Hello Again, I'm Not Dead

I wasn't lying on my last blog posting when I said I might be away for a bit. A month and a half since my last posting but you haven't missed a whole lot. Okay, that's not entirely true but certainly nothing earth shattering.

As planned, I spent Christmas in Florida with my brother and his family. I dragged my parents along with me as well to make it a real family Christmas. The first one in many years where we've all been together.

The "Unconditional Surrender" statue in downtown Sarasota, Florida.

I won't bore you with all of the details. Suffice it to say everyone got lots of presents from Santa and we ate way too much good food. It was a great three weeks in the Sunshine State.

Well, it wasn't entirely without incidence. My poor mother after just recovering from a broken ankle last Autumn, missed a step coming down the stairs and fell again two days before Christmas. Despite her intense pain she didn't let us take her to the hospital until Boxing Day where she was diagnosed with a bad sprain and pulled ligaments but no break. Of course anyone who's had an injury like this knows, sometimes you're better off just to break it. So as it turns out, mom spent most of the vacation on the couch resting although I did drag her out a few times shopping where she could ride the electric scooters around Walmart and Target and near the end of the trip she could walk a little better.

Of course mom's injury meant she wasn't able to go to Tampa to see the Montreal Canadiens play the Lightning. So in her place went my sister-in-laws sister along with my dad, brother and sis-in-law of course. We had a terrific time and Montreal won which was a bonus

Red-shouldered Hawk in Myakka River State Park.

During the trip I got a bit of sun which was nice but the one thing I did a lot  of was shop. I spent over $1200 on mostly new clothes. Having lost all my weight my old wardrobe was no good to me. All of my old clothes were several sizes too large. I had a good time shopping.

Weight loss and body changes continue to happen.

So how did my weight loss go while on vacation? Well, as expected I gained some weight because to be completely honest, I ate like a pig. I fully expected to come home and find I'd gained 30 pounds. But when I stepped on the scale after getting back I had only gained about 14 pounds. And I'm happy to say that within a week I had dropped every pound and was back to my pre-vacation weight. I think the main reason I didn't gain more likely had to do with the fact that most mornings I would go for a good long walk and do a couple laps of a local lake. Probably about 3 miles each time.

I did get a couple opportunities to practice my photography hobby as well. I took my camera on my walk one day and got some shots of some of the local water birds like Blue Herons, Ibis, Egrets and others. Another day dad and I loaded mom into the truck our way to Myakka River State Park near Sarasota. Here I got some nice photos of lots of Alligators and was lucky enough to spot a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks.

Ibis in Flight.

It was a good trip but I was not pleased at all to return home. While away there was a brutal ice storm. The tree damage was minimal but there had to be anywhere from two to six inches of ice in the driveway. I was three days chipping it clear and shovelling the heavy ice onto the yard. And if that isn't bad enough, I just got it cleared in time as we've had several snow storms since then and have more snow on the ground than I can recall in recent memory.

Oh, and to make matters worse, the temperatures have been bitterly cold. One night at work I was sitting in my car when all of a sudden my back window exploded. The heat inside and the minus 30 temps outside didn't agree with the tempered glass. That was a fun night.

So as you can see, it has been a somewhat interesting period since my last posting but life is funny that way. Never a dull moment.

Not So Mouth Watering

During my recent vacation I ate way too much fast food. It's easy to do when you're traveling for four long days. Then when you're out running errands or shopping and just need to take the hunger edge off, I just stop into a Mickey D's, Wendy's or Burger King and chow down on a burger, fries and pop.

I'm not a breakfast eater so when you hit the road at 4:30am and start to get the hunger pains around 7:30am but don't want to stop too long, the options are limited.

The one thing I did enjoy was the fact that some of the McDonald's locations in the U.S. have what's called the Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel.

Of course I don't like egg so I'd order it without the rubber chicken extract. Plus removing the egg also reduces the calorie intake from the usual 660 calories of greasy goodness.

The breakfast sandwich has some kind of steak tasting square meaty looking patty, sauteed onions, cheese and the breakfast sauce. I don't know why they won't serve this on the breakfast menu in the Canadian restaurants but if they did I'd likely eat breakfast more often.

Eating on the fly at these fast food joints is quick and easy but of course it isn't the most healthy for you.

Not only does McDonald's have this breakfast steak miracle but apparently they've come out with a new burger that has people flocking to the restaurant for lunch and dinner. I haven't tried it myself yet and to be honest, after seeing the sign advertising it, I don't think it's something I'd find very appetizing. You can judge for yourself. Perhaps you're into eating this type of meal...and who am I to judge.

Sun, Fun, Family and Whales

Will someone please explain to me how it’s possible for time to go by so much faster while you’re on vacation, yet when you’re sitting at work, it seems to take forever for eight hours to tick away?

Oh well, at least I was able to enjoy some time off and help recharge my internal batteries for the last month or so of winter. Not to mention I’d only taken a week’s holidays in the last 12 months so I was feeling quite lethargic to say the least and needed to change things up for a bit.

As it turned out the vacation went very well and I was able to relax. Everyone asks me, “What did you do on vacation” and when I tell them I went to Florida and spent a lot of time doing nothing they can’t figure out why I wasn’t going non-stop all the time.

I was quite content to sit outside in a lawn chair with a magazine, a beverage, my iPod and the warm Florida sunshine shinning down on me. I didn’t need to be on the road every day going all over the State.

That’s not to say I didn’t do a little travelling around or have some fun days away from my lawn chair.

First off I was able to spend some quality time with not only my brother and his wife but I had a chance to see my nephew for the very first time. It’s hard to believe anyone could be cuter than me but this kid might just take away my title.

I hadn’t seen my brother and sister-in-law in over a year and it was nice to spend some time with them. Even at this age I miss not having my brother around sometimes. It would be nice to just call him up and say I’m coming over to have a beer and watch some TV with you but that’s just not possible.

But we did get to spend some time together. We drove up to Tampa one night, ate too much Italian food at Buca di Beppo restaurant. Then it was off to the NHL game at the St. Pete Times Forum with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately the Habs played horrible and lost but the seats were great and the game was entertaining. I always enjoy going to a hockey game in my shorts.

The one thing I always do when I go to Florida is buy clothing. As a big guy, the selection of clothing around home is less than spectacular and I always make it a point to stop by Casual Male in Sarasota where I can drop $200 in no time at all.

Aside from shopping, relaxing and making a couple of visits to the beach, the only other real excursion was to Sea World in Orland. I’d never been there before and I enjoyed it. The admission price was a little steep but I figure it’s something I likely won’t ever do again so why not spend the cash.

I enjoyed the water shows. In particular the Killer Whale (Shamu) and the Dolphin shows were very impressive. I enjoyed getting up close to some of the sharks, stingrays, dolphins and turtles that I normally wouldn’t get a chance to see. It was quite interesting and different from going to Disney or Universal Studios.

Of course the photographer in me had to get out to take some photos so we went down to Myakka River State Park one day. This is my favourite spot to find alligators in the wild. As it turned out it was a good day for them as we saw eight gators in one location and two more in another. They are scary looking creatures. I managed to get pretty close to some of them...probably closer than I should have been. But I managed to get a few good photos.


In the end the vacation was a success. I spent time with family, tanned my gelatinous body and was able to unwind and relax for three weeks. I just hope my next vacation gets here a bit sooner next time.

Vacation Time

It's that time finally. I'm on vacation. Well, technically I'm not quite on vacation as I'm writing this but it's only hours away.

So, I just wanted to remind you that I might not have a chance to update the blog for a little while. We'll see how things go.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a little vacation message courtesy of David Letterman.

On Holidays

Another Campsite
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

Just a head's up to my regular readers that I am enjoying a holiday break this week and likely won't be updating my blog much until I am done relaxing, sleeping, golfing, traveling and spending time at my parents trailer by the lake.

I hope you can get by without me for a week or so. I promise I'll be back with many more opinions that you'll either agree with or hate me for very soon.

Thanks to those of you who stop by as often as you do. It's nice to know that I'm not just doing this to release my creative juices and that some people actually enjoy reading what I have to say. Since I left the radio biz, this blog has been about the only way I have to express myself and it has been very therapeutic.

See you again soon!

Bundy

Vacation's Over

It is with some sadness that I have to report that my two weeks of vacation have come to an end and I'm back to work.

Don't get me wrong...I enjoy my job and the people I work for are great and good friends of many years but there's just something a lot more enjoyable about sleeping in, staying up late, traveling, spending time with family, camping and not having to keep an eye on the clock.

This summer my vacation was spent close to home with plenty of day trips and lots of time spent at the trailer at Presqu'ile with my parents. I have been spent time at Presqu'ile every summer for the last 40 years and I always enjoy sitting by the lake, watching the fire burn and looking at the stars on a warm night.

My vacation was also special because my brother Scott and Sister-In-Law Erin and her sister Ashley made the trip up from Florida to get away from the heat. Unfortunately for them the temperatures were just as hot here if not hotter than they were in the Sunshine State.

Without going into every boring detail of the vacation I will tell you that we were kept busy most days with small trips around Eastern Ontario including Kingston's Fort Henry, the Captain's Table Restaurant in Hastings for fish 'n' chips, Healy Falls, Picton and Toronto. Can someone please explain to me why the Yorkdale Mall doesn't open until 10am on Thursdays?

Aside from the fun and relaxing stuff, the time off also meant we had to get a couple of jobs done as well. My parents have wanted a new kitchen floor so we took one day and were able to get that job completed. Of course things never go as smoothly as you expect so it's safe to say that the language on our job site was certainly rated PG. I have to give added credit to my brother for doing most of the work as he remains the most agile of the Kennedy men. My talents were noticed more when it came to moving heavy furniture and appliances or standing on a recently glued board to help it set in place.

We also spent a morning trimming a tree. No we weren't putting decorations on it for Christmas but instead using the chainsaw to take a few dead limbs off. So now the risk of having a branch come crashing through the front window of my parents place is somewhat diminished. Plus they also have more wood to burn at the campsite.

All in all it was a great vacation that left me well rested and ready to get back to work. The stretch run to the holiday season has begun and I now have four months to get my Christmas shopping done. It won't be enough time as usual.

Pass Me A Beer Please

It's not like I spend every waking hour updating my blog or adding my thoughts and stories to it but for those of you who are kind enough to visit often to see what's new, I wanted to let you know that I'm taking a brief break.

That's right, it's summer vacation time. So for the next couple of weeks I hope to be spending more time enjoying cool refreshing brown bottle beverages, lots of barbecued cow and time with my family.

I'll be back and with more thoughts, comments, complaints and rants in a couple of weeks.

Bundy

Florida Vacation Memories

The mere fact that I've found time to add an update to my blog is proof that my vacation is over and I'm back to the usual routine of day to day life in Canada.

I recently arrived home after spending two weeks in Florida visiting my brother and sister-in-law and seeing the sights. I thought I'd share a few of the highlights of the trip with you and hopefully you'll enjoy them.

My uncle Mel and I left around 4:00 a.m. on Friday March 16th with much anticipation and a little trepidation as well with the knowledge the trip could be rough. Sure enough we starting running into the bad weather at the New York / Pennsylvania state line and it got worse from there. The snow was awful and the driving conditions were horrendous, however we kept going as best we could. We had to stop a couple times to remove the snow and ice build-up from the front of the van as it was causing the engine to overheat. It wasn't until we were off Interstate 81 and part way across Interstate 66 (just West of Washington in Virginia) that the snow turned into rain. You might think that's a good thing except we went from a blizzard to a monsoon with strong winds and torrential rain blinding us until we reached North Carolina. We had been on the road for over 15.5 hours and I'd had enough for the day so we stopped for the night in Kenly, NC. My hands were sore from gripping the steering wheel so tightly all day. Saturday morning we were on the road shortly after 3:00 a.m. and the drive into Florida was much better and we arrived at 3:00 p.m. at Scott and Erin's doorstep.

I'll spare you every little detail of the trip as I don't want to bore you to death but I'll give you a few of the more memorable moments. First off, Scott and Erin were fantastic hosts and their home is beautiful. My only criticism would be that I didn't see any pictures of me hanging on the walls or in any picture frames around the house. I didn't venture into their bedroom so I'm sure they must have them all located in there. Scott even let me cut his grass that first week which I enjoyed very much. It gave me an excuse to get outside and work on my tan. The meals were excellent and Mel and I were certainly spoiled.

The first Sunday we all went shopping at the Ellenton Outlet Mall and it worked out great as I was able to buy almost everything I had hoped to purchase on the trip. The first week Scott and Erin had to work a fair bit and that worked out well. Mel and I did a little shopping, running around and lounging around as well which was perfect for me. I enjoyed doing very little and it was probably a good thing because the weekend would make up for it.

We left for Orlando on Friday morning and went to Disney World, the MGM Park to be exact. I'd never been to this park before and it was a lot of fun. The only controversy of the day happened shortly after we arrived and Erin had purchased her $13 bottle of sunscreen. We decided to go on the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I should preface this by telling you that I'm not a big fan of roller coasters but I can handle a mild one like Space Mountain without any loops or corkscrews. Scott assured me that the ride was very tame and there were no surprises. Well, shortly before we entered the building an announcement came over the speaker to remind everyone of the intense ride and that it included a corkscrew and loops. Needless to say my heart rate increased dramatically and I let Scott know I wasn't pleased with his sneaky ways. I'd like to tell you I remember the ride vividly however my eyes were shut most of the way around it. We took off like a shot going 0-60 in a matter of 2 seconds and pulled five G's on the very first loop. I don't remember much after that as I was just trying to not have a heart attack. I survived but just barely. The rest of the rides and shows were much more to my liking.

After we left the park we checked in to the Hilton Hotel across from Downtown Disney, refreshed ourselves and went for supper and checked out the stores and shops in Disney Market.

On day two we went to Epcot. I'd been there before but it had changed a fair bit. The first ride we went on was Mission Space. Now I'm very interested in shuttles and space exploration so this was right up my alley but when I heard that a couple people had died on the ride, the heart kicked into high gear again. Looking back now, having survived, it was an awesome ride. The centrifuge spins to let you experience the G's during take off and also a simulated weightlessness. It was very cool and intense. After that it was off to ride on Test Track which was very entertaining as you hit high speeds on high banked corners. It was pretty cool. The rest of the day we enjoyed other rides and the many different countries represented. My feet were killing me by the time our two days were done there but it was worth it.

On the following Monday, Scott, Mel and I got up early and went golfing at Stoney Brook at Heritage Harbor which is located right at the end of Scott's street. It was a nice course set amongst the many houses with lots of water, sand and wildlife. Sadly, my golf game was lacking and I had a tough time enjoying myself. I think I lost about a dozen balls and my vocabulary got a serious workout. Despite my terrible game we still had fun but damn was it a hot day.

Other activities during our final week included a visit to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. This place was amazing. I'm not a huge fan of art work but I couldn't help but be impressed by the hundred's of pieces in Ringling's collection. The actual home that the Ringling's built was amazing and the guided tour was very interesting. I would recommend you check it out if you're ever in that area.

Scott, Mel and I also got up early one day and went to the Myakka River State Park which was very cool. Here we walked though the forest and climbed the tower in the canopy tour which gave a great scenic overview of the entire park. We also photographed many alligators and different birds. Being somewhat of a nature buff, I really enjoyed this. Sadly we didn't run into any rattlesnakes or panthers.

We left for home around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning which meant we missed out on the community Easter egg hunt but at least the drive home had much better weather. We did run into rain in Pennsylvania but I've come to the conclusion that the sun must never shine in that state.

All in all it was a super trip and we had a lot of fun but all good things must come to an end. I was hoping we'd come back to find the weather much warmer in Ontario but that wasn't the case as the forecast called for flurries and below normal temperatures the week of our return.

NOTE: If you'd like to view more photos from my trip, please click on the 2007 Bundy Photos link on the right. Also, below is a video someone shot of the entire Test Track Ride.