Video of the week - Betcha can't do this

"Oops"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57321982-503544/rick-perry-fails-to-remember-what-agency-hed-get-rid-of-in-gop-debate/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

If you have not seen it yet, click on the link above to see Rick Perry self destruct during the debate earlier today. 

La Quinta Daytona

Above are pictures from the La Quinta at Daytona.  It was originally another hotel/motel that is about 30 years old and was purchased by the current owner who got a La Quinta Franchise so it is not completley similar to most La Quintas as far as facilities.   It has the mexican clay roof, good sized rooms, a heated pool, and a great view of the ocean. 

Gopher Tortoise

Above is a picture of a Gopher Tortoise taken at Ponce Inlet which is about 9 miles or so north of Daytona.   They have a nice park there with a pier, a beach, and we also saw some dolphins in the inlet.  The turtle was eating lunch and not too concerned about much else.

Atlantic

Above is a picture I took looking straight out into the Atlantic on Daytona Beach.   There was a good breeze but the air was envigorating.   The ocean produces some good breathing air and I was really feeling it here. 

Venice Florida

I don't know if I took any pictures at Venice.  Maybe I have some I took with my phone.  I will add them later if I find them.   We spend a couple of days at Venice and it was very nice.  Again the weather was just about perfect and the beach was great.  It is a little farther south so we were able to take a dip in the ocean.   It couldn't have been more relaxing.  Whenever it got a little warm, I would just plunk in the ocean for a little bit and splash around.   We had to walk a little bit to get to a quieter section of the beach but we still ended up chatting with several really nice folks who strolled by.  Everybody seemed to be high on the fresh air.  On the way back from the beach one  day, we stopped to pick up a sandwich at the KT deli at 454 E. Venice Ave.  When I went in I met Toan, the owner and his wife who's name I don't remember but she had a very cute personality.  Toan did most of the talking but his wife would smile and also make comments that didn't agree 100% with Toan.  Toan offered me some home made eggrolls to sample and I asked him what else he recommended.  I ended up getting a french vietnamese sandwich and some eggrolls.  This is the place to grab a sandwich in Venice.  He told me he recently updated the menu to include homemade eggrolls and other vietnamese choices but a lady who was in there getting lunch told me that the Cuban press sandwiches were good also.   Toan also told me where to get the best vietnamese buffet food here in Houston at our local chinatown.   I am going to check it out and will update the blog when I do.

Roses are red, the sky is blue...

Above is a picture from when I was sitting at the campsite one day at O'Leno.   I was sitting there relaxing and the sky really looked blue and beautiful so I clicked a picture of it.   This was perfect weather for camping.  No misquitos or humidity.  A little too cool in the evening but we had a fire so it was about as good as it gets.

Destin Florida & Grayton Beach State Park

We stayed one night at Grayton Beach State Park.  When I looked online at the specific picture of the campsite that I reserved also online, it looked very private because it appeared to be fenced in by vegitation and trees.   However, when we arrived, there was a campsite directly behind it that bordered the back of our site.  There was a clear view if thier RV which was facing us, a fire burning, and also a loud radio playing Southern Rock.   I have no problem with Nascar and Nascar fans.  I enjoy a good Nascar race myself.  Still,  A nascar party was not what I imagined when I booked this campsite.  We went to the forest ranger and the moved us to another site but it was till pretty close to the nieghbors.  Also there were trails all around our campsite that lead to the the restroom shower area so people were walking by at all times of the night with flashlights.  There was also a neigbor who treated us to several hours of classic rock.  We could clearly hear the conversations from two of the nearby campsites.  Grayton Beach Park is a nice place as far as the beach and park area but the camping experience is more of a place to stay or somewhere you would want to have an RV.  Not good for tent camping.    In the middle of the night I was dreaming along and I woke up into a sleepy haze hearing animals walking around our tent and then thrashing around on our picnic table.  I thought I had put all food items in the car's trunk but I left a lunchbox and a can of nuts out.  As I looked out the window, it looked like there were two bears trying to claw my lunch box open.  I was half asleep and I was thinking to myself, "are there black bears in florida?".   Then I woke up a little bit and realized that it was two very large and fat racoons who must have gotten that way by eating well from what they stole from campsites.   I shined a flashlight at them and they marauded off to pillage the next campsite.


The next day we cut this particular venture short went over to Destin and checked in to a Motel 6.  It was as sparse as most motel 6's but this one had a kitchenette and the room was actually pretty large compared to any Motel 6 room I had seen before.

Below are a couple of photos I took when we were eating lunch under a public Gazebo.   I should have clicked a few more but I was busy enjoying the really beautiful beach.   It was perfect weather.   This part of our trip was actually the day before we camped O'Leno which I have already posted pictures of in the previous post.