DEWEY IN FLORIDA

 We had a fine day an hour and a half North from here on Cedar Key, a little tourist spot out in the gulf. At first I thought it was going to be another walk around ketchy shops and crowded food areas. However, after a few false starts, including one restaurant we walked out of after getting our drinks, we ended at a quiet but elegant place right on the water with wonderful food. We are going back to celebrate Valentine's Day there, although we may not go back right on that day. We could sit in very comfortable chairs and watch the sailboats on the Gulf as families played on the beach. Above us swooped dozens of gulls and Black Skimmers, which are fast becoming another of my favorite birds. Eliz and I ate some shellfish done in different ways and some oyster stew. It was incredible! We did not have entres, just small appetizers. Ron had a salad as he is not a seafood lover. Later, we went to see a fine sunset over the water. I'd like to stay there sometime for a few days. One p...

I had a breakfast of stone crab and shrimp, and Mike took us to the airport.  The flight was full, but fully masked.  We were the only ones with face shields, however, and they seemed to work fine. I did take a wheel chair, but I sat near the front.  It worked pretty well.  The flight attendant sent me back once and I could not use the bathroom.  Soon after a young boy went, and I followed him.  The seat belt signs were still on, but the attendant passed me doing drinks.   Drinks were coke, diet coke, 7 up, or water.  You signaled the server with one to four fingers. It was a short flight and plenty for me.   Cory and Katie and Reid were waiting for us after out 8 minute walk.  Nice weather here.  Cool, but sunny and comfortable.  Reid was even more fun than we had anticipated.  I sang a la la song to her and held her for a bit.  So grand to see her and be here.

  Tomorrow we are off to Denver to see Reid. We are there a week, with me taking a side few days to Blackhawk to give Eliz quality time with Reid. From Denver I'll go to Vegas, and I already have Chris and Val picking me up from the Airport and feeding me Easter dinner.  I'll see their new one, Dorothy Gayle and have a grand visit. They were as welcoming and excited as they always are.  Great kids. Mike came and we told stories in the driveway.  Many of them were about the difficulty of women sometimes acting inappropriately.    He is especially attractive to women. I did some laundry and most of the packing.  Just a few things to remember tomorrow.  We are checked in, but I'll get a wheelchair at Tampa, so we will be able to board first. Driveway gathering tonight.

An amazing time tonight eating shrimp and stone crab, Michelle's lemon cookies, drinking beer and telling travel stories.  Incredible really where these folks have been. Jane made a fantastic salad.   I liked Doug better than ever before.  He just seemed more relaxed and fun.  He is quite a guy, a woodsman from Maine. I did some packing today.  I have to finish up tomorrow.  Then we are off to Denver to see little Reid.  Very exciting. Amazon delivered the last of our expectations today,  a huge box of salt free potato chips. We talked to Keith and it was a fine talk.  They may visit this summer.   I listened to Frank's album of Covers again while I packed.  Great stuff. We watched two more episodes of Heartland and they were good.  I'll be happy when Ty is home from Mongolia.   I studied video poker again and did okay, but not as well as I have done.  I also planned a bit around Vegas dining.  It ...

Jan and Jerry drove up from south Florida for a fine visit on the deck.  We served shrimp and then some spaghetti with my homemade sauce.  Seemed to be good. Michelle brought over some of her chocolate covered expresso beans, and they made a good dessert. We had a usual visit.  We talked about family and some old friends.  I learned John Robello died.  Too bad.  Such a fine fellow. They had not seen our house before and were impressed with how well it was constructed.  This was good to hear because Jerry knows much about house construction. Later I had a bit of left over pork loin with green peppers as my Mom used to cook pork.  She did not add turmeric, however.  I did. We watched a couple more Heartland episodes.   I've been tired and unhappy most of the day.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.

We started the day by going to the blood drawing place.  They had no issues with our script or our insurance.  We'll see how it turns out. Rita came to give dance lessons.  She brought Paul with her and it was a successful lesson.  I just escaped to my room.  It was good to see them both. I slept in my chair most of the afternoon.  I think the blood draw left me very tired. We had stone crab on the patio and Mike and Michelle visited after we were done.  We have a date to have stone crab with them.  As always the supper was good and the visit was good.  Only bad thing was the dried out lima beans I tried.  I threw the rest of the frozen bag away. A couple more Heartland tonight.  Ty ends up going to Mongolia to save the Gobi bears.  I could not leave a pregnant wife, but I get the dedication of both of them.

 I did not sleep well last night again.   But I took a 3 mg melatonin and that captured some of it back, and then I had a nap before we went to Ken and Minnie's. We were to have an outside fire, but it was cold, damp, and uncomfortable, so we visited inside.  They cooked us a rib roast that was wonderful with a side of potatoes/carrots/ cabbage cooked in the pressure cooker.  They made more of their special crispy bread.  And the gravy, made with oatmeal, was absolutely wonderful. For dessert they had mixed berried and some fine chocolate squares. We had a good visit.  They explained that in Newfoundland everyone in the neighborhood eats the same on Saturday and Sunday.  Beans on Saturday and roast beef on Sunday. They shared a CD their son made.  Frank has a new album out today.  I'll have to listen tomorrow.   They also played some Newfoundland music usually played with accordian.  One song was "Between Two Trees". On the way...