Version 2.0

Since our trip to the Bahamas is over, we are back and with a new look! This is version 2.0

Road Hazard is parked a mile from Bradenton Beach with sunshine all around. This is in contrast to the hard wind and rain that descended on us early this morning. This entire area had been under Severe Wind Advisories all last night in preparation of the storm that has affected most of the east coast today. Let me settle into my lazy boy as I bring you up to speed on the happenings from the last few days.

First of all I would like to congratulate my friends at CDR for coming up with the most creative answer to the Trivia Picture that I posted. If you remember it was of a sign that hung over a bar in Marsh Harbor. It had the letters IITYWYBTHAD. Please see their answer on the comment for March 16th. The correct answer is:

If I Tell You Will You Buy The House A Drink?

When the bartender told me, my initial reaction was...NO. I don't need to know that bad. Oh wait, I get it.

This past Monday we spent the entire day on Sanibel Island. If you have never been there it is a very beautiful beach. We always heard that Sanibel Island is the "Shell Capital of the World". Well, now I know why. When you are walking on the beach you see nothing but shells of every shape, size and color. Piles of them are washed up along the shore.

The island is mostly residential with only a few strip malls where you can find several restaurants and shops. There are bike paths everywhere so it is a very pedestrian/bike friendly island. After one and a half days on the island we felt that we had seen everything. The light house on the southern end is a beautiful spot to explore. If you enjoy Kite surfing this seems to be a popular location.

Monday night took us to a restaurant called "Jackaranda" because we heard that the live entertainment was something you had to see to believe. My old co-worker, Stuart, and his family from Maryland are in Sanibel Island for the week to get away from the cold weather. It was perfect timing to spend some time with them. They had been telling us about this two person band that would be playing at Jackaranda that night. These two polish performers sing, play the electric piano, flute and electric violin. The best part is when Paul would play his flute while he walked around the bar. Having been told of his habits before hand it was easy for me to "nudge" him over our way and play his flute for the ladies.

You can tell by Suzie's reaction that they really enjoyed this. Of course there are a few more pictures of Paul playing in their face, literally. We closed the bar down that night and had a great time catching up, drinking some cold adult beverages and watching the entertainment. Nothing like listening to a good Lionel Richie song with a polish accent.

The next day was a little rough to get up and started but it was well worth the headache and dry mouth. Nothing like driving 60 feet of metal down the highway at 65 mph with a hangover. I don't recommend it. We are planning one more night out with Stuart and Suzie in Sarasota. They are stopping there for the weekend on their drive home.

We are now in Cortez for a week and look forward to exploring this area. The island has more activity and the views are just as incredible as anywhere on the west coast of Florida. On our morning exercise we had to stop and watch these dolphins swimming around the bridge that connects Cortez to Bradenton Beach. They were feeding on small fish and would toss these fish around like a cat plays with a ball of yarn. Amazing to watch. I will download a short video of them playing, tomorrow.

The day has turned into a beautiful afternoon so I will leave you until tomorrow.