Dogs can be cute too…

Happy Wednesday! You’re half way through the week!

Husky Singing

OK so he was not so much singing as he was complaining at the ring tone that Skype was making, but you get the point. He can be so opinionated about things!

Take your dog to the Keys they said..

It will be fun they said…

My parents have taken our dog, Keen, to the Keys several times and it really is a lot of fun having him there. So much fun in fact that I decided to go with them on their next trip. Instead of us all cramming in one room or spending a ton of money on an extra hotel room, we decided to look for a rental house or condo. It started off so well! We found plenty of houses that accepted pets and had really good prices. I e-mailed my favorites so that I could verify availability and book. Easy, right? Not. At. All. There are so many restrictions on dogs! I had no idea it would be so complicated!

Our first choice wouldn’t allow huskies because of the insurance. I work in insurance and I know how the insurance companies can be, so it was hard to argue that one. No problem because I had several back-ups! Then the next place wouldn’t accept dogs that were over 25 lbs, then another place had a 30lb limit. After that it was no fluffy dogs. UGH! I finally found one place that was all the way out on Cudjoe Key, which is about 23mi from Key West, that was available and didn’t hold grudges against 50lb, fluffy puppies.

That was just too far, so after spending a few days feeling like a hamster running in a wheel, we finally ended back at the original plan. They’re going to stay at the same hotel that they always use and I’m going to book a place for myself. All that effort for nothing! So for anyone out there that’s wondering, if you’re traveling with a dog that’s larger or hairier than a chihuahua, it might be hard to find a place to stay, apart from the large hotel chains. You should also be prepared to pay extra pet fees, regardless of your dog breed.

If anyone has any recommendations or alternative options, I would love to hear them!

Living History at Desoto National Park

I was taking the pup for a walk in the park this morning..

When I saw this…

It’s not everyday you see a horse in armor walking around Desoto. Turns out it’s the 4th annual American Military Festival.

There’s a bunch of booths with different types of displays..

People are all in costume..

If you’re in the area, go check it out. There’s lovely weather today!

32 Minutes or So…

I hope everyone had a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day. The Shamrock Run and Pub Crawl was even better than I thought it would be! They haven’t posted the official results yet, but my time was around 32 minutes.

My mom was about one tenth of a mile before the finish line taking pictures, but she didn’t see me until I passed her.. Then I ran past my dad at the finish line and he didn’t see me either! Ayiyi. Thanks, Family!

There’s everyone, complete with the dogs, and boy were there a lot of dogs there!

Of all shapes and sizes..

This was one of the most fun races I have done. The costumes, the food, the music… All of it was wonderful

There was dancing..

I got some use out of two t-shirts I made 2 YEARS ago..

One says, “I’m Irish.. but don’t kiss me.” The other says, “I’m not Irish… but you can kiss me.”

The food was delicious. Fresh fruits, every kind of sandwich wrap imaginable, cookies, drinks, granola bars and sweet potato chips..

I was also really impressed with the band! I have no idea what their name was and I can’t fin it online, but they were great!

If anybody knows, please tell me!

That’s about all for now!

Musical Throwdown: Husky vs Parrot

I’m working on a Costa Rica post and I came across this old video of my dog HATING it when our parrot was squawking. Take a look..

Getting down in downtown Bradenton.

I wasn’t exactly born here, but I still consider Bradenton my hometown. It’s a small beach town, but there actually is a lot to do.  First there’s Main Street Live. They close down our small main street and bring in a live band, full stage and a bunch of food trucks. Sometimes there are other vendors selling things like roses, or sombreros…

They have special events throughout the year. The picture above was from Cinco de Mayo and the one below was New Years Eve..

NYE was complete with a ball drop, party hats and obnoxious horns to blow at midnight. If you live in Bradenton, chances are you are close enough to bicycle downtown. No gas money and no drinking and driving!

There’s also the Desoto Parade which is held every year around April. You’ll actually see chairs beginning to line the streets a few days before the parade, it’s kind of a big deal. Ok not that big of a deal, but it’s still pretty fun. There’s a 5k race that happens before the parade where you run through all of the people who are lining the streets. It’s a bit intimidating, but it’s also fun to have so many people cheering you on. I did this last year with my cousin..

We ran, got rained on, which cooled us off nicely, and then watched the parade. For St. Patrick’s day, they’re having another race with a pub crawl after. It should be a good time! If you’ll be in the area, it’s not too late to sign up!

So that’s a little bit of the nightlife but there are other things too, like the farmers market..

There’s fresh cheeses, breads, fruits, vegetables, pastries, dogs…

A clown…

Fresh Lemonade..

You might even see Bradenton’s own Yellow Bicycling Man…

I’ve been seeing him around town for probably the past decade. Always completely in yellow. Always on a yellow bicycle. Anyway, the farmers market is every Saturday with a special craft day once a month. There are a few things to check out when you visit or move to Bradenton. Let me know if there’s something I should add or check out!

Cross-Eyed Monster

What is it about cats that makes it necessary for them to crawl into every open door, cabinet, crevice or in this case, carpet roll?

We also have a Husky who sheds on EVERYTHING. We were in the process of de-hairing our floors when we threw all the rugs outside. When we went back to get them all, this is what we found.

Pretty cute, huh? I was able to get a few quick pictures before the dog came over and sniffed his butt, which caused a minor heart attack on the cat’s part. They actually get along pretty well. By “pretty well” I mean they try to each pretend the other doesn’t exist. That’s good enough for me!

Kitten is the cats name (I’m not good with the whole naming thing, obviously. Hopefully, I improve before I have kids. I have a feeling naming all of my children “Baby Human” would be frowned upon) and the dogs name is Keen. It’s a good thing he was already named when we got him. If not, I’m afraid he would have been “Puppy” or “Little Husky Puppy” if I were feeling fancy. I guess it’s only fair to put a picture of “Little Husky Puppy” on here too…