My Cherrie amor...

So much has been going on lately that Alex and I decided to take a trip to our favorite place, the San Sebastian Winery in St Augustine, to just enjoy the atmosphere and see what new wines they had in store. As always click each photo for a better view.

It was your usual wonderful Florida day filled with flowers despite the heat.

I love San Sebastian Winery because they change the tours as they introduce new wines so each trip is an adventure.

It also changes with each tour guide because different guides decide to highlight different aspects of the wine production process. This time we got Mike who was a wealth of information in addition to being a fun guy!

I say that because he seemed almost as happy to pour for the tasting as we were to drink. And later when Alex decided to buy a few new bottles, the glow of the last few drops caused me to begin singing "My Cherie Amor" to cast my vote for some of their great Sherry. Alex made his purchase and pushed me into the upstairs restaurant to get a little food and let the tasting wear off.

We later rode our bikes into St. Augusting proper and stopped by the Visitors Center, a place we have passed a million times but never entered. We found out what we had been missing was considerable.

And then Alex caught sight of this little scooter shop.

He settled on this three wheel job and we spent an hour spinning around the City with Alex returning the favor and singing "My Cherrie Amor" with each turn of a corner.

What a guy and what a day!

Give Yourself a Break

Lately it has been one of those instances of “Be careful what you wish for” in that I have landed a number of speaking engagements as far away as Atlanta, done a few stress reduction seminars, and gotten new clients. In other words I have really been busy. And then it came to me that I have been pushing myself and it is OK to exchange some of my rushing here and there for simply giving myself a break.

One thing I hope my previous posts have served to point out is taking a break does not have to involve great expense, long distances, or great planning (despite what planaholic Alex has to say). I hope they have demonstrated that your city or town has something interesting to explore if you would simply take the time to wander around a little to find it.

That said, last weekend to get away from the heat Alex and I threw some food in a cooler and headed for the beach with a little bucket to collect shells (I know Chrissy has now gotten very interested…) and I am including pictures of my haul. Alex likes perfect shells and shapes but I like bits and pieces if they are interesting. As always, feel free to click each photo for a better view.

This first group is pretty eclectic. The only thing they have in common is the lines running through each one. Strange but they remind me of miniature versions of cut away sides of mountains in Colorado.

This next group I simply liked the colors running through each one. They make you wonder how the whole shell looked and maybe what was in it. What is not readily apparent is how each one has been smoothed by sun and surf to make the colors more brilliant.

This final group fits into the perfect shell category. Each one is whole and complete and you can enjoy their features while wondering what might have been growing inside.

From Sprockets to Rockets

I recently had to come out of the closet to my readers and admit that I am a bicycle nut. There is something about wheels turning and the feel of the wind in your face that has always excited and caused me to expand my ownership of different bicycles. It extends from this high end Cannondale that for me means strictly business, Tour De France kind of speed;

to the middle of the road, ride anywhere mountain bike;



and finally to the just for fun work-horse cruiser that was recently stolen:

It was during my search online for parts to replace the stolen cruiser that I stumbled upon this wonderful video on the history of bicycles or From Sprockets to Rockets.