The Saga of a Stray Cat~ Chapter 1

Posted on March 11, 2013March 11, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Two’s company and three’s a crowd except when watching re-runs of My Three Sons or Three’s Company, classic 70’s comedy. In any case I’m about to find out if it’s true.

It’ s not as if I haven’t had the pleasure of being owned by 3 cats before. I have. When Rocky was a kitten I had a Persian named Little Joe.

Although he was a purebred he was still a rescue. Long story. Smokey came along because Rocky was just a bundle of energy and too much for Little Joe to cope with.

I rescued Smokey as a companion for Rocky and from that day until Little Joe passed on there was a war zone between Smokey and Little Joe. (Sigh)

After Little Joe passed over the Rainbow Bridge there were just the 2 and it’s been that way for a long time, 8-10 years.

Rocky is no longer a kitten at 13 and Smokey has moved into old age at 15. As much as I love my furry companions I admit I was looking forward to the day when I could travel without getting a pet sitter (expensive) or getting a new outfit and not having cat hair on it before I got out the door the first time. Even having a living room for people instead of filled with cat trees. But alas, it seems not to be.

The night before I left for Florida I got home around 9 pm to find a black and white cat sitting on my door mat for all the world like he belonged there. I’d seen the cat in the parking lot for a couple of days and it bee lined for me each time. Now, on the coldest night of this winter, someone had let him into the common area of the condo and he’s made himself at home at my door. What would I do!? I had a plane to catch in the morning so I couldn ‘t leave a “stranger cat” with my 2 and it was too cold to toss the poor thing outside.

I took a picture and posted my dilemma on Facebook. Almost immediately I had a response from a friend who wanted a cat and, wonder of wonders, she was willing to come get him right away!

She arrived at my place late or maybe I should say early. It was after 1 am. That’s dedication to come after him at that time of night! I helped her pack him up and off I went to Cozumel with a happy heart.

I was proud that I’d done a good thing and the pretty kitty had a good home. Or so I thought.

To be continued……

Final Hours in Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 10, 2013March 10, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My Mexico cruise/ Fort Lauderdale adventure is winding down. I have one last thing to squeeze in and that is a visit to family.

I met my cousin at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed a real good old-fashioned breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The diner is like a blast from the past, an authentic 50′s style restaurant and home to the infamous 14oz coffee cup. This signature landmark has been a family owned and operated business in South Florida for over 43 years.

My cousin told me she used to work there and met her husband there. Another old-fashioned touch. She was a waitress, he was a trucker. Sounds like the basis for a romantic movie. 🙂

My cousin is the outgoing one and she seemed to know everyone as we made out way to our booth.

After breakfast we headed to my aunt’s home which turned out to be literally around the corner from the Diner and after a short visit there we went on to the airport also just “around the corner.”

That should have been the end of the story. Drop off rental car, get on plane , arrive home but it turned out it wasn’t quite that easy. I dropped off the rental and grabbed the shuttle to the terminal. I checked my bags curbside and headed into the security line. It was huge. As I stood there looking around I realized I didn’t have my coat! It was still in the rental car. I tried calling the lost and found but kept getting lost in the IVR prompts so back to the shuttle to reverse my previous trip.

At the Hertz counter they directed me to lost & found and there was my coat. Yay! Now back on the shuttle again to the terminal and back on the line. It hadn’t moved much. I was in the same place as when I left. Slowly , very slowly the line began to creep forward.

In the Fort Lauderdale airport the security is on a slightly lower level from the check in counters. As the line crept forward I eventually reach a point where there was a ramp that led down to the TSA agent and security scanners. I wish the TSA had allowed pictures because at that point I could look out over all the travelers and it was a wall to wall sea of people all jostling and pushing for position! It was an amazing sight and I had lots of time to watch as I waited for my line to move forward again.

Once at the scanners the routine was the same…shoes off, lap top out of the luggage, walk through scanner, retrieve, put shoes back on and find the gate. Whew! from the time I got back on line the 2nd time until I made it to my gate it was over 1 hour! So glad I went early. My cousin had suggested I chat a little longer saying I’d be through security in 10 minutes. Maybe if I was on an early flight but apparently not if you are flying mid-day!

The rest of my flights were uneventful. I offered to be “bumped” in exchange for a $400 voucher but I would have to fly out the next day, not just a later flight on the same day so I passed it up.

My flight finally landed around 8:30 pm amid snow and sleet. The parking valet had my car warmed up and cleaned off when I got off the shuttle. The drive home was not too bad in spite of the weather and there they were. 2 little furry faces meeting me at the door.

I love travel but I love coming home too.

March Blizzard 2013

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Oh it was tempting to skip work today but I am getting close to the end of my employment. With that deadline looming I dragged myself out the door about 9 AM. Here’s what greeted me.

The tree by the front door

The decorative bench on the front lawn. Pretty clear we have a bit of accumulation.

Along Rt 44 trees weighed down and other snowy vistas

Christmas tree anyone?

Can you believe it was still snowing? This isn’t Alaska. It’s Southern Massachusetts!

It’s supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow! Talk about weather extremes.

But my favorite…Here come the plows.

I got this picture of the west bound plow by holding the camera out the car window as I drove eastbound.

Sunrise Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 8, 2013March 8, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I didn’t get a Sunset but my last morning, as I packed the car, the sun rose in the east as the moon set in the west.

All Good Things Must End

Posted on March 7, 2013March 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

For my last night in Florida I headed north to Lake Okeechobee. This is the largest fresh water lake in the state of FLorida and the 7th largest freshwater lake in the United States. Thinking of little Lake Enola in Orlando I assumed there would be some scenic places to get sunset shots. Since I do not know the area at all I was left with just driving around to try to find someplace, a park or preserve or recreation area.

Because of the direction that I approached the lake from I found myself on the southern end. Along this the southern edge of the lake, the wetlands built up the layers of peat rapidly enough (reaching 4-to-4.3-metre (13 to 14.1 ft) thick) to form a dam, until the lake overflowed into the Everglades. At its capacity, the lake holds 1 trillion gallons of water and is the headwaters of the Everglades. But tonight with sunset approaching I wasn’t having much luck.

I followed one side road to a boat ramp. Although the road led up a steep embankment before dipping back down to a parking lot, there wasn’t much to see here. I kept seeing signs for trail heads but I couldn’t find a way to get to the trails. The guide-book says The 30 m wide (100 foot) dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee is a part of the Florida Trail, a 2,250 km (1,400-mile) long trail that is a National Scenic Trail. There is a well-maintained paved pathway along the majority of the perimeter. It is used by hikers and bicyclists, and is wide enough to accommodate authorized vehicles.

I didn’t find it. Eventually I headed back to the hotel to pack and prepare to leave in the morning. Although my flight wasn’t until 12:45 I was meeting my cousin at Lester’s Diner for breakfast and there’s no telling how much we’d get talking. I haven’t seen the Florida branch of the family in a long time so we had a lot of catching up to do.