to everyone in blizzarrd country

[zephyr4]

Well, I posted a link to these in another thread, but since it seems relevant:

You-all in Florida may want to see what our harbors in Michigan looked like last week:

Winter On Lake Michigan

[Wahoo Sails]

Raven,
Have just come back from a nightime sojurn into the Atlantic, looking for bugs ... sorry to say we didn't find any ... but what a way to spend an evening!
'Will the sea take it back?" I have little doubt, but in the meantime, the gold rules ... 'them what has the gold rules'.
Bob

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Wahoo Sails

just come back from a nightime sojurn into the Atlantic, looking for bugs ... sorry to say we didn't find any

Are their numbers down? Or just a bad night for finding them?

It's been interesting to watch the New England lobster industry in recent years. Lots of speculation over a coming crash of the population but they remain pretty prolific. Now that pretty much every lobster on the Maine coast finds its way into a trap and is pulled from the ocean as soon as it reaches the legal minimum, the big ones are pretty rare. The ocean floor must have been something to see back in the days before folks began harvesting them. A Maine lobster could live for 100 years and grow up to 4 feet in length!

[Wahoo Sails]

Raven,
Last night was our first time trying to find lobster at night ... and it's altogether possible that we were just looking in the wrong places.
I'm still new to the Keys, but the stories I hear from the Conchs are amazing. I think the fishing here is just great ... then you hear someone compare it to what it was like "in the day" ... and if it weren't for the occassional old photo, ya just wouldn't believe it.
Bob

[CSY Man]

Florida?
Bugs and swamps and rats and heat and humidity and alligators, relieved by a couple of months of nice weather. Not to mention the crazy mix of drivers and the roads.

What a bad experience you must have had in Florida..

I have lived here 8 years now and have not seen any of that.
Yes, there is bugs inland, but nobody in his right mind would settle down in the swamps;

Along the Atlantic coast we have nice breezes that keeps the bugs away. Have not seen any rats or alligators around here either.

Have never been bothered by heat or humidity, but then again, we live East of I-95 and the temprature rarely gets over the ocean temp, 85 F or so.

I have seen bad drivers, both here and in New York, and everywhere else for that matter.

Florida are much more than just swamps: We enjoy living here and have not had any problems with hurricanes or anything. Buying a waterfront home here on a canal in Ft. Lauderdale has been the best investment decision I have ever done: The place is like a free ATM machine.

Good thing some folks like to showel snow in Minnesota or wherever, if everybody moved here it would really be crowded..

Having lived 20 years in Norway and 3 years in Alaska, I am done with snow and ice for good, enjoying sunshine and palmtrees here in Florida instead.

[Benny]

Here, Here!

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

What a bad experience you must have had in Florida..

I have lived here 8 years now and have not seen any of that.
Yes, there is bugs inland, but nobody in his right mind would settle down in the swamps;

Along the Atlantic coast we have nice breezes that keeps the bugs away. Have not seen any rats or alligators around here either.

Have never been bothered by heat or humidity, but then again, we live East of I-95 and the temprature rarely gets over the ocean temp, 85 F or so.

I have seen bad drivers, both here and in New York, and everywhere else for that matter.

Florida are much more than just swamps: We enjoy living here and have not had any problems with hurricanes or anything. Buying a waterfront home here on a canal in Ft. Lauderdale has been the best investment decision I have ever done: The place is like a free ATM machine.

Good thing some folks like to showel snow in Minnesota or wherever, if everybody moved here it would really be crowded..

Having lived 20 years in Norway and 3 years in Alaska, I am done with snow and ice for good, enjoying sunshine and palmtrees here in Florida instead.

hey CSY nice to hear it. i live several miles from the ocean and the summer sea breeze is something to experience ... much cooler than the gulf coast. sure there is a rat race here and strip malls but what state doesn't have that? i can watch eagles and otters and manatees and porpoise from my back yard ... along with flamingos and pelicans that come to visit.

[hellosailor]

CSY, honestly now, how many months of the year do you run the airconditioning? And, if you couldn't, would you still enjoy living there?

I agree with you about bad drivers being a national problem. But only in Florida have they found an oldster driving down the turnpike with a man embedded in his windshield. You must remember that from the Sunpike last year?!

What can I say, I like seasons. At least four of them. And trees that don't need to be propped up with sticks, like something out of a Hollywood prop room.<G> And hills, and neighborhoods where every intersection doesn't look the same (Walmart, WalGreen, whatever franchise) and all built to the same generic local style code at the same time.

Nah. Nice place to visit once in a while, but not for me. (Which is really a good thing--you don't want ALL the rest of us to move down there and crowd you out, do you?<G>)

[CSY Man]

CSY, honestly now, how many months of the year do you run the airconditioning? And, if you couldn't, would you still enjoy living there?

Well, we run the A/C about 10 months out of the year.
Not that I need it, but wifey does.

Yes, I could do without A/C as long as I have ventilation or a fan.

Many moons ago I lived on a boat in the Virgin Islands, never had A/C on that boat and I did it for 3 years.
(Different wife though)

You must remember that from the Sunpike last year?!

No, never heard of it, but don't doubt it.

(Walmart, WalGreen, whatever franchise) and all built to the same generic local style code at the same time.

Does not describe my neigborhood, but I wish we had a Wal-Mart nearby.
All them big stores and big malls seems to be out West, such as Plantation and Coral Springs etc.

We have Home Depot and K-Mart about 20 minuttes drive away from my shack and some grocery stores nearby.
Best of all is the German Deli up on 84, get my Bitburger Beer at that place, and my sausages, salami and fresh "European" bread..Yum..

So, uh Florida can be different depending where ya are, but not fair to stereotype the place as a bug infested swamp.

That would be like saying New York only has yellow cabs and snow storms. And in Utah everybody has 4 wifes, California is one big movie studio, etc.

As for 4 seasons, nah, not my cup of tea: Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.