Hot Girls Blowing Fire

This and a whole lot more can be found at the

Florida Renaissance Festival

held at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield. Click on the link for info and directions. I took this photo of Casey from "Barely Balanced" last year. I'm looking forward to catching their show again this season. I've been going to Ren Fest for years and always find something new, like a glass blowing demonstration, or enjoy something old, like "The Mud Show". I'm constantly amazed at the variety of entertainment. I know Ren Fest isn't for everyone but if you have never been, you should give it a try. Live talent beats TV reruns any day.

I'll be there on the opening weekend. The show runs each weekend Feb 7th thru March 8th.

Dragonfly

I caught this little guy at the

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

The Morikami is located in Delray Beach. There's a lot more to the gardens than this tiny critter but it was my best shot of the day. Click on the link above and see what else The Morikami offers. It takes several hours to walk the whole thing. Go early and have lunch at the main building. I highly recommend the Bento Box lunch.

The Field - Dania Beach

I've passed by this place for years. From the outside, The Field doesn't look like much. It's hard to find a good pub in South Florida but taking note of the amount of cars consistently filling the parking lot, I thought I would give it a try.

Walking up to the door, I was still not convinced I wasn't making a mistake. The weathered deck and rustic door was not encouraging. Once inside, it was a totally different story. First impression - The place is HUGE. The inside is rustic to the point of a code violation but with loads of charm and character. It didn't take long to realize most of the patrons were regulars, or maybe it just seemed that way. The staff made me feel like I had been coming for years. The food is fantastic, huge portions, and reasonably priced. I suggest the corn beef and cabbage and a Boddingtons Pub Ale to wash it down. Go Friday night and catch the band. I had a front row table the last 3 visits. I have yet to check out the other dining rooms. If you have, send me a comment.

Anne Kolb Nature Center

One of my favorite places to visit is the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park. The Park is located on Sheridan Street just East of the Bridge from Hollywood Beach. Very easy to get to and plenty of free parking. Beach parking just a short walk away is $8.00. I would rather park at Anne Kolb and  walk. In fact this is the start of my 8 mile Hollywood Beach weekend walk. If I'm not walking, I can be found on the water at West Lake in either a canoe or Kayak. Not too expensive to rent but a good idea to call first to make sure of availability. Anne Kolb is on the North side of the street. West Lake Park is on the South side, costs a buck to park, and is a much longer walk to the beach so be sure to choose the right entrance.

What's in the News Today

Do you like headlines from around the world? Check out the NEWSEUM. It provides an interactive map. Just move your cursor over the map and when you roll over a newpaper link, you get the front page.

Have you checked out Hollywood Beach?

It's been a long time coming but the upgrade to the Hollywood Beach Broad Walk is finally finished. I always thought Fort Lauderdale had the best beach walk in the area but Hollywood has gone world class. With about 3 miles of paver bricks and an Art Deco wall, it makes going the beach an experience. The stores and tourists have not really changed much but I've always enjoyed the old time, family oriented beach front. For my typical visit, I walk the whole thing down and back with a breakfast stop along the way. Peaceful and laid back. Living in such a hectic place, a little bit of mellow distraction is greatly appreciated.

Born on Date

A new day and a new Blog site. I started my original blog by building my own web server. While that was challenging and rewarding, I didn't really think much about what content I would serve up. I named it Random Thoughts and that's what it was mostly. My server is a bit unstable but I found I like posting things so I thought I would give this a try. At least I won't have check my server 10 times a day to see if it's still running.