After our morning at the swamp, we bee-lined it from eastern Georgia to St. Petersburg on the gulf coast of Florida. Speed traps in po-dunk towns and sketchy gas stations did their best to slow us down but, at last, Caitlin was reunited with her besterestest friend, Kieley.
Celebrating their 18th anniversary as BFFs.
Caitlin performed a miracle and got Amadeus, the elderly bearded dragon, to eat for the first time in weeks.
Andy and Amadeus took a nap together. Not seen: Amadeus waking up and flipping out.
Caitlin and Andy watch a swimmer drown in the lagoon.
A tokay gecko. Extremely aggressive and their bite can break a human finger. We caught anoles and watched it beat them against the stucco. Note as fun as cock fighting, but it’ll do.
Kieley.
Kieley’s fiance, Ari. He catches snakes.
Is that lamp wearing a hat?
One of Kieley’s paintings.
Hurry! Make sexy poses on each other’s cars for some reason.
Editor’s Note: They were commemorating the reunion of their respective cars. It was momentous.
Other Editor’s Note: Oh, that’s really interesting.
First Editor’s Note: I’d say a real good retort here, but my mom is the real editor and won’t let me.
Our last stop in St. Petersburg was at this road sign, which gets its name from Caitlin’s parents’ nickname for her.
Hurricane Gustav kept us in St. Petersburg for an extra night. At this point we were two days behind schedule. So, we threw out the schedule and enjoyed our time with Kieley and Ari. We went to go see “Hamlet 2,” wasted an afternoon watching “Constantine” on TV, and ate a gallon of tortellini soup. Andy and Ari caught live bait in the lagoon and fed it all, along with 17 hooks and yards of fishing line, to a shark. Oh, and a little Asian child danced for us at a restaurant. Good times had by all!
The All-American Swashbuckling Wanderlust Romp in F Sharp 