FLORIDA ADVENTURE EPILOGUE

Our return from St. Pete yesterday was totally uneventful. In fact, except for the slow driver that we got stuck behind between Wisner & Norfolk, things couldn't have gone any smoother. We even got to sit in exit rows on both of our flights. Awesome! Highlights of our trip:

>  Spending time with Lois' big sister Kathy & little sister Anita. Kudos to Kathy, the penultimate host, who always treats us better than we deserve. Well, at least better than I deserve.

> Four trips to the Ft. DeSoto Beach, our favorite FL beach.

> Opportunities to walk along the beach, in nature preserves, in St. Augustine.

> Wildlife:  Only 1 puny alligator, but a plethora of exotic FL bird species, especially pelicans & shorebirds; plus 2 whitetail deer. [Haven't seen any of those in NE yet this year.]

> Historic sites:  Many historical sites in & around St. Augustine, including the Castillo de San Marcos fortress, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, a historical museum next to the trolley headquarters, Colonial Medicine Museum, a historic cemetery, many historical homes & other bldgs, the Dade Battlefield/Massacre Site. In St. Pete:  Ft. DeSoto, Florida Holocaust Museum, & a Native American mound.

> Other highlights in St. Augustine:  The hop-on, hop-off trolley, St. Augustine Distillery [samples!], St. Augustine Winery [samples!], St. Augustine Chocolate Factory.

> Markets:  A visit to the St. Augustine SAT Market. Two visits to the Gulfport Market in St. Pete. Two visits to the Corey Ave. Market, also in St. Pete. A 3rd visit to the Gulfport Market by the ladies, & a visit to the Outlet Mall, also by the ladies.

> Food & Beverages:  Greek food at the Neptune Cafe in Gulfport, along with Mythos Beer; the Polish-Greek Restaurant in St. Augustine; seafood at the Raintree Restaurant, also in St. Augustine; the Habana Cuban Cafe in St. Pete; fresh seafood from Key West Seafood in St. Pete. Seafood at the St. Pete Seafood & Music Festival. BONUS! We found more Mythos Beer at Total Wine in St. Pete!

Culture:  The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, where we learned more about art deco & art nouveau than we dared to imagine; the Localtopia Festival in St. Pete; the band playing classic rock at the St. Pete Seafood & Music Festival; Classic & superhero movies, which we watched with Kathy.

Worship:  Lois, Kathy, & I attended 2 SUN services at Our Savior Lutheran in St. Pete.

> Weather:  Although there were several days when it was actually warmer in Norfolk than in St. Pete, overall the FL weather was very satisfactory [high humidity but no snow]. Yesterday it was 65 when we left St. Pete, 55 when we got back to Norfolk. [Snow predicted for this coming FRI. Sigh.]

2024 RESOLUTIONS REVIEW

* Lose weight:  A. Not bad, considering multiple road trips.

* Limit myself to no more than 2 cups of coffee per day. C.

* Visit at least 1 National Park and/or 1 National Monument:  A. We toured the Castillo de San Marcos NM in St. Augustine.

* Limit my reading to 1 conservative source per day:  C.

* Walk at least 4X per week:  A.

* Finish writing & publishing a devotion book:  C. I have to do a final edit of the DEC devotions in my "Buzzwords" devotion book, then search for a publisher.

GPA:  B.

WHAT I'M READING

"Spain in Our Hearts:  Americans in the Spanish Civil War," by Adam Hochschild. I knew virtually nothing about this war until I started reading this book, & I'm finding it very fascinating.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We've resumed watching our favorite CBS procedurals on Paramount+, now that their hiatus due to the writers' strike is over. We're caught up on NCIS, our favorite. Last night we started catching up on NCIS Hawaii. We continue watching previous seasons of Scorpion & the current season of NCIS Sydney. And I've been watching previous seasons of Brooklyn 99 & Monk.

TODAY'S AMAZING TRIVIA *

* Source:  Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

"Scientific name for the striped skunk:  Mephitis mephitis, Latin for "stinky stinky."

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Also from Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

"Did you hear about the guy who invented a clock with 10 dials? He had a lot of time on his hands."

"If you turn over a canoe you can wear it as a hat. Because it's capsized."

LEARN A LANGUAGE AS AN ADULT *

* According to Reader's Digest, Sep. 2022, it's not too late.

> Find your motivation. Pick a language you are excited to use, whether on a grand vacation in Spain or on your couch watching Spanish soap operas. [FYI:  Lois & I are going on a cruise in OCT that includes ports in Spain.]

> Pick your tools. Mobile apps such as Duolingo & Babbel. Rosetta Stone.  McGraw Hill & Barron's textbooks & grammar guides.

> Dive in. Immerse yourself in your chosen language as much as you can. Watch movies, listen to songs, label items around your house with those words.

> Get social. Practice with other people.

> Don't sweat your mistakes.

> Try less. It seems counterintuitive, but you're more receptive to pick up on a language when you aren't hyper-focused on learning it.

TRENDING NEWS FROM DRUDGE REPORT

"Fast talkers have healthier brains."

TRENDING HEADLINES FROM BABYLON BEE *

* Your trusted source of fake news.

"NY mayor warns migrants if they keep attacking NYPD officers, they'll be downgraded to 4-star hotels.

"Important things for a father to teach his son. > How to open your wife's Amazon boxes with a pocket knife. > How to start a fire with nothing but an entire bottle of lighter fluid & a butane lighter."

"Atheist waits patiently for Ikea coffee table to assemble itself."

"What does Gen Z want in a job? "A reasonable 5-hour work week. > Paid leave every time they change gender. > Health insurance for their pets."

"Biden visits border to cut ribbon for official border grand opening."

"McConnell acknowledges he is no longer fit to be senator. Will keep being senator."

"Police warn women joggers not to jog within 2,000 miles of border."