Travelog for: Jeff

January 2008 -- McFloozy and her friend, Jill, found me with some dog toys in a shop near the Over Easy Cafe.

All the other toys in the barrell were dog toys, and McFloozy rescued me from that fate before I could be taken elsewhere to get chewed up.

One of the first things we did was go to the beach near Casa Ybel. Oh, that was great! I enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. So glad I had my sunglasses!!

McFloozy took me all around Sanibel Island in Florida. We went to see the lighthouse, and rode bicycles all around the island.

I didn't get sunburned at all.  But McFloozy might have!

Everyone put on sunscreen, and we went out on a kayak! I had never been out on a boat before, and it was a little scary. I was afraid McFloozy would bump me with that long paddle thing she had. I think Jill was a little worried about that too, but she never said anything. 

Once we were back on land, we went bicycling some more, and spent a little time stopping to smell the flowers. Oh, it was so lovely there.

As our week in  Paradise continued, things got pretty wild!

We went to Manatee Park, because we wanted to see manatees! They gather there because the water is warm where it is released from the power plant. Manatees are gentle, and they love that warm water.

We saw an alligator! But, it was actually a statue. McFloozy would never actually feed me to an alligator... Would she?

Anyway, for a minute, I thought about my relatives who are dog toys, and I knew just how they must feel. I'm glad McFloozy rescued me from the Dog Toy Store.

Of course, we had key lime pie! That is the most delicious thing.

I bet dogs never get to eat that wonderful, tasty, treat! Well, after I ate about half the pie, I just wanted to run around like a chicken with my head chopped off.

Suddenly, it was nap time.

Well, after that long flight stuffed into a suitcase, it was a relief to get out of the bag.

But from the frying pan, into the fire, so to speak. I seem to be stuffed into a box if miscellaneous.

It's lonely in here.

I think she forgot about me.

Where does the time go?

It seems like only yesterday I was here in Sanibel, and now, it is a whole year later. Some things never change.

I spent most of the year in a box or a suitcase, so I was very excited when McFloozy brought me to Sanibel again.

Surprise! I got reunited with my mom (Henrietta), and Uncle Harvey. Uncle Harvey is kind of pale. He has been flying around the world since 1980. Henrietta is still pretty perky. Always conscious of her figure.

In my short weekend visit to Sanibel, we had a lot of fun. Of course, we ate key lime pie.

I also got to rest in the hammock. I like that a lot!

When McFloozy and her friends were having lunch by the pool, I hid in the utensil basket! That is so silly.

Gee, it's dark in here.

Every now and then there is some rumbling, and I think I'm going to get out and go on a trip.

But it just gets dustier and dustier. I think Henrietta is stuck in here too.

McFloozy!!!  Take us on a trip! Please..........

It was so dingy in that box I stayed in all year in Arlington, MA.

Thank goodness McFloozy brought me back to Sanibel for her annual reunion.

I had fun on the beach, and I found some lovely seaweed that made a splendid skirt. Well, it's sort of a 'beach wrap'.


I don't know why I have a scallop shell on my head, but it's a perfect hat!

When it was time for the sunset, McFloozy and some of her friends came out to the beach with me. We loved watching the sunset.

I love it here in Sanibel. I just had so much fun on the beach, and bicycling, and sunsets, and hanging out with friends.

Here's my last sunset-fairwell....



Now, it will be back to my box in Massachusetts. I hope I get to go out and play in New England. It gets dark and lonely in that junk box...

It's Patriots Day in Massachusetts!

Lots of people are running the Boston Marathon. Some people couldn't make it because of the cloud of volcanic ash in the sky over Iceland and much of northern Europe.

I didn't run the marathon. But, today was excitiing for me, because this is the day I got my ID Tag!

Now I have a real identity. I just love it!

I begged McFloozy to take  me on an adventure today! She agreed!

She took me to Walden Pond. That's where Henry David Thoreau spent some time, and wrote his famous book, Walden. Oh, I just love that guy! He is so insightful and awake.

I had a nice chat with Mr. Thoreau.

He told me "A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."

Well! That's pretty profound. So, we walked down to the pond... Walden Pond. The path that goes around it was flooded, and actually, so was the beach. So I climbed a tree to have a little think, and enjoy the view.


I really agree with Thoreau. He oncee wrote "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." That makes a lot of sense. Maybe explains why we each have a different rhythm.

On the way out, we stopped to look at a replica of Mr. Thoreau's cabin. Boy, it is pretty small, only 10 feet by 15 feet. But not as small as the box I get shoved into for most of the year! Still, I hopped into the pot on his little stove. Who was it said "a chicken in every pot"? Not Thoreau. I'm hoping he was a vegetarian.  Anyway, I decided the pot was picturesque, but not a good place to stay too long.


McFloozy took me back home to Arlington. She got real excited because some finch has a nest in the Christmas wreath on her door. Five tiny eggs in it. Well, McFloozy can take me on a lot of trips, cuz she can't sit on her front porch for the next two weeks (incubation time for a house finch).