March or Die

Sarasota, Florida

So...I've been doing these 12 mile walks to the Lido beach. Usually I'm so hungry when I get back that I put on two or three  pounds...The water temperature here is down to 73 F...my shorty wetsuit helps but it's still chilly in the water...

I have a little dive lined up this weekend...it turns out that Venice, Florida is the fossil shark tooth capital of the world...I'm hoping to find some six inch megalodon shark teeth I can string on a necklace and send to my youngest male grandchildren.

So...Veteran's day has come and gone...I'd like to thank myself for my Vietnam service...

I have another week long dive trip lined up on November 29th with two buddies on Blackbeard Cruises. It's a 60 foot live aboard sailboat that allows 20 or more very interesting day and night dives in the Bahamas. Food and rum are included in the price...Here is Mrs. Phred  bravely diving with me on Blackbeard's more than 20 years ago...she has retired her wetsuit...

Whoever loved, that loved not at first sight?....

Christopher Marlowe

On one of my many Blackbeard Cruises they ran aground...I watched while the boat dragged anchor at dawn and ran aground hard at high tide...we spent the day on the beach waiting for the tide to return...The boat turned it's side... They have three boats that you can tell apart by the color of the Biminis...

Hey little girl...going my way?

Mrs. Phred Finds a Tiki Bar

Lido Beach, Sarasota

Mrs. Phred has another birthday. She wants to have drinks on the beach at a Tiki bar and she finds one cleverly tucked away between two giant condos....you have to park and walk, but the ambiance is what you would like on a sunny 72 degree day in November....

I went ahead and booked the two week repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona on April 6th. The cruise hits the Azores and five Spanish cities we haven't seen before docking in Barcelona....We'll worry about getting back after we get there....

Halloween has come and gone....I'm working on getting my thumb out of the  I-phone pictures...

After a nine mile walk from Sun and Fun to O'learys on the beach I treat myself to several rum and cokes and a large order of french fries with lots of ketchup....the day proves to be counter-productive as I actually gain a pound...

That's a squirrel on my knee....he (or she) keeps coming back for more of my french fries....an agressive little beggar....

Mrs. Phred goes to see the Lilliputian horses perform..in the pictures she brings back they seem way larger than I would have expected...but maybe those are Lilliputian people in the background?

Mrs. Phred and Mom enjoy chocolate sundaes at Dairy Queen...I pass...

On the beach at O'Leary's

After the French fries...

The new $6 million dollar Wellness Center at Sun and Fun...

Looking out past the indoor pool at the outdoor pool....

Mrs. Phred heads for the Tiki bar on Lido Key...

Settled In

Sarasota, Florida

Occasionally, we get s nice sunset here in our winter quarters....I've been listening to Spanish lessons on my daily morning walks...the routes vary from about five miles to eight miles...I seem to be stuck at about 185 pounds, although I admit I'm not trying that hard...I keep hoping that the weight lifting is shifting fat to muscle...one thing I noticed is that I don't float very well anymore....now I tend to just sink....on the bright side, my new size 34 jeans have become too loose and baggy so I've switched to size 32 Levi 514s....same size I wore at ages 18  to 40....

Carol is still whipping me every set in tennis, although I did have one only  6-3, 6-3 loss...the best ever.... I'm daydreaming about next Spring's vacation....I found a cheap repositioning cruise from Florida to Barcelona and a nice Barcelona apartment with an ocean view...from there we could train up though the soft underbelly of Eastern Europe to Moscow and beyond...Sigh....

 These horses remembered me after six months and came running to the fence when they first saw me on the road....I took my backpack this morning with four carrots and three apples...I quartered the apples with my switchblade...they are very gentle and don't bite my fingers...

 
 I have a week-long dive trip coming up November 29th on a live-aboard 60 foot sailboat. The boat operates out of the Bahamas. Two of my dive buddies, Ken and Gordon, are coming along with me. The boat offers four dives a day including one night dive. They have a great shark dive too....they feed you and all the rum you can drink is included in the price....I think this will be the fifth time I've done this trip although the last time was 1994. My dive gear has been all properly subjected to preventive maintenance and I have a new dive watch with a cool orange rubber wristband...

Outide the Bubble

Lido Beach, Sarasota

Just because I'm a man, it doesn't mean that I can't be a feminist...

Anything you can do, I can do better.

I don't regret the things I did....or the things I didn't do...

I mostly regret the things you did...

I don't care how much metadata they spy on....

Because I don't know what that is....

"A Softer World" is my favorite website..they say the strangest things. ..like everything in this Lido Beach blog...

Moon over Miami (or Sarasota, I forget)...

What's for Dinner?

Avocado, Mandarin Orange and Chicken Salad

Mixed salad greens

One can mandarin oranges, well-drained

One cooked and sliced chicken breast

1/2 cup pecan haves

Raspberry vinagarette dressing

one large  ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks

Directions:

In a large salad bowl, combine salad greens, mandarin oranges, avocado, chicken, and pecans.

Add salad dressing as desired....