Since the kids started school, we are really stuck as to when we can take vacations outside of summer break. We love to go to Florida mid-Winter to spend some time with my parents in the Sarasota area, but the last few years have been pretty cool the second week in February.

This year gave “cool” new meaning: below-freezing temps, and cold, gray, very Buffalo-like conditions for the first half of our visit!

Thankfully, we got a couple of nice days at the end to hit the beach, and the pool, and get some color. But regardless of the weather, it was nice to get away.

It is instinctual to want to feel sunlight on your face. We need it. When we don’t have it, feelings of lethargy and fatigue take over. I know a lot of depressed people this time of year in the North, and I honestly don’t know how anyone could handle Alaska’s constant dark days. Even in the colder weather, to see a clear, blue sunny sky down there was enough to recharge my batteries. And though we were stuck inside much of the time, I did learn a few things.

Did you know:

Before Prohibition, there was no such thing as a mixed drink. Before Prohibition hit in the 20s and 30s, people would go to a bar or saloon and order whiskey, beer, wine, whatever they had in bottles. When alcohol was outlawed, people started making their own, and a lot of it tasted so bad- even poisonous – that bar owners masked the taste with fruit juices and soda, and the “cocktail” was born. (Thanks, History Channel!)

The stingray is closely related to the shark, with the exact same skin. We were able to touch some stingrays at the Tampa Aquarium, on one of several rainy cold afternoons. It was a very interesting experience. Rays were amazingly friendly, swimming right up and putting their heads above the water! The kids loved it.

A little frost, as long as it’s not too severe, actually makes oranges and grapefruits sweeter. We were able to taste for ourselves from an actual grapefruit tree in my parent’s neighborhood. A tasty way to start the morning.

I actually saw Floridians in winter parkas making “snow angels” in the beach sand. We were in shorts and t-shirts at the time, and it was sunny and almost 60.

As much as I like wine, there is nothing better than a frosty mug of Dos Equis when you’re eating Mexican food. Heather and I had a great lunch at Restaurante Tequilas in Palmetto, and it was just what the doctor ordered.

And lastly, even with cold weather, to be able to get away from Buffalo to Florida in February is a great thing.

We will be back mooching on you next year too, Mom and Dad!

–Brian

It was a beautiful Fall day today. As I was taking the dog out, my mind swirling with all the things I needed to do today, I noticed Rocky just standing in the wind, not “doing” anything. I had to get to work, so I tugged on his leash, told him to get busy, but he just stood there, sniffing something in the breeze.

The morning was bright, there were stray leaves falling gently to the ground around him, and the morning dew was glistening in the sun. Suddenly, I was lost in simplicity.

How many other men throughout the ages have experienced this very moment? Walking a dog first thing in the morning, in tune with the surroundings, not thinking about anything but the way the sun feels on his skin, the look of the trees swaying in the breeze, how the dew reflects like thousands of diamonds on the ground. For a moment I was caught up, feeling at one with my ancestors, living in the moment, free.

The spell was broken, as it always is, this time by a thumping car stereo in the distance. Back to reality, and the stock market crashing, and disturbing emails, unreasonable corporate directives, and everyday pressures flooding back.

But at least for a moment, I was able to escape; to stop, and just be a man and his dog.

–Brian