What can one put in a closet? Or a pocket?

It's been a really long time since I posted anything. Like going on 2 years, mainly because I just haven't had anything to write about.

I still don't, but I've been thinking.

When I was looking for an apartment many moons ago, searching through the many suburban St. Louis options, I found one that was just perfect. Perfect location, perfect size, perfect price. But while the property manager was showing me the place, she showed me the closet under the stairs. She discussed the benefits of this nice, large closet, and proceeded to tell me that I could use it for coats, or a bicycle, or golf clubs. "Or dead bodies?" I had wanted to say. I mean, it's a closet. What can I put in a closet? Whatever will fit in a closet, I suspect.

For Christmas last year, my wife bought me a really nice coat, but the pockets have these odd little labels. One has a headphone label, implying that it would be nice to put an mp3 player in this pocket, and one has a cell phone label. Sadly, the other 3 pockets are not labeled. So do I not put things in those pockets? Are they show pockets only? Why isn't there a little icon of a hand on the outside pockets? What if I put a cell phone in the mp3 pocket and an mp3 player in the cell phone pocket? What if my cell phone doubles as my mp3 player? I have an unusable pocket!

And finally, the other labeled item. I bought a carry-on bag for an overseas trip, and it, too has labels, explaining what I could possibly use one of the pockets for. The strange thing is, these labels make no sense, even beyond the coat. There are two labels. The first of a laptop computer. It is the only space into which a laptop would fit in the bag, so there really is no point. The other defies explanation entirely, since it is an icon of a candle and keys. Now I must admit, this is a suggestion that I hadn't thought of before. Mainly because I didn't realize candles were carry-on items. Or the benefits of having candles with me on a trip that needs luggage and not a backpack and hiking boots. I further would never considered putting a candle into this particular pocket, mainly because the candle would break the first time I picked up the bag. Nor did I ever think of putting keys in this pocket, because it is so long the key would become lodged in the bottom just out of finger-reach after the first walk through an airport. Yet the company spent money to do it. Someone designed the icon. I paid them to do it.

See, I told you I didn't have anything to write about!

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Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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Still Enjoying the Sun

Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida

Shannon took this picture. Just too good to not share.

On Monday, we went to the Air Force Armament Museum on Eglin Air Force Base. I really like learning about military history and about the different types of aircraft, so this was really fun for me. If only Sam didn't become cranky after too short of a time. We could have spent a lot longer, especially outside, but he just couldn't hack it.But that's okay. Inside was air conditioned. But chasing him around yelling "Copter!" every time he saw an airplane, and running to every airplane (and airplane model) was a bit tiring. The planes they had on display were very neat. Here is a link via google maps with an overhead picture.

Anyway, they have some great displays. There are many bombs on display, displays on automated weapons, air-to-air, aircraft, pilots. Really a lot of what you'd expect from a place called "Air Force Armament Museum".

Let's see. Later that night. . . or was it Sunday? I'm really confused about which day is which. This lack of routine is very, what, blissfully disorienting? Is that possible? I don't know, but I hope this isn't the last two week vacation I take. (It'll be quite a while before I do it again, that's for sure). Anyway, Later or Earlier I'm not too sure, we went out to eat at AJ's on the Destin Harbor. I have give it thumbs up all the way. I had something called "Run of the Kitchen" (where everything ran into batter and got deep fried). Very good, and the first time I've ever had oysters. It's a little bit expensive, but the value for what you paid is good.

Last night Shannon and I finally went to celebrate our anniversary. We went out to eat at a place called Old Bay Steamer. We had the Gulf Steamer for two, and I have nothing bad to say about it. Anywhere I go into where they play BB King gets an automatic nod for good, but the food here was just excellent, with a nice calm atmosphere. I had steamed oysters, steamed clams, and mussels for the first time. And it was the first time I have ever eaten shrimp that still had its head attached. An experience for sure. I highly recommend it to anyone coming to the area.

After supper, we went to Bass Pro Shop over in Destin. I just love that place. It isn't as good as the one in Springfield for sure, but still a neat place, with a pretty heavy emphasis on marine fishing, of course. I've heard a rumor that Cape is supposed to get one, but we'll see how that pans out. Bass Pro Shop is in a really neat shopping mall called Destin Commons. It's an outdoor mall, and is upscale (so I didn't do any shopping), but it's just a nice place to walk around and people watch. We got us some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, then headed back to the condo to make sure the kids were properly tucked into bed (with Shannon's mom watching them).

So today, this morning, the family headed down to the pool for a bit, then we had some lunch. I leveled my Mage (Level 52!) while Sam napped and Shannon and Erin went back to the pool.

Tonight was Great Fun. We all went to Destin Commons and as soon as we got there, Erin spotted the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Her face lit up, and we went. (We knew it was there and anticipated this moment, already planning on going). She was so excited! She went through and got her a bunny picked out, got it stuffed, gave it a bath, put clothes on it, and then we named it and created a birth certificate. She has been going on about it ever since, conjuring stories of how it came to be, where it lives (four televisions and an indoor pool in her house, which is a cardboard box and is "much bigger on the inside than it looks").

Sam enjoyed it as well. He picked out a monkey (named Nanas) then ran around the store trying to run the stuffing machine and trying to put the bear clothes on. He also had a great time.

After that, we went over to the fountains. It's this really neat fountain set up that shoots sprays of synchronized water and the kids (and some adults) can run around and play. Sam didn't do much with that, but he enjoyed running around in circles. Erin just dearly enjoyed every bit of that.

Shannon took this picture (just above) of the fountains tonight. We don't know anyone in the picture, but they're blurry anyway. I got a couple of short video clips (via digital camera) of Sam and Erin.

• Erin
• Erin and Sam
• Sam

And we ended our night with a few cheetos, some teeth brushing, and a quick couple of photographs of our new friends. I can't believe that it's only Tuesday, yet it's already August the 7th!

More Florida Trip

Day 8

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Sam being his normal ornery self. He just found a button on the helicopter that would make noise and is saying "Just a minute". At the Gulfarium.

So still, we've been here since last Saturday, and all is still well. On Wednesday, Shannon, Stephanie, and Sue took the kids to the Gulfarium. I wanted to go, too, but I had plans to go check out some fishing boats with Daniel, so I stayed at the condo, and played World of Warcraft. True, I could have been out in the sun, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Moreso than normal because I can look up from the screen at any moment and see the beautiful waters of the gulf. Anyway, I now have a level 50 human mage and level 25 drenai hunter. Sweet.

But back to the Gulfarium. We all went last year, and it was fun, but the kids were pretty cranky so it was not quite ideal. This year apparently the kids were pretty cranky so it was not quite ideal. The dolphin show and seal show were not as good as last year, and the entire place could use a serious makeover. It's 50 years old, and apart from several coats of paint, it looks as though not much has been done to update. (Well, the crocodile and bird part are pretty nice, I admit).

Erin and Anne Marie at the Gulfarium

So Daniel and I headed to Destin. We had lunch at McGuire's, a very interesting place. It's a pub with some good home brewed beer. I had their Irish Red and found it to be excellent, and the fish and chips were easily the best fish and chips I've ever had. (At least the fish was, the chips were better than normal). They also had an interesting feature, that people have signed dollar bills, and they hang them up, so the entire place is covered with dollar bills. They have over 500,000. Oh and I loved their restroom signs. I walked up to one that had a huge sign that said "MEN", but in smaller lettering around it, it said, "Absolutely no admittance MEN this is the ladies room." There was a similar sign on the men's room.

Just as we fineshed lunch, it started to POUR down rain. We had planned on walking around Destin harbor and checking out the boats, but chose against that. We ended up finding a charter service right off and signed up for a boat to leave at 6 am Thursday morning.

The fishing trip was GREAT. It was the first time I was able to catch a fish (I've been trying all summer at home), and it was the first time I've been out on the open water. Yeah, I threw up twice, but I still had fun.

The boat we went out on was the Knight Rider.

Me reeling in my first fish. I caught a cobia.

The final catch. We threw the Cobia and Shark back, these are all bonita and mackerel. Notice the half mackeral that got cut in half by a barricuda on its the way to the boat.

The crew at the end. I'm horrible with names, and I don't remember the names of the guys who went with us. I'm on the left, Doug is in the middle, and Daniel is on the right. The guy in the Lindbergh shirt lives in St. Louis and the other guy lives less than a mile from my house. It's a small world.

So Thursday I spent quite a bit of time sleeping once we got back. Getting up at 4:30 was a bit much for me. Anyway, We it stormed pretty good, so we just hung out in the condo, ordered pizza out from Merlin's (which is excellent, by the way), and watched SpongeBob.

Friday was the clearest day, both the sky and the water. It had been pretty before, but Friday the waster was pristine. I spent quite a bit of time out in the water. The waves were a bit rougher, though and got tired of chasing my hat so I met with the family back in the pool.

We went out to eat at AJ's on the harbor over in Destin, and that was good, too. Plus the sunset was the best of the week! I thought for sure it would be cloudy again, but it wasn't. I really enjoyed watching the boats going by as we ate. It has just been a great trip.

More of Florida Trip

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Erin hamming it up for the camera. Playing in the sand and wearing Momma's hat.

Yes, the relaxation continues. It's early morning, and we enjoyed breakfast out on the balcony while we watched dolphins swim up and down the coast- we've seen several this morning. Though Sam chose to wake up at 6:15! Doesn't he know he's supposed to sleep in?

Well, right now I'm still sitting out on the balcony, still spotting dolphins. True, I'm glued to the laptop, but hey, it's much nicer to be typing when I can look up every few seconds and watch the emerald waves roll in gently.

We haven't "done" anything yet, which means we haven't really gone anywhere. With the exception of supper Monday night at Angler's down by the pier, I haven't strayed from the immediate condo area at all. Just from here to the beach and pool. And I dare say I like it that way. We have plans to do a couple of things. I am planning on going deep sea fishing with the guys (tomorrow?), the girls (and Sam) are going to the Gulfarium to see the dolphin show in about an hour or so. I think we are also going to go on a dolphin cruise in a glass bottom boat, maybe next week. But nothing is etched in stone. Sand, yes, but not stone.

Sunday we went to the beach a little bit, but we spent most of our time at the pool, and Monday we stuck to the pool completely. Sam loves it and he's really swimming well. He puts on his swim ring and goes pretty well wherever he wants to go (not that it's a big pool).

Tuesday has been my favorite day. The sea was so calm, we all went out in it- Erin included. Sam had to be held- he doesn't like the waves trying to get him. I swam out, but something kept touching me, and I didn't like that. I came back and got the goggles, and went out and found that wherever I went a school of fish was following me! That was fun. They swam around my feet, but if I floated, they would swim around by back and arms, and even close to my face. They were plain white fish, but they had a yellow flair on their fins, so plain as they were I thought them to be very pretty. And Sam thoroughly enjoys the airplanes flying over carrying banners. He yells "Ook! Ook Dada! Pane! Ith da ABC's!!"

The seashell Shannon and Erin found on our Tuesday night walk.

It's funny, and maybe sad a bit, that Shannon and I were sitting out on the balcony enjoying the moment and the location, and Sam and Erin are inside watching Dora the Explorer. We cancelled extended cable, mainly because I got tired of not being able to flip channels with Erin in the room on account of her spotting a bloody crime scene or a murder or half-naked people. It's annoying and quite honestly wrong. So the kids are enjoying being able to watch Nickelodeon.

So just a really relaxing enjoyable trip. Shannon has done some shopping, and Sam has watched SpongeBob and Erin has played in the pool (and is now fully capable of putting her head under water! Yay!)

I took the picture because Sam randomly chose to make a funny face. (So the fact that I have the camera has nothing to do with it!)

Me and the kids out on the beach in the evening.

Nice Trip Down

Days One and Two

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Sam at the beach, watching his toy ring was away and saying ""Er 't goes! Git it Dada!"

Ahhh, what a nice day it's been. Saturday went very smoothly on our way down, but very tiring. I woke up at 12:15 am Saturday Morning, got showered, reloaded my mp3 player and loaded the hamster in the car. I walked back in from the Garage, and there's Erin standing there, fully dressed, holding her pillow and saying, "I'm ready to go!"

So we loaded up the last couple of things, and headed out 20 minutes early. I'm certain that is a record for our family. Sam did excellent on the trip down. Unlike sister, he was sound asleep when I got him out of bed. I put him into his car seat and he said, "Sit down", then "Watch BongeBob?" That was the last peep out of him; he promptly fell back asleep and did not wake up until about 6:30. (Almost normal time for him anyway.) On the other hand, when Erin got into the car, she exclaimed, "This is the happiest day of my life!" and did not fall asleep, save for about an hour.

We stopped once in Blythville, Arkansas for a bathroom break, refueled and ate breakfast (breakfast at IHOP) in Jackson, Mississippi, snack and bathroom break in Lucedale,Mississippi, and one last stop at the Florida Welcome Center rest area. So, that's not too shabby; I figured we would have stopped a lot more on the way down, but we didn't. Partly because we were concerned about Patsy being left in the car in the heat. We didn't want to start vacation with a dead hamster.

We arrived safely about 2:00 pm, which was of course too early to unpack (they were still cleaning the condo). So we met the Longs (Shannon's friend that she grew up with) and ate at Fudpucker's, which is very close to where we're staying. We had a perfect breeze and found a shady spot so the hamster could live! Indeed, I think there was something wrong with Fudpucker's air conditioner, because the interior of our van was cooler thanat our table. But the food was excellent.

Daddy and Sam in the pool

We came back to the condo, unloaded and I took a nice 2 hour long nap. Then Shannon went to the grocery store and I took the kids for a brief trip down to the water's edge. Sam loved it (he even walked all the way across the beach without asking to be held) and Erin was absolutely beside herself. Certainly the "best day of her life."

Today, we've decided we aren't going to go anywhere. We went out to the beach for most of the morning. Shannon and Erin walked down to where the Longs are staying (about a mile!) and Sam and I did a little bit of playing in the sand and running away from the water before heading up to the pool. Shannon and the kids are out there now, and I'm sitting in the living room, watching the waves roll in and swimmers play in the water. And, of course, typing.

The weather has been great today, it's around 88 degrees- the heat index is about 100 degrees, but on the beach with the wind coming in off the gulf, it feels great. Here's to some more great days!

Lunch on the Balcony

View Looking East from our Balcony (toward Navarre)

View looking South from the balcony (toward the general direction of the Gulf of Mexico)View looking East toward Destin (you can see the pier there in the middle)

The Dentist, Memphis, Synonyms, and Awesome things at the Toy Store

Not too much new going on. I had my semiannual dentist visit this morning. I hate going to the denstist, and have a hard time understanding how someone could enjoy being a dentist. So many people's mouths are disgusting, and then there's all that drool you have to deal with, which I think is fairly disgusting even in people who are otherwise clean. But then, I suppose that's why I'm not a dentist. There's probably plenty of dentists out there that think, 'Man, I'd hate to be a pharmacist. . .'
I don't know why I don't like to go to the dentist, other than someone I'm only somewhat aquainted with is prodding around on my teeth with a metal spike. I have perfect teeth, so my trips to the dentist have always been entirely unremarkable. All my teeth are straight, no gaps, and no cavities. So I should enjoy going, I suppose.
I also got my new stereo installed in my truck. I installed the one in my Corolla, but I never got the dashboard back together quite right (and I ended up with screws that I knew I had taken out but I couldn't remember or find from where). Since installation was free with the purchase of the stereo I decided to have it done by someone who has done it a few more times than I. And now I can listen to my MP3 discs once again. I mean, it is nice to be able to listen to 300 songs without changing a disc. I put the entire Martin Scorcese Presents the Blues onto an MP3 disc- Very handy to have, if you ask me.
Oh, and just to make sure, semiannual is the word I was looking for in my first paragraph. I get biennial (every 2 years) and biannual (twice a year) confused. I'm sure I missed that on my pharmacy boards, since inventory has to be done biennially and I'm sure I thought, "well, heck no, we don't have to do that twice a year!" I am much pleased that I found a synonym for one of them, and even more pleased that I can now use it correctly! (Even if I did have to look it up to be sure).
And, Sam has mastered the use of a new word: "Awesome". We went into Toys R Us today to try to find a spare paci (in case Grandma looses one) and he kept finding "awesome" things. "Ook Dada! Awesome! A Baby!" "Thomas! Choo! Choo! Ook! Iz Thomas! Awesome!" and "Awesome! A Butterfly."
So, we're getting packed for Memphis. Grandma C is coming to spend the weekend with the kids (may the Lord have mercy on her) (seriously) and the dogs are going to the kennel. Just some nice time with my love. And good tunes.
So that's all for now, Au revoir.