Another sunny day in paradise...

It was a lovely day today, yesterday too. Our turtle came back for a visit. Actually, when I saw it, it was high-tailing it back to it's turtle hole. Well, as high-tailing as a turtle can go (haha). We took a walk around downtown Historic Ft. Pierce today. Stopped in at the Manatee Center and got a few brief glimpses of the sea cows surfacing for a breath. It seems to hard to believe that it's the end of January, we've been here over 3 weeks and have been staying right at the ocean! How blessed we are!

Happy Hump Day

I know it's Wednesday, my cell phone says so :)
So I put up a few pictures of our room. It's a little messy, but we do live in one room!
Yesterday and today were cool (highs around 65-68) but cloudless so lots and lots of sunshine. Still trying to figure out the tides. I learned that not all high tides are created equal! Every day the highs and lows are different, so sometimes higher and sometimes lower. I keep meaning to look up the relationship of the tides to the moon, but so far haven't done so. Tonight is getting close to a full moon, we had an evening walk on the beach, as well as our daily "before breakfast" walk.
We've been here 1 week today. We're starting to think a week anywhere is long enough!

Took the weekend off

Saturday we met my cousin Denny and Terri in Jupiter. It is about an hour south and still on the coast from here.They took us on a whirlwind tour of Palm Beach and area that was like we were right in an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". It is truly unbelievable how the "other half" live. It was nice to catch up and have a drink and dinner together. The picture of the pelican was taken at a place I think was called The Waterfront? We saw so much I just forget, anyway apparently he's a bit of a rare type among the others. He was the only one with a yellow head anyway.
Weather has been good, but we did have a thunderstorm this morning. First real rain we've had since we've been down here. It's been windy, therefore big waves down at the beach. There were a few guys trying to surf yesterday, but we didn't actually see any real wave rides while we were watching.
The picture at the top shows our door (bungalow #5) in the middle. I tried to crop it, but on this new netbook I am missing the program I usually use for editing so I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I'll work on it, and get an interior picture.
Thor has been busy working, so I went shopping around this morning. I picked up a few paperbacks at a thrift store (40 cents each) to read while lounging around :)
I'm trying to figure out the tide times here, but I can't figure out the pattern. Today high tide was 3:34 am and will be 3:32 pm, low tide 9:26 a.m. and 9:56 pm. I guess it changes about an hour every day. Having the tide going in and out really alters the beachscape, unlike the lake, where it is basically unchanged from day to day. Whatever the tide brings in is always gone within the day so always looks clean. There is the odd dead fish, and of course lots of shells, but always changing. We haven't seen any manatees yet, although apparently one washed on shore right here on Hutchinson Island a few days ago. We didn't see the commotion, so must have been further north or on the south island. They did rescue it though, it was on the news. I really have to see one before we leave!

First Friday on the Island...

We had some rain today. Not much, just little showers that lasted a few minutes a couple of times. We still made it for our before breakfast beach walk, some sun tanning time, and our before dinner beach walk. The ocean was calmer today, no "roar" up here at our cottage, and less wind. We had to search on the internet to find out the sea birds that we see. One is a great crested tern. At first we thought they were seagulls, but at closer view could see they had a different look. They like to hang out in groups, and are not frightened away by us walking past. They will shift out of our path, but don't bother taking flight. Another are the little sandpipers. They look very delicate, their tiny legs going too fast to actually see, following the waves in and out and picking away at whatever it is they eat. And the pelicans...the first time I saw one dive I was sure something fell dead out of the sky. They will glide so close to the surface of the water it looks as if their wings are skimming it, but will fly up higher and just dive into the water head first when they spot dinner. It's very awkward looking, after their graceful gliding but it obviously works for them!
We also discovered that it is unlawful to pick sea oats. Since I had no idea what sea oats look like, I had to look that up on the internet as well. I have no idea why anyone would want to pick sea oats, they are not aesthetically pleasing at all. Sure wouldn't want it in your garden, or in any dried arrangements. If you look down to the bottom of this page, I've put a picture of a great crested tern and some sea oats.
I also found out today that Florida does not have state income tax. I guess you learn something new every day!

At least it wasn't an alligator!

Yes, we had a visitor today. I saw him there just chomping away on some grass, and went for my camera. Even though he saw me and I'm sure he was a bit startled, he IS a turtle and I still had time to get the camera and get a couple of shots before he took off in the long grass.
I don't think there are any alligators on this island.
So, not much to report today. We got up, walked on the beach for 45 minutes, had breakfast, did some work, went the beach to tan for an hour, had lunch, drove out to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items, came back and did some laundry while Thor did some more work, went for another 45 minute walk on the beach, had dinner and now we're catching up on e-mail and watching tv. There you have it, our day in a nutshell. It reached 83 degrees here today. Ahhh. There were some pretty big waves today, it was quite breezy. It's nice that it's loud and you can hear the "roar" right here in our little nest. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain (50% chance) so it will be interesting to see how we fill in our day. We are actually starting to be a little concerned about being in one place for a month. Here I couldn't wait to settle in somewhere and now it feels rather strange! So this shall be a learning experience. Can't beat the location though. Something about the waves just seems to soothe the soul. I thought I got some pictures of people actually on the beach, but apparently there were none around when I took these. Really, there are some people walking on the beach and frolicking in the waves. And a few guys with the big long fishing poles doing some fishing. I'll probably change the pictures every couple of days as I can't seem to figure out how to get more than 5 up.

It's Wednesday...

I know that because it says so on my cell phone :)
We moved into our cozy (read LITTLE) beach bungalow today. It is very compact, haha. But the beach here is just fabulous, I will be spending a lot of time there!! Tomorrow is forecast to be 82 degrees here and sunny, so I will have some pictures to put up. There are people here from all over, and all seem very friendly. The ocean is warmer than I expected, warmer than the pool at the hotel we were just at! We went to the local grocery store and stocked up for a couple of days and unpacked the suitcases. So I guess all that's left to do is kick back and do some relaxing. Neither one of us are quite sure how we are going to handle that!
I guess since we are not doing any travelling the for the next while, I won't have much to report. Will post some pictures tomorrow though.
Stay warm!

Start of week 3

I read today that the third Monday of January is the most depressing day of the year, literally. I guess it has something to do with the lack of sunshine. Oops, I guess I haven't had that! Sorry to you up in the great white north!
We checked out the beach bungalow today, and have decided to stay there for a month. The location is prime, very secluded, the beach is public, but there is no public parking around so just used by residents. I'll get some pictures up in a couple of days. We're checking in on Wednesday. It's on the southernmost point of North Hutchinson Island, near Fort Pierce on the Atlantic coast, if anyone wants to google map it. It's just a small space, something like one of Ron and Dee Sinclair's cabins. Basically 1 room and a bathroom, but has a full kitchen. The owners have free laundry facilities and of course, wifi internet service. There are 12 units so just a small place. No phone service though, so I've downloaded Skype if anyone is interested, you can find me shelly.denomme
It was mid-70's today. The pool here is not heated, and I was just too spoiled from the other one to brave it, but got some nice tanning time this afternoon. I did use sunscreen, Julie! But only a 15 :(
We're anxious to unpack!

We love La Quinta!

Seriously, how we never tried out this hotel chain before is beyond me... Each one (we've stayed at 3) has been better than the last! This La Quinta in Ft. Pierce (yes, back on the Atlantic side) is incredible, and what a steal at $45 per night. So that's the tip of the day, check the La Quinta next time you need a hotel :)
We've got a line on a beach bungalow, going to look at it tomorrow and if we like it, it may be our home for the next month. Also had a great comfort food dinner at the Cracker Barrel next door, yum yum. High of 81 today, it was lovely.
The trip back across the state was very monotonous, I'm sorry to say. We went "cross-country", stayed off the highways but not much to see at all. Some orange groves, and farms, but mostly just brush. Only 1 alligator sighting and no panthers! Another tip, if you are crossing the state, either take the Everglades route or the highways.

Lazy Saturday

Finally managed to get a couple of swims in today, what a great pool! We didn't do too much today, a drive into Cape Coral to pick up a few items at the Wal-Mart and stopped in at Historic Ft. Myers. Not much going on there on a weekend. We saw a couple of boat launches, took a walk around the marina area. Weather was kind of overcast, but nicely warm. Lots of yard and garage sales, and seeing the garden centers open and hanging plants for sale, makes it kind of hard to remember that it's JANUARY! Thunderstorms are in the forecast for the next couple of days so I guess it will be a good time to get busy finding our long-term :)

Not TGIF, but IFIWF

Yep, I Forgot It Was Friday! The traffic on the islands was proving it, though. After breakfast we took off south through Fort Myers Beach, down past Lover's Key, Bonita Springs all the way to the beaches at Naples. We got an hour sunbathing in and I got a start on my winter tan :)
Unfortunately I wasn't thinking about my necklace and now I have a perfect "white" impression of the cross on my chest!
We stayed right along the coast as much as possible, where the speed limit is usually around 25 mph, but that was fine since there was so much gawking to be done! Now, on the way back late afternoon, wow, it was like driving through Grand Bend on a holiday weekend. Yep, took about an hour to go the last 3 miles. However, we weren't punching any clocks so it just gave us more time to see all the businesses, condos, apartments, homes and inns and hotels along the way. The beaches ARE beautiful here. The sand is that really fine white sand, and we read somewhere that there are almost no rip currents which can make swimming dangerous here. I found the water really cold though, so just wading was enough. Finally checked out the pool here, and I was mad when I found out how warm the water is!! I was thinking it would be cold, since it has been so cold here, but surprise, surprise, they actually heat it. I didn't get in, because it was getting close to closing time, but tomorrow for sure, and I'll get some pictures up. This place is like a resort, fantastic value for the price. It's La Quinta on Summerlin in Ft. Myers, if you want to look it up.
Almost forgot to report the temp today, the high was 77 with a forecast of 80 tomorrow.

Abundant sunshine

Hey, we finally got some great weather today! We did a lot of sight-seeing, starting with Cape Coral, and moving on to Sanibel Island and Captiva Island. I must say, I was quite Captiva-ted with Captiva! Those islands were absolutely, indescribably beautiful. However, it was impossible to pull over and take pictures, and all the beach access required payment for parking. Well, we got a good eyeful but no pictures. The islands were lush, tropical paradises with some beautiful, exclusive homes and resorts. Lots of people on bikes. Then we moved on to Ft. Myers Beach. This was a little more like a Grand Bend, or St. Pete's Beach. Very colourful, and crowded. We looked around for a place to stay, and decided on this La Quinta just at the approach to Ft. Myers Beach. We decided to stay here until Sunday and do some more sight-seeing in the area. This part of Ft. Myers is comfortable and seems like there are a lot of "snowbirds" here. Speaking of snowbirds, we read an article in a local paper written by a resident that hates snowbirds and wants them outlawed. I guess we come down here and soak up all their sunshine!

Is it Wednesday?

Haha, at breakfast neither one of us could confidently say what day it was today. I guess that's what happens when you are nomad-ing around. So we left Florida City and drove through the Everglades to Naples and Ft. Myers. At first the drive through the Everglades seemed disappointingly boring, as there was not much to see at all. Then as we got farther in, wildlife was the word of the day! Can anyone tell me what all the wading birds are that are along the route? There were different sizes of white ones, some taller grey ones with markings on their wings, and a medium size blackish bird that always seemed to be perched with it's wings outstretched. Lots and lots of them perched like that. I found it very odd. And of course, there were many alligators sunning themselves along the way. I'm guessing they don't eat birds, as there were always lots of birds around. So many birds in fact, that we began to feel like we were in a scene from "The Birds". Then there were the signs on the road indicating that we were driving through a panther crossing area. I was quite surprised at that, as I thought the only panthers in Florida played hockey! Unfortunately, we did not see any panthers crossing, or anything else for that matter. I did wonder about the people that were camping, RVing or actually living along that route. What are you thinking????? To each his own, haha.
Tonight in Ft. Myers, and still cold.
I am really enjoying the comments and e-mails. Please keep them coming!
Also, tonight many prayers for the people in Haiti. If anyone would like to contribute directly, let me know and I can hook you up with a former co-worker of mine who along with his wife goes to Haiti every year for at least 4 weeks to live and work at a hospital and orphanage near Limbe, which was not affected by the quake, but will for sure feel the repercussions of the wounded and orphaned. You can be confident that 100% of your donations will get to those that need it most. He will be leaving for Haiti in about 6 weeks, so if you care to, let me know ASAP.

Cold - it's relative

Really, can't complain. We've had two beautiful sunny days in the area. Yesterday was very VERY windy, but we still had a great day in Key West. The drive down to Key West took approx. 3 hours from Key Largo, and we counted 40 bridges. We had heard that it was a long, monotonous drive down a 2 lane highway, but it was not monotonous, nor was it 2 lane. Well, it was in some areas, over bridges for example, but driving through all the keys was interesting. Not much that was photographically friendly, so I don't have lots of pictures. I guess the best angle would be from the air. It's 106 miles from Key Largo to Key West. Islamorada is about a third of the way there, and is very beautiful. Marathon is at the half way mark, and is followed by the 7-mile bridge. Longer than Big Mac going up to the U.P. Key West is busy, busy. And it was on a day that had record breaking cold! The previous low was 48 degrees, and Monday morning it was 42 degrees. Record-shattering, I'd say. Took a shuttle from the hotel in Key West to the historic downtown for some sightseeing. We made it to the southernmost point in the continental U.S., which is 90 miles from Cuba and had a great dinner at a local restaurant called Two Friends Restaurant (I think!) of blackened tilapia, baked potato and a couple of great margaritas. Yum. Also managed to grab a most delicious piece of Key Lime pie. And get this, as we were walking down the street, a lady from Winnipeg recognized Thor, and they had a little chitchat. What are the chances of that?? She happened to be on a cruise that stopped in Key West for the day. More proof that it really is a small world. I posted a few pictures until I can figure out how to get a slide show on here. And the profile picture was taken today, on one of the Keys many bridges, in the very brisk wind!

Record low temp in Key West

Well, on the bright side, we were here for that record breaker. Internet service is not great here at the Courtyard Marriott on Key West, so just a quick check in. As soon as I have good service, will post some pictures.

CCCCOOOLLLDDD

BUT...no snow. Here, anyway. Yes, I know, Florida is making the news for having record low temperatures. It figures! It's funny, but you still see the automatic sprinklers sprinkling away on the lawns. Considering we are as far south as you can go except for the Keys, we're doing what we can to stay away from it! Today we decided to stay here one more night to wait out the weather. Tomorrow promises to be in the 60's again and sunny so we'll head for the Keys. This city is decidedly "un-touristy". Not too many out of state licence plates around. One thing we've found here is that people are really friendly. More so than most other places we've been. We had a stock guy in a Publix today coming down an aisle we were in with a great big dolly full of stock, and he said something like "excuse me, coming through" and then once we got out of the way, he said "that means get the hell out of my way" and then he laughed, excused himself and wished us a good day. We both laughed. In the Quiznos tonight, there was a mother and daughter, daughter being around 7 or so and the mother was teaching her to run the cash register, and take and count the money. I thought it was really sweet, and great life skills being taught. Another customer after us didn't look so impressed, but I definitely was.
I want to thank everyone that's given me positive feedback, whether through comments here or e-mails. Once I get a little encouragement, I tend to capitalize on it :) Knowing that I am recording this for you readers, or just as a journal for myself, reminds me to stop, look around and see the little things I might otherwise miss. Keep warm!

If it's Saturday, this must be Homestead...

OK, I'm back online! Last night we stayed in an Extended Stay motel in Ft. Lauderdale...and I do not recommend!! It's one of those places that make you feel like you need to keep an eye on your car all night. And they did not honor our coupon plus wanted to charge for internet so we said "no way". The drive down from Ormond was very long, in time if not distance. However, by getting off-road and trying to stick to the A1A highway, we did have a lovely drive through Jupiter Beach. It was so beautiful, very lush and verdant. (Verdant was Thor's word, and I liked it.) It was like driving through a tropical paradise. Beautiful homes (when we could see them through the dense foliage) and the beach was amazing. It was quite warm yesterday, in the mid-high 70's, and we did hop out of the car long enough to check out the beach. I still hadn't found my camera, however, so no pictures of that. The sand was white and clean, the water was a combination of all those glorious ocean blue hues, and the sky was blue and the water was warm, I could go on and on! I just love that setting. There were bathing suits galore, and some people in the water. I crept up to the edge as close as I could get without taking my shoes off, or getting them wet, and felt the water to be sure. Yes, it was wonderfully warm. We stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, and not having a room booked ahead did not work out the best this time. However, tonight we are making up for it by splurging at the Hampton Inn in Homestead. If you want to feel spoiled and pampered, stay at a Hampton Inn. You walk in and "aaaaahhh". It almost makes up for the cold and rainy day today. We drove the scenic route down the coast into Miami Beach as far as we could go, until we had to hop on the highway again. Yes, the weather is making news with the cold. However, tomorrow promises to be drier, if not warmer and by Monday see the temps in the 60's again, with high 70's by next weekend. The price of orange juice DID go up today in the stores by the way, we checked!
Oh, and I changed a setting on here, if some brave soul would like to leave a comment, please try. Someone said they couldn't comment so I changed something to see if it would allow.
Happy Saturday night!

Shorts at 47 degrees....

OK, it wasn't ME in shorts at 47 degrees, but I did see a gentleman in shorts today, right after I saw the temp flash at 47F. (that's 8.3 in celcius, for my children :) OK, maybe some of us would wear shorts at 8.3 degrees back home, but when we had an inch of frost to scrape off the windshield this morning, it struck me as funny. Like, "I am in Florida, and I am wearing shorts, I don't care if it is 47 degrees" You go, guy! We did find it somewhat warmer today, especially with the sun shining so brightly. We were actually able to go sans coats for the first time. We're still hearing there's worse to come for a few days, so not breaking out the bathing suit just yet. The ocean looks just as beautiful as ever, and is actually warmer than the air temp. I was tempted to take a dip, but not THAT tempted!
If you are wondering about the discount coupon books, you can pick them up at any visitor center, and I've even seen them in McDonald's, grocery stores, or online. Roomsaver.com. However, I don't think the online version has as many coupon options.They are regional, each area covers probably 5-6 states so if you are travelling between states, you'll need to pick them up for different areas as you enter. 
Today we travelled through some of the places we stayed at last year in February, namely Cocoa Beach, and down Hutchinson Island. Tonight we are camped out in Ft. Pierce at another Quality Inn, and making some headway at locating long term rentals. Now we just can't decide which coast of Florida we want to stay at! Decisions, decisions.

vacation???

OK, I am still in disbelief that this is not just another 2 week vacation, and that I will NOT be heading back to work! I think I'm having separation anxiety!!
Well, it is still cold, but at least it's more like jacket weather, rather than winter coat, hat and gloves weather. Tonight we are at the Quality Inn in Ormond, on Hwy 1. We just kind of meandered through Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and down A1A. The ocean and the beach looks BEAUTIFUL, even though it's not beach weather, the sun, sand and surf look great! We tried out dinner at a Steak 'n Shake tonight. I have seen commercials for it on TV, but had never been in one. Great burgers and fries, and real chocolate milk. A real deal for the price, even though it IS fast food and will not be on the menu often. The time I am here I am going to really try to be health-oriented; get rid of some flab and get moving!! OK, anyone that knows me has heard THAT story before!
Tomorrow is still a mystery as to where we will end up. I know travelling this way is not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for us! Gotta love those room saver coupon books!!

I hate titles...

OK, hate is a strong word, but having to put in a title or subject line always makes me feel stressed :)
To continue the story....
After leaving Stratford on Jan 4, we stopped in Michigan at my parents for a quick goodbye and one of my mom's egg mcmuffins. Thanks mom! We had a room booked in London, Kentucky, because it was about half way to Florida from home. The motel was called Budget Host Inn, and I would recommend this hotel to anyone for a night. (notice the terminology there, trying to emulate the website ratings, teehee). It was very clean and felt safe and secure. Make sure to bring your own shampoo etc, and the continental breakfast was prepackaged pastries but all in all, a good stop. Now, if you want cheap...go to Tennessee. Gas and rooms were the cheapest we've seen along the way so far. And I'm sure it's very beautiful too, however the light snow in the air and the mid-winter blahs were keeping it hidden. We just buzzed through Georgia as well, anxious to finally get into Florida. So here we are, sitting in a Motel 6 in Lake City Florida. I do not recommend this hotel to anyone. Sorry Thor, but I'm picky about CLEAN! Today we are going to head down the east coast, with possibly Daytona Beach as a destination.

First post...

My very first public blog, on my very first "snowbird" journey. Actually, I'm already tired of the word "snowbird". The word itself implies one is running away from the snow, and actually, it's still cold, even here in Florida!!
We left Canada around 7:30 a.m. on Jan 4. Our intention was to take it sort of easy, and stretch the drive over several days. First night was London, Kentucky, and it was still snowing there. Rats! However, today we finally got out of the sub-zero temperatures somewhere around Atlanta and at least now, just over the Florida border in Lake City Florida, there is NO SNOW! Now, on to the search for the perfect place to roost. Or maybe not, at least for a place to stay tomorrow night! Since I am really new to this, I will keep adding to this site and hopefully will make it an interesting and enjoyable place to visit. And I'm hoping to include some tips and hints for other "new snowbirds".
Tip #1, always pick up the discount room coupon books! You can "walk-in" to some great deals.