A Farewell to Florida

Figgy in Key West, December 29, 2012.

Tomorrow it's goodbye to the Keys. Wonder if we three will ever return again--together or separately.....I know, that is kind of a morbid thought somehow....but I'm grateful for this family vacation, for these two fellow travelers, quirks and all....we're getting up close to 5 A.M. and driving about 2.5 hours to Miami, returning the rental car, going through security, etc.....11:05 A.M. flight back to NY.

Today, Figgy and I went to the Dolphin Research Center.......we saw dolphins showboating, flipping and screaming for fish from their trainers, sea lions diving leisurely in and out of the water. Looks like a nice, calm life--but then I remembered that the animals work hard there.....people pay extra to swim with them, paint with them, etc.

Fig has always loved animals, whether a squishy slug moving along in Eastham on Cape Cod or a beached [dead] seal that we studied up close in Wellfleet. Dad always watched "Animal Planet" with her; he loved animals, too. But really, I guess, given the chance, what kids don't like nature and animals? Am I wrong? At any age, nature--her forests, seas, ponds, mountains, blooms, nests, shells--is soothing and magical.

Aside from that, we pretty much just loafed. It is cold and breezy for Florida--a windy 66 degrees today. I have to confess--as I told Sis on the phone--that I'm getting tired of so much rich restaurant food. That's the benefit of renting a condo and getting to cook. Coconut shrimp, fried oysters, conch stew, lobster quesadilla, grilled shrimp, lobster roll...between the three of us, we've had them all at least once.

I get depressed when a vacation is about to end, and that is happening today. But I'm about to pull about my notebook and make some new goals for 2013, including writing down healthy family dinner ideas. That will make me feel better.

Good night, and thank you for listening.

TCOY

1. Good tooth care.
2. After a week off, I am back recording food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com.