Election 2016

Posted on October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 by Dusty Roads

I think we all know there’s a big election coming up. Trump v Hillary; boys locker room v email scandal.; hyper bully V “old Lady” and on and on. This year is really a choice of who you like the least. The choices are scary no matter what. I may just flip a coin. (sorry strong supporters of either candidate. It’s my blog and its how I feel.)

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But I didn’t start this post to discuss who I think should win this travesty of an election. (Remember , it’s rigged) No I just realized that I’ll be away on election day so I have to see if I can either vote early or by absentee ballot.

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Have any of you been traveling when an election rolled around? How did you handle it?

I think I’ll start by calling my local registration office at city hall. I’ll let you know how it works out.

So light up that joint ( You can make the hard choice and be really mellow about it) img-2883717-1-marijuana

and

Remember…Vote Early, Vote Often!

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Bayside Miami

Posted on February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 6 Comments

At the Bayside we were herded off the bus and led through the complex of shops, stalls and retail outlets to the marina. Before we boarded our boat for the Boat Tour we had to have our lunch.

The Tradewinds was expecting us with special menus geared to quick preparation and service. The Tradewinds is outdoor dining on a covered deck. You are protected from a passing rain shower but not from marauding sea gulls , as I was about to find out.

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I was sitting with a mother and daughter who was visiting America for the first time. We had a bit of a language barrier but there were still lots of smiles. I am not a big taco fan so I ordered the fried shrimp which came with tons of french fries. I’d just settled my plate and had a shrimp in my hand when I was dived bombed from behind. Something hit the back of my head and tumbled over my shoulder. It was a big old seagull! (Mine, mine, mine).

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It landed right on my french fries, grabbed a beak-full and took off. Everyone at the table froze in shock and then we started to laugh. We spent the rest of the lunch on high alert protecting our meals.The restaurant wouldn’t replace my french fries but that was ok. I only wanted the shrimp anyway.

As everyone was gathering after lunch to get ready to trek over to the boat I went in search of the parrot man we’d passed on the way in. I love these beautiful birds but could never have one as a pet myself. They would outlive me for sure but I can enjoy them when I run across these folks who share their pets (for a price).

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Time to board our boat for the views of the Islands of Biscayne Bay and the homes of Miami’s rich and famous.

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Once again we passed the “Fast & Furious” bridge. The drawbridge was open this time.

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As we slowly cruised by these beautiful homes our tour guide played the music associated with the stars, maybe a theme song from a movie or if the celeb was a musician one of their hits. He shared a snippet about each property. Everything from the price tag to the history of the ownership. It was relaxing and enjoyable although not being a big celebrity follower, I couldn’t tell you much about who owned what.

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As we headed back to the marina everyone crowed the bow for pictures of the Miami skyline.

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Meanwhile back at the Bayside some free entertainment was getting warmed up. It was time to salsa and I don’t mean on chips. I spent the rest of my afternoon there while my tour companions scattered to shop or drink.

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Eventually it was time to catch the bus back to South Beach. It was a very nice day!

It’s a New Year After All…

Posted on January 2, 2016January 2, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Happy 2016! It’s a new Year, a new beginning, a new calendar, a new, well you get the idea.

Did you make resolutions? I did not. Too much of my life is like hanging onto a run away train and I don’t know any way to change that.

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Although I’m told that I work 9-5 Monday – Friday once the busy season starts that kind of goes out the window. Until we get going for this year I really have no idea what my personal time is going to be like.

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They are adding more staff this year. Most will be starting in February or March and they will be changing the teams so I can’t begin to guess what my work load will be like but glad to have more folks on board.

I got my summary from WordPress about my posts last year. I only added 90 new posts. Well, if you are one of my followers you probably know that already. That’s not very good. Part of the reason was that I was working 7:30 am – 11 pm and weekends for most of the spring and summer and even if I’d had the energy to post a story my mind was too overwhelmed with work to think of anything to write. I try not to write too much about work because I don’t want anything mis-interpreted, good or bad! I love my job but it got out of control last year.

So with fingers crossed that I will have a bit more time here are my hopes for 2016

#1. I’d like to say that I am going to make a real effort to increase my posts this year. If I can’t think of anything to say maybe I can share a picture of Rocky or Buddy.

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#2. My team gave me a membership to a photography museum and part of the membership is a portfolio review. I am totally an amateur who gets lucky sometimes with my photos so putting together a portfolio that can be reviewed by real professionals is going to be a challenge. But it will make me move out of my comfort zone. So that’s a another goal.

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#3. No goals about losing weight. By now I know its not gonna happen. Besides, I don’t look so bad for somebody who’s almost ready for medicare but I do have some financial goals.

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I raided my savings account to upgrade my time share. It was the smart thing to do but now it’s time to start paying myself back. I feel much better with a healthy emergency fund.

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And that’s about it for goals..note I did not call them resolutions. So wish me luck and I will wish you all luck with yours too. Have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2016!

Off I Go Again!

Posted on December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Mystic Dunes. Sounds kind of like a Fantasy novel doesn’t it? I’m about to find out if it lives up to its name.

There are many perks to owning a time share but one that always comes as a surprise to me are the free trips. Well, not entirely free. They require you to listen to a sales pitch for 90 minutes. At my last “update” I decided it was time to upgrade my membership. Changes were coming and it was likely that I would not see these deals again and I do love my time share. As a thank you for upgrading they gave me a “Dream Vacation” to Las Vegas (including round trip air fare for 2)and a trial trip of 3 days and 2 nights at Mystic Dunes in Celebration, FL. I also had a ton of points (think time share currency) that I would lose if not used by December 31 so I found myself back in the air heading to Orlando a mere month after my vacation to New Orleans.

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To fly down, come back home, and fly back again didn’t make any sense so I negotiated an extra night at Mystic Dunes and rented 2 more nights (for about the same cost as that extra airfare would have been), making my planned stay Dec 1-December 6. Then I planned to hop a commuter flight from Orlando to Miami for another week in South Beach Dec 6 – Dec.13. I should be good and relaxed when I get back to work.

I flew Southwest from Providence to Orlando where I made a spur of the moment decision to upgrade my Enterprise rental car from economy to what ever they had on the lot with a GPS. What they had was a Lincoln Navigator. Talk about a top of the line upgrade. I wasn’t sure if I was going to faint from shock or laughter. This huge behemoth of an SUV just for me! It had automatic running boards that popped out when you opened the door and a good thing too or I would have needed a step ladder just to get into it.

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The salesman helped me load my luggage in back and set the GPS for Mystic Dunes before sending me on my way.

Now remember, no trip is without its pitfalls. If you keep that in mind you will be able to handle the little trials that come out of no where.

I had just left the airport and was trying to pull onto RT 528 when I realized I couldn’t adjust the side mirror. It was folded in on itself. Trying to navigate Florida traffic without a passenger side mirror is suicide but pulling onto the shoulder to make the adjustment was even worse so I drove very cautiously waiting for an exit.

Before I could find one an alarm went off on my dash board. The rear hatch wasn’t closed. Apparently the salesman hadn’t pulled it shut when he loaded my luggage. I had visions of my bags falling out and bursting open all along the highway.

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By now I was on RT 4 and exits were starting to show up. I pulled off at an exit for a Comfort Inn. Using their parking lot I first closed the rear hatch, breathing a sigh of relief that both bags were still there, then released the side mirror and adjusted it.

Getting back on the highway was a little tricky but once there I settled in for a GPS directed drive to Mystic Dunes. But such was not to be. I’d barely gone 2 exits when another alarm went off on the dash. This one said low tire pressure. Give me a break! The car didn’t have 5000 miles on it. The next exit was my old faithful. The exit to the resort I usually stay at, Cypress Point so I pulled off knowing there was a gas station.

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Before I did anything I looked the tires over. They looked fine to me. Big tires! Then I tried calling Enterprise roadside assistance who told me to fine a tire store and have them fix it. The “helpful” woman gave me an address for a Tire store but someone did not have up to date info. There wasn’t one there. After driving around for 2 hours (on the allegedly flat tire) I found a Walmart where they helped me out in the tire center. The right front tire was “soft”. They topped off the air and sent me on my way once more.

As it was now approaching 2 pm and I had yet to even have breakfast I decided Mystic Dunes could wait a little while so I could enjoy some lunch. There was a Golden Corral right down the street so that was were I headed.