Sunday

We drove Toby to the Community Center for a walk late this afternoon. It was sunny and 74 degrees.

This turtle has the perfect sunning spot on this culvert.

 

We put Toby in his crate and rode to the outskirts of Clearwater and back. Downtown Dunedin was packed with people.

The former mayor has a great white egret in his bushes.

 

While we were waiting for the temperature to warm up (58 degrees at 5:00 a.m.), we fixed a full breakfast: cheese grits, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and toast/jelly.

 It was already in the upper 60s when we started our walk. We made it to the Pinellas Trail and back. That does the trick for Toby for the morning.

 

We ordered General Tso's Tofu takeout from our nearby Chinese restaurant, New Bamboo. It was incredibly spicy, with a sweet and sour sauce and some broccoli. I'm glad we branched out and tried something new. We split an order, and it was plenty. We had one of our oranges on the side. John said it tasted bitter after all that spicy taste.

Toby likes to be covered up when he sleeps, even for naps. He will root around your blanket until you figure out that he wants you to cover him up. While I type this, he sits beside me all wrapped up with just his paws hanging out.

 

 

Today's bike route on the Pinellas Trail to the outskirts of Clearwater and back. We put Toby in his crate and left him at home for some alone time. The wind was blowing 19 mph from the south, so going home was easy.

Miles walked: 7.4
Miles biked: 11.19

Saturday

We rode out to Honeymoon Island on our bikes after lunch today. It was 72 degrees. 

 

 

 

Toby spent the morning in his crate while we walked the causeway and again for our bike trip to Honeymoon Island. It's counter-intuitive but he seems to do better when he has some alone time during the day. John and I laughed that our dog needs time away from us.

 

We drove Toby to the community center for a walk after our bike ride to get him some exercise.

After our causeway walk this morning, we walked Toby in the neighborhood, all the way down to the Pinellas Trail. The scenes above and below are from Stirling Park, which runs along the trail and leads to our neighborhood. It looks a lot different after the city removed the growth around the ponds. It's a great place to walk a dog.

 

 

The temperature was in the upper 50s when we started our causeway walk this morning around 9:00, but it warmed up to the low 60s by the time we finished. Today the winds were light. 

 

 

Last walk of the day

 

 

Today's Bike Route to Honeymoon Island (We rode in circles helping a couple find their lost car key. We rode to the lost and found and back.)

We’ve decided that we need our early morning causeway walk. It’s the closest thing we have to an obligation like a job. It takes time and energy. It gets us out of the house. We feel like we have accomplished something when we’re through. And we feel good physically afterwards and ready for lunch. Every job should end at noon!

We talked about a house being a prison if you never leave. The best thing about a home is the feeling you have when you come home. I guess you have to leave it to appreciate it.

We’re slowly developing a routine that works for us and Toby.

After the morning walk, everything else is negotiable. Sometimes a nap is in order. Sometimes neighborhood walks suffice. Sometimes a bike ride is the ticket; at other times a car ride.

It’s nice to make it up as we go. And there are so many places to go. 

Experts say that anyone can be happy in retirement the first two years; it’s what you find after that that determines a successful retirement. Some people get bored and feel a need to return to work to find meaning and fulfillment. 

Only time will tell. But today I definitely do not miss work and I feel no diminishment in my self-esteem or sense of purpose. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Tonight we got a takeout burger from the Sandbar Grill in the Causeway Plaza. No fries.

Miles walked: 12.8
Miles biked: 12.39

Friday

Our first walk this morning was an early one but a short one. It was 44 degrees. Toby did his business and then we headed inside for coffee.

 

It eventually got up to 63 degrees.

We spent the whole day in the neighborhood, except for a quick run to the grocery store.

I think Toby was a little bored today, so his puppy mania was a bit off the charts. We had our hands full.

 

John got the idea to make our burrito shells into a bowl by molding them inside a pot and placing it in the oven and then piling everything inside. We decided it was interesting experiment, but not as good as Juan's.

Miles walked: 6
Miles biked: 0

Thursday

After lunch, we headed to Hammock Park to walk on the new Fern Trail. The trail is a quarter mile long and, until they constructed a floating boardwalk, it was covered in water during the rainy months. As a result, hikers would walk along the edges of the trail, trampling the ferns and other vegetation. So volunteers raised money supplemented by the city and built this elevated walkway.

 

 

It got up to 61 degrees this afternoon, with clear skies.

There are a couple of beautiful benches along the path, placed in little nooks.

 

 

At one point, Toby jumped down on the ground to pee. What a polite doggie.

 

 

 

We enjoyed our jaunt to Hammock Park. 

Before lunch, we walked around Lake Saundra with Toby.

We put Toby in his crate and walked on the causeway this morning. It was 57 degrees and the wind was blowing 17-20 mph. It was a struggle to walk in a straight line without being blown off course. We had several layers on so it wasn't cold, just windy. 

 

 The wind was coming from the north, so the south side of the causeway was high and dry.

The north side of the causeway had white caps.

This pelican found a perch and was holding on. 

 

 

This little doggy doesn't have a worry in the world.

Pretty little flower blooming in our front bed.

Miles walked: 9.7
Miles biked: 0