Rusty Tours St Petersburg

The day started as one might expect.  

 I left the hotel room to load the car. Rusty has some separation anxiety still.

We have found a couple of Asian restaurants we like in St Petersburg. So, rather uncharacteristically we went back to pay them another visit. The sandwich shop also sells Boba Tea which is now rather less fashionable among non Asian people but I still like tapioca. I went all in and had the Durian version. My wife, less adventurous and smarter had soursop. I have to say Durian tea was a  bit rough honestly as the pungent aroma of rotten onions and vinegar wa sin my nose and the sweet custard flavor was in my mouth. My wife said my breath smelled of rotten eggs for some time. Not my best food choice of the day. And her soursop tasted sweeter.

We walked Rusty downtown and he did quite well in public. He's getting better on the leash staying directed, he responds to his name and he does okay around people, mostly. He still shys away from loud people or people dressed in bright colors(!).

The Vinoy Basin where I lived for a  summer in 1989 I think. I was at anchor here and eventually moved into the marina next door when using the dinghy to get to the car to get to work got tedious. Summers on the west coast get really wet and thundery.

These kids were bent over their phones in the waterfront park, but they may have been listening to the live music coming from the yacht club.

 Rusty got freaked out and started pointing...yes that black and white dot was a dog on the opposite side of the street minding his own business. That's how freaked out he was while living as a  stray. 

 Danger passed he got back into normal dog mode.

 Segway Tour. They looked really weird to me, like clockwork ducks or something.

I like not having squirrels in the Keys. Rusty restrained himself and didn't pull my arm out of it's socket. He's a terrible coward, ready to chase small stuff yet quaking at the sight of a large dog miles away.

 Shakespeare in the park would be nice. We just saw the set under cloudy skies.

We went for dim sum, a meal we cannot find in Key West and listened to the conversation at the snowbird table next door where they discussed boating misadventures, broken engines and storms and so forth. Which turned out to be entertaining as service was not fast.

The picture on the wall reminded me of the Top Gear motorcycle adventure in Vietnam where they ended their epic journey converting their motorcycles into boats to reach the houseboat finish line. And that's all I know.

 Hot tea and rice cakes waiting for the main event.

 The dumplings were okay, shrimp and peanut was different, but the fried calamari...

 ...were surprisingly large balls of deep fried chunks of quite tough squid. The eggplant was oddly flavorless and the ribs were just okay. It was an odd meal but every now and again things don't quite go one hundred percent. I guess it was an off day as the previous visit was excellent and we will try again. 

 I was reminded outside the hotel that I was no longer in the Florida Keys:

 I got beaten up once in St Peterburg delivering pizza decades ago. They threatened to stab me but I went at them with the pizza box, my only weapon. Luckily the customer had ordered a large which made a useful foil but I took a fist to the eye and the delivery had to be aborted. I felt bad for the mother stuck at home wanting a treat. I prefer life south of the Big City.

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Rusty Goes North

Spring Break means a week off for my teacher wife. With some slight adjustments to my schedule I too had much of a week off so that meant - road trip! Alligator Alley at dusk:

We stopped at the Miccosukee Service area for their clean bathrooms and a romp for a small brown dog who has slept in perfect order on the back seat of the car. The bench I created was barely enough for Cheyenne but three Rustys would fit.

Rusty loves running in the wilderness and I like walking him there. He ran and romped, at home in the field. It was a joy to watch him.

Then he came back to the car to wait for his elderly plodding guardians.

He has learned to stand by the trunk if he is thirsty. That's where his (Cheyenne's) waterbowl lives.

He seems to enjoy traveling. And sleeping on our bed with us.

More wilderness. More happy Rusty.

He is a different dog and he is learning fast. He travels well and now he is no longer afraid of elevators. Other dogs worry him, doors are a puzzle but elevators are now his domain. Good boy. And no, he doesn't seem to feel the heat and therefore he doesn't sit in puddles. Double good dog.

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Big Pine Key South Street

It's a dirt road off Key Deer Boulevard near the baseball diamond, but it has a name and they call it South Street. I have no idea why, it's not particularly north  or south of any landmark that I can see. Cheyenne used to like it, and Rusty likes it a lot.

A cold front yesterday made it an ideal day to let the Carolina Dog loose on the trail. He had a restrained good time. 

Rusty spent some time in the bushes and while he did I stood around shivering slightly and taking pictures of random woodsy things.

It's been raining a bit and the puddles filled. Rusty got thirsty but he is reluctant to drink found water, much less lay down in it which is okay by me as a muddy dog is a pain in the car. 

 Oyster shells and Bud Light cans, indicate the woodsmen have been living large in the shrubbery.

 Sea grape leaves about toe shed:

 South Street in the Eden Pines neighborhood of Big Pine Key.

 Nothing escapes Rusty's eye.

He had two bowls of clean water back at the car. We went home and I warmed up with tea.

Higgs Lane 2008

In 2008 I used an actual digital camera to take pictures as my little cell phone couldn't do the job, even had I wanted it to. I fought the advent of smart phones as long as I could and then gave in and have enjoyed my phone as multi purpose tool ever since.

Higgs Lane

Higgs is name inextricably intertwined with the city of Key West. There is of course Higgs beach and Ervin Higgs is running for re-election as Monroe County Property Appraiser, and in my essay on the cemetery I included a picture of this long established family' plot. And last, but certainly not least there is a delightful city right of way bearing the family name:Higgs Lane is on Elizabeth Street between Eaton and Caroline, and should not be confused with nearby Donkey Milk Lane:At least I'm pretty sure this is Donkey Milk Lane because there was no sign to that effect though I'm guessing there aren't many drunk tourists who could resist the urge to decorate their homes with such a sign. I have drunk horse milk and found it unpleasantly sweet; on the subject of donkey's milk I have no opinion.

Back to the subject in hand, Higgs Lane is a classic dead end in the key West style, all white wood and abundant greenery:And peeking through the trees one can see the backside of the immortal Federal Building on Simonton Street, huge and lumpen dominating everything. I guess it must be a quiet neighbor at least:Higgs Lane gives neighbors the opportunity for peaceful sunlit reflection if they are lucky enough have an upstairs deck:Others have a rather more, how can I say?- eclectic taste in home decor:While others who have the bad luck to have to go Up North for the summer have to button up their homes in case of hurricane while they are gone:Back out on Elizabeth Street I spotted the Christian Science Reading room which would have done nicely for a little variety on my recent essay on churches. Anyway here it isIn my younger days I found these reading rooms to be pleasant places to check out the Christian Science Monitor, a fine newspaper (whose radio service I used to report for occasionally many years ago even though I am not a Christian Scientist nor would I ever be- I love my doctor!- in the interests of proper disclosure). It's worth reading from time to time for a different perspective. Actually the Reading Room looks typically funky Keys from the outside. And as Istood on the sidewalk contemplating my pictures from Higgs Lane a French couple swung by and there he was, at it again on the phone:Is this how modern couples share a pleasant walk together? I prefer the company of my Canon to that of my Nokia.