Vacation! Probably my longest photo post yet.

Right then. As you know, Ricky and I took a vacation last week. We went to Cape Canaveral, Tampa, Key West, and West Palm Beach. Kind of a little tour o' Florida. Here are pictures and brief descriptions. They won't be in very good order... but you all know how annoying it is to move things around on Blogger.

We saw the last launch of the shuttle Atlantis. It was amazing. After about 20 seconds of it ascending into the air, we suddenly heard and felt the huge noise it made. Incredible.

There's me looking really goofy. I was excited about the shuttle, and the critter below...

...okay, so it's not very clear. But that little dark dot on the far right is a manatee! My first manatee! I was so happy.

We drove through Springfield and saw the Simpsons. =)

On our way down the Keys we stopped in Key Largo and went into the club where Key Largo was filmed. It's one of my favorite Bogart movies.

He still hangs out there.

The world's largest Florida Lobster!

There's me at Busch Gardens.
These little guys were everywhere. Everywhere.

Our hotel room in Key West, complete with a diagram of a flux capacitor. For safety's sake?

Best fish tacos ever! Bad Boy Burrito on Key West. Go there. It's a tiny little hole in the wall place, they only take cash, and there are only 2 bar stools. It's amazing.

And it sports excellent wall art.

These trees made me think of fireworks. Aren't they gorgeous? I don't know what they are, but I want one in my yard!

Key West sunset.

Key West coconut victory!

Mile marker 0.

The southernmost point of the continental United States. Pretty cool.

Kayaking in Key West.

Aren't those mangroves awesome?

I apparently love kayaking.

Cormorants.

These were all over the island! Chickens and roosters!

Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West.

His kitchen.

Me making friends with one of the over 60 cats that live on the grounds.

A giant black snake that I got out of the car to chase. Yes, I might be crazy.
(But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for.)

The very rare Florida panther did not cross the road. Bummer.

The Everglades! I've always wanted to see them.

My first alligator sighting. He's just a little guy. I spotted him from a bridge as we were driving along. I should have a show on Animal Planet.

My first time on the Atlantic coast!

Flamingos at Busch Gardens. Did you know that they're only that bright pink color because of their food? Read about them here.

I leave you with this. This picture captures exactly how I felt about riding a wooden roller coaster for the first time. I was terrified, and look how happy Ricky is! I cried, needless to say.
All in all our vacation was great! Happy to be home though, I missed the pets. And my job... how strange to say that. I've never had a job that I missed! This is a good thing, right?

This will be impersonal.

My computer is finally back up and running (no, the floors are not done yet) so I have lots and lots of blogging to catch up on. Here goes.

*Deep Breath*

Chicken Vindaloo with basmati and naan.

Apricot tart with almond pastry cream.

French onion soup with pink peppercorns and Gruyere toasts.

Chicken and broccoli stir fry (homemade sauce, a-thank you) over noodles.

Steak-frites with chives. Now there's something I should have planted in my garden.

So dark! Lashings of apologies! My goat curry I had at a restaurant in Tampa.

Ricky's chicken tikka masala. How do they get it so orange?

Calamari at Hemmingway's avec Wandi Haddow.

Petite Chai teacakes with honey buttercream.

Chicken, eggplant, and tomato curry.

My Cinco de Mayo meal! See how old some of these pictures are?
Garlic and jalapeno (that I grew) shrimp, white rice with peas and cilantro, and a salad of mango, radish, and cucumber with a honey-lime dressing.

...and for dessert....
Individual caramel custards with fresh whipped cream.
I have no excuse for those messy ramekin rims, other than my unsteady hand.
If you'd like any of these recipes, just ask and I'll post them.
♥

Almost over.

So our vacation is coming to an end. Ricky and I are heading back to Gulf Breeze tomorrow around noon. So far we have:Seen the last shuttle launch.Seen two (TWO!) manatees.Gone to Key West and seen the hotel where they filmed most of "Key Largo."Been to the southernmost point of the continental United States.Seen mile marker 0.Found an awesome gift for my little sister.Visited Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West.Kayaked through mangrove forests along the Keys.Seen giant wild iguanas.Had real Key Lime Pie.Visited with Ricky's awesome family in West Palm Beach.Wandered the streets of Miami. It was yucky.Gotten sweet tans.Gone to Busch Gardens.Seen a real live alligator in the Everglades.Seen a real dead alligator at Ricky's family's house....pictures to come.(Not of the dead alligator, just of vacation excursions.)Ricky's mother, grandmother, and sister arrive here in West Palm Beach tonight, I can't wait to see them.I'm sad that our vacation is nearly over, but I can't wait to go back to work and see my Westie pups!Happy Friday everyone! ♥

I'm on vacation.

Recently blogging has been difficult. We're ripping the old flooring out of our house, as we started with the office. I hate using the laptop, so I put off posting anything.

I'm currently in Tampa with Ricky, we're heading down to Key West tomorrow.
We saw the last shuttle launch yesterday, and today we went to Busch Gardens. Pretty good time so far! My friend Ashley is watching Malo and Maggie, so that's really out me at ease, knowing that someone is taking good care of my pups. I usually stress so much when we go away, but Ashley has dogs too so she knows how to treat them and how to deal with whatever attitude they may have from day to day. Malo is so moody! Gosh, can you tell that I miss my dogs? I'll do a proper post soon, with pictures of recent events and fabulous dinners. Last night I had goat vindaloo at an awesome Indian place! It was my first time trying goat, and I loved it. Not at all as gamey as I'd expected, it was reminiscent of lamb. But more on that later, in food post that's going to be way too long.
Here's Ricky and I at Busch Gardens. I rode roller coasters. It was horrific.
Ta for now!
♥

Louisiana Oil Spill

(source)

They're saying that this may be worse than the Exxon Valdez was back in 1989.
It's peak nesting season for dozens of species of shore birds. This oil will make it's way onto beaches and into marshlands. It will affect oyster beds, shrimp, and countless other varieties of wildlife. On Fridday they found the first oil covered bird in the Gulf. A Northern Gannet, which will be fine and is probably going to be released in about 10 days. Some speculate that the spill is leaking around 25,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
The economy will suffer as well, as beaches shut down, it will affect hotels, restaurants, boat tours, and so on.
This is bad times.
We're expected to see the oil here by Monday.