Tampa, FL

Before leaving for Tampa, we stopped at Anna Maria Point to walk on the beach.


Pirate was a bit reluctant to leave, but we assured her that she would have cats to play with in Tampa.


Our first stop was the University of Tampa where I went to college. These minarets (and 8-10 more) are found on top of Plant Hall, the oldest building on campus.


After dropping Pirate off at Brian and Brad's house, we went out to eat at Grass Roots. Unfortunately, they decided to chop a months worth of onions while we were eating. All of our eyes were watering throughout the entire meal.


All vegan food with lots of raw options.


The next day we went to some outdoor markets to get fresh veggies for our dinner. This lady was opening coconuts to drink.


Rebecca and Brian enjoying a refreshing beverage.




The Taco Bus was awesome. All sorts of goodies and vegan steak for your tacos! This place will be featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on the Food Network in March.


Brian and I got manly and built two benches for their back deck.


Veggies for grilling.


Got to see some kids that I haven't seen in years.


On Sunday morning after I got my butt kicked in basketball by Andy and Chris, I met Brian, Brad and Rebecca at a Thai Temple (Wat Mongkolratanaram) that serves brunch on Sundays.


I can't remember what these were, but Brian loves them.


Later that day we went to the Lowry Park Zoo. While not the biggest zoo, it has everything you want to see and can be done in less than 2 hours.


First we feed the lorikeets.


Then the giraffes.


Then the.....oh boy, get a room kids.


This wallaby had a little one in her pouch, but I was never fast enough to get it on film.


Game night while watching the Oscars. Matt gets excited when we play Ticket To Ride.


When my grandparents lived in Florida, they would take me here every time I visited them. It is a power plant that takes in the cool ocean water and pumps out warm water. The manatees love to come there and hang out.


I've seen well over 50 manatees in this lagoon at one time, but today we only saw a few.


These guys were just leaving when we got there.


The visitors center has a Hurricane Simulator. Rebecca was a brave volunteer.


Manatees move really fast and bounce off of boats in this game.


We wrapped up our stay with a walk along Bayshore Blvd., the longest continuous sidewalk in the world. It is over 4.5 miles long.

Bradenton, FL

On our way down to the Tampa Bay area, we stopped at a vegan restaurant that we ate at a few years ago. Ethos is in Orlando and everything on the menu is vegan. One of the employees has the largest E.T. collection outside of Universal Studios. There are a few plastic figures spread out around the place.


Sheep's Pie for Rebecca and Chickun Marsala for me.


We arrived in Bradenton, Florida that night to stay with Rebecca's father. Bradenton is between Tampa and Sarasota on the gulf coast. On Saturday I woke up early and went to the Sarasota Farmer's Market.


Great market with live music, food vendors, and art for sale.


Found this guy on our van one morning. He stayed there as we drove to the pool to swim some laps.


Rebecca's dad had kayaks and an outrigger ready to go. We went out paddling 3 out of 5 days.


This beauty is an outrigger. I've never seen one up close before this trip.




While on the water we saw bald eagles, kestrels, an osprey, ibis, and many other flying creatures.



We are now in Tampa visiting friends. Photos from Tampa will be posted sometime next week.

Charleston, SC

With our van packed and ready...we hit the road.


Gear underneath and bed on top. We have 4 inches of memory foam to sleep on and just enough room undereath for our clothes, backpacking gear, climbing gear, skateboards, food, pirate's stuff, and a few other random things.




The first stop on our trip was Charleston, SC where Rebecca's mom, step-dad, and youngest sister, Katie, live.


The weather was sunny but a bit chilly, so Pirate got to break in her new fleece. Tucker's black fur was enough to keep him warm.






The day after we arrived Katie had off from work, so we planned an epic day. First, we took Pirate, Tucker, and a friend's dog, Mable, to this little beach area near downtown so they could run and play.


Tucker is an expert hole digger.




Next, we went to James Island where there is a park with an outdoor climbing wall. The wall is about 70 feet tall, which is about double the height we are used to climbing at the Chapel Hill Community Center.


Here is Rebecca warming up on something easy.




The girls went to "Bottles 'n Brushes" on Wednesday night. You get to drink wine and someone shows you how to paint a different scene or object each night. Their night was a sunset marsh scene.

Next we are off to the Bradenton/Tampa area of Florida to stay with Rebecca's dad and see some of my college friends.

Now I Want To Give Away What I've Taken Back

Walking the dogs.




Pirate got a hair cut.


This is Kyra aka Kyra Dog, Monkey, or Doggins.


In preparation for our trip, we bought Pirate a fleece to keep her warm when we take her backpacking. She wasn't too sure about it at first.


Now she loves it.


Building the loft for our trip.




Rebecca had to test it out to make sure it didn't collapse.


Sleeping stuff up top, gear underneath. We leave in a few days!