Bits and pieces

Millie just read the blog posting and reminded me that I didn’t mention the nice restaurant on Marathon were we had lunch during our Keys tour. Its called the Sunset Grill and sits on the southern tip of Marathon overlooking the seven mile bridge. We ate there several years ago and I don’t remember it being this nice, they must have remodeled it. 

At the Sunset Grill in Marathon Florida

It is an open air restaurant under a large tiki hut style thatched roof. We had a table overlooking the swimming pool, which by the way, we thought was an odd location for a pool. While a few of the bathers were visually scrumptious, most reminded you to at least look at the lite fair section of the menu! 

Seven Mile Bridge

We did have an excellent view of the seven mile bridge and the surrounding waters. Note: the section of the old bridge that is used by walkers, bicycles and fishermen is being repaired and not open to the public. I don’t know how long it will be before it is reopened.

Poor Maggie is not having a good winter. She’s no longer bike riding and we have stopped her swimming pool use.

Some of you may remember when she was a puppy I built her a sidecar for my bike. She seemed to enjoy that and we pedaled several hundred miles around the campgrounds of Florida, lights flashing and bubbles streaming out the back. 

Maggie and the sidecar circa 2010

I took the sidecar out of storage last winter, reconditioned it with new paint, lights and bubble machine. Maggie didn’t like it, she went along with my foolishness but I could tell she didn’t like it. When we got back to Myrtle Beach I gave the bike and sidecar to a local Shriner who is going to use it in parades. 

Maggie and the sidecar in 2017

This winter, undaunted by Maggie’s antipathy for the sidecar, I rigged a basket to the handlebars of my beach bike, Millie made a pillow for it and we assumed the family would be pedaling around the campground together, albeit without the lights and bubbles.

Maggie doesn’t like it. We’re not sure why but we’re not going to force her to ride, she now watches us from her window on the world (the dashboard of the motorhome) You might ask how I know what she’s feeling, after nine years together we have kind of an unspoken language. I can usually pick up on visual cues and know what she wants or needs. 

Maggie and her swimming pool

The swimming pool is the opposite emotion for her; she is obsessed with looking for bubbles in it and will walk around in the shallow water for hours. Unfortunately in the past year she has developed a persistent skin rash. We have been to the vet several times for it and we thought we had it cleared up but it has reappeared. We had our wonderful veterinarian (Veterinary Clinic of Myrtle Beach) send a prescription to the Costco down here and we are working to clear it up again. Thinking that Maggie being wet for hours might be a contributing factor we have put the pool away. And thus was borne the phrase, “not a happy camper!”