Florida Notes--Thursday 13

1. You will notice that there are lots of small dogs being walked.  They are dressed nicely.  I saw four little dogs with flowered sun-visors riding in a baby stroller.  I do wish I had gotten a picture!  It is as if you were in a circus, but then you are in some ways, aren't you?  They are small because the condos and apartments have a weight limit on pets that can live with you.  Although one afternoon I did see a standard poodle the size of a Shetland pony with fur like a big shag rug.
2. The Central Gulf Coast of Florida is very white bread.  All rich old people.  Where do all the others hide?  If you see a minority person they are usually Latino and waiting on your table.
3. Walking down the street in St. Petersburg toward the art museum you pass real estate office, jewelry store, coffee shop, real estate office, jewelry store, coffee shop, etc.  This is why I would not fit in here.  No hardware stores, used book shops, or coop grocery stores where they sell that chunky granola.  They did have a Chihuly art gallery, where you can buy something breakable for a small fortune.
4. The few times I saw a child walking by I had to stop and stare as if it was some beautiful rare bird.
5. Weather has been mostly jacket and sweater weather the days we have been here further south in Sarasota, but happily it was not the 8F degree weather with wind chill that we missed at home.  I kept everyone up north in my thoughts while I was unhappy I had not brought more turtlenecks.
6. I am getting my fill of some of the water birds.  Dreading the photos to sort when I get home.
7. I had dinner with my next door neighbors who happened to be staying near us.  They have purchased a beautiful condo on the ground floor downtown.  It has a postage stamp yard for their cat. Yes, they have lots of money.  We went to an art fair and dinner with them, something we never do at home where they live next door.
8.  Some people do not know when to stop with the self-indulgence...see photo below.

 (Yes, now with the added photo the 13 numbering is off, but I cannot seem to fix the HTML coding.  It does add up to 13.)

1.  I did see a gopher tortoise in the Florida shrubs sunning himself about 30 pounds and I was told that it was not common to see that.  I had never seen one before, but he headed down into his hole the minute he saw me raise my camera.
2. I am beginning to think all the angry white people live in the Miami area, because everyone I have encountered here on the West Coast is friendly and laid back and I remember some rather nasty folks in the southeast years ago.
3. We are half way into our vacation and I have not gotten a single good beach sunset.  Weather or other things do not cooperate, but I really had no photographic agenda anyway.
4. A tri-colored heron perched on the side of the canoe we had tied to the dock here, and pooped into the boat, and I took that as a welcome to the tropics sign.  I will post on my other blog when we return.
5. Yesterday was an all day canoe ride over some slightly choppy water between the mangrove islands with a rather cool wind.  At least the sun was shining and I think I got too much of that.   Doing the Ringling Brothers museums today.