My Mobile Adventures ~~*

Fort Myers Beach Sand Sculpting Festival no longer free

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:51:01 +0000

This is the 23rd year of the Sand Sculpting Festival on Fort Myers Beach here in Lee County, Florida. It is also the year that unemployment in Lee County has climbed to within spitting distance of 14% and may rise well beyond that by year end. So, naturally it makes perfect sense that this is the year that Fort Myers Beach decided to levy a per-head charge of $3-$5 on spectators.

Because, you see, they aren’t going to pay enough for the outrageously over priced hot dogs, burgers and ice cream cones to feed their kids. And they’re certainly not going to make any purchases at the vast open air market, nor are any of them going to belly up to any number of pool bars and fork over ten bucks for something fruity with a little pink umbrella thrown in. And hey, the people who come and cheer and support this festival can certainly make that unemployment check stretch just a wee bit further, so that they can get beyond the barriers that FMB allows the hotels to put in place at the tide line – even though NO ONE OWNS THE BEACHES, DAMMIT.

The whole thing just kind of made me ill, so I skipped it this year. Here are some pics from last year that I never quite got around to publishing. You will note there is a red water sprayer in the first picture, qualifying this post for Ruby Tuesday, where I’m sure Mary will chuckle in appreciation of my righteous indignation. The artists do an amazing job; standing there to watch them, even in the hot sun, is a real treat. Last year, each sculptor had their immediate work area roped off but otherwise, spectators could walk around freely between sites and get as close as perhaps 6-10 feet to any given sculpture.

It’s a damned shame that the people had to PAY to get this close to the sculptures this year. I bet I’m not the only one who stayed away. Fort Myers Beach, in this of all years, you should have figured out another way.

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A Magic Kingdom twilight

Tink *~*~* — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:08:38 +0000

Solar reflection
makes for peachy-golden clouds –
twilight castle glow

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Isn’t there a leash law in this town?

Tink *~*~* — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:30 +0000

Not seeing any actual canines in the pickup truck in front of me, I can only surmise that the driver is referring to him (her?) self.
September 2009, Fort Myers, Florida.

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Dolphin in the mist, Walt Disney World

Tink *~*~* — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:18:19 +0000

The Walt Disney World Dolphin resort is enshrouded in mist and reflects eerily in the lake below. As seen from the 4th floor corner balcony room at the Dolphin’s sister resort, the Walt Disney World Swan.

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Sun’s going down on Sanibel Island

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:28:09 +0000

Sun’s going down on Sanibel Island, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Now we have to get used to it getting darker an hour earlier. Win’s kicking up, too.

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We’ve moved to Biddles Bucket

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:26:19 +0000

We’ve moved to Biddles Bucket, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

There were lots of bugs at West Wind so we moved the party indoors to the bar at Biddles Bucket.

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“Corn is so versatile”

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:50:08 +0000

"Corn is so versatile", originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

I thought pina colada was going to come out of Fran’s nose when I said that, but it’s true – you can feed beefs with it, you can put it in your gas tank, and now you can drink from it! Who would have thought that corn would play such a crucial part of the Sunday Sanibel Bar Crawl?

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Everyone needs a little slice of Sanibel vitamin C

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:43:13 +0000

Everyone needs a little slice of Sanibel vitamin C, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Kim and I have mango margaritas and Fran and Nancy got pina coladas. West Wind pool bar on Sanibel – hot, hot, hot!

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Sanibel Bar Crawlers: Exclusive Edition!

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:05:07 +0000

Sanibel Bar Crawlers: Exclusive Edition!, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Fran, Kim "Saniholic" and Nancy "Snowbird" at Jerry’s on Sanibel. We had lunch and now we’re going for a crawl.

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Um, isn’t today Halloween?

Tink *~*~* — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:23:25 +0000

Um, isn’t today Halloween?, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Can you believe it? I ducked into the local Walgreens tp get some candy corn on a whim, and there sat Santa Mickey. WTH? Can we get through Halloween first, please? Sheesh!

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If I knew what all these buttons were for, I’d be dangerous

Tink *~*~* — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:05:19 +0000

These freakin’ buttons

on my cam’ra, but no clues

which for fireworks?

I’m pretty much an idiot for not reading the manual (”RTFM”, as we say in technology; the “F” is the same as in another popular acronyn, “FUBAR”). I get to the part where the pretty blue stuff is in the air and I realize I’ve got a camera in my hand that I’ve not really tried with fireworks before. Therefore, I have NO CLUE what setting it wants. There’s one that looks like a guy with a star over his head, so I pick that one. Uh-uh, blurry mess. Then there’s one that looks like a party in a cornucopia – all these streamers and confetti things coming out of it. While I don’t know what that one is for (yeah, I’ve been home for three days and I’ve not sought the manual yet), I do know it took a better photo of fireworks than the star-hovering-over-the-stick-dude setting did. Photo taken with a Canon Powershot SX110IS during “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth”, the nightly fireworks and multimedia show held at EPCOT in Walt Disney World

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My car turns 50 before I do – hah!

Tink *~*~* — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:49:37 +0000

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One night after work last week, I was driving to the gas station to fill up the car and I noticed that my odometer said 49,993 miles. I bought this car used; it was one year old, and it had 20,000 miles on it. It’s a 2002 Toyota RAV4, and I love it. Anyway, when I lived in New York, I would take the train to work, so the car only went back and forth to the station, maybe a couple of miles each way. Then I started working from home full time, so the car got even less of a workout.

Now that I live here in Southwest Florida, the car gets a little more mileage on it than it used to. First, I had to drive it from Long Island to the auto train in Lorton, Virginia to get it down here. I was not about to make that looooooooong drive from NY to Florida all by myself! Once I got here, a pattern established itself. I get up to Tampa about once a month for business, and over to Walt Disney World in Orlando maybe once every 4-5 months. I get out to Sanibel Island or even Captiva once or twice a month, too. So the miles have racked up, and after 7 years of existence, 6 of which have been with me, the car was finally ready to flip over to 50,000 miles.

But last Wednesday night, when I noticed this, I also realized that if I didn’t do more than just take it to the gas station that night, the flip-over would probably occur while I was driving 70 miles per hour on Interstate 75 the next morning. This would mean I would not have an opportunity to take a photo of the odometer.

Well, what would you do? Probably the same as me. I drove around and around and around the perimeter of the local shopping center’s parking lot until it flipped over. By this time, it was dark outside, so I parked it under a street lamp, turned on the interior light in the car, and took the photo!

I hope to drive this car into the ground, at least another 50,000 miles and then some. I like not having a car payment, and I just plain like the car. The back cargo area is a convenient height for getting things in and out, and the vehicle sits high (technically, it’s an SUV), so I can drive it onto the beach without any issues.

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See ya real soon

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:20:31 +0000

See ya real soon, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

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The Mysterious Walt Disney World Dolphin

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:32:14 +0000

The Mysterious Walt Disney World Dolphin, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Good morning, peeps and tweeps. It is check-out day, and Walt Disney World seemingly mourns my departure. The day is starting out with a misty gloom. I have coffee and my phone out here on the balcony, and I’m watching the sand-smoothing person ride some contraption back and forth on the Swan’s beach. Soon, I need to go into full bug-out mode so I can check out and head home. But there is still coffee left in my cup, so I think I can hold off on that a few more minutes. )

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Mooses at the Beach Club quiet pool

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:01:33 +0000

Mooses at the Beach Club quiet pool, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

We have adjourned to the Beach Club’s no-longer-quiet pool

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Shelling at Disney’s Beach Club

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:57:50 +0000

Shelling at Disney’s Beach Club, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

I think I need to come back here in the middle of the night and "go shelling"!

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Our lovely model Lara…

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:37:21 +0000

Our lovely model Lara…, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

…displays the mystery dough. Tastes like something fried dipped in sugar

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Dessert at Paradiso 37

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:32:00 +0000

Dessert at Paradiso 37, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Churro thingies with chocolate and caramel dipping sauces

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Lesia, Diane, Kelly

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:22:41 +0000

Lesia, Diane, Kelly, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

And still more mooses… I think I’m done moosin’ around!

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Buzz, Donnie, Jody

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:22:37 +0000

Buzz, Donnie, Jody, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

More mooses at Paradiso 37

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@mckryan and …

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:15:12 +0000

@mckryan and …, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

… The infamous MR. @mckryan. I said’ "look like you love each other"
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@SpottedMoose and …

Tink *~*~* — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:12:16 +0000

@SpottedMoose and …, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

… "Mr. Kyle" at Paradiso 37

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My shrimp salad from Paradiso 37 – and there’s a wedge of…

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:42:15 +0000

My shrimp salas from Paradiso 37 – and there’s a wedge of…, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

… PINEAPPLE under the shrimp!

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We’re seated at Paradiso 37

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:24:22 +0000

We’re seated at Paradiso 37, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

We are on the patio with a view of Saratoga Springs. Characters in Flight keeps rising and falling next door.

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Perambulating back to the Swan

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:44:02 +0000

Perambulating back to the Swan, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

… If i can still say/type "perambulating", I’ve not had enough to drink yet

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For all the guys in my viewing audience…

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:27:31 +0000

For all the guys in my viewing audience…, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Mo’Rockin is kickin’ it

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Overheard outside Japan at EPCOT -

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:19:52 +0000

Overheard outside Japan at EPCOT -, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

(New Joisey accent) "Awl ya do heeyah is eat n drink!"

Well, duh LOL

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Birthday celebrations in EPCOT’s N’awlins

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:14:59 +0000

Birthday celebrations in EPCOT’s N’awlins, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

Been sitting on the atairs by Kaki-Gori enjoying my Abita Purple Haze and listening to the Disney Cast Members in the New Orleans booth sing "Happy Birthday" to the guests who are wearing birthday buttons.

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N’awlins has a great beer called…

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:50:32 +0000

N’awlins has a great beer called…, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

…Abita Purple Haze. The fruit flavoring is literally just a haze, just a hint. Gonna find a seat in the shade in Japan and enjoy this

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Streetmosphere dude in…

Tink *~*~* — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:37:20 +0000

Streetmosphere dude in…, originally uploaded by Tink*~*~*.

… EPCOT’s version of Venice. He’s playing games with the kids in the crowd

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