The Days Go Slowly By.....

It's been really difficult these past couple of months, being away from the kids at school. Subbing kept Sparky filled with a purpose and out of Eldo's hair for a bit. Sparky is not sure if schools will ever return to the same model, if subs are even going to be needed, or what that whole scenario is going to look like, when school resumes. BUT---we have our house on the market here in Bradenton, FL, and we are hoping, hoping, hoping, that the house will eventually sell, and we can get back to traveling full time in a motorhome, because we really, really miss it!

Last week was Teacher's Appreciation Week, a poignant time for many regular teachers missing their students, who are attempting to keep things going with the educational process at home with distance learning under great duress and exceptional circumstances...You wouldn't expect substitutes to be given a shout out, but Sparky's school honored their substitutes with a ding dong dash--a great sign and a little gift bag placed on the sidewalk...Awwww...one reason she loves her school she subs at so much!

In the meantime, we have worked hard at staying home with minimal trips to the grocery, wearing masks, washing our hands a bazillion times a day, and working on yard work and inside little jobs. Sparky has been crafting up a storm making cards for her shop, JeanBeanGifts on Etsy.

Card in a box

Eldy is researching, researching, researching motor homes, costs, and RV travel videos on YouTube. We'll be ready if the times comes! Things are looking better and better as campgrounds open back up. It will be awhile anyway, till we might be able to do anything, so fingers crossed!

We'll see if cards make a comeback now that people have to stay apart more and can't visit as much. Sparky has also been walking Celery Fields and "the Hill" in Sarasota, (the Audubon nature preserve) almost every day for three weeks, and has lost some weight, due to not eating out. Celery Fields gets a LOT of walkers and runners due to the challenging "Hill", 85 high, the highest point in Sarasota County. The high schoolers cross country teams come out and train there several times a week.

Gaillardia-blanket flower

Celery Fields, besides the acreage and many marshes where many migratory species and native Floridian birds hang out, has a nice little butterfly garden that attracts painted buntings, sparrows, cardinals and many other little birds to its bubbling bird bath and plant oasis garden where you can sit in a gazebo and bird watch. Lots of beautiful flowers planted there to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Now that the beaches are open...they first opened last week for a defined two hour stay only, then one week later, it's now back to regular times. Sparky and Eldo headed to Coquina Beach, to break up our daily stay at home routine, a welcome break for sure! 

Today, Thursday, the picnic areas under the shade of the pines were mostly empty, the beach--definitely not. There were quite a few sun worshippers, but they were spaced out and were following social distance guidelines. 

Sparky walked the beach for a bit.....

We stayed in the shade for about two hours, then headed back

home. It was a beautiful day! But LOTS of wind.....We always tell ourselves, "We need to come here more often!" And we will....

Bye for now......

Well, Hello Once Again!

Life really keeps us busy and time gets away from us....But every once in awhile, it's nice to get back to the blog to document our lives, and we always appreciate anyone who stops by to read.....What are Sparky and Eldo up to these days?


In November, Sparky's daughter and handsome little grandson came for a visit.....We went to Coquina Beach and he had a wonderful time! Coquina Beach is a nicer beach, in Sparky's humble opinion, than Siesta Key Beach. There is a lot of shade from Australian pines, and a shaded boardwalk that stretches for a couple of miles. You can walk or ride your bike from one end of the walk to the other and get some great exercise, or have a picnic at one of the many picnic tables along the boardwalk in the shade. There is a wonderful playground for kids, informational kiosks, and plenty of places to sit and watch boats come in and go out in the channel or you can fish along the shoreline.

Sparky took the kids to Marie Selby Gardens, in Sarasota. They have a fabulous rain forest garden for children. You can walk across a suspended wooden bridge and jiggle it as you walk to make anyone nervous that's trying to cross, (Grandma was naughty), you can play several different musical instruments as you travel through the kids' sections of the rainforest---marimba style, drums, and other percussion style instruments. There are cool sculptures for the kids to climb on. The gardens have fabulous displays, sometimes from guest artist exhibitions to holiday lights celebrations. The koi pond is cool with a waterfall and a special bell to ring that just beckons anyone walking by to ring it.

Sparky's favorite at the gardens is the huge tree--it's either some kind of fig or banyan tree, she can't remember....Grandson loved it, too....

And when not visiting the beaches or cool places, it was great to just rest and show Eldo how to play video games....

Got a lot more catching up to do, but right now, we gotta go......
See you again soon...we promise!

What's the Perfect Day in Florida?

For Sparky, visiting with family, laughing and sharing memories and experiences is probably at the top of her perfect day list. But her perfect day list is a BIG list! The perfect day for Sparky could be any number of additional things…kayaking out on in the gulf, making and creating something with her hands, riding her bike, seeing gators, seeing dolphins, visiting a farmer's market, tickling her toes in the sand, eating at a favorite restaurant,  gator watching at Myakka River State Park with Eldy, and let's not forget eating at the Gulf Gate Tiki Grill on Anna Maria Island.

But here's today's perfect day….For starters, not a cloud in the sky and zero percent chance of rain, and temps in the low sixties…PERFECT for a festival!

Off to Coquina Beach to park the car and ride the trolley to the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival 2014 this past weekend in the historic fishing village of Cortez, right there at Anna Maria Island. Check out the flea market/farmer's market along the shady sidewalk/boardwalk at Coquina Beach first. It was CHILLY at the beachfront! Coquina Beach is Eldo and Sparky's favorite beach, even more so than Siesta Key Beach because of the beautiful shaded boardwalk that runs for several miles along the beach. The sand is clean and white at Coquina, too...

Some cool stuff for sale…..Vintage signs….Some not so vintage, kinda cheeky….

Next, hop on the trolley bus to get to the JAM PACKED 32nd annual Cortez Fishing Festival, 2014. Cortez is a sleepy little village on Anna Maria Island where fishing is done on the water from sun up to sun down, and where generations of fishermen and women have been raised on the water. The town opens up to thousands of visitors for a weekend each February to celebrate it's fishing heritage. It costs 3.00 to get in, and you buy tickets for food and drink once you get inside. Seafood lover? It's all here--smoked mullet, crab, shrimp, alligator, grouper, everything you can think of….And, there are crafts, too. Most people in the village make their living from fishing or art, so both are well represented at the festival. About 25,000 people are expected to tour the village and it sure looked to us like half of them were there already when we visited this weekend. The money made at the festival benefits the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, a non profit  organization that promotes all things maritime--fishing, preservation, skills and marine resources.

With not a cloud in the sky and the cool temps, LOTS of people were there sampling all the fantastic seafood, pricey, but delicious! Not sure how much of the seafood is local, but there were plenty of options! Hard to find a seat to sit and eat, many people plunk down at the tables and then sit and people watch, making it hard to find a place to sit down and eat your food.

The smoked mullet was served in the skeleton of the fish!

Even the trash bins have an artsy vibe to them…

With Sparky's belly full from a great taco (Yep, she ate a TACO, folks, at a SEAFOOD FESTIVAL) But it was GOOD! And if you aren't a big seafood lover, there were plenty of other great offerings, like a huge dessert tent….

Time to head back to the trolley for the ride back to Coquina Beach to head for home….Taking a back way out of the traffic jam from the festival through Longboat Key, Sparky saw something out of the corner of her eye…."ELDY! STORKS AND SPOONBILLS!" And of course, Eldy, being the accommodating driver he always is, always stops the car if he can safely when Sparky gets excited about birds, gators or snakes or other wildlife, because he knows he'd BETTER STOP THE CAR or Sparky is going to be one unhappy woman if she can't get some photos….When Sparky thought the sun angle was wrong, Eldy even drove a ways and turned back around so Sparky could get out of the car and get a little closer for some better shots. Awwww….what a guy…..(Accumulating my brownie points any and every way I can, explains E.) He's got a LOT right now, but that could change, haha….

Not one, not two, but FIVE roseate spoonbills trying to keep warm next to some wood storks….JACKPOT! Here are some shots of a couple of them at a time...

Sparky was in seventh heaven at seeing these spoonbills, her favorite Florida bird….

Wow!….Another one flew in, but Sparky missed the landing…Unbelievably gorgeous when you see the fuschia underneath side of their beautiful, really BIG wingspans….The one that flew in chased a couple other spoonbills around for a few seconds, letting them know he had arrived and to make room.

A perfect ending to a perfect day……Sigh…….

"Better Fish to Fry"

Sarasota, FL       High:  69       Low:   41

Wanna see some "old Florida"?  One of the very remaining truly old Florida fishing villages? Cortez Village, FL is hosting the 31st annual commercial fishing festival this weekend, the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival. The village of Cortez is located on the northern edge of Sarasota Bay and is a little over an hour's drive from Sarasota.

It's a tiny little town, population about 4200 people, and about 11 blocks long. It's a gorgeous village with lots of history behind it. There's even a maritime museum right there at the village in the heart of the festival. The houses are small cottages with commercial boats and fishing gear in the yards. A couple blocks down is a number of fish houses where local fisherman sell their catches.

The serious fishermen who live in the village have the true workingman's spirit...They appreciate the simpler things in life. We didn't get to see much of the village today as the commercial fishing festival--"Better Fish to Fry" took over the town today and will again tomorrow. Not quite sure what the significance of the slogan is, but maybe they are trying to tell the festival goers that here is where the better fish is fried!? Not that anybody has better things to do than go to a seafood/fishing festival, right? The festival's proceeds (3.00 to get in) go to restoring and preserving wetlands and uplands just east of Cortez Village. Now THAT'S a great cause!

There was great live music today...The maritime museum is there, but we didn't visit it today....

Nautical arts and crafts.......Over 50 vendors.....Sparky LOVES crafts...and anything nautical...

And kitschy garden art.....

Children's activities...Just loved this little girl's painted cat face!

Environmental exhibits....

A touch tank for young and old.....Talks and more exhibits down at the docks.....Ew-w-w-w--w! Octopus! A delicacy to some, but not to Sparky! They look like mummified octopi to her!

Sparky thought these stone crab claws were COOL! But she wouldn't want to eat them....

And more seafood than you can imagine...TONS of fresh seafood from local vendors and suppliers.

They even had squid fries, we kid you not!

We think there were lots more food booths than arts and crafts booths today.....(It IS a commercial fishing festival, ya know, chimes in Eldo, not really a craft show.)

Sparky wanted to sit and sample lots of food, but people were not emptying the picnic tables after they were finished so you could sit down and eat!

No idea what kind of seafood this is!

About 25,000 people are expected to attend the festival..Parking is limited and fills up early..Best way to find a parking place is to drive to Coquina Beach in Bradenton on Anna Maria Island, and hop on the city bus and for $.60 for seniors (60 and up), ride the bus back into Cortez where they drop you off right at the park.  When you've eaten all the seafood you can eat, seen everything you wanted to see, hop back on the bus, and for another $.60, back to the beautiful Coquina Beach you go! Or, you can park at the G.T. Bray Park (5502 33rd Ave. Dr. W., Bradenton) Coquina Beach is absolutely beautiful...We're going to go back for a picnic lunch one of these days. Nice shady parking lot, a bike path to ride along the ocean...WOW!

Coquina Beach

We had a great time at the festival today.....Sparky got to eat after all, not at the festival, but at Anna Maria Oyster Bar on Cortez Rd. in Bradenton. EXCELLENT food and a lot of it for a very reasonable price! Eldy said it was the best fish he ever had!

Tomorrow, severe cold hits Sarasota...We'll probably stay inside to keep warm! For the adventurous and hardy souls, the Sarasota Art Fair is tomorrow as well as the Cortez Fishing Festival, both for the second day. Would you believe a high of 58 and a low of 36?  (Say it ain't so! says E.) Yep, but it won't last long...Monday, back up to 70 and a low of 52. But Sparky will LOVE the one day cold spell.....She'll probably go ride her bike some....See you later!