Thank Goodness for Heated Pools

We're heading back to the Northeast today; the return to frigid Boston winter is going to be slightly padded as it's been unusually cold here in Sarasota the last several days. 50 degrees and cloudy didn't stop Becky from swimming in the pool, and from dragging me in with her.I perfected my whale-in-the-water imitation and Phelps dolphin kick, and gave Bec some useful pointers for her freestyle-form. We went to Turtle Beach and collected some cool shells; we went to Lido Beach and sunned ourselves on a couple of the many available loungers out in front of Lido resort. There are a lot of birds to see here: herons, pipers, vultures, hawks, pelicans and terns [below]. There was a trip to Publix that turned dramatic when we watched the store manager restrain a shoplifter until police could arrive. We had some great pizza at Il Panificio (umm...twice, actually). We watched a bunch of DVDs and did movie/chinese for Jewish Christmas. We went on several jogs, one of which I got us hopelessly lost (It was dark! It all looks the same here! I didn't know the road was a loop!). We totally rocked several Times crosswords and took my Great Aunt Irene out for dinner and brunch. Today, we're going to stop by a manatee viewing center on our way up to Tampa.

I can't say it would've been nice had it stayed above 70 during the afternoons here, but we had a good time despite the chill. Now we're pretty thrilled to get back to Summer and Maggie, and take them with us snowshoeing in some Massachusetts woods!

Retiring to Florida

I'll be starting at Hunter at the end of January. Becky has just completed her first semester at NYU Nursing, but when you count all the science prerequisites she had to cram in beforehand, she's been in school for over a calendar year straight, with very few breaks. And so, we are taking two full weeks--count 'em TWO-- to hang in Gulf Coast winter's spring warmth. We don't have much of an itinerary beyond the pool and walking on the beach, with some trips to the movies, Super Target and thrift shops, when the weather isn't cooperative. I've had some quality ocean-hopping travels in the past, but as much as I'd love to go to Europe with Bec and run around from town to town, I think a slow-moving schedule with very few demands is the perfect vacation for us at the moment. Our family jokes about how when we're in Sarasota, it's wake up; have some coffee and fruit and figure out what we'll do for lunch; then pool; then have lunch and figure out what we'll do for dinner; then pool. Not bad, huh!