Untethered

To celebrate Dan's birthday this year, we opted to visit Chicago for a few days.  This trip was extra special because we were able to connect with Dan's cousin Mark who also had a birthday.  Mark and his partner Jim were fabulous traveling buddies as they share our love for exploring, walking and eating! We landed around noon so our first order of business in Chicago was to have lunch!  Deep dish pizza was on everyone's "must have" list so off we went to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, on North Wells Street.  It is famous for their Chicago deep dish pizza with a buttery crust and funky little dining areas.  We gave it a 5 star rating.  Stuffed with pizza, we opted to get some steps in and check out Chicago's impressive lake front green spaces which includes the Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park and Grant Park which all feature impressive landscaping and artistic features such as the Buckingham Fountain and the Cloud Gate (known as the bean by the loc...

Living here in Ponce Inlet means we are less than 50 miles away from the Kennedy Space Center which has been very busy this summer with rocket launches.  In case you aren't space geeks like Dan and I, space launches are now being done by private sector companies like Space X in coordination with NASA.  There has been a tremendous focus on reducing the costs of space travel which has spurred the creation of booster rockets that actually return to earth and land right back on the launch pad they left from.  We've had the good fortune to see 3 launches to date and are excited every time we see/hear one.  Watching a rocket return is pretty awesome so if you haven't seen it yet and would like to check it out. Just click here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsVkWmv0_YU Stay Curious!!!!

We are spending our last two months in the US in a lovely Florida "Salt Life" town called Ponce Inlet.  Located just 10 miles south of Daytona, here the world revolves around water. With access to both the ocean and river.......... boats, surfing, beach cruising and fishing fill the days.  We are staying in a lovely condo at the Harbor Village Yacht and Golf Club situated between the Halifax river and the Atlantic ocean. Here are a few of the views from our balcony. Ponce Inlet has conservation friendly land use regulations which means the beaches are pristine and the wildlife abounds everywhere.  A morning stroll on the beach will reveal no fewer than 50 active sea turtle nests up and down the coast. It's been fun to find fresh turtle tracks and a newly dug turtle egg nest.  No luck in actually seeing a hatching of baby turtles......yet! In addition, dolphins are visitors to our harbor so we get to watch them play and fish frequently. Bird life is plentifu...