Keepin' Busy…..

What have Sparky and Eldo been up to lately?

A boat parade in Sarasota….Always hard to get a good photo at night, but there were a lot of wonderful light displays on a wide variety of boats from little ones to big yachts. It's been an annual tradition for the past 28 years….

Sparky has been subbing in the schools a couple days a week…The most fun last week was first grade, with a heated discussion that popped up as we were writing letters to Santa. One little guy started a tempest with the comment, "Santa Claus isn't real." WHOA, little buddy! Not so fast! Sparky didn't even get a chance to deliver her "defense of Santa" speech before the rest of the class pounced, hollering, "Yes, he is!" All Ms. Sparks, a.k.a. "Miss Sparkles" (as some little ones call her) could do was quickly change the subject and try to get the class moving in a different direction. She did…. Whew!

The farmer's market in Sarasota on Saturday mornings…..There's always a LOT of entertainment going on…You never know what you might see at the market. This week we saw a guy playing the Australian instrument, the didgeridoo….The sound this instrument makes is VERY cool!

Sparky always likes to see the big Java coffee truck station. Even though she doesn't drink Java (Coke is her morning beverage), she really likes the smell of coffee!

There is so much organic produce and amazing products and stuff to eat for serious foodies (like Sparky), that we never get tired of going to the market. Crepes, Italian bakery delights, teas and coffees, plants, hormone and antibiotic free meats, crafts, and lots of other stuff are there for everyone's enjoyment. Eldy has bought a Vitamix for us and we are starting to make veggie/fruit smoothies, something new for us and a little more of a healthy breakfast than what we normally eat. So we'll be visiting the Saturday morning market more often now….

We visited a Total Wine store for the first time…Interesting place! The colors and shapes of the bottles captivated Sparky along with the names.

We met up with Vick and Pam Matthews, of Travelin' in the Big EZ….They are in Cortez for the winter, so we hope to see them several times! Always great fun, and we met them at one of our favorite  music venues, Ocean Blues, to see a great powerhouse female vocalist, whose name Sparky has temporarily forgotten at the moment.

Sparky's been riding her bike at least a couple times a week averaging about ten miles each time in the neighborhood which might as well be considered a bird sanctuary with the number of birds that fish in each residential pond and marsh. There are a lot of buffering wetlands between the housing developments so that really ensures good bird watching just about every time. Sparky got off her bike on the latest ride to watch a snowy egret, an ibis, and a great blue heron fish. She sat down and snapped a few. Nothing too special happening, so she decided to get back on her bike. All of a sudden, the blue heron snapped up a fish, spread its wings and headed towards Sparky! WHOA! Sparky grabbed the camera and managed to get a couple of shots in as the heron landed practically at her feet with the feet and proceeded to gulp it down! Awesome! Patience paid off! And luck, as the action happened so fast, Sparky wasn't sure she even captured anything on camera. It was truly just a "point and shoot" moment and she got lucky!

And that's it for now…See you later…Eldo has a big surprise for Sparky for Christmas this year…The next time you read us, you'll hear all about it!

Shark's Teeth and Sharky's

Sarasota, FL     High:  81    Low:  65

We're back to the really warm temperatures again...That's ok as long as the beach is nearby, there's a pool or something to keep cool! Sparky and Eldy headed to Caspersen and Venice Beach this afternoon to look for shark's teeth again. That's supposed to be a couple of the best places to find them in the area.

What Sparky WISHES she could find!

If you are REALLY lucky, or have diving or snorkeling gear, you can go further out the shore line and perhaps find a MEGALODON tooth... a prehistoric shark's tooth. They are BIG, REALLY big teeth.

courtesy of the web

Here's an idea of just how big the ancestors of today's sharks were....

courtesy of the web

It would be nice to find a regular shark's tooh, just one, but for some reason, Sparky was not able to find one today. She didn't have a strainer or special gadget net to help sift the sand. There's only so long you can stoop over and over without your back bothering you without using one of those long handled sifter/rakes everybody uses. Here's a newer design called the Susick Sea Shell Sifter. Say THAT ten times really fast! Maybe Sparky will get one for next year when we come back next December. Twenty-two bucks isn't too bad, but there are cheaper ones out there. Sparky would like to find some sea glass as well as shark's teeth. Sea glass is getting harder and harder to find according to local shops that sell jewelry pieces made from it.

After an afternoon of sea shell, shark's teeth hunting, it's customary to head to Sharky's on the Pier, the only restaurant on a pier in Venice, FL. We were in for a special treat today...We met Pam and Vic Matthews, fellow bloggers that write Travelin' in the Big EZ at Sharky's for supper.

view of the Venice pier from Sharky's on the Pier

Sharky's has great atmosphere as it's right on the beach. They are in the middle of expanding the restaurant so it's a little congested at the moment and restroom facilities are not quite up to snuff. But you can check out the menu here:
                                    Sharkey's menu

Pam and Vic also have a Phaeton, so we traded stories about all kinds of mishaps, adventures, silly stuff and important stuff like tips on dealing with the things on our rigs. We hit it off with them right off the bat, and it wasn't long before Eldy and Vic were talking baseball and making plans to get together soon to attend some spring training games. Pam and Sparky have LOTS in common, both being outgoing, chatty, retired teachers and both like to kayak. Eldy and Vic couldn't get a word in edgewise between the gals, so they had to turn to sports to get their own conversation in.  :-)

Vic and Eldy

And here we are, having a GREAT time!

Pam, Eldy, Sparky, and Vic

We really enjoyed meeting them and hope to spend some time with them again before we both head out in different directions in April....Thanks for driving to meet us, guys!