Bad Day to be a Fish

 Hangin' on the sandbar , this Great Blue Heron spotted a fish in the water

 So did the pelican

 The heron squawked and pouffed its crown, and off the pelican went..

 The fish proved to be quite a challenge

 It escaped several times

 And took some gymnastics

 A long fight

 Finally, it was dinnertime.

Conflicted

One of the greatest bargains on the island is our Fishing Club. With a membership you get use of a gorgeous pier, plus access to a bait box full of shrimp for bait.

Hmmm… hard to decide.. gross or fascinating? 

 Gross

 Or maybe not. 

 Are you sure, Dad?

 Convince me.

 Well, maybe.

 Nope. Changed my mind.

 I'll just observe, if you don't mind.

 But fishin' with Dad sure is fun!

 Yep. Just a great day.

Practicing on Fred

 Just got my Canon 100-400 lens back from the factory, clean and shiny, and functional, at least on the short end

Fred was hanging on the deck watching the pelicans, and enjoying the breeze. Later he was treated to a 10 minute visit to the Dog Park.  

Now, let's just hope life gets back to normal!

Merry Christmas to me!

There I was, just crossing the Causeway, when what to my surprise should appear???

I slammed on my brakes, pulled onto the grass, and snapped away with my little pocket camera from inside the car….

A beautiful, healthy Bald Eagle just steps from last year's nest!! Odds are that this is the same Eagle returning to some of the best real estate in Florida.

Hey, THE DONALD, The rad 80's called, and they're glad you enjoy them

Here we go again-- another visit to the Pritikin Longevity Center and Torture Chamber

At this point, I know what to expect, so the NO salt, NO fat, NO sugar diet isn't quite as difficult to stomach. Plus, I have a workaround with a coffeemaker in my room. Complete with sugar and half and half. 

Activity-wise, I've taken an aquatics class in a nice warm, outdoor pool; had a stress test (the 88 year old man with me went at least 4 times as long); a lecture on nutrition, a cooking class, a yoga class, and another aquatics class on the schedule for this afternoon. And in the last 48 hours I've had 10 meals.

I've also eaten at least ten pounds of vegetables. maybe 5 of fruit and 2 of oatmeal. No bread here, except salt and fat free-- not something you'd like to eat unless you're a fan of cardboard.

Now, onto the rad rooms. They make me want to put my hair in a side ponytail and wear a thong leotard to aerobics- no pain, on gain!!

The Donald purchased this resort, which houses the famed Blue Monster Golf Course, out of bankruptcy 2 years ago.

Evidently, he's not quite gotten to the awesome rooms, featuring:

brass fauceted WET BAR!!

 Cool brass makeup mirror, and look at the radical mirror!! (NOT!)

 View from my room, yep- first things first. Redo the golf course.

 One of my favorite features is having a corded wall phone right next to the toilet. What will they think of next????

Oh, and the shower/ whirlpool tub?? To die for…..  And, of course all bathrooms need a bidet-- crusty brass faucet-thingy not shown.

Well, at least The Donald has higher standards of housekeeping than the previous owners. The fiberglass tub is sparkling clean.

And , it's pretty quiet, so I'll take that.

The Day After Thanksgiving

 The aptly named Sunset Room is a great place for a Single Serving Substitute

 It was a lovely evening - those lights out in the distance are in fact a sand renourishment barge

 Followed by a great meal on the Gulf front patio, and great company. Nice.