Day 16, Farewell To Florida

I'm still in the habit of waking up early because of the dogs. So I'm up and now I'm just waiting for Ash to get up so we can pack the rest of our things in the car. Once we do we'll be on our way back home to Mississippi. I don't imagine the trip will be any more exciting than the one down here, but you never know.

Day 7, Sarasota Again

Saturday morning was spent watching cartoons, eating leftover pizza and chilling with the Prima Dogas. For the afternoon, We decided to return to Saint Armand's Circle in Sarasota. After making sure the dogs had gone potty before we left, we set out. We arrived at the circle and proceded to walk around. This time we went inside stores. One was a gallery and displayed paintings and glass sculptures. We also went into a store filled with characature paintins and shirts. Ash needed a new swimsuit, so we spent a lot of time in a beachwear store. I got a straw fedora. The afternoon just whittled away. We walked, sat, ate Gelato, we didn't eat lunch.
Upon returning to the house we found paper towels strewn ove the whole house. But it wasn't so bad. That night Ashley and I had Turkey with potatoes, green beans and brown rice. Yum. As we ate we watched The Producers, and Ash told me that tomorrow we were going to the Pier. I couldn't wait.

Day 5, A Day At The Beach

We were rudely awakened early in the morning by barking dogs. Now that their owners were gone, Ash and I were responsible for feeding a taking the dogs to do their business. And fortunately (or unfortunately) Tony and Reba had gotten the dogs used to a schedule. They are fed and go potty around 7 in the morning, and again around 6 at night. They also need to be taken out every so often to piddle. So Ash and I did our duty, we had leftovers for lunch and we decided to go to the beach that afternoon.
The beach wasn't far away. But I didn't have any sun lotion, and I wasn't going to use Ash's. See, I am trying to get a tan, Ash is not. Once we were ready, we drove out to the beach.
The sun was out, the waves were gently crashing against the white sand beach. There weren't many people the on the beach at 2. We set up beach chairs and headed straight for the water.
"It's COLD!" Ashley exclaimed as she dipped her toes in the incoming surf. She wouldn't go in, but I dove head first into the waves and swam out about 45-50 yards and back. It was a very gradual slope. Even that far out I could stand with my shoulders above the water. At the time, I didn't notice, but the tide was receding. Eventually I convinced Ash to go out into the water. At first she wouldn't let go of my arm. After a few minutes splashing around she began to swim like a fish and didn't need my arm any longer. We swam around for a while as the tide gradually lowered. We took a break out on the beach and Ash proceded to bury my legs in sand with a maniacal laugh. That laugh continued as she realized the sand was sticking to my leg hair. After some sunbathing, We got back into the water and swam around for a bit longer. It was fun; even with the salt water crashing into ou eyes and mouths.
We eventually had our fill of the beach and returned to the house. I suppose we were a bit naive, but truthfully we hadn't even thought about it. Mainly because we had no reason to think about it. We had left the dogs alone for around 2 hours - which Tony had said was fine, In fact he said they could be left alone for 4-5 hours without problems, which means he had to have done that before. My guess is NO HE HEAS NOT. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to see.
Upon returning to the house we saw both dogs sitting at the front door. Upon further investigation we discovered that they had destroyed a bag of dog treats, a bunch of bananas, and papers strewn all over the place. Towels were everywhere as well. After cleaning the mess, we decided to get groceries so that I could cook dinner. Again we were gone over an hour - more stuff was destroyed while we were gone. Again we had to clean up,
I made chicken with the seasonings we got from the Spice shop served on top of fetuccini in my homemade Alfredo sauce, and Ash made a delicious salad.
We were sure that the younger more rambunxious dog was responsible for the mess, until the older one barfed up banana. Aha, the evidence. Now we know they both made the mess. We weathered our first day alone with the dogs, but we still weren't prepared for what they had in store for us.

A Fortnight In Cortez

My name is Eric. Myself and my fiancee, Ashley will be spending a few weeks in Cortez, Florida. While there we will be house sitting for Ashley's co-worker's relatives and dog sitting as well. We will also try to relax in the beautiful Florida weather, have adventures and spend some romantic time together watching the sunsets and exploring the landscape. This blog is so that I may chronicle this journey and recount it to all those who are interested. I will also be talking more about myself, Ashley, our families, our lives, and any other random thought that occurs during this trip. I hope all who read this blog enjoy it as much as I will enjoy presenting it.