St. Pete Beach Sunsets, Toasted Monkeys, And Weird Moon Pictures

I thought this maxi dress was going to be perfect to wear as we transition from Summer to Fall (yeah, Fall at the beach. Really!), but I've been wearing it so much all summer that I'm probably going to be sick of it by the time Fall arrives. For sure it will be in threads by next summer. I love it that much!

Our trip to St. Pete Beach was FUN! The sunsets were AMAZING! And living in Pensacola Beach, I am very spoiled when it comes to amazing sunsets. St. Pete Beach faces west so the sunsets are right over the Gulf of Mexico, which is amazing on an entirely different scale than Pensacola Beach where the beach faces South and we get the sunset going down over the bay and the Santa Rosa Sound. Totally different and amazing as well.

There were many cool beach bars within walking distance of our hotel and we frequented as many as we could fit in in the short time we were at St. Pete Beach. I loved the name of this one - Toasted Monkey.

Very fitting since we saw several people who were indeed toasted and acting like monkeys. In a nice way though.

Of course, we took Phantom with us since he has to have his cancer and heart medications and special foods. The first day while I was doing a 3 mile run, I bought this new snappy red harness for him so he can go outside with us without running off. He didn't like it much at first (still doesn't) and did this dead possum pose where he would lay there dead weight and refuse to budge even if I poked at him and tried to bribed him to get up.

When I finally gave up and said, "Okay, lay there! But I'm going outside!" and then I would go outside and stand by the door, he caught on quick and popped right up. Even Phantom can overlook a little indignity if it means getting outside for a while.

The people who worked at the hotel were very impressed at the way we had "trained" Phantom to walk on a leash. Trained! Ha!

In this creepy looking picture we were trying to capture the moon behind us so the camera flash was turned off. Right after sunset, before all the stars came out, there was only the crescent moon with a very bright star next to it that we are pretty sure was a planet. There was several debates on which planet it was. I say Venus because isn't that one called the "evening star'"? Or is Venus the "morning star"? My second guess is Jupiter.

The Murph thinks it was Venus too. Below is a little better. It doesn't look like fairies are about to land on the Murph's head like the above picture does.

We got several pictures like the last one. Our camera's not high tech and neither are we. A couple from Germany had a high powered super camera that was taking some amazing pictures of this. The Murph offered for them to swap cameras with us, but they weren't interested. They got a good laugh at our poor camera's expense though.

Anyway all they got are silly moon and planet pictures and who even knows for sure if it even was a planet for real. We got an entire light show!

Traveling South In Florida

 Here's the reason why I haven't posted anything for a couple of days. I'm at the beach. Not the beach I live on, but another beach further south in Florida. Thursday we packed up Phantom and drove down to the Tampa/St Pete area because the Murph had a job interview. The drive took up about 7 hours from Pensacola Beach, but Phantom and I handled it very well. I did better because I drove 2 1/2 hours of the drive. That was the part where the Murph didn't do very well.

He was glad to take over the wheel again.

Phantom slept most of it. I let him out of his crate twice to use his litter box and stretch his legs by jumping into the way back area of the SUV where I couldn't get to him. He was very cooperative though and came to me when I called him because he thought he was getting out of the car. He is a very good traveler and a sweet kitty.

While I was running yesterday in St. Pete,  I went into two different pet boutiques and purchased this cool backpack, rolling carrier for Phantom. I also purchased a bigger halter that actually fits him so we can take him outside with us without him running off. He loves being outside, but can hide inside the backpack if he gets scared.

I put him on my back and went to the hotel's out door grill for lunch while we were waiting for the Murph to get back from his job interview. Phantom would go from "wanting to explore and attack the birds" to "I'm scared! I better hide!" The backpack was his "safe" spot.

He did really well with the new halter. Much better than the other halter I have for him. I didn't get any good pictures of it though. Just a bunch of strange looks from the other tourists. I guess they've never seen a cat on a leash before.

Good news is...

1. The Murph got a job offer so it looks like we might be moving down here. Good news because he got a job, but bad news we have to leave Pensacola Beach. We LOVE it there, but we can love Tampa/St. Pete too. The beaches are HUGE!! Like on steroids huge!

2. I found not one, but two vets who specialize in holistic medicine down here and have called and emailed them to see if they can help Phantom fight his cancer holistically. I am very, very exited about this because I found zero vets in Alabama or the pan handle of Florida that does holistic stuff.

I stopped the Palladia after he threw up the last pills. I think they helped stop the cancer spread, but now I'm looking for holistic stuff that will take over where the Palladia left off.

In October we go to Miami for the half ironman triathlon. I feel like I've suddenly become a total beach bum, taking a tour of many different beaches! Florida beaches this time. It reminds me of when I went to visit a dear friend in Tortolla and her husband took us on a tour of all the beaches on the island. We circled the entire island and hit all the best spots. I was amazed at the difference in all the beaches on that small island. Some rocky, some smooth and crystal clear, some with huge surfing waves. It was so fun!

What are some of your favorite beaches?

That's all for now because I have to get a work out in and then hit the beach!