I’m not a morning person. Rudy is. Mostly. It makes for a challenge in retirement mode. I think retirement is the perfect excuse to sleep in. Or lounge in bed. Snuggle. Cuddle. Rudy likes to get up and get on with the day. But he also likes breakfast so he usually indulges me on the snoozing and I make him breakfast.

Today it was a bit overcast out. If the sun is shining I’m more likely to get up and go. On dull days it’s a good excuse to linger in bed. Luckily Molly can linger too. She’s a good sleeper and very patient. When we finally got up this morning, Rudy took Molly for a quick 318 while I made breakfast for them both. I’m not a breakfast person either for the most part. I get hungry late morning. And then I prefer lunch food rather than breakfast fare. Rudy loves eggs. Just like his dad.

While he ate I suggested we take advantage of the cloudy weather and take Molly on a road trip. She’s due for a car outing. It’s hard in the sunny weather since it gets too hot. Not fun for a fur ball. So we head out to Winter Haven. I would say it’s my favourite place to go wandering. It’s an upscale quaint suburb of Orlando. Complete with historic buildings, museums, boutiques, cafes, an old train station that still operates (as we found out today) and manicured parks. The historic downtown is bricked streets of approximately 6 blocks long and 4 wide. There’s lots to see. On Saturdays there’s a farmers market. Also very neat.

We did a nice walk of the entire town centre and window shopped. Among the unique boutiques is a Restoration Hardware and Williams Sonoma. There’s an Eileen Fisher store and next door they sell Jo Malone. All good!! Molly got admired and petted as usual. She enjoys every kind word.

Back at the car we decide to head to Lombardis. It’s a must do in the area. http://www.lombardis.com/

It’s the best fish mongers I’ve ever been to. And they have stone crab. And mustard sauce. If you haven’t had the pleasure I highly recommend it! They also have a small restaurant where you can eat their fish on site. Another must do. We buy 1.5 lbs of stone crab. Tonight’s dinner.

It didn’t disappoint. They have a shell cracking machine at Lombardis. You have to get these crabs cracked or else you need a hammer. The shells are hard as rock and would easily break a tooth if you bit into one. The mustard sauce (a mysterious composition of mayo, Dijon and horseradish that’s impossible to duplicate) is the perfect complement to the crabs. You eat them cold dipped in the sauce. Divine.

Stone crabs are one of the best things about Florida. And on our way home the sun came out.

Thanks for a great day ☀️