Mother's Day

I'm back from vacation :) Had a wonderful time! Got some really great hiking in the first day at Torreya SP (About 5 or 6 hours worth) and spent the rest of the days doing more relaxing strolls, sunbathing, and checking out Apalachicola during which we checked out some art galleries. I picked up a piece of folk art at Artemis Gallery by Lois Swoboda. She's an entomologist/artist/reporter and all are reflected in her works.

While browsing art it really hit me that I should be creating on a regular basis. I love getting my hands dirty w/ paint or pastels. I am challenged by living in such a small space and taking care of such curious animals. However, I went and bought 3 panels today. I am ready to work. I am doing a piece for mother's day. What is really sick is that I asked my mother what she would like, hypothetically. Her answer was my number 1 option and I really wish I hadn't asked and had just done it. I am going to start on the painting of their house tomorrow, landscaping and all. I am not sure what angle I am going to choose as the front on is more classic but they do more living in the backyard which has more lush landscaping. Also unsure of my approach, stylistically speaking. I like very linear architectural pieces but I have a feeling she is thinking of a softer impressionistic painting in her head. We'll see what comes out- stay tuned :)

menu

I am about to head out to the grocery store. I know it's Fri night but I'm choosing to spend mine cleaning and cooking. I know if I go out I'll start drinking and I work tomorrow and also may have the tiniest touches of a cold that I don't want to exacerbate. This is how I will become a spinster, albeit a responsible one :p

On the menu:
Layered Caribbean Salad
Veggie Loaf
Mint chocolate pie

All three recipes are new and all three are vegan.either. I hope they turn out well :)
Thinking of taking the pie to work tomorrow. I'll be stuck there 12 hours, so...

Vacation

Just one more 12 hr shift standing in my way! I worked evenings last night and out of chaos came order. We had 2 call outs - our staff and a float nurse that was set up for OT. Last minute they found us a regular time float and one of our nurses that was to come in at midnight thought it was her 12 hr shift and showed up at 1930. It was a wonderful mistake!

On the camping front- I updated our 3rd nights stay from Grayton beach to St Joseph Peninsula on the account of some advice from my friend Melinda. She said the dunes at SJP (not the actress) are not to be missed! Also, it saves us a lot of drive time which will be nice and also will allow us some time to explore one of the parks off I-10, I am thinking FL caverns state park in Marianna. I do want to do some more out W in the panhandle but not just for a 1 night trip.

One thing I am not too happy with is that I woke up with sniffles. I am not sure whether to attribute this to the beginnings of a cold or that Benson slept in my face last night. I hate when he does that.

Geocaching

So as mentioned in my last post I have a bit of a geek streak in me when it comes to geocaching. This has only been exacerbated by my new Nexus One phone. Prior to having the phone application c.geo I was using a gps unit where I had to manually input all the cache data. My phone's app integrates your location to export ALL the info automatically right to your phone. It is completely paperless and so convenient!

I think part of the reason I took to this hobby so much is that 1- it takes me back to my childhood, 2- I like doing things outdoors in parks and 3- it gives you something to 'do' while out on trails.

I promised my friend Erin I would go walking with her today and I wasn't feeling Bayshore when we woke up late and would literally be baking in the sun the whole time. Instead I suggested Al Lopez- a nice park with some caches I haven't found.

We tried a couple caches in the park and one that we found had a trackable geocoin. Trackables are items you log on the site as having found and place, either yourself or by handing them off to other cachers, in different caches near or far. There is a site dedicated to each trackable where you can read about where it has been or its desired destination. The one I found is a fallen heroes coin in the memory of a PFC Michael M Carey. I am planning on dropping it off in the Panhandle next week.

Later on we headed over to a bird preserve over near Forest Hills and picked up a quick one there thanks to Erin's good eyes.

Please visit Geocaching.com for more info on this hobby and spread the word to those who might be interested!

Some pictures from the day. First two are at Al Lopez and the following four are from the preserve area.

 Didn't quite capture the perspective I wanted w/ these trees- they are really quite impressive in person.

(p.s. I am such a goof! I have been doing all the coding to this blog by hand and just now realized the 'compose' tab will do it for you!)

Late April NoFlo camping trip

SO later this month I am going on a short camping excursion with a good friend Kelly. Nothing too fancy, we will be staying at 3 different state parks by Tallahasse and along the panhandle gulf coast. This will be my first camping trip of the year and my first ever girls only camping trip. I am not opposed to more people attending but I am looking forward to it being just the two of us independent types just to say we can and did. :) I will leave out any actual photos of the parks because I will be posting my own soon enough.

First we will be departing Tampa on the 21st early in the morning to head out for Torreya state park. Here you can see an overview.

Our camping is situated along one of the bluffs and I picked a spot based on a book review that states there is an actual Torreya tree on the site's border.

The botany geek inside is very excited about this.

We will be doing lots of trail hiking here. I am excited because I think there will be some excellent photo ops as well as some good exercise to be had.

The next day we will head SW to St George Island

I have always wanted to go here but this is the campsite I am least excited about. The park was almost booked out- we got the last site for the night and I fear it's going to be nestled between two giant moving homes and with little privacy. However, with 9 miles of undeveloped coastline I am not looking to spend too much time at my campsite. Nearby Apalachicola will hopefully satisfy my craving for some cheap local seafood on the road. It's waters are supposed to be some of the cleanest and most producing in the nation. Hoping our drive back home takes us back through here so I can pick up some bags of Oysters for my friend Erin who is obsessed with them. (I'm not a fan).

Then we will head further West into the panhandle and stay the night at Grayton Beach.

I have a feeling this will be the most scenic. I mean we will have the gulf, the lake, all the coastal dunes, etc to help frame some excellent photos. I am hoping they have kayak rentals (need to do some research) so we can explore in some of the waterways. I really wish we were staying here two nights but alas, we are not. Originally in planning this trip the first stop was to be at a park in Gainesville and there was to beonly one coastal spot. We decided to shave some time off the trip and go for two nights on the coast but had already commited to here being our last night and unfortunately no sites available for the night prior. I read excellent reviews about the campgrounds but I have a feeling the beach itself is going to be packed.

I purchased a sunshade for the trip (and surely to get much use this summer and beyond!).
and it's supposed to be getting here today. BTW, if you're not familiar with Overstock, I highly recommend it. The prices are fair and the shipping rates are flat at 2.95 and oftentimes free for promotions. I have purchased many heavy items that I can't find around town without breaking the bank.

Another item I purchased for daily life but will definitely be coming in handy is a Nexus One!

I always intended to purchase a GPS when I got a new car and as it turned out I got a new car due to mine being stolen (r.i.p.). It was definitely nice to lay my '95 civic to rest but alas! My handheld garmin for camping and was also in my car. Ultimately did I want to buy 2 new gadgets or just incorporate them all into one? The answer was obv.

The phone will provide turn by turn assist and has a geocaching app among a billion other useful tools. It's expected to arrive tomorrow and I can't wait.

Later y'all :)