A good place to hole up, given the circumstances of the past few weeks....

There is something unique about this place.

I've been a lot of places, and I've seen a lot of things. I would like to forget some of them as a nightmarish figment of my over-abundant imagination, but I know better. And there are some that I keep in amber, to be taken out and admired, and fawned over from time to time.

This place, this Siesta Key, is a keeper. There is a kind of festival atmosphere here, with live music consisting of small combos of pop, folk and jazz blending with the laughter concocted from what the great Buffett referred to as, "Boat Drinks."

What would a drink be without a little....tiny....bamboo umbrella?

The food here is diverse; Cuban; Italian; Japanese; and good old American "Fryitup." I had a hot dog at a place called The Salty Dog that had been dipped in beer batter and deep fried....and the condiments put upon said dog...well, let's just say that the thing was obscenely tasty and I will, in fact, pay a doctor later to fix what that one meal broke.

The sunset is witnessed nightly by a gathering. They line the beach and watch the yellow ball of fire in the sky be doused by the abundance of water; they play taps in front of the old Captain's house, and lower the flag. They offer their thanks to those that served and their gratitude to those that gave the last full measure. And then, everybody walks over to Big Olaf's for a reasonably good scoop of ice cream.

The night's have been chilly, which is, of course, good sleeping weather.

And there is so much left to see; tonight, we see baseball, tomorrow is a botanical garden.....yesterday was the Ringling Circus museum.

I might just want to stay here forever.

Again, in the words of Buffett, "If the phone doesn't ring, it's me."