November 2014, Part Two:

On some of Lane's days off we head out exploring and in-search-of with no particular plan or destination in mind.  That's what we did on the 18th.  We went back to the A-1-A in Pompano Beach and headed south this time, just to see what we would see.

Talk about riding right along the beach... this is it.

We eventually ended up on US 1, headed into Miami.

The farther into Miami we got, the less we liked it.

Art work on a building in Miami.

Now don't get me wrong. There were some pretty sights.

But the traffic got worst and worse.  We did come across some interesting Christmas decorations.

Eventually we just wanted to get out of the crazy bad traffic and get home.  And getting home took forever.  Not sure if we will ever feel the need to go back into Miami proper.

Toward the end of the month we decided to spend our first real day on the beach.  You know, with bathing suits and sunblock and sand and such.

It was not very crowded.  Nowhere near what  Lane and I are used to seeing on North Carolina beaches in the summer.

Our little spot on the sand.

What a way to spend a winter.  We could get used to this.




"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

November 2014, Part one.

November started out not so nice for us and the girls.  I got up one night and found Daisy had experienced diarrhea in the living room.  This was the start of what would last several days.  For the next two nights I sat up with her so I could take her out the many, many times she would have to go out.  After three days it was no better so I took her to a vet at Petsmart.

She had an intestinal bacterial infection.  Fortunately the meds prescribed were very effective.  Then a few days later Piper had the same thing.  Had to take her to the Petsmart vet too for meds.  They both have always been bad for eating trash and poop (pardon my French).  We think, after discussion with the vets, they are or tasted some duck poop.  There are lots of ducks living at the lake bordering our apartment complex.  One of the side walks I had been using runs along the lake, and it is frequently quite covered in lots of duck poop. Well, enough of that... they are better now and I make sure we avoid the duck poop.

Time for another outing.

Lane is always so good about having us go out for day trips.  When we head out I really have no idea where we are going, but she had secretly done the research and come up with ideas, and I am always pleasantly surprised.  The first week in November was no different. We headed over to the A-1-A road which generally runs north-south right along the Atlantic beach. We picked it up in Pompano Beach and headed north.  A lovely, slow drive meandering through many small communities or towns that just flow one into the other.  They seem to alternate between places where po-folks like us might live, and places that look like the mansion the Beverly Hillbillies lived in, jammed up along the beach.

Part of the A-1-A

One of the many, not-to-shabby houses or mansions along the way.

Then as we are riding along a less developed section of the A-1-A,  Lane suddenly tells me to turn here, this is where we were going all along...

The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, in Boca Raton.

This place is a nature center focusing on sea turtles.  They also have numerous tanks for a wide variety of fish and aquatic life as well, but their primary claim to fame is their sea turtle rehab program.  Injured or otherwise endangered sea turtles are brought here for medical care and rehabilitation.  If the turtle becomes well enough, it is eventually returned to the wild.

One of the buildings sheltering some tanks.

A barracuda trolling among the other fish.

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

There are also many walking trails through the grounds, allowing visitors to see the many varieties of plants and trees in the area.

The board walk through the grounds.

One of the walk ways leads to a three story high observation tower which gives great 360 degree views

We saw quite a few of these guys just hanging around, doing their thing.

Back along the walk way.

Many of the trees have this elevated root system connecting them to the marsh.

One of the walk ways led to a small beach along the waterway.  We were the only ones there.

Yes, every outing gets a pic of the Travel Nurse and her devoted House-Boy.

By the time we got home it was dark and time to take care of the little ones.  Another great day in our Florida adventure.

More of November to follow...




"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

October Settlin' In To Tamarac

Well we got all settled in and began our routines.  Lane is enjoying her new hospital a lot.  She complains some about the crazy-stupid way they do some things there, but it clearly is a less busy and stressful location this time.  I still take her and pick her up.  Door to door service - courtesy the House-Boy.

Doing laundry here is a breeze for me now.  In Dallas I had to carry the laundry to the not-to-far-away laundry room on the apartment grounds and feed money into the washers and dryers.  Here in Tamarac we have a washer and dryer right in the apartment - and new ones at that.  Sweet.  (Its a House-Boy thing)

Lots of variety for shopping here, especially grocery shopping.  Lane was excited they have Publix grocery stores here.  I had never been in one before.  We have ended up grocery shopping at Publix, Winn-Dixie, Super Wal-Mart, Community Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart's version of just a grocery store), and Sam's.  We also found a really nice, large meat market we use occasionally.

We had our first real outing day on October 18th.  A relatively simple drive straight east gets us to Pompano Beach, a beautiful beach on the Atlantic coast.  They have really nice side walks, a really wide and clean beach, a pier, and even a light house.

Palm Tree lined sidewalks in Pompano Beach

A Travel Nurse and her House-Boy at Pompano Beach

The next week I made a trip back to our house in North Carolina for some business and errands. We still had the broken Suzuki motorcycle with us and I needed to get it back in the garage to store it until I can get around to getting it fixed.  Also needed to generally check on the house and switch it from air conditioning to heat for the coming winter, as well as lots of yard work.

Had to show Lane an "after" photo after doing some much needed yard cleaning.

There are great places for walking the pups here in Tamarac, and it is all so flat.  Lots of sidewalks all over, and loads of canals and small lakes and parks.

Part of a nearby park where the girls are frequently taken.

A portion of the Cypress Creek Green Way.

On the last day of the month we took the girls to a nearby doggie park.  Really nice and pretty.  And of course they had a blast.

Piper stretching her legs.

That's a happy Daisy-girl.

Socializing with the other doggies.

Loving the moderate weather here in sough Florida.

More adventures to come...




"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman

Farewell Dallas Texas, Hello Tamarac, Florida

Nine months (three contracts for Lane) in Dallas came to an end way to quickly for me, but time to move on.  I know Lane enjoyed her time at the hospital emergency room there, but I also know she was ready to move on.  So.. to where...?

Tamarac, Florida is next.  I had lobbied her hard for somewhere in Florida for the winter, and this came up.  Time now  for me to really do my job. Finding an apartment there, getting the electricity set up, getting renter's insurance set up, that kind of stuff, and planning the actual move. Lots of time spent on Google Maps led to the knowledge that the trip there was going to be either three very long and hard days of driving with two nights in motels, or four easier days of driving ( 4 hours, 9 hours, 9 hours, and 6 hours) and three nights in motels.  We chose the four day plan.

On her last night of work in Dallas I got her home by 2 am.  We had already packed as much as we could and I had already begun loading the trailer as much as I could.  After getting some sleep we finished packing up and I got the trailer all loaded.  By mid afternoon Wednesday we were all packed, the apartment was all clean, and we were on our way.

The F-350 and utility trailer just prior to beginning the loading,

Daisy and Piper settled down for the trip, in the back seat of Lane's F-150.  "Mom, Are we there yet?"

After several hours driving, our first night was in Bossier City, LA, a suburb of Shreveport.  Since beginning this adventure we have been staying nights in LaQuinta motels, since we found out most all of them allow pets with no restrictions or extra charges, and we used La Quinta for this trip also. A full day of driving Thursday got us as far as Mobile, AL.

Scenery along the way, courtesy Lane using the camera while driving.

Friday got us from Mobile, AL, to Jacksonville, FL.

Lane and the girls following behind me.

Going through a tunnel under Mobile Bay.

Finally into Florida, but a long way yet to go.

We spent Friday night in Jacksonville, and then Saturday morning started the last leg of 6+ hours to Tamarac.

We haven't seen moss on a tree like this in a long time.

Passing by Daytona Beach.

Finally arriving in Tamarac.

We spend a while in the apartment complex office doing the paperwork and paying the remaining deposits and fees.  I chose this apartment complex partially because it is very close to the hospital where Lane will be working, and partially because it is managed by the same Lincoln Property Corp that managed the place we stayed at in Dallas and we had a good experience there.  Finally we got to our new home for the next several months. 

The girls explore their new living room.

Our kitchen.

The bedroom has a sliding glass door leading to the patio.

And a nice walk in closet.

The apartment is on the ground floor, so that made for a simpler move in. It is much more light-filled and airy that our Dallas apartment had been.  And the patio is larger and feels more open than before too.  By Saturday night we were tired, but moved in.  No cable yet so it will be just DVDs for several days until Comcast gets here to set up the cable and internet.  Sunday was a day of rest and exploration.  It turns out the nice quiet road our apartment complex is on also runs right by the back parking lot entrance to the hospital where Lane will be working. So we are a nice two mile trip from there.  Beautiful area, loads of nice shopping, and easy to get around.

Monday was Lane's first day at the new hospital emergence room.  She says it is much smaller and way less busy than where she just left in Dallas, and where she last worked in Raleigh before that.  I say good, she deserves some time with a slower, more relaxed pace for a while.

New adventures from sunny south Florida to follow...




"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."

Brian Hallman