Treasure Island Florida

A long over-due vacation to the sunshine state for Holly and I was just what the doctor ordered! We had a great time staying on Treasure Island just off the St. Peters burg coast. We hauled the motorcycle down in the back of the pick-up and then scootered around all over the string of islands up and down the coast. The trip down to Fort DeSoto Island (a Florida State Park) was just awesome. We dove for sand dollars and went shelling. We stopped at Billy's Stonecrab resturaunt in Terra Verde, which had a bar built on the roof with a panoramic view of the beach and boat marina.

John's pass was a good time with all of it's shops and historic restaurants which feature fresh caught grouper from that day. VFW 4256 was located right on John's Pass, near the boardwalk. We spent some time there before or after dinner a few nights. Our hotel room was located right on the beach, with a view of the beach out our window.

We also went a boat which took us out to a small coral reef in which we snorkeled. Holly snorkeled too, until a stingray swam at her splashing out of the water, she was done! The boat took us to Egmont Key, which is another protected Island by the state of Florida, where we did more shelling and saw a huge turtle-I think it was a lagger-head but not sure.

My softball team wraps up the season this week at VFW 9630. We didn't do so well, but we sure did have a lot of fun! This vacation was a great way to usher in the end of summer. As my golf and softball leagues end, I feel some relief for more, much needed free time!

Keep visiting, I'll continue to keep you posted....

Summertime 2010

It's been a while since I've been on here and to be honest, with all the Facebook buzz now, I nearly forgot! We've been enjoying the summer so far. We put in a garden and a pool, had several cookouts, campfires and been riding the bike. Most of all though, we've been able to spend some really good times with friends and family. As for the pictures, we spent an evening at the DAV, I went fishing (didn't get a bite) and we cooked out some pork chops on the open fire pit. Bullet watches as I prepare the garden for sewing seeds. Holly loves the riding mower, it makes cutting grass so much easier (she says the mower still needs a drink holder!). George & I both fish the Little Miami River as Holly snaps a picture from the bank above. Bill O'brien, Tom, Nell & Cindy hang out with us on the patio. I will be posting more blogs here in the future. I will get a picture of our pool and also update the progress of our garden too! Hope you had a happy 4th of July and you were able to spend it with family and loved ones. Until next time, stay cool!

Ft. Ancient trip...

It was a beautiful day for a ride out to Fort Ancient state park. We stopped at the ole Fort Ancient Trading Post. This place is full of antiques, civil war relics, American Indian artifacts, fossils and much more. I described the place as the "American Pickers" paradise. This is the epitome of the saying 'One man's junk is another man's treasure'. We didn't buy much, some rock candy and a soda pop, but enjoyed looking at all of the stuff.

After stopping at the trading post, we stopped at the Train Stop Bar just outside of Morrow located on the bank of the Little Miami River. We had lunch and a few drinks, relaxing lazily on the patio overlooking the river. There were bicycles out everywhere along the Little Miami bike trail, people getting their daily exercise. The day was beautiful, warm in the 70's. It really gives me spring fever looking forward to riding all summer long....

VFW Karaoke

When the weather is bad and everyone has cabin fever, we play cards, pool and Karaoke! Karaoke at the VFW has been a hoot, bringing together old friends and new friends. On Saturday nights until spring, the VFW holds Karaoke. Anyone can sing, some annoying the ears of others. Fun was had by all, the beer was flowing and people laughing. Every Monday a pool tournament 6:55pm, Eukre tournament every Wednesday at 7:00pm...

Oh, and Bullet is getting bigger!

Wildwood Inn getaway

A trip to Wildwood Inn this week for Holly and I was a much needed stress reliever. We celebrated Valentines Day, Holly's Birthday and our Anniversary all at the same time. I was recently hired on full time at my work and Holly has been putting in a lot of hours at the restaurant, so we decided that we deserved this little getaway. We stayed in the Kentucky Cave room at the Wildwood Inn-yahoo! We had our own hot tub in the room and there was a pool and a larger hot tub in the glass dome for all of the guests. We ate in the room the first night. I ran out for Thai food across the street as a snow storm blew through town and dropped 8 inches of snow. It was nice relaxing in the cave, no windows and it was as dark as a real cave with all of the lights out. We went to Mugabee's bar & grill on the last night, a good biker bar that we both like. The food there was really good.

After returning home, the street plows had caused a snow bank in front of our driveway and I got stuck in it in the car! I had to use the truck to pull myself out! Holly and I had a wonderful time together during our time off and plan to go on a real vacation this summer, to a beach somewhere!! Haha! Thanks y'all...

Christmas 2009

Top picture is Becky & Brians house on Christmas Eve. Aaron waves as Drew and Papa Flinn relax. Guy, Me and Holly are ready to dig in! Bridgette gets attention from her Grandma and Holly dresses up for her- LOL. Mitch gets a new calendar at Paw & Nanny's. Bullet wants a bone for Christmas (Santa brought one for him :) and Bogey sports a bracelet.

Christmas with all of the families was fun and more relaxing this year. Last year Holly and I spent Christmas at six different homes, not even including our own home! Christmas last year seemed like more work than fun. Christmas Day is supposed to be a time we relax with family and enjoy each other's company, but now it seems all we do is spend a couple of hours here and a few hours there dashing from one side of the city to the other. This year was a little different. I had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We still dashed about after I got off of work, but it wasn't an all day dash like last year.

It is fun to give and receive. I get a thrill out of watching someone open their gift from me and the intrigue of trying to figure out what a gift may be before opening it captures my imagination. Spending time at Becky & Brians (Bridgette & Brady too :), Guy's grandparents (Paw & Nanny:), and at my parents was as special as every other year. But the most precious time I had was exchanging gifts with Holly and Guy at our home. This was my first Christmas with my own family and being married - and that really meant a lot to me. 2009 was a very tight year financially for Holly & I, but 2010 is looking to be better. In my times of need, my family was there for me. There is no better entity on earth than God and family. Thank you all for being there and have a Happy 2010...

2009 VFW Anniversary Dance

The 2009 VFW Anniversary dance was a good time. There was lots of food, including ham, roast beef all the fixin's and a big cake for dessert. There were some individuals, very deserving of the awards in which they received...member of the year- good job Josh (picture above) (and thanks for the help in raising money for the Ride For Bridgette)! Non member of the year- Jimmy H has been very instrumental in helping with every event, he darn near lives there! LOL...George, the commander, was inducted into the VFW 9630 Hall of Fame...

The band played classic rock all night and the beer flowed from the spouts. The little boy, Randy, in the video was boogie'in all night. He was awarded the most patriotic person and was the youngest of all the award winners! haha! The night after, Sunday Nov.15, was the VFW annual chili cook-off. John, owner of Ethel's Tavern, won first place out of ten pots of chili. The Bengals won against Pittsburgh which topped off the entire weekend- not to mention UC. Looks like football fever is back in Cincinnati and it feels good! Thanks, until next time, happy Thanksgiving and God bless...

Thursday, December 31st, New Years Eve party/dance at the VFW if anyone is interested. $5 admission, bring your own booze or buy from the bar...