Reality beckons as vacation recedes… I type this as we roll up I-75 N toward Atlanta. We’ve been visiting family in Bradenton, FL (just south of Tampa) for the last week where we ate, drank, rested, swam and generally goofed off and had a great time. And now we go home. Don’t get me wrong, being home will be nice. We’ve been staying with family and it has been comfortable enough but you can relax and unwind in your own home in a way you can’t elsewhere. I’ve missed that. I haven’t missed getting up in the morning to go to work. I haven’t missed needing a coat to leave the house. I haven’t missed the ever-growing honey-do list and I haven’t missed the leaves that have no doubt gathered on my yard, anxiously awaiting my return.

Nevertheless, here we sit in our luggage laden vehicle rushing to greet them. Well, perhaps rushing isn’t the right term. We are “doing the wave”. You know the drill, speed limit for a few miles, slow roll for a few miles. I call it the wave because when seen from the air it looks like a series of waves rolling up the road. I feel pretty certain we will get home sometime between now and the end of the month.

On the bright side I did get a chance to finally pull out my camera yesterday before we left. We had lunch at the marina and went out to St Armand Circle for a while. St Armand Circle anchors the south end of the very affluent Longboat Key and is a breathtaking place full of stores that we mere mortals can’t shop at, but it sure is pretty to look at. Late in the afternoon we headed out to the beach to let the kids play in the sand a bit and watch the sunset. After dark we had dinner on a deck at a little restaurant called the Sandbar. The end of the deck literally fades into the white sand beach and the water is about 75 feet further so you have the sound of the breaking waves as background for your dinner. We used to go there on the jet skis when we lived in Bradenton. Of course, those times we just beached the skis and wandered up dripping wet. In fact, I think this may the first time I’ve eaten there with more than swim trunks on. Somehow their burgers aren’t as good when you are dry.

So, anyway, for those of you who know me, you’ll forgive me if I am a little out of sorts for the next day or two as I readjust to the harshness of reality. For those who don’t, you probably wont care what kind of mood I’m in over the next few days. For both groups, I’ve tossed a few of my favorite pictures from yesterday at the end of this post. Welcome to the modern day equivalent of dragging out the vacation photos. The difference here, of course, is that you are not a captive audience; you can simply close the window and I’ll be none the wiser. Just do me a favor: if you run into me, just tell me “Hey, I loved the vacation pics, especially the one with the little girl.” I will agree because I also like that one and I can go away feeling happy and validated.

/g

This shot of Courtney is one of my favorites from the trip. It really captures something of her more peaceful side you don’t often see.

This isn’t an especially good shot of Courtney, I just likes the sense of movement it has. She was dashing away from the surf with her bucket of water before the next wave hits.

Justin was never still enough for me to get any good photos of him in the fading light but I did get this cute silhouette of him as he shoveled away.

I took this one a couple of minutes later as he channeled Ghengis Kahn and destroyed the remains of a castle someone left. Notice his mouth is open in a little boy version of a primal scream. It was really quite amusing.

This and the next two shots are of the fishing pier at Bradenton Beach. I love the colors in the water, especially under the pier in this one and the third one.

This is the shot I like so much of the little girl. She was walking around St Armand Circle in this dress that she is obviously very proud of. In real life she was a little peacock. I almost hurt myself as I snatched my camera off the floorboard when we saw her. I had just enough time to rip off this single frame of this cutie out the window of the car as we drove past. You can click on it for a larger version. Her expression really is cute.

This is a terrible photo of a really really cool sculpture. It is a bigger than life replica of a famous photo from a Time photographer took at a Times Square celebration at the end of WWII in 1945. The nurse was not a willing participant, but no one knows for sure who she was. A number of women have claimed to be her over the years. There is a complete back story here in case you care.