This morning we headed to Ft. Desoto and rented a double kayak for an hour. Eric looks very serious in this photo because he spent most of our time on the water trying to steer us out of the mangroves. Let’s just say I’m still learning.

The weather was wonderful, so we spent some time walking down the beach to bird watch and soak our feet in the warm surf.

On our way back Eric got this shot of me harrassing a hermit crab. He was flailing his claws and legs at me to scare me off—it didn’t work.

This is the view from the lounge chairs on the front patio. Maybe one day we can afford to actually stay here. :)

After spending most of the day yesterday hanging out with gram, we decided to try a few new places near our hotel for appetizers, drinks, and dinner.

Before heading out, we enjoyed the free happy hour at our hotel. Eric had the pink drink. :)

Our first stop was Bella Brava for their sparkling drinks special (second photo above) and pizza. The 2nd floor balcony was the perfect spot for an outdoor cocktail (or two!) and the margharita pizza with oven dried tomatoes was delicious.

Next we wandered over to Ceviche and found ourselves with a 40 minute wait. It was insanely busy, terribly noisy, and not very well-organized. When we were still waiting well over an hour later and noticed several people not being waited on, we gave up. The food might be good, but good luck actually finding out on a Friday night.

We ended the evening at Moon Under Water with some chicken curry, a cider for Eric and a Black Velvet for me.

Below is our super-cool, mint green Ford Taurus rental. Well, at least we have palm trees to look at :)

I took my car in for a standard inspection this morning and also had them check out my rear tires because I was hearing a lot more road noise than normal. Turns out I have a busted bearing on the left right rear side and my car is 1100 miles over warranty.

Fantastic!

Eric and pup picked me up and took me to work as the visit to the dealership was now running well over the half hour they needed for the inspection. I still have to go back and get my VUE during lunchtime, so hopefully it’s just the bearing on one side and not both.

All the permanent dye is gone and I am back to my original color.

I think her expression speaks volumes.

We decided to try bathing her in our stand-up shower rather than the bathtub because of the limited escape options. I donned a swimsuit and prepared to get soaked. The hardest part (by far) was getting her initially wet and then rinsing her off. She sat remarkably still for the sudsing/massage part. Although she clung to me for the entire time, this actually made it easier to get to her belly. :)

Despite the pitiful looks, she was ready to play soon afterwards and now smells less like dog and more like vanilla!

Riesling’s new collar:

While Eric was waiting for the DISH guys to show up, I went to a free wine tasting sponsored by our favorite resturant in Durham.

Eric marked a few whites on the list that he wanted me to try in his absence. Since there were six tables (one per distributor) featuring all varieties of wines, I bounced around in true wine geek fashion, trying all the whites first then the reds.

Some of my favorites were:

• Agapito Rico Carchelo, 2005—this is a great value at $10, heavy spice and smoky aroma, hint of nutmeg, would be wonderful with steak fajitas.
• Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Riesling, 2005—this affordable white is sweet and flowery, delicious!
• Aprilskloof Sauvignon Blanc NV—we both love South African whites and this one is very tasty, grassy with hints of minerals, very easy to drink.
• Las Moras Viognier—the price sold me on this one too, light citrus and apricot with the typical full-bodied feel of a rich viognier.
• Capolan Merlot, 2004—I’m normally not a merlot fan (has nothing to do with Sideways, honest), but this wine is great… probably because of the added tempranillo. :)

Today was the second Saturday that I spent waiting for the our new Dish receiver to be installed, and this one was successful. Proof below:

25 HD channels, including ESPN 1 & 2, Discover, Food, and National Geographic! More to come…