Mahuffer - Wurst Place on the Beech!

Adventures in Florida. Sigh. In March, hubby and I went to visit his parents in Indian Shores, FL. Because most of the community is filled up with snowbirds (those that spend the summer in Canada, and the winter in Florida), hubby and I were looking for something to do in the evening. This particular evening, we struck out on our own to find some entertainment. This bar was just down the street from our resort.

We had heard tales of this place from some of hubby's other relatives who had ventured inside earlier in the week. I must say, from the "disgusted" description his aunt gave, I wasn't really looking forward to it. Hubby, however, was very excited so we ventured inside.

Hubby took this photo of me by surprise. I believe I was trying to wink and drink at the same time. He has such a good eye for catching me at exactly the worst point to take a photo. Anyways. Back to the bar. As you can see, there are bra's, panties, and other undergarments from various generations of tourists, most of them Canadian. If you added up all the money that had been stapled to the wall and signed by visitors, the owners of the bar could probably retire.

Hubby thought that this was much more interesting than Disney's magic kingdom. While I am prancing around trying not clothesline myself on hanging bra-straps, hubby is pointing excitedly to various articles of clothing and announcing things like "OMG - did you see the size of that thong?" Whist I am focusing on looking for somewhere to stand where I won't contract a major disease, and for the love of God - NOT touch anything, hubby is getting two more beers from the bartender so we can stay LONGER. I must say, after the second beer, I was feeling much more at ease, the place didn't really seem so bad, plus it was raining outside. Who wants to walk in the rain when you can study archaeological items such as garter belts from 1955?

There were 2 dogs like this one lying on various bits of furniture and mingling with the customers. In Canada this would be illegal (something about health code violations or disease control), but in the good ole US of A, all is well. This dog was cute and rather friendly, but like the rest of the bar, needed some hygienic attention.

All in all, it was an experience I'm glad I had... and no - I did not staple my bra to the wall. I thought briefly about leaving a sock, but didn't have any on.

Vacation on a Budget

Like most of the rest of the world, we are a little short on cash at the moment. We are comfortable, but unfortunately the spend, spend, spend lifestyle we used to love is a thing of the past. Every year, I have the first 2 weeks of July off. Usually I would go up North to cottage-country and spend a blissful fortnight in the comforts of my childhood, but alas, this year we had to stay closer to home... very close to home... and while camping in the driveway was an option, I can't imagine sleeping on those little pointy stones. So instead, we came up with in-expensive day trips. I HAD SO MUCH FUN! We had Hubbys son for half of the time.

• Travel to a nearby beach on Lake Erie. Beautiful sand, freezing cold water, and lots of sunshine. Cost: 1 kite for $1.25, and $5 in gas. We had so much fun we went back for the next 2 days!
• Walked to a local festival. It was Ribfest, but due to the fact that we are watching what we eat, we opted to have dinner at home (plus it was within walking distance! Score!). Cost: $5 for an all day pass for the kids play zone - which consisted of giant inflatable bouncy attractions. The little munchkin could not get enough of these, and asked to go back after supper for some more fun! There was lots to see and local musical talent. Free admission.
• Went to the Wednesday market! I've never been able to go, as I'm always working or out of town, it was FANTASTIC. Basically like a giant flea market, with home baked goods, local artists, and crafts.
• Cleaned up the gardens and the front porch. Now I have a little paradise to relax in after work. It's beautiful. Hubby will make some new flower boxes for me next week. Cost: $20 in mulch (badly needed!)
• Read 2 complete novels on my newly cleaned front porch. I can't tell you what a luxury it was to have time to read. Cost: Free!
• Took the munchkin to see Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Cost: $30. It was a good movie, I'm a sucker for cartoons.
• Watched the entire first season of the show Dexter during the nights with hubby. If you haven't seen it, you should! Cost: Free.
• Visited the driving range (my god my golf swing is GONE). Had a lot of laughs, mostly at my expense. More fun in the sun. Cost: $9 for 2 large buckets of balls.

We did lots of crafts with the munchkin, and went to see him play baseball, (he was sooo cute) I'll try to post a pic later, but my camara is dead at the moment). I came back to work feeling relaxed and refreshed, without the stress that accompanies a long trip. It was wonderful. A vacation with all the comforts of home! Plus, I have a great tan.

Escape

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed today, and needed an escape. This is a view from the cottage we rented last summer on Crowe Lake in Marmora Ontario. Having grown up in cottage country, I miss it terribly. Especially with the coming of spring.

My mother lives just down the road from this cottage. My summers as a child were filled with days of swimming, rock-climbing, and jumping out of haylofts into piles of golden, yellow straw. Falling asleep to the sound of the crickets chirping, and the frogs singing. As children we would make up adventure stories about buried treasure at the bottom of the river and spend all day searching for it. The most I ever found was a nickel and an old shoe.

I don't know if we'll be able to get back up North this summer, but I shall certainly dream about it. Where there's a will there's a way.