5 Sep 08 Chocolate Martini's and Water Volleyball

Our friends Barb and Linda invited us to their beautiful home in the Dunedin Country Club for a night cap after our Italian dinner. Linda stirred up chocolate martini's, and did I say we jumped into their pool, with our clothes on, for a game of volleyball? Well, four of us did - Linda, Toni, Tammy and myself. Rose, Barb and Esther stayed land side and opted out of taking a dip. And yes, my pants were still wet when I packed them for the flight home on Saturday!

Friday Night with Our Dunedin Friends!

As the four of us were getting ready for our last evening, we thought about going to Little Italy just across the street. We were prepping at the dining room table, baskets full of makeup and hair products, when Linda and Barbara walked up on their way to pick up our neighbor, Esther, for dinner. Within about 30 seconds, we all decided to get together for dinner at Positano's. What a fun night! Shrimp, pasta, wine, our own Italian Singer, and then to Barb and Linda's for chocolate martini's. What a great way to wrap up a Fun Friday in Fabulous Florida!

5 Sep 08 Clearwater Beach & Hurricane Hannah Winds

Our last beach day turned into a windy one. The outerbands from Hurricane Hanna covered Florida. Six foot waves kept us from actually getting in the water (remember Monday and the lost watch, sunglasses, and top!). We enjoyed watching kids playing around on their surfboard boards and scimboards, and we found lots more shells.

4 Sep 08 Tampa Bay Rays (7) vs. NY Yankees (5)

Hard to resist going to a major league baseball game when the Yankees are in town playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Derek Jeter and A-Rod were town so we bought tickets and headed to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The beer was cold and tasted good on a hot summer's night.

4 Sep 08 Around Dunedin

After our ears were candeled, we walked around Dunedin. Went into a few shops, Q's was fun with all the jewelry and purses. Went to the Tropical Store where they had some wacky sunglasses.

Drove down Victoria Street and the Gulf views from the old plantation style houses were incredible.

4 Sep 08 Ear Candeling

Who said we aren't up for new adventures! We made appointments on Thursday morning to have our ears candeled at a Palm Harbor salon. Toni and I found our experience to be very relaxing but it sounded like Tammy and Rose had the giggles in the next room!

3 Sep 08 Dinner at Chic-A-Boom Boom Room

Great food just blocks from the condo, 1 block from the Gulf of Mexico

3 Sep 08 Key Lime Pie on a Stick!

3 Sep 08 Caladesi Island

Wednesday morning we were up early and ready for our boat ride to Caladesi Island at 10 am. As we were waiting to board, we met a woman who was going to the island for the day with her brother. She told us her husband passed away just two days prior and she needed a day on Caladesi Island. She said she and her husband came to Honeymoon Island in 1960 for their honeymoon, and never left. They found teaching jobs and stayed in Florida. Her story was sweet and we shared a tear with her while she was telling us her story. We got on the boat, all a little quieter, and reflective, about our lives. I love the beach, the sand, the water, and how it makes me feel alive again.

The water was crystal clear, and we found buckets of conch shells, sand dollars, cat's paws and many other kinds of sea life. We returned at 2:30 after 4 hours scouring the beach. We will return for sure. It's no wonder Caladesi has been voted #1 beach in America for so many years. You have to cover your head when eating, or the birds will snatch your sandwich right out of your hand.

After our day at Caladesi, we stopped at J.J. Gandy's Pie Shop to get the famous key lime cookies, and low and behold, they had key lime pie on a stick, covered with chocolate and frozen! Just like on the Food Network!

Dinner found us in downtown Dunedin at the Chic-A-Boom Boom restaurant. After watching the Tampa Bay Rays vs. the NY Yankees during dinner, we decided to get tickets to the game on Thursday night. Why not? Toni hasn't been to a big league game so it will be fun!

2 Sep 08 Shopping at the Outlet Mall & Dinner at Pass-A-Grille

You can't go on a girl's trip without spending a day of power shopping. We drove across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (entry of the Gulf Mexico and Tampa Bay) to the Ellenton Factory Outlet Mall. We were crazed with bargains and great finds.

After a long day of shopping, we headed once again to the Gulf of Mexico for sunset. We had dinner on the roof top of The Hurricane, located on Passe-A-Grill, the southern most tip of the penisula in Pinellas County. We also walked through the Pink Palace of the Gulf, the Don Cesar Hotel and Resort. The beach is St. Pete Beach, and there we found an octupus inside of a sponge, met a marine biologist named Sarah from Barcelona, Spain who gave us a quick lesson on marine life, and also met a lovely couple watching the sunset. Another beautiful day in paradise.

1 Sep 08 Dinner and Sunset at Clearwater Beach

This evening found us parked in the lot next to Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, ready to enjoy a nice dinner and beautiful sunset. Squabbling kids in the car next to us, and a "knee bump" on our car meant we had to restrain Tammy from wanting to give the kids a tongue lashing!

Dinner at Frenchy's was fun, colorful and a table on the sand for sunset. Doesn't get much better than that! Toni even found a live clam, and the beach kids were eager to check it out.

1 Sep 08 Sand Key Beach

Wow - this day was incredible. First started off with a plumber at the condo to repair a leak. After thinking the worse, he found the problem to be a leak in the ice maker. Whew - no big disaster except I had to pay double time since it was Labor Day.

Six foot waves from the outer bands of Hurricane Gustav at Sand Key. We all lost a few things, Tammy and Toni both lost their sunglasses to the sea, I lost my favorite waterproof watch I've had forever, and Rose lost her top! I turned around and saw her topless after a wave came crashing down over her! She was able to regain her standing and pull her swim suit back up covering her ta ta's. We found losts of cool sea treasures that day.

31 Aug 08 Frenchy's Off the Hook

Of course we had to get a little beach shopping in so we stopped at Frenchy's Off the Hook. So many colorful things to see - we did pick up a new dice game, Left, Center, Right, excited to get the quarters out and play when we get back to the condo.

31 Aug 08 Dinner at Salt Rock Grill

Reservations suggested for dinner at the Salt Rock Grill on Gulf Blvd, great atmosphere, incredible food on the intercoastal waterway. When we got there it was raining, and during dinner, HEAVY rain poured in buckets (outer bands of Hurricane Gustav) and we could see the rain pouring down the windows. We stayed in for dinner just long enough for the heavy rains to pass, and then regular rain for the rest of the night. We highly recommend the Salt Rock Grill--I tried escargot for the first time and loved it!

31 Aug 08 Cold Beer at Cooters with a Tomato

It's one of the stories where you had to be there. We stopped at a local watery hole across from the beach, Cooters (correct, it's not Hooters, but Cooters) Toni ordered a beer with tomato, the young and inexperienced waitress brought her just that, a slice of tomato with her beer (she wanted tomato juice). It was pretty darn funny and yes, you had to be there!

Girls! Girls! Girls!

The anticipation is building, the beach bags are packed, and Toni, Rose, Tammy and I are headed to the Dunedin condo on Aug 30 to celebrate a week of friendship in the sun - to celebrate the right of passage of turning of 50! We are girled-up with flip flops and charge cards for a week of fun!

Caladesi Island - America's #1 Beach!

I hope if you are reading this you will be lucky enough to visit Caladesi Island, just 2 miles from Dunedin. Dr. Beach just announced Caladesi is the #1 Beach in America! It has the most beautiful sand I've ever seen, clear waters, and lots and lots of shells.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/05/caladesi-named.html

Dunedin in May

What a beautiful time of year to spend in Delightful Dunedin. The daytime temperatures are around 85', and nights are around 70'. The Gulf of Mexico water temp is 80' - warm enough to play and swim in.

Friday I flew in from Boise to Tampa - great flight, enjoyed the movie and iPod podcasts I had downloaded. Easy trip and just 6 hours from when I took off in Boise until I landed in Tampa. Got the rental and headed to the condo. Opened the door and instantly fell in love all over again with our pink little paradise of a condo!

Saturday morning I got up and ran errands, stopped by a yard sale to scour for bargains, and I ended up selling two sleeping blow-up mattresses to a lady in the drive-way for $10! I was headed to donate them to the youth ranch and ended up with ten bucks in my pocket! Hope the person having the yard sale wasn't upset that I sold my stuff at her sale - I did donate a coffee maker and body pillow to her sale so I wouldn't have to drive to the Youth Ranch. I think she was cool with that. Picked Darlene up at the airport and we headed straight to the Old Palm Harbor Arts and Crafts Faire. We went to a jewelry booth, and chatted with the artist for a minute. She mentioned her mom was from Ohio, we asked where, she said Springfield, we asked her mom's name and she said THIEM! I asked who her parents were and she said Skip and DoDee Thiem! Unbelievable! We go to a crafts fair and meet someone we are related to! Skip Thiem is the brother of Mike Thiem, our sister Gloria's husband who was killed in a sky diving accident in 1967. The Thiem's moved to the Tampa area 40 years ago, and we meet Barbara Thiem in 2008. Barbara is FIRST cousins with my nieces and nephew, Tami, Mike and Suzi. What a tiny tiny small world. The three of us were just shocked our paths crossed.

From there we headed to our favorite garden center and walked through beautiful tropical plants and yard creations. Working in a garden center in FLA would be a beautiful job huh? After the little Palm Harbor tour we headed to Frenchy's Rockaway Grill on Clearwater Beach for a bite to eat and watch the sunset on our first Saturday night on the Gulf. Life doesn't get much better.

Sunday was spent at a new beach for us...Siesta Key and Siesta Beach. Wow - what a gorgeous white sandy beach and crystal clear water. The waves were crashing and I felt like I was 10 years old again playing in the water, riding the waves and having the salt water go up my nose. It was a quiet day for a Sunday and not as many people as I thought. Had lunch in the local village and then headed to the Outlet Mall in Ellenton. Found a few treasures and then headed back to Dunedin. If you travel to Florida, make sure Siesta Beach is on your list of places to visit.

Monday evening was awesome. Darlene and I took our beach chairs along with a small table and flamingo glasses and wine to watch to the sunset on Clearwater Beach. Many women walked by us and commented on how they would like to join us! It's quite different to sit and watch the sunset and relax..... typically we walk the beach and and wait....this time was different knowing we had a special spot all to ourselves to enjoy the close of the day.

Tuesday morning the rain showers came just as I got in from my morning bike ride through Dunedin. We headed to the Galley for lunch, then put on our swim suits and sat at our pool from 2-4 pm. Met a new neighbor and then headed back to watch Oprah on how to cut 10 years off your looks (hint, stay out of the sun!). Then showered and dressed for dinner at PJ's Oyster House in Indian Rocks. Dined on grouper and shrimp, and Darlene had two HUGE crab cakes. Yum!

Wednesday...the skies were clear so we headed to Honeymoon Island. Honeymoon is a State Park in Dunedin that happens to be an island. The waves were fairly intense today - as I was trying to float on my orange noodle in very shallow water, a BIG wave came calling and threw me to the bottom which was filled with rocks. Have a little "wave" rash on my leg but it was SO worth it! I found a man of war on the beach, poked at him with a shell and left him to sun himself. Honeymoon Island was quiet today but wait until school is out. It will be packed with families, boaters and sun lovers. For dinner we went 1 block from the condo and ate at a cute little family owned Italian restaurant, Little Italy. Talked with Joe our server who told us that the new owner is his uncle Julian, and they've owned it about 3 months. Food is great as ever, had Veal Scallopini and Darlene had Chicken Marsela.

Thursday brought more showers which is much needed in Florida this spring. We ran some more errands ( a never ending quest to get the right curtains for the kitchen, 2 hours later and about 75 miles - geez). I bought pavers for the back yard and this afternoon we spent weeding and thinning out the plants that seem to have never ending roots that grow in the sand down here. It's so different than the hard baked sun dried soil of Idaho. Guess that is why we can grow potatoes in Idaho, and they grow huge beautiful flowers in Florida! This evening we drove across the Bay to Hard Rock Cafe in Tampa, had dinner and played a few slots. After losing $10 give or take a buck, Darlene and I decided we are TO cheap to enjoy throwing our money into slot machines so we booked it back to Dunedin. Drove through Safety Harbor which is on the Old Tampa Bay and then back to the condo. Tomorrow the handy man is coming to fix a few things, and then we will walk around downtown Dunedin in the evening...for the sites and dinner of course!