Where Oh Where Has the Warm Weather Gone

Posted on January 9, 2014January 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s freezing everywhere! Even Florida is reporting record cold. Watch the price of orange juice soar now!

I thought maybe it was time for a little daydreaming. Warm sand, balmy breezes, glorious sunshine…believe me, I’d be headed south right now if I could – but I guess that wouldn’t save me since it’s cold there too. Anyway the next best thing is thinking about the warm and remembering.

There was Arizona. It was warm when I went horseback riding in Sedona.

Florida. It was warm when I visited with the Mouse at Disney

and when I rode the airboat at Holiday Park and hob-nobbed with the alligators in Shark Valley (Everglades).

And of course, Hawaii. It was nice there too. The first trip the native Hawaiians told us how hot and humid it was but to us northerners it was beautiful.

And the 2nd trip to Oahu was just as nice, snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, exploring the Polynesian villages, and getting blown around in the trade winds.

We nearly melted away climbing Makapu’u Point! But boy what a view!

I’m starting to warm up just thinking about these trips.

Gator Boys Memorial to J-Mart

Posted on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Just a brief update.

At the end of last night’s episode (Big Croc Rescue) of Gator Boys, a short video clip, very short (10 seconds?) was played in Memory of their friend, John Martinez. The video was nice but short. I really thought they would do more. But maybe they just didn’t have time.

There were no still photos used so my pictures were not included but you can see those at www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com.

Rest in Peace, John.

D, E, F & G

Posted on September 15, 2013September 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

We are on a roll now. We can cover Delaware, Florida and Georgia. There’s no state starting with E so we’ll just skip right over that.

D is for Delaware

No. This teeny, tiny state ranks # 49 in size. I don’t know much about the state but when I search it on trip advisor there are just loads of attractions and things to do. A lot of it seems to revolve around the seashore, wine and food. They have a Delaware Wine Trail, a Delaware Culinary Trail, a Boardwalk Arts festival, a sandcastle competition, and for the lighthouse lover Breakwater/Harbor of refuge.

F is for Florida

YES! and YES again.

Florida is almost like my 2nd home. From Key West at the tip to South Florida (Miami/ Fort Lauderdale) on to Central Florida with Disney, Kissimmee and surrounding area the only places I haven’t spent much time is the Gulf coast and the northern section and panhandle. I seem to find myself going back there every year or so as I love the Everglades and other natural areas. I don’t need to visit Mickey and Minnie every time I go down.

There are an array of Botanical Gardens and parks, both State and National, there are lighthouses and forts, when I can tear myself away from the alligators and tropical birds.

I still want to see more of the Everglades.

There are 2 more entrances to the park that I haven’t been to. High on my list as well is Miami Zoo and a place, I think it’s called Bird Island.

Mermaids

G is for Georgia

Yes. I’ve been to Atlanta. I even went to a Halloween Party in Georgia.

I visited Stone Mountain

and followed “Homer” The Atlanta Braves Mascot around.

No, I wasn’t stalking him, I was “assisting”. 🙂 I went to the zoo and the huge Georgia Aquarium and rode a Segway. ( I even fell off!) And I watched the fountains in Olympic Park and visited the World of Coca Cola.

And I can’t forget that we had dinner at Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffle restaurant. That was a very full trip!

So I can check Georgia off the list.

So lets me see, what’s the tally now? 10 State in A – G and I think we’re tied up. 5 states visited and 5 still to go. Let’s see how it goes with H & I.

The Good and the Bad

Posted on September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ying and yang, alpha and omega, black and white….life and death.

Always a balance. When something bad happens something good needs to come along for balance. I’m not a philosopher but I know that many people much smarter than I am have spent many hours contemplating this very idea.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I am caught in a BAD/GOOD situation.

The Bad first because without that I wouldn’t have the good.

The Bad is that a very funny, gentle, kind man, a former marine who served his country, has passed away at the very young age of 30. I had the pleasure of meeting him. He was a celebrity of sorts as he was involved with the Gator Boys show on Animal Planet. On the show he went by the name of J-Mart and I saw him do his alligator wrestling show at Holiday Park . I even wrote a post about seeing the show and shared some of my photos.

I now know his name is John Martinez. From the comments and the emails I’ve receive as a result of my blog I know my impressions of him were right. The loss of such a gentle soul makes me very sad.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2013/09/gator_boys_alligator_wrestler_dies_john_carlos_martinez.php

Now the good, for me anyway. Because I wrote the post and because I included photos that were at least half way decent, I was contacted by the Broward New Times, Florida for permission to use my pictures. In return they linked to my blog. They even took some of my comments from the blog and used them in their obituary. That is wonderful promotion for my blog and for my pictures. What’s the saying… there’s no such thing as bad publicity? I get really excited that my blog got found and is , in a sense, being promoted by a publication like the Broward New Times, and then I remember that someone has died and I wonder if I should be so happy. 🙁

I also got an email from the Story Producer from Animal Planet. He too asked about using some photos. I don’t know what, if anything will come of that but it’s all so exciting until I remember why my photos are in such demand. And then I get sad again.

The whole set of photos taken at Holiday Park on that trip are on my pro website: www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com I moved them to the opening slideshow as a tribute to J-Mart.

As much as I love the attention my photos and blog are getting, I would gladly skip the excitement if J-Mart was still with us. For those who knew him as a friend, his family and to his fans, I am very, very sorry for your loss.

Alaska behind me What Lies Ahead?

Posted on July 21, 2013July 21, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My traveling days are behind me for awhile I’m afraid. Even though my new job gives me 3 weeks vacation it will take awhile to “earn” the time. Plus all this running around from Alaska to Seattle and back again has taken a bite out of my travel reserve. It needs to be replenished.

The new company did reimburse me for my travel expenses when I went out for the company introduction but they don’t cover Pet Sitting costs any more than they would cover child sitting.

As you probably know the Northeast has been in the grip of a heat wave.

It is actually the 2nd heat wave of the summer. I was doing my practical training when the first one hit and driving home on RT 128 the AC in the car died. Of course it gave up the ghost when I was stopped in a 6 mile traffic jam in 90+ degrees and the sun beating down and not a whisper of a breeze. Needless to say the car went into the shop the next day and came out 3 days later with my wallet $700 lighter.

But, I could keep penguins happy in the car now and believe me, I was very thankful this past week when we had 6 days of 90+ weather and high, high humidity.

I told my Florida friends that we were experiencing the South Florida weather they get in August!

During all this I was studying harder than I’ve ever studied in my life. My new job requires that I have a real estate license. They hired me in good faith counting on me to get the license ASAP. I was hearing horror stories from everyone about the test and most people that had taken the “New, Revised and Tougher” Massachusetts exam had failed the first time. I would just die if I failed! OMG that was the stuff of nightmares for me so in a panic I spent every spare moment studying and taking practice exams.

On July 3rd I sat for the exam and to my great relief, Passed! So I am now a licensed real estate sales person in Massachusetts. YAY ME!

My whole mind and body gave a sigh of relief and I felt like I could look around and take stock of where I was for the first time since we’d left for Alaska in May.

My new duties let me work from home. Nice! I can save on gas and wear and tear on my old jalopy. I am also finding that I have a lot more time since I’m not spending hours commuting each day.

Although I am a “Night and Weekend” worker I am now working 8 hour shifts instead of 10 so I only have 2 days off in a row instead of 3, so mini vacations like I took last year are probably not an option, at least not right now.

So the bottom line is that I’m not sure what topics I’ll be covering until my next vacation. I hope little local jaunts and observations won’t be boring for anyone. As for my next vacation…well it’s just a germ of an idea …but I’m looking into Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

At this point it’s just an idea. I need to work out cost and logistics to see if it’s feasible. I’m still looking for a vacation that will let me get that icon bear or elk photo. So far the best vacation for wildlife has been the South Dakota vacation we took. I’m sure there will be more. I just have to find them. 🙂