place to live can change. Like Becky says, "I might change my mind some day."  Indeed.  And so might I.  But for now Florida looks like the next place for us to live. So we came to Orlando to house sit for a few days and have been traveling to nearby areas on the Gulf coast to see if there's a place that feels like it could be home for a while as we continue to dream this dream.

St. Pete does have a neat downtown area, just as Mike told us. It's a nice place and could possibly become home. We drove over to St. Pete beach and liked it.  Here's a picture of the 250 miles we drove over a 10 hour period with various stops along the way to check into visitor info centers, beaches and so forth.

Yes, we drove for 10 hours checking out all the different areas on the peninsula. Everything from St. Pete at
the South end over to Clearwater Beach (super crowded and waaaay to commercial and touristy) to Pinellas Park
and Gandy Road.  The peninsula is huge and offers all kinds of neighborhoods ranging from "you don't want to
live THERE!" to upscale gated communities. Hmmmm, where to land???

St.Petersburg Beach ("D" on the map) is actually out on a spit of land -- a barrier island -- and was quite nice.

St. Pete Beach. Nice!

 And there's downtown St. Pete that also looked like a lot of fun. It had shops and restaurants a-plenty all along Central Avenue.

The Central Avenue area in downtown St. Petersburg

The St. Petersburg pier looking out into the Gulf of Mexico

Then, on Saturday we went to one of the places Becky especially wanted to see: Sarasota. Wow! What a nice town. It reminded us both of Jupiter. The landscape architects have definitely been in Sarasota. It has art and culture everywhere in the downtown area including a campus of the University of South Florida. Performing arts. Museums. All of that and more.  We drove through a number of beautiful neighborhoods and visited the beaches at Siesta Key and Longboat Key as well as Armand Circle on Longboat Key. There is so much to explore there.

Siesta Key Beach - proudly proclaimed as the #1 Best Beach in America by local chambers of commerce and others
who promote the area.  And it is beautiful. The sand is so fine that it feels almost like talcum powder. And it's
nearly as white as snow.  The beach is very deep and a few miles long, so there's plenty of room to
play soccer, beach volley ball and to pitch umbrellas and toss towels on the sand -- all without worrying about

being too crowded.  Overall, YES! It is the nicest beach we've seen in Florida to date.

We got back home to Orlando and began checking out the long term rental situation in Sarasota only to find mostly condos -- very few single family homes to rent. So we'll keep looking. That's what this dream is all about at the moment. Just looking. Hoping to find that "perfect" place and "perfect" house.  ha!

Me thinks there's nothing "perfect" this side of Heaven. The cat sitting next to me as I type might disagree though. She's perfectly happy licking her feet and purring.  Is there something we're missing here??  LOL

A Trip to the Battleship -- North Carolina

Wednesday we decided to see the Battleship North Carolina. It's a WWII ship that was commissioned in 1941 and went to the South Pacific to wage war. The ship carried out nine shore bombardments, shot down at least 24 enemy aircraft with its anti-aircraft guns and sank an enemy troop ship. She was torpedoed once by a Japanese submarine and had to return home to get patched up. She also took some accidental friendly fire that did substantial damage. Yet by the end of  WWII she had lost only 10 men and 67 wounded.

Well, as wars go, that's probably not so bad. Walking around this ship gave us a feeling of history - the technology on this boat is 70+ years old. Gigantic turbines that drive the 40,800 ton ship. Armored cable bundles carrying power everywhere throughout the ship. Monstrous guns spread out over her 729 foot length and ducts that draw outside air into the lower decks to provide a modicum of comfort for the sailors and marines.

Today the ship serves as a memorial to all North Carolinians who fought in WWII.

20mm anti-aircraft guns. Just point and shoot.  It was all up to humans in those days before radar-controlled fire systems.

Here's the "big daddy" gun, the 40mm anti-aircraft banger. A sailor sat in each seat and sighted the approaching aircraft through the little iron sight. Shooting by the seat of your pants. Foot pedals down below let you rotate the entire gun left and right. The crank controlled azimuth.  I wonder if they issued ear protection in those days?

An air search radar antenna rotates at the top of this tower. Just below is the 16-inch gun director, a lookout point for
aligning the big guns with their targets.

The main deck. The ship is 108-feet wide and 729-feet long. It topped out at 28 knots and carried 141 officers, 2,115 enlisted sailors and 85 Marines. It carried a lot of food to feed all those troops: 7,800 eggs, 16,800 pounds of butter, 94,200 of sugar, 214,000 of fresh meat, 466,000 of fresh veggies and 135,000 pounds of fresh fruit. Well, it's good to know that they focused on the fruits and veggies!  Sounds like a lot, but start dividing those numbers by 2,341 men times three meals each day. Hmmm, doesn't seem so much now, does it? The eggs would be gone in three days. 

Here's a view from the top deck where the Captain gave orders and the crew carried them out. Those are six of the nine 16-inch cannons -- some big guns!

Just two of the 20 five-inch guns that bristle from every corner of the ship. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of these.

Compartments are all lockable to prevent flooding from one area of the ship to another.

The ship carried two Kingfisher planes that were launched on a catapault assisted with a black powder rocket engine. The planes were use to scout for enemy ships, submarines and planes, and to rescue fallen airmen from the sea, deliver mail and drop messages onto other ships. On returning the plane would land in the water then be lifted by a crane back onto the deck -- ready for another flight.

Some engineering specs on the engine and power train.

All in all a great visit to this old ship. We had a wonderful dinner at the Front Street Pub then back home for the evening.

"Know Your Beaches Day" in Wilmington, NC

Tuesday was a perfect day to begin checking out Wilmington and the surrounding area. We started with a walk, then hit the road to visit area beaches.

We're house sitting in Leland. It's about a 20 mile ride to Wrightsville Beach, which has many upscale homes

in the million dollar range. That beach has been a playground for people living in Wilmington for hundreds 

of years. Heading South we find Masonboro Island (just next to Myrtle Grove, NC). It's the largest 

undisturbed barrier island along the southern part of the coast, is completely undeveloped  and is 

accessible only by boat. Further South are Carolina and Kure beaches. 

Wow! No shortage of sun, sand and surf here :o)

First we drove to Wrightsville Beach, which is closest to the city of  Wilmington. 

Next we made our way down to Kure Beach, pronounced "curry."
Kure Beach slopes very gently so that you can be 200-feet off shore and still be only
knee-deep in the water. I'll bet this would make a good surf fishing area.

It's illegal to walk through the dunes or among the sea oats and grasses. They protect the shoreline by holding
the sandy soil together.

There are public access points all along the coast that lead to the beach.

Becky in pensive moment. There's something about the beach that does that to a person.

No beach would be complete without a pier for fishermen.

As we left Kure Beach we headed up to Carolina Beach, sometimes known as Pleasure
Island. It was a raucous party place for years, but now is much more family friendly.

So that was our Tuesday. We came home, had a fine dinner and planned out the many activities we're going to enjoy over the upcoming week. Let's see:

• Go see the Brunswick beaches South of Wilmington
• Talk to some real estate agents
• Visit the Battleship North Carolina
• Check out the workout center, pool and hot tub facilities here
• Visit the farmer's market
• Take in a blues concert
• Check out the UNC campus and the Osher Lifelong Learning Center here

...and lots more. The Wilmington area is a really attractive place to consider as our next home.

Packing "Heavy"...

After three wonderful months house sitting in Jupiter, FL it's time to move on. The very kind and likeable homeowners for whom we house sat, Aleta and Steve, returned from their ocean cruise and visit to Chaing Mai, Thailand that began back in April on June 13th. 

Becky left Jupiter to begin a new house sit in the Wilmington, NC area a few days before the Florida house sit ended. So once again, Allan became the house cleaner and straightener-upper, putting everything back in place for Aleta and Steve. During that process their lovable male cat, Polaris, realized something weird was going on: suitcases and boxes were being packed up, Becky was "missing" and the routines of his life were all messed up. He seemed to get a bit concerned and somehow climbed or jumped to the top of the 7-foot tall TV console in the living room. Stuck up there, he called out for help until I helped him get back down to the floor. I have no idea how he managed to get up that high.


Then, an hour later I couldn't find him anywhere and got a bit worried that he may have sneaked outside somehow and run off.  After looking everywhere I found him nestled in the clothes washer with sheets and towers about to be washed.

So...yes...the pets do know when something is changing  But even if homeowners and house sitters coming and going creates a little stress, it's nothing compared to the discomfort most pets would have at a boarding kennel. Not to mention -- it would cost a small fortune to board pets for three months at a time.

I asked Aleta how they managed to pack everything they needed into a single backpack for each person. She kindly and without laughing at the monstrous pile of Becky's and my "stuff" that I had to somehow cram into my car explained that you need to look at everything you think you need two or three times. Then if it still looks like you need that item, pack it. But only pack one of three things you really think you'll need.  I like that advice and will take it seriously the next time we leave home for any length of time.

Here's a video of the "heavy packing" I had to do as I left Jupiter for the new Wilmington house sit.

Next time I'll leave lots of stuff at home and am determined to get all the clothes I need into a single bag. That leaves just my PC and/or laptop, iPod and a few others little items to carry along. 

Of course if the destination is a beach area, you can bet the trunk will be carrying our beach umbrella, towels, flip-flops, SPF30 sun block and all that's needed to enjoy the sea, sand and surf :)

After the Storm...

Tropical storm Debbie is the fourth tropical storm of the season to affect Florida this year, and all four of them have happened before the end of June.  That's probably a record. Debbie dropped gazillions of gallons on the panhandle and Gulf Coast all the way down to the Tampa area. It finally took an Easterly route, ran over Jacksonville and out to sea on Wednesday.  None to soon.

We have been ensconced in the house for almost a week now, dodging almost constant rain and heavy winds -- although nothing really threatening or damaging. Now, today, on Thursday, we hit the beach at Jupiter once again.  

Here's a short video to celebrate the sunshine once again!

Summer SOULstice in WPB

West Palm Beach comes alive on Thursday nights. The Norton Museum stays open until 9PM and hosts a Summer SOULstice gathering with music, food and performances until 11PM.  We stopped in at the museum, enjoyed the art work and a couple of five year old girls singing their hearts out at the "open mic" event...and then headed into downtown for the weekly food and music festival on Clematis street.

Becky hiding out with a simulacrum of her new pal,
author/artist Edward Gorey, at the Norton Museum.

Here's a short clip of the downtown area and a bit of the fun that takes place every Thursday night. Clematis Street is the "go to" place in West Palm Beach for restaurants and a picturesque look at the intracoastal where many million dollar boats are docked.  We had a great seafood meal at the Tin Fish. Maybe on another trip we'll try out the "Word of Beer" restaurant.

Wind Surfing at "Kite Beach"

Whatta Day!  We got a very leisurely start today that began with just that first cup of coffee. We spent the morning and mid-day hours just enjoying being alive until Becky said, "Hey, it's almost 2 o'clock. We haven't eaten anything today. Let's go have dinner!"

We had picked up a menu for the Thirsty Turtle restaurant in Juno Beach and liked the looks of it. Lots of really fresh seafood. Hop in the car and a few minutes later...a feast of 50-cent wings for an appetizer washed down with a margarita and bloody Mary, followed with a platter of fresh oysters for Allan and a Seafood Silva for Becky: Sea scallops, shrimp, dolphin and calamari sautéed with diced tomatoes, mushrooms and scallions in a vodka marinara sauce served over pasta. So much Seafood Silva we had to pack the overflowing plate into a go-box and head for home.

The Thirsty Turtle is in Juno Beach, FL. What a great place for fresh seafood! The wait staff was more than
excellent and the food... OMG delicious.

It's getting ready to rain here for the next several days, maybe for the next week, due to a big front coming up from the Caribbean. The skies are a bit gray and winds are coming in from the East, which means the waves breaking along the coast are going to be a bit bigger than usual. That weather front led up to the balance of our day.

On the way home from the restaurant Allan said, "Let's go walk the beach for a while to let our dinner digest." So we headed over to A1A and stopped just North of the Juno pier.  Here's what we saw as we parked the car and headed toward the beach access point:  A huge "kite" of some kind blowing and flying like a crazy dancer gone wild in the wind.

Wow, someone's flying a really big kite over there. Let's check it out!

We walked over the ridge and down onto the beach to behold...a couple dozen wind surfers, aka kite-boarders, racing across the 4-5 foot waves like juggernauts looking to find the opening point so they could cross into some kind of nirvana. 

Oh my!  Dozens of wind surfers blasting like race cars across the waves. A bystander told us this section of Juno Beach
is also known as "kite beach" and is one of the ultimate wind surfing beaches in the area. With the "steerable" kites, each surfer can choose to turn his/her kite into the Easterly wind to go North or South along the beach. Most of these amazing athletes would ride the waves and wind from South to North, and then turn around and go back the other way. Just amazing!

Here's a video and a few more pics of our wonderful, amazing day as we walked and loved being alive and in love.