Dolphin Watching and Tampa

 

Well Saturday morning started with Chad finishing his training. I picked him up in the field and we headed for John's Pass and Hubbard Marina. When I talked with Chad about doing a dolphin watching tour he mentioned that he would like to do that as well. I knew that he would not have time in Sarasota so I started looking into the Tampa area. As it turns out Hubbard's marina is a little over half way to Tampa from Sarasota. This was the thing to do Saturday afternoon. As a bonus we were able to go to Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. Chad originally talked about just getting a burger and I reminded him that why not get seafood when you are by the water, since it is going to taste much better than at home and I don't even eat seafood. We had a good time. After lunch we went walking around the marina taking a look at all the shops and just taking in the scenes.

 

Our dolphin watching tour started at 3pm. No sooner had the boat pulled out of the slip did we see a group of about 3 or 4 dolphins. We watched thosed for a little bit and of course I missed the picture when the dolphin decided to jump out of the water. We probably saw anywhere from 15-25 dolphins yesterday. I would say it was worth the time that we spent on the boat. It was a fun time and the employees of Hubbard's marina were wonderful to work with.

 

While on the dolphin watching tour we also got to see these beautiful bird rookeries. These little islands are filled with Mangrove trees and the birds love to nest here. This picture is of just a few of the pelicans on this little island.

After we left John's pass we headed to find the hotel for the night. I found out that we were not far from a Cheesecake Factory so that is where we decided to eat dinner. Then it was walking around the mall for a little bit letting our food settle and then back to the hotel to pack and get some rest.

We are ready to get back home. We have just a couple more hours here in the Atlanta airport then we should be home late this afternoon. I hope that everyone has had a great weekend. Thanks for peeking in.

Sarasota, FL

 

I have been in Sarasota since Wednesday and spent money at two scrapbook stores. I found some really cool stuff. Remember all those Bo-bunny word books, well I found tons of those types of books even one that says "DISNEY". I just could not leave that one on the shelf. I do know where we can buy more even custom words. Yesterday my Great Aunt and I went on Mote Aquariums Ecotour in hopes of seeing dolphins and learning a bit of information. It was really neat. Right after we left the dock we did see a couple of dolphins. I have marked the dolphin on the picture. Boy do I wish I would have brought my other camera with me. I would have liked the extra zoom power. Last night we went over to Aunt Ruth's and played Phase 10, which is a cross between gin rummy and I am not sure what other game. I can definitely say that it is a game that most of the Whiston (my family) clan plays. Let me tell you there is no mercy when you play with a Whiston.

 

Take a look at the houses. The houses are huge and with tons of windows. I have no clue how much they cost. I would not mind the house, but I sure would hate the mortgage bills. One house even has a statue of Michael Jordan on their back porch. I did not get a picture of the statue for everyone.

Well I better finish packing. We are heading to Tampa today to go back to the airport. I am enjoying the sunny weather instead of the rain that we left back home. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thanks for checking in on me.

Well, I am still alive

Again I must apologize for appearing to have fallen off the face of the earth. Things have been really busy at work and with family. Several of my dearest friends were blindsided last week with the closing of one of the Scrapbook Garden Stores last week. I am sure that people may understand the need for closing the store, but the way my friends were treated really stinks and I don't understand how anyone that runs a "family" business could treat people that way. I am positive that better things are out there for everyone from the East store and I want them to know that I will help in anyway possible. I have never been more sure of my decision to leave the store as I have been the last week or so. I am positive that everyone will find better jobs and feel extremely appreciated wherever they end up now. I am glad that I had the chance to work with everyone and I am very thankful for the friendships that I have made while working with them, and that will never be taken away from me.



I have posted one page halloween from last year. We went to Night of the Living Zoo. Wow was that place crowded. I wish we would have gotten to see some of the animals and I know that our godson would have liked that better. Both of the boys had a great time and we had fun hanging out with their mom and dad. Sorry about the glare on the photos.

I promise to get better about updating posts. I am hoping that things will slow down so that I can get some pages done. I will be out of town next week and hopefully I will get to visit some stores while I am gone and maybe even get to do some small projects. I am ready for some rest and relaxation.