The American Polica Motorcycle Museum

The American Polica Motorcycle Museum
The American Police Motorcyle Museum in Meredith, NH is a great place! Interactive exhibits for kids, plus a 1929 Indian Scout that's great for photo ops!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

A silver water dish for Maggie!

After our morning "dog park", Steve and Noreen got inspired to take their dinghy from the marina over to yet another waterfront restaurant.  They went by sea (bayside) and we went by land and met at "88" a very nicely done spot with beach, restaurant and pier (http://www.marker88.info/). You guesses it, it's right at Mile Marker 88. We had heard that they were dog friendly and sure enough, Maggie's saw two pals from the dog park already enjoying the afternoon sun--a toy poodle named Tigger and a lively pug.

Outdoor pet-friendly dining at 88---nice !





Maggie sips ice water from a silver dish--not bad!










Steve and Noreen head for thier home marina in their trusty dinghy after the best Key Lime Pie in the keys--so far anyway.


And now it's time for a nap before Ted and Lucy arrive.

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Hungry Tarpon (or Pelican?) and Founders Park






Yesterday we started out for a day-trip to Key West...alas, we only got as far as The Hungry Tarpon Restaurant (http://www.hungrytarpon.com/) at Robbie's Marina (http://www.robbies.com/) in Islamorada--not far from where Steve and Noreen have their boat. Aside from the Caribbean-inspired food and cooking classes (sadly filled for this month), the big draw is the tarpon-feeding station out on the dock. It was a bit cold for tarpon drama (the 100-pound fish leaping out of the water to grab chum-like fish dangled by brave souls), but a fellow was trying to lure them up from the warmer depths anyway. The pelicans seemed to know they didn't have much competition and crowed around for leftovers.  Maggie thought this was great fun and had Bud not had her on a short leash, she would have landed in the drink! The pelicans were a hoot--shooing them off the dock only made them try to squeeze through the fencing--but the holes were too small. hence the silly video above.


This morning we met Steve and Noreen at Cafe Cubano (MM 91.8, oceanside) to sample their advertized "Cuban Coffee."  It was truly a treat--steamed milk and fresh-pressed espresso, so sweet you don't need sugar.  We haven't had coffee like that since San Juan.  Breakfast was good--highlighted by their Cuban toast, fresh Cuban bread (not quite a French baguette and not quite crusty Italian--it's own unique style) buttered and grilled. Yum!

We're finding that we're becoming addicted to the Dog Park at Founders Park in Islamorada (Founders Park Website). It's part of a lovely waterfront complex that includes a marina, a beach, tennis, courts, swimming pools and a great jogging/workout circuit (ok...we walk it!).  But the very best thing is the Dog Park--it's very well thought out with a double-gated entrance, a separate yard for small dogs, a kiddie-pool and watering station and several poop-bag/trash stations. There seem to be groups of regulars--early morning, mid-morning (our favorite), afternoon and evening. The owners sit around and chat, welcome newcomers, and trade dog stories as well as tips on the the best dog-friendly places to eat. Maggie runs and jumps with her new pals while we chat in the shade with our new friends--then it's home for a nap.  Not bad!




Midge with her "doodles" (Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle cross), Lucy and Roxie--Maggie's special pals!








Noreen has made friends with Lady, a Springer that looks so much like her late Lucy. Noreen would take Lady home in heartbeat, I think.









The Dog Park is also a great place to connect with "pros" like professional pet nanny Carol Trump (305 664-0539).  Lady is one of Carol's regular charges, and after watching her care-taking style for the past two weeks, she'll be the one we'll call when we need a sitter for Maggie.






Lady clearly loves her nanny, Carol!


Time to think about urgent items like happy hour, supper..getting ready for more friends arriving from the snowy New Hampshire tomorrow. At least the weather has turned warm and sunny for them, poor things!








Thursday, January 13, 2011

Wind, wind and more wind!


We have been watching the news on the snow storm hitting New England...CNN is reporting 22" in Concord, NH and Jess just texted that they got almost 2' in Waitsfield, VT.  Wow...we are hoping people will send us pix!

Meantime we've had our own weather situation.  The strong wind that came up yesterday lasted throughout the day and into this morning--the video above is from 8:30 AM this morning. Bud barely rescued the chairs and table from the end of the dock--they were ready to go right in the drink! This gave us a chance to really kick back--cold, windy, no sun.  We found a local movie theatre and took in True Grit (great movie, but a bit of tear-jerker for us animal lovers at the end), then just ordered out pizza and sat in for the evening.

The wind is still here, but the sun has come out.  Wahoo! Perhaps we'll try an expedition to the south in search of trinkets, windy beaches and fun places for lunch.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Crane Point, South Florida Agriculture and a Casino

It's blustery and chilly today (ok...68 or so).  A good day for doing puzzles and hanging out inside.  But Monday and Tuesday were superb--high 70's to low 80's and bright sun! 

Monday we took our excursion to Crane Point...a preseve set up on property owned by the Crane family of Massachusetts after they bought the 64-acre tract in the 1950's. We are wondering if this is the same family of Crane's beach near Ipswich, Mass. It was a lovely walk--a little over a mile to make the loop past the Adderly House and out to the point.



The Adderly House was built in 1903 by a Bahamian who farmed Florida Bay sponges and also preached.  This was before roads. Everything was done by small skiffs and sailboats--even the 50 mile trip to Key west to sell the sponges.










Bud and Maggie explore Crane Point. The preserve also has an injured wild bird infirmary--an interesting outdoor arrangement of large contained areas for pelicans, hawks and other birds recuperating from injuries (mostly a result of contact with with humans).





Next order of the day was...happy hour!  A local woman recommended Sparky's Landing (http://www.sparkyslanding.com/) at Key Colony. It turned out to be great--25c shrimp and wings for happy hour, the best price we have found. And very dog friendly--they brought Maggie her own bowl of ice water!

Yesterday was so calm and foggy--they ended up closing some of the highways just north of us due to limited visibility. This is at the same time highways up way up were closed due to snow and ice--go figure!

We decided to pop Maggie in the car and go north for a ride through Homestead and the farmlands to the east of the Everglades. Turned out to be interesting--mile after mile of farms.  Everything from avacados, mangos and other fruits and veggies to nurseries raising all kinds of landscaping plants.  One nursery had huge 30' palms trees in pots--row after row.  We figure they are headed for Vegas-style resorts somewhere.

Just north of Alligator Alley we happened upon a casino (ok...we were sort of headed there!), the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center (http://www.miccosukee.com/). They have a large poker room and several rooms of slots, including a few that do keno--but the keno has extremely bad payouts.  Nothing like Foxwoods or Vegas. Nevertheless, I put $2 in to try it--and hit a $20 payout on the last 50c! Enough to fund our next happy hour.

When we got home the bay was still flat calm.  Perfect for relaxing with a book on the dock or exploring the water's edge.


Maggie browses for something interesting on our beach.


Does it get much more relaxing?




Monday, January 10, 2011

Eating and drinking and drinking and eating!

It's been a whole week since we arrived in Tavernier, and we are very gradually devovling into living life at a slower pace. Morning wake-up has changed from 5:45 AM to, well...whenever!  Mostly 8-9 AM. We have made excursions to the very excellent Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (www.keylargo.org/visitor.) for brochures, maps and general advice.  And after discussion over cocktails and coffee we've developed a list of things we would like to do. Some are very healthy, like today's choice of walking through the Crane Point Hammock Nature Trails (http://www.cranepoint.net/).  Some are less so--like figuring which sports bar offers best food/beer prices and atmosphere for watching the Patriots & Jets playoff game on Sunday.

Happy hour on the Happy Ours!














We had heard that retirements (even faux ones, like ours) often center around food. Where to go for happy hour...where's the best sunset dining...what to cook on the grill...should we forego lunch and have a snazzy dinner? This, I am a bit chagrined to say, is totally 100%  true--at least so far. It is very clear that we will have to structure exercise into our lives and look at our winter months not as "anything goes" vacations, but more of a measured lifestyle.

And so we exercise Maggie, take her to the incredible dog park at Founder's Park in Islamorada and work in brisk walks. Still, conversation at the dog park often revolves around the best dog-friendly restaurants. Over the weeked we ate at the Pilot House up in Key Largo (http://www.pilothousemarina.com/). We were surprised when then hostess led us through the whole retaurant with Maggie in tow and settled us on an enclosed adjoining deck. No one batted an eye and Maggie was the hit of our section! (nary a bark or anything but polite behavior, by the way). The dog park people have recommended the Outback in Marathon for it's oceanfront beach dining (not exactly like the one in Concord, NH!) and a place called the Islamorada Fish Company as well.  Both are on our list and we'll let you know how it turns out.

Maggie checks out the appetizers!




Meantime, we tried happy our on our own dock last night.  Timed properly, we catch a stunning sunset and watch pelicans skimming the water while we (you guessed it) eat and drink!