Missing Alaska

It's always sad to leave Alaska for too long, and this month has made me realize that no matter how far you travel, you can't beat Alaska for the good life. . . just to update my blog, tho', I'll give you a quick rundown on the past month . .. .
After arriving in Tampa, I drove a great Chevy rental to Naples, and this was an easy 3 hour trip south . . . my condo was quite large and over looked the Gulf, but you also have to ignore the brush between you and the sandy beach. . . Pelican Bay runs a golf cart shuttle back and forth all day, and it's quite nice, but a bit inconvenient . .. they have a beautiful Philharmonic Hall that draws big crowds to all their performances . .. however, everything in Naples caters to the idle rich and price there are pretty scary . .. back to Tampa, and taking off on Carnival's Inspiration for the New Year's Week .. good Las Vegas type shows, good food, and ports of call were pretty neat, too, as we toured Cozumel (first time since Earthquake) again, and Grand Cayman . .. back to Tampa, and flew up to Fayetteville NC to visit DD at Cape Fear hospital (visiting nurse from Anchorage) . . . but this city is also home to Fort Bragg, which is an absolutely huge post with great museums, and everything else military offers .. .. back to Tampa and some good restaurants andother things . . I love Bahama Breeze, which is trendy place on a non-island between Tampa and Clearwater . .. and also some movies, Marley and Me, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button . ... and some dances . .. and church . . . you know, the usual from a nice city which could also be considered a resort. .. I'm thinking of that now, as I'm sitting in Chicago, freezing my xxxxx off .... I couldn't believe it could be colder than Anchorage, but sure enough, it is. .. last night we went to Navy Pier for dinner and were the only ones in the restaurant. . . I noted in todays paper that several schools and businesses are closed due to the weather, and here I am, wearing all my Florida clothing - at once, in layers -- to keep warm. .. ah, but I hear tomorrow will be better, and thank goodness for that because my family is driving down for the weekend to visit, which is the purpose of my trip . . . but Sunday is coming soon enough, and I'm heading back to big A, with busted pipes in my condo, I hear, and other problems, but it'll be good to get home. . . check back with me, because I'll be writing about some big things coming up in February with Fur Rendezvous and the Iditarod Races forthcoming.