I tried sniffing coke once, but the ice cubes got stuck in my nose.

Kristen, the girl from whom I had met when I bought my theater chairs, and I went to the ICE! exhibit today. It was supposed to be a surprise, but it was guessed before we even got there. I had first attended last year and enjoyed it enough to return, so even though it was a long day trip, it was kind of nice and enjoyable. The sculptures were well made and seeing this kind of makes me want to attend the Harbin Ice Festival some year.

A person who isn't making waves isn't paddling hard enough.

Yesterday I finally got the chance to do the paddling trip that I had been planning. I kept intending to paddle to Egmont Key State Park from Fort De Soto, but something often got in the way. Last time I actually had the kayak loaded and traveled south, however I had to meet up with someone later in Bradenton to look at, and subsequently purchase, some home theater chairs for the new set up in the den. this time, I finally made it to Ft. De Soto and parked near the fishing pier. After carrying the stuff to the water it didn't take too long to paddle the 1.8-2 miles to the key. Sure, taking the passenger ferry would have been easier and faster, but since when has anyone ever known me to do something like that?

Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge was more expansive and interesting than I had initially thought. Egmont Key has a unique natural and cultural history, including a lighthouse that has stood since 1858. During the 19th century, the island served as a camp for captured Seminoles at the end of the Third Seminole War and was later occupied by the Union Navy during the Civil War. In 1898, as the Spanish - American War threatened, Fort Dade was built on the island and remained active until 1923. Though almost all of the buildings were gone, the 8 miles or so of brick road and sidewalks remained. They offered an eerie feeling at times as the road would often just disappear into the overgrowth. The well on the 'old well' trail was never found, but there were several interesting aspects; gopher turtle, old sidewalks, and even an old tennis court. There were a few seemingly huge logs around that were trip hazards, but overall it was a great experience. Before heading off there was a little bit of time to locate a geocache and relax for a while on the beach and enjoy some cookies, fruit, and some quite excellent homemade sandwiches (who needs Subway?). There was still a bit of time before dark to check out Fort De Soto on the mainland once everything was packed up. With the cool breeze, lovely view, and recent memories of the day, to me it added up to a perfect experience!

I had a really incredible time hanging out with Kristen and even though the crossing was a bit further and more rough than I had expected, I think she had a good time as well. We had an awesome walk around the island and some memorable experiences and I even got her introduced a bit to geocaching when we found a hidden cache along one of the trails. She really is a wonderful person and I am so very much looking forward to getting to know her.




This picture above is a panoramic picture stitched from a series of pictures taken at the intersection of two brick roads. It looks as if four roads are converging on a single point in relation to the viewers stance, however it is indeed a 360 degree view. The first road is looking west towards the Gulf of Mexico, the second road is looking north, third looking east towards Tampa Bay, and the last is looking south.

I hope Santa brings me that mistletoe belt I asked for!

This evening I went to Ybor with some friends for the annual Santa Pub Crawl. We met at my friend Michelle's place and walked down to the strip. Outside of hashing, I really hadn't attended many events like this, so it was great to meet a lot of different people. I dressed up as the Christmas Pleasure Fairy and was one of the finalists in the costume contest, however was beat out by a hot recreation of Cindy Lou Who.

Dream it at home, be it in the theaters.

I went to De Soto National Monument today in Bradenton to check out the park and get a stamp. I had not been here previously and enjoyed walking around some of the trails. Originally I had intended to do some kayaking from the park to just putz around, but instead went to check out some theater chairs that I had seen advertised in Craig's List. I wasn't sure if I would get them, but took the trailer just in case. After seeing them I decide to purchase them and got them loaded up into the trailer. The girl selling them was extremely nice and we were able to chat for a while. after everything was tied down, I actually got the nerve to ask her to dinner that evening; so she lead me to a sushi place where we talked for a long while. Hopefully we'll have a chance to hang out again sometime soon. The chairs are set up in the den and look pretty nice. Funny how fate can work things out.