Aug 21-22 - the summer sun

That's what you expect in Florida during August ... right ? Actually, what we expect is sun until mid afternoon and then a downpour - at least that is what we have always experienced. This time, however, it's dry, bone dry. We have not had a drop since we arrived.

I got out for my second bike ride yesterday which was much better than the first. I still lost weight -- 4 pounds -- drinking all I could before and during the ride. I read an article a couple of days ago that enumerated the number of calories and quantity of water that the stomach can actually process per hour, which becomes your limiting factor if you use up all stored glycogen, overrun your body's ability to convert fat and overrun your digestive system's ability to absorb "stuff".

Anyway, enough of that. I skipped riding today -- not because we went to Disney, which we have changed to tomorrow -- but because I needed to do some house maintenance things. It seems that pests of one sort or another are a part of life wherever you go and down here it is ants -- ordinary ants, not the carpenter or fire versions. I always give the house perimeter and yard a dose of ant bait before we leave and this time is no exception. There is a huge selection of pesticides at Home Depot in this climate covering everything under the sun (ha!).

I cleaned the gutters (evestroughs for the Canucks) and gave them an ant treatment as well. The gutters fill up with leaves from the overhanging oak tree and the ants love to take possession. I put some gutter guards on last time but they have a limited effect -- better than without but not completely clean. Perhaps I should just do away with the gutters ... I also trimmed the drooping oak branches which were creating a pathway for the ants to access the roof -- not any more, unless they're flying ants !

After I got cleaned up and got my mind out of the gutter(!?) we went down to Merritt Island to the manatee observation deck -- no manatees. I guess that they are only there during the winter months when the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is cold. We also went to the visitor information center and wandered for a few minutes on one of the trails watching fish, turtles and a solitary aligator in one of the large ponds.

Not exactly house maintenance, but I also went to the license bureau to switch the boat trailers over to my name. They had been registered to my brother Philip which was the most convenient thing to do when we moved these all over from my Dad -- along with the old Ford Ranger, which cannot be registered here in Florida unless I show up with the vehicle down here -- which ain't going to happen, that's for sure.

Back to yesterday -- after my ride and Sandy got back from the market, the four of us went out in the boat. We had lunch at the sandbar but before we got there we saw a dolphin and a manatee ... yes, we actually saw a manatee out in the ICW -- that is why the rule is "no wake" which means that you are moving about 2 mph. After an extended period at the sandbar with the kids swimming and Abby chasing minnows we continued to head north past Ponce Inlet where there is a deeper part of the ICW where we are allowed to travel at 25 mph. We went up to the Port Orange bridge before turning around.

On the way back, as we passed under the north causeway of New Smyrna Beach we saw a dolphin ... no wait, more dolphins ... more dolphins -- could have been 8-12 in all. They were hanging around the area, circling and catching fish. There was a baby dolphin in the midst of a couple of adults which did some cavorting -- jumping out of the water once, rolling backwards -- it's great to be a kid !! We must have spent 15-20 minutes putting around in circles while Kylie took pictures until she ran out of digital film.

We were all feeling a little baked, since we were out four hours by the time we got back to the boat launch. We had originally planned on going to the beach by the house, but that waited until after dinner when Sandy took the girls. We're going to go and play in the waves this afternoon -- Kylie and I will use the boogie boards.

We had fresh caught shrimp for dinner last night ... they taste so much better and the meat is so much firmer, when fresh. Tonight we will be having yellowfin tuna.

After getting home yesterday, washing down the boat and myself, I went over to Boaters World to exchange the boat cover that I had purchased a couple of days ago. It didn't fit but the new one does. I needed something to cover the boat while storing it here -- a tarp would not work because it doesn't breathe and I would be worried about mildew etc. in the vinyl foam seats. That was not a worry with the Whaler when it left it here -- any mildew on fiberglass simply power-washes off.

Sandy is out with the girls now, checking out the shops on Flagler and driving on the beach. When they get back we'll go swimming at the local beach. Tomorrow we're off to Disney. I purchased tickets online which allows us to buy at the cheaper Florida resident price -- saves about $30 for the four of us.

That's all I can think of at this point. The time is going quickly -- today will be effectively done in a few hours; tomorrow is Disney (and then we'll be Done !) Friday will be bike and boat; Saturday we start travelling back -- unless, of course, we decide to make that Sunday. We have kept our options open at this point.