Tropical Storm Andrea

A relatively weak tropical storm is pushing into Florida.  Right now it's calm, but we had some heavy rain and wind this afternoon.  We can expect a lot of rain and gusty winds, but nothing too severe according to weather forecasters.  A plus is that the temperatures have lowered into the low seventies.

Florida 2013

Greetings from the Sunshine State!  

Unfortunately, stormy weather has moved into Clermont, FL (suburban Orlando) as you can see in this picture of Eduardo and Christine's backyard. We've had plenty of sunshine and heat over the past couple of weeks, though.  We are house and pet sitting for a couple of our friends.  They are in Europe on their honeymoon.

Here are the babies we are taking care of.  

The cat, Oliver, is a charming purr machine.  He gets along surprisingly well with the dog, Basil, a precocious dachshund/beagle mix.  Their favorite activity is to go out in the backyard together after nightfall to hunt lizards and roaches.  (No fear that they will overhunt the backyard; it teams with both prey animals.)

In the foreground is the house in which we are actually staying, viewed from the back.  We spend a good deal of time sitting in the lanai area, especially in the morning and evening when temps are most moderate.  In the background, you can see a neighbor's house, which gives you an idea of what the front of this house looks like.  

Scott and I spent the first part of our state interviewing for jobs in Gainesville and Pensacola.  While the leads were promising, we didn't get the jobs.  We are weighing our options, and I'm continuing to look for work.  Interviews aside, the trip has been be really refreshing.  Here are some picture:

On our way down, our hotel happened to be in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  This unusual, baron stone hill sticks out peculiarly over the surrounding land, and you can remarkably see downtown Atlanta from the top.

It was quite a longish hike to the summit, although not too steep.

We kept our tourism confined to walking on the nature trails.  Other attractions in the area are a Confederate memorial carving on the other side of the mountain and some sort of odd amusement park.  An unsavory part of the local history is that the Klan "revival" started there in the early twentieth century.  Fortunately, the black community seems to be getting the last laugh; the area has become an affluent African-American suburb of Atlanta.

After getting down to Florida, we had a bit of time of time to settle in and visit with the newlyweds, Christine and Eduardo.  A highlight of our first few days in town was eating at a Spanish restaurant in Orlando.  I'm a huge fan of Spanish cuisine, particularly paella, and I got to practice my underutilized Spanish with Eduardo.  I'm sure they're having a blast in Italy and Greece.

Also, in our first few days, we visited Disney.  We had a good time, but honestly, go to Universal if you make it to Orlando.  My favorite area of Disney was the world tour (I'm forgetting its exact name) at Epcot.  Scott, who has a streak of Peter Pan in him, loves the Tower of Terror.  We both enjoyed the Safari at the Animal Kingdom, although I swear the ostrich was getting ready to peck me In the head.

Getting fatter.

The park is full of hedges shaped like cartoon characters.

Tea Garden.

English cottage.

Safari.

Everest.

Hard to see, but live gibbons climbing around a Jungle Book type ruins.

Back at the house, we've been relaxing, caring for the pets and lawn, reading, watching movies, and getting some sun.

We also went to Cape Canaveral which is a short drive from Orlando.

Yep, that is the robot from Lost in Space!

There are great bike trails that run near Christine and Eduardo's, too.  We use them all the time for runs and walks.  They pass through orange groves, pastures with cows and horses under palm trees, and lush tropical vegetation.   I'll need to bring a camera on a walk before we go to get more of the landscape.  Here's some animals we've come across on the trails.

I have a few more pictures to put up, but I'll add them later.  Before I go, I want thank Christine and Eduardo for thinking of us to come down here.  We are glad to be able to help out our friends, and at the same time, get paid to go on a Florida vacation.  Not often you get that chance!