Rainy Day in Florida

Woke up to a gentle rain this morning and discovered I'd left the skylight over my bed open - again.  No damage done, but the foot of the bed and floor are pretty wet.  I really need to follow through on the idea of hanging a red tag on the skylight handle whenever I open it.  May be tomorrow....

Manatee observation park

On Wednesday, I jumped on the Burg and headed north to a manatee observation place at Apollo Beach, location of a generation plant.  The big beasts love the warm water and gather there when the weather is cold.  I've never seen so many in one place.  The pic shows a few in the shallow water, but further out there were so many you couldn't have thrown a rock in without hitting one.   There was a cow with her pup close by, which was peaceful to watch.  It was a gorgeous day and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the view.

That evening, the menu at the "Sierra Cuban Restaurant" was black beans and rice, roast pork and snow peas.  Mmmm.  Luis the chef is truly getting better with age!

Friday I went to see "Black Swan" at the Sarasota Film Society theater, where I joined for the season to save $3 per ticket.  It was an excellent movie, though very dark.  I won't be surprised if Natalie Portman wins an Oscar for her role as the swan queen.  Barbara Hersey plays her mother and also did a very fine job.

Near the theater

  After the movie I rode down to Bay Front Park and walked along the water.  What a pretty place.  There were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine, the views and food and drink at a bay side pub.  Again, another fine day. 

Gull on a dolphin

Last night Barbara and I went to her favorite Japanese sushi bar and enjoyed ourselves, as usual.  We never run out of things to talk about and being in her company is always a pleasure for me.  The service was lacking due to a waitress in training, but the food was very good and the hostess did well in filling in the service gaps.  Barbara is obviously a regular there and the folks graciously acknowledged that.  We talked about taking some trips together, as she is quite the traveler these days, including a tour of Italy.  We also made plans to attend a Chinese acrobat show on New Year's Eve and I know that will be fun. 

Time is moving very quickly now so I must be having a lot of fun!  It crawls when I'm not.  There's a dance here in the park tonight, which I may attend, and the Tar Heels are playing basketball at 4:00 and that will be fun (I hope!) 

Life is good!  Thanks for stopping by.