One two three...go!

Hello my dear Blog readers! Unlike my other blogs this one is specifically created for travelers that are new to St. Petersburg, Florida; in particular guests that are coming to stay at our vacation rental:                                               https:/www.vrbo.com/3504544?unitID=4077690 Welcome to Casa Tropicana!  Our guests often ask us for food and activity suggestions during their visit in beautiful  St. Petersburg. So we decided to put together this reference guide! Restaurants/food in walking distance: Caribbean food                                 Seafood              Breakfast & Lunch All American Diner Chinese Take-out only Subway                1 mile and more Restaurants (our favorite picks...

S a n f o r d Joe and I like to explore our surroundings,  near and far. Just recently we decided to do a little weekend getaway to Sanford,  Florida. Sanford sits on the northern tip of the greater Orlando, Florida area. From there its a decent drive to more central Orlando themeparks etc. But unlike Orlando with its stop and go traffic the traffic in Sanford is within "normal range".  So we booked house sitters for our boys as usual and were ready to go! Now, we've never heard of Sanford before. But that just happened to be the location of an Eagles cover band concert we wanted to see. It being a 3 hour drive from our home, it was worth staying there overnight.  Let me tell you, hotel or Airbnb rates for that area were insane. So we thought we lucked out when we finally came across a little motel online that was actually affordable.  Holy cow,  it ended up being a dump. It took an internal pep-talk with myself to not opt for sleeping in our ca...

What is One...two...three...GO? https://youtu.be/nlkVUO3vzCg?si=BvWlVPc-siwKtwWU

A few months have passed. I am contemplating what to write this time. What is the message I want to share by doing this?  Sure a blog can be used as a platform for so many reasons. It's tempting to get sucked into ones ego taking over and making it a "look what I can do" - platform.  For me I realize, it is a way to express myself, to bring a smile to your face and ultimately your day. But to also bring a smile to my face, because while my life journey contains struggles and hick-ups, at the end of the day its full of gratitude. In a post "pandemic" time, inspiration is certainly something we all crave without question. Occasionally I am asked if we're settled in, now that we moved into our new home. The answer comes without hesitation: Yes! Since the day we were handed the keys 🔑 to be exact.  When you have a vision, you'll get results.  So often people tell me they are envious of Joe and I. We did what many people imagine doing. You know what? A dream...

Every place on earth has its perks. It is these perks that draw us to certain places, if we have the freedom to choose these. There aren't just perks .  There are the floods, tsunamis, droughts and lastly the hurricanes that give us serious reality checks. I am a believer that climate changes increase the severity and frequency of natural disasters.  What I am saying is, that no matter where you live there will definitely be a time when nature shows its ugly side.  Florida is known for its hurricane 🌀  season.  Last year, in 2021 we got a little taste of it, when we had to evacuate our campsite at Fort Desoto.  This time, as the weather people kept an eye on this storm,  we knew that once it was given a name, things would possibly become a bit more serious for Joe and I and our furries here in St. Pete. Now, we're not easily scared nor do we buy into what the media likes to sensationalize. After following radar updates,  we decided it might be ti...

  To dream, there must be a vision. A long time ago, when moving to Florida was still just an idea, I could see images in my head. Images of our Florida home. I could see a beautiful swimming pool,  surrounded by plants 🪴 that I love so much. I could see Crazy Bird hanging out with us on his own deluxe jungle gym. A  cozy exotic lounge area with lightweight curtains that add some elegance, overlooking the inviting pool. Our pool. I could feel a breeze and the humidity in the air and feeling so happy that we are surrounded by all of this.  Joe and I and our animals.   H O M E. Let me tell you,  the road to get to this place has been windy. There were detours.  More than we anticipated.   So here we are and we figure it would be fun to tour some Open Houses. Those and model homes are just so much fun to look at. Regardless of whether we actually want to purchase a house or not. I remember throughout the years,  especially in the cold...

The moment you were longing for. You knew it existed but the longer time went by, the more unreachable it seemed to get.  Have you ever felt it? Joe and I felt stuck in that place, going on 8 years.  You're probably perplexed now? Wait, they packed up their things, followed there dream of traveling and living in Florida.  They did it! And you're right. Absolutely.   What you don't know is that while all of this was achievable and wonderful,  Joe's search for a fulfilling job has been a long journey.  A journey full of writing resumes over and over again. Nothing. Disappointment. Every time someone had an input of what he should change his resume to, he took their advice.  It never seemed to make a difference though.  It felt like his immense success in his 28 years of Airforce life didn't seem to matter to anyone but Joe.  Was he over-qualified? Was he too old? We had endless  conversations about the "why's",...