Wow, it's been a while since I've written a blog post, but I wanted to give my new website a spin! (BTW, how do you like it? For one thing, it won't crash anymore when I sent people to it!)
Anyway, at the beginning of November we hopped on a plane to head down over to Florida where we usually escape to every winter and early Spring. However, we hadn't been down there in two years! In fact, it was to be our first real trip since the start of the pandemic!
It was a welcomed change from what was becoming a rather monotonous life at home. After all, I was born to seek adventure, and I still need to instill that sense into Daphne!
In fairness, we actually did quite a few local getaways in exploring our own province this past year that were really fun (remember the tiny house we visited? Or our RV trip?) - but I was still craving something more!.
And when Daphne starts getting bored from the same ol' birdies in the window, you know it's time to go somewhere new...
In fact, as content as I am with the routine at home, Mum and Dad almost start to feel bad for me when I'm not out on the road. It's what I've done for so much of my life, and I truly do love new experiences - like checking out a new hotel room, sniffing new smells, picking up a new exotic stick, or walking a new trail...
Those things make me happy.
So it was time to live again! So we packed up our bags and stayed at a hotel near the airport on the night before our departure.
For some reason, hotels always bring out my squeaky side.
I guess I was just showing how happy I was to be on the move again!
Mum and Dad were slightly concerned how Daphne would do on the flight, since her first and only trip on a plane (which was also to Florida) was two years ago when she was a rather young puppy.
But with me setting such an impeccable example, she did well in her carry bag next to me under the seats in front.
When we arrived, Daphne didn't have any bumbum explosions on the airport floor this time, which was a welcome relief (geez, that was embarrassing last time).
And perhaps it's just me getting older, but BOY did I have to pee!
I could barely wait to take a step off the concrete, and then it was all guns-a-blazin' (well, only one gun, but you get it).
We were to stay at our usual spot on the Gulf coast, about an hour north of Tampa.
Our weather back home in Canada had already been turning dreary, with wet, windy, and chilly conditions coming in - so hitting the hot, humid Florida sunshine was my priority #1.
(Who would believe that this puppy face is 12 years old?!)
And I also didn't waste a second in picking up a Florida stick to show Mum and Dad for approval!
BTW, if you watched my live birthday party back in October you might have seen, but my fan and group mod Maria Escobar gifted me this awesome glass chest with "Crusoe's Sticks" sketched on it, where Mum and Dad are collecting all the sticks that I pick up!
Cute, huh?
For the first part of our Florida trip, we didn't get up to too many crazy adventures; it was mostly just our 'usual' stuff of fishing, casual strolls, and suntanning, but we did go orange picking for the first time!
I happily led our small family expedition through the orchard as if it were some intrepid expedition through the Ecuadorian jungle (hey, I've been eager to do some exploring, so let me have this!)
The danger I was looking for was quickly dampened when Dad pulled out the outfits for a photo shoot time.
But hey, posin' for some cookies is also our forte!
...And so is the diggin'.
Daphne was just helping them get a head start on the next planting holes...
And here was a few pics from our fishing outings so far. Daphne doesn't mind fishing, but she still doesn't get as into it as I do!
So if Daphne's not going to try to bite that fish's face off, well then I guess I'll have to try to!
It is pretty remarkable how I can go from sweet, lovable dachshund, to ferocious, snarling, bite-yo-face-off monster when a fishy comes wrigglin' out of the water!
Not from Florida, but here's my "fish face" when Dad was holding up a bass!
Enough to scare a rottweiler right out of his spiked collar, I know...
Anyway, being back in Florida and getting a taste of these little activities was making us crave something more once again!
But to be honest, it was also that the girls wanting something of a "beach vacation" instead of always the "fishing boat".
So, we decided to rent a cute beach house in Vero Beach for a few days!
I'll continue that in Part 2, but as a teaser, Daphne finally saw a more interesting birdie! Here she is gawking at this big "storkybird" right on the road!
Now that's an interesting birdie!
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we visit Vero Beach!
Keep ballin',
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