We took our annual trip to Florida the first week of June this year. On the flight down to Tampa I had a dream that I was flying the plane, until the pilot came back and took over. I think that this dream had something to do with control issues. For us every vacation turns into an experiment of some kind. Usually it has something to do with how much physical exertion I can endure during the day. And then following this up with beer and big food in the evening. All year I am so regimented at work eating, working and sleeping. When I go on vacation I like to try different things. Like taking long hikes, swims and bike rides. I choose to get so involved in the new environment that I forget about food and drink for long periods of time. And Laura goes along with this. But she cannot go as long as I can without some kind of refreshment. This trip the lack of food came to a head the first day when Laura fell while we were rollerblading to Clearwater. She scraped her leg. So we decided to get a couple of pizza cuts from a pizza shop in Downtown Clearwater. They let us rollerblade into the pizza shop. We bought two large slices with pepperoni and sausage. We were famished but the heat for some reason keeps me from getting hungry. Anyhow we ordered the two cuts and Laura ordered a bottle of water. And I got a can of Sprite. We decided to carry the food and drink out to the tables set-up outside. Going through the door Laura dropped one of the cuts on the floor. Fortunately it fell on the floor crust down cheese up. So I picked it up and told her that I would eat that slice. And being the ex-Peace Corps volunteer that I am, I told her to beat me more, I love it. But she said no we will split it. So we cut both slices in half and we each ate half of the slice that hit the floor. Not too many things in my life ever tasted as good as that pizza. Ten miles rollerblading in the Florida sun gives you a pretty hearty appetite. We were the only customers sitting outside the pizza shop accept for a few customers coming to get pizza to go. Clearwater is one of those sun baked towns in Florida where people stay the hell off of the streets during the afternoon sun, except for crazy tourists like myself who are living up a little bit. I like the solitude the sun provides. It reminds me of when I was in grade school during the summer when everyone else went to the pool. And I went up to St. Bernard’s School to shoot basketball myself. With nobody around but the people in the cemetery out behind the school. And I would anticipate the two-a-day football practices that were coming in August. I trace my obsession with exercise to the agony of the football that I played in grade school. And I am sorry that Laura has to pay the price when she is with me. But I always try to make it up to her when the sun starts to set and we start to party. The beer is always better after having explored some territory without a car. This day we rollerbladed past fisherman along the water and we looked out for gators since they started getting aggressive. When we got back to the hotel we both decided to take a swim in the pool. We were the only two in the pool. I noticed since this pool does not get used too often the birds from all around the area use it as a birdbath and a place to get a drink. Throughout our stay there I noticed when nobody was swimming all kinds of birds would be drinking out of the pool. I saw parrots, ducks and coo birds. I even saw an osprey circling like it was looking for a drink. That first night in Florida we ate that night at a place called Sammy’s in a little town called Dunedin which is next to Clearwater. This restaurant is owned by a fisherman and so the fish is great. We had ocean perch. Mine was fried and Laura’s was baked. They had a really nice coleslaw and collard greens. All this and Kalik beer. We were in the vacation mode now. Ocean perch filets are so much bigger than fresh water fillets that we eat out of lake Erie. I ‘m not sure which one tastes better.