it's a tortuous life . . .

We ran away again. Back to St. Augustine to get this little goodie for a buddy who is turning 6 and whose father works for the sheriff's department:



Let me tell you, it's tough driving up there. All there is to stare at is water.



But we also went because the replicas of the Nina and Pinta were docked up there. I know, I know, it would have been one heck of a lot easier to have visited them when they were here in town, but no, we had to wait until after they left and then chase them up the coast.





and lest you are wondering why such tight shots, it's because the poor little boats . . . true in size to the originals . . . were sandwiched between a few obscenely large pleasure boats and the construction on the Bridge of Lions:



Didn't make for great composition.

We knew we were going to be leaving late on this expedition so we planned on eating dinner at one of our favorite little restaurants . . . the Conch House. One of the reasons . . . besides the outstanding food . . . that we love this place, is that you can eat perched in little aeries under thatched roofs above the marina. What's not to love about a cool breeze and a cold beer.



A view from our nest:



and another:



Ordinarily, I would have taken food shots before eating but when the food arrived, we got carried away and by the time I remembered, this is all that was left of the 9TS's "Atlantic coast sea scallops, shrimp, and crab meat, simmered in a red wine datil pepper sauce tossed with pasta":



or my fresh grouper with sauteed zucchini, eggplant and roasted tomatoes:



Don't I look pensive when sated. Note to self . . . keep camera away from sloth.



On the way home, I decided I needed some shots of Matanza Inlet. The problem being, the road actually runs over the inlet for quite a way and there is no place to park. So the 9TS parked at the base of the bridge and I hot footed it through traffic and up and over the guard rails to get a couple of shots . . . . think a couple, three city blocks.



as I turned to trek back to the car, I see the 9TS pull out and head my way. The dear man was going to pick me up. Once again, I bounded over the guard rails and two stepped my way to the south bound lane and dived into the car before traffic backed up. Gotta love the 9TS.

And seriously . . . while I kid about the torture of living here, I am truly thankful for the life we lead. Truly. Thankful.