WARNING

My wonderful spouse bought me a beautiful foam raft for the pool. The rafts we have were getting old and beginning to show their wear. This new one was think plush foamy stuff in a vibrant blue. My favorite color and I'm pretending he remembered but most likely that is the only color they come in. I can dream!!

It looks lovely against the new blue pool paint and the new tropical blue umbrella I purchased. So we have this tropical theme going on around the pool.

I looked on the underside of my new blue raft and noticed a 'warning' sign. 'WARNING', in big bold letters - slippery when wet. Hmmm, who would of thought? A pool raft that becomes slippery when wet? And why? It belongs in the water and water is wet? I'm wondering if in the future it will be on the recalled product list? Perhaps I should not get it wet.

It just strikes me as rather odd that a raft made to be used in the water comes with a warning sign - 'slippery when wet'. I guess it took a rocket scientist to get the idea of this raft and then the legal department to adhere a notice.

I will try to remember when I put the raft in the water and it gets wet that it will be slippery. No drinking and lounging in the pool for me.

Snakes in Florida

The pool is sitting there - all bright, pretty and very very blue. The next task of filling her with water looms over us. I see $ signs. I was hoping for lots of rain but we have only received a small shower. So there is about 2 inches of water surrounding the drain in the bottom.

Yesterday I stepped outside into the sunshine and surveyed my empty pool when movement caught my eye. It was black and long and slithering along the bottom of the empty pool. It looked to be a black racer. Harmless - but I have a terror of snakes.

I grabbed the camera and stepped slowly and cautiously into the bright blue waterless pool. I guess the big guy felt cornered as he raised his head up and looked like he was going to leap at me. Okay, do I really want his picture? I climbed out of the pool and leaned over the edge. He reared his head again. Truly not a happy camper having his photo taken in a dry pool.

I snapped a few shots and then called for back-up to remove him from his hell. My trust Knight in Shiny Armour scooped him up with the long handled butterfly net and returned him to the wilds of my backyard.

I wondered if he was traumatized or this was just another day in the life of a black racer?

Dry Camping

I love to travel and explore my world and engage in new experiences. There are a few problems with this scenario - such as - never enough money to splurge with and that thing called going to work everyday. Working for a living really puts a crimp on my lifestyle. So I depend on friends and relatives helping me make my dreams come true: seeing the world.

This past December - for example - we visited fantastic/decadent Key West. My brother is spending the winter there. Dry camping in a motor home. Let me define - dry camping - for those that have no clue. The bathhouse is a 1/2 mile walk down a bumpy and dark (no lights at night) road. Approximately 300 or more people dry camp here. There are 4 toilets and three showers. Do the MATH.

We are surrounded by water - salt water. Potable water - there is also something called non-potable water and it is beyond the bathroom facilities down that bumpy dark (no lights at night) road. The non-potable water sign scares me. It makes me feel like the water has the plague and it is used for your holding tank in the RV. You know WHAT goes in the holding tank. So the water and bath facilities were a minor issue.

Dry camping also means - no electric. Translated that means the fans or the air conditioner does not work. Do you have any idea how small some windows are in campers? Picture this - two small windows in an RV in Key West topping 90+ degrees. The wind - gone South for the winter. Stifling is not a strong enough word. The slop pot - pungent.

My brother was kind enough to let us sleep on the pull out couch. That metal bar that is used to support the bed and mattress has been forever imprinted on my backside. Oh and those very small windows - screen less. The combination of tropics, heat and screen less windows means ONE thing. Mosquito's! FYI - there is a huge mound of sand right by the men's bathroom door. Don't stand there. Florida is a proud producer of fire ants.

In the end the price was right for me and I have many memorable memories and scars to remind me of paradise.

Travel Review

Saturday AM hit the road in fog. Road conditions on I75 south- not too bad. A little lackluster across Alligator Alley - spotted only a few gators - but then, it's winter.
Road condition in Miami - not bad at all - for a change. A pit stop at the mall in Kendall. Great lunch at an Italian place and we ate outside with the dog. The parking lot was scary - angry people looking for a place to park. Lots of horn honking and a few space fights? Whatever - get a life. One man stood in an empty spot saving it.
Thr Ramada Inn in Florida City - not bad for the price. Right next door an outlet mall and found a GREAT divers warehouse. Bought a shorty wetsuit for 30 bucks. The hotel room coulda shoulda been a little cleaner but for a one night stand it was okay. And I have seen a lot of bad hotels. Will check out their breakfast (free) in a few and head on down to Key West. Can't wait to get in the water and try out my new wetsuit.