Does Anyone Really Know What Day It Is?

Fortunately for me, now I do!  My day clock arrived the other day.  Now if I can just remember to give it a glance each day.

Another New Flower

I'm amazed at all the different flowers and plants I come across when I'm on my walks around the neighborhood.  I just can't help myself from snapping a picture!

Evening Walks Along Tampa Bay

It's coming up on 5 years that I moved here to Saint Petersburg.  I find it hard to believe that 5 years have passed.  I still take walks around my neighborhood, Historic Old Northeast.  I frequently walk along Coffee Pot Bayou and along the sea wall which stretches in the parks along Tampa Bay to downtown St. Pete.

And now that I have an 8 megapixel camera in my cell phone, I don't have to carry my bigger camera around with me.  I continue to see beautiful flowers and scenery every where I walk.

I love the lighting in the evenings as the sun gets lower and lower in the sky.

It's fun to catch the dolphins and hear them spout as the glide along.

I've never regretted moving here!

A Universal Day and What I Wouldn't Do To Get Out of Driving

I met Adele and Gina at Universal in Orlando on Friday.  Since I won't be renewing my annual pass, this would be my last visit for the year.  It was my third time visiting on the pass, and I figured it had paid for itself after two visits.  And, I wanted to see the new Minion Mayhem attraction before I cancelled it!

We were determined to make it a leisurely day, and we did.  We met up just before noon, and both got the closest parking spaces we ever had, one row apart, right near the crosswalk bridge to the rotunda. Our first order of business:  lunch!  We went to one of our favorite fast food places at Universal, Richter's.  The food is decent and we like the 100 choices of soda!

We then stopped at the candy / bakery next door for dessert.  The cookies and cream candy apples were buy one, get one free, so Adele and Gina enjoyed them while covering themselves in chocolate cookie crumbs!  I had a chocolate chip cookie that looked like it was just sliced from a giant sausage of cookie dough.  And we got to catch the "Minions" in their dance routine right outside the door!  Adele and Gina got to hang with Margo, Edith and Agnes!

We also did the E.T. ride (I was Raoul again), and the Revenge of the Mummy attraction.  It was hot in the sun, so we decided to head over to the Islands of Adventure for a Butterbeer, posing for a few pictures on the way.

Keeping our priorities straight, and to hydrate, we headed over to the Hog's Head pub for some Butterbeer.  Always good!  We were going to ride the Dragon Challenge roller coaster, but dark clouds were coming in quickly, so we opted to head to Hogwart's and the Forbidden Journey attraction.  It was my longest wait of the three times I've been there (I think just under an hour and a half maybe?) But, we did manage to avoid the downpour, being under cover for the outside portion of the waiting line.  Before we left Hogsmeade, Adele picked up some pumpkin juice from one of the shops.  It tasted like pumpkin pie!

On our way out of the park, we stopped at Confisco Grille for dinner.  We wanted some lighter fare, and it fit the bill!  Exhausted from the sun, but content, we began the trek back to the parking garage (Spiderman section).  As we were crossing the bridge, I reached into my pocket for my car key.  It wasn't there!  Keeping a cool head, (yeah!  right!)  I tried to figure out what to do. I usually wear shorts with cargo pockets, a safe place to keep the key.  I thought the pockets in the shorts I wore would be deep enough.  Apparently, they weren't!  I felt the key all during the day when I reached into the pocket to place or retrieve my sunglasses or pass.  I'm not sure when it vanished, but I'll wager it was on the Harry Potter ride.

Fortunately, I'm a member of AAA Plus, so towing up to 100 miles is covered.  I have a spare key and a valet key back in my apartment.  I figured towing would be the most efficient way for me to get home.  And, I thought it would be nice to have a chauffeur!  Shortly after calling AAA, I received a call from Riccardo, the driver of the tow truck.  The upside: he was he was already on his way to the parking garage.  The downside:  to pick up another car for towing.  He estimated it would be an hour to an hour and a half before he would get to me.  Although we were all so tired, Adele and Gina kept me company.  They played hangman while I plugged my cell into an electrical outlet we found near our cars.

I had one other dilemma.  My apartment key was in the glove compartment and to get into my apartment building requires the key.  So, I called Ralph, my landlord to see if he could meet me to let me in when I reached home.  But I didn't know what time it would be (it was about 10 or 10:30 by now, I think).  He said he would keep his cell on the night stand.  My wheels were still spinning, so I thought I would check to see if I had locked the glove compartment.  Using the flashlight on my cell (love it!), through the window I saw that it was unlocked!  I figured I would ask Riccardo if he could get into the car so I could get the apartment key and call Ralph to let him know he was off the hook!  When Riccardo arrived, he broke in and voila!  Ralph got to sleep.

We left the parking garage just before 11:30 pm.  Adele and Gina enjoyed watching the tow truck pick up the front of my Rabbit.  All was good!  Now for all of us to head home to get some rest!

Did I learn anything?  (That's why you always leave a note!)  I'm going to leave my valet key in the glove compartment (is that good or not?) and I am always going to make sure I keep my key in a locked pocket!  Amen!

ADDENDUM:  Just off the phone with lost and found at Universal.  They found the key!  Going to ship it to me!  YAY!!!

And it's back in my hand today, August 21!

Summer Flowers

Despite the hotter and more humid summer weather, I have been able to take my morning walks.  I usually stay out about two to three hours, walking, sitting in the park, sitting in a coffee shop.  Very relaxed.  And since I got my new cell phone with a much better camera, I find it hard to pass some of the unusual flowers I see without snapping a photo.  So, enjoy!

TNFLAOF* There's No Fool Like An Old Fool

I remember my grandfather (Pop Pop) saying, "There's no fool like an old fool."  And I have been finding that saying to be appropriate more and more as I grow older.  (Or as I prefer to say, grow up.)  My latest example occurred on one of my morning walks earlier this week.

So, I've been downloading tunes to my new cell phone.  I've started listening to a shuffle mix on my walks again.  After walking around for a while, I ended up at the local Panera.  As I approached the order counter, I paused the music player, shut the phone and placed it in my pocket.  I removed the ear buds from my ears and placed them in my other pocket.  I ordered, sat down, enjoyed my breakfast power sandwich and coffee.  On my way out, I added a little more coffee to my cup and headed over to Crescent Lake Park, one block away.

I sat on a park bench for a short while, then decided to listen to some more tunes.  I resumed the music player.  I could see the song playing, but could hear no audio.  I tried several things: stopping, pausing, skipping to the next song. All to no avail.  Then I heard a chiming.  It was a text message from Adele.  We texted back and forth for a while, no problem hearing the chime.  Being a computer, I figured maybe I needed to re-boot the phone and maybe the problem would take care of itself.  I shut it down.  Waited a couple of seconds, then fired it back up again.  As it was cycling on, I noticed something.  Although the ear plug wire was plugged into the phone, the ear buds were still in my pocket.  DUH!

TNFLAOF!!!