Just pictures...

We found a really neat sea turtle rehab place called Gumbo Limbo Park.
They had several sea turtles that they were nursing back to health. They
also had some tanks with other sea life as you will see in the following
pictures.

There was a walkway through the Mangrove and Red Bark trees.

This is view from the top of 40 ft tower we walked up.

Proof that I made it to the top!

Beautiful views driving down A1A toward Miami

One of the many houses that are out of our price range!!

some of the amazing art work on the buildings in parts of downtown Miami

columns are neato

Had to find the cruise ship docks!
 

Hope you enjoyed a sampling of some of our outings!

Exploring with the dogs

On some of my off days we try to find things to do or places to visit that we can take the dogs. Until this last year they have not been exposed to other dogs or strangers very often. They had plenty of walking areas in Dallas and David takes them out daily. We took them to a dog park when we were in Dallas for the first time. They did pretty well with just a few dogs. They became more comfortable around strangers the more they were exposed on their daily walks. Plus they met a old lady in Dallas while out walking that carried a fanny pack with dog treats. They loved to meet up with her! They have also done very well with apartment living. They do not bark at things very often which is surprising since they have only lived in a house with no one else around. We really enjoyed where we lived in Dallas and were very happy to find that we would have good dog walking places in Tamarac as well.

We are only a block away from this nice greenway that runs along one of
the canals near the apartment.

This nice big dog park is just a few blocks away and next to the greenway.
That is Daisy checking things out.

We have had some sickness issues with the dogs that we can't figure out. They have picked up a GI "bug" twice since we have been here. The first time was right after the dog park. Daisy started with uncontrollable diarrhea and some vomiting, loss of appetite. Had to take her to vet and get subq fluids and several meds. Then a few days later Piper started; so back to the vet. We took her sooner than we did Daisy so she didn't have to get fluids. They both bounced back after a week or so. One vet doctor thought is was from the dog park (sharing the water bowls) and the other thought it could be something they are picking up from all the ducks around us. Things were going good until this past week when Piper got sick again. Poor thing had poo running out of her. So back to the vet and she had to get subq fluids this time and more meds. We have not been back to the dog park since that last time so I am thinking that is it the ducks that are the issue. There are tons of ducks, geese and other water foul all around the apartment complex. So where there are ducks there will be duck poop! I think they are picking up the bug by walking through the duck poo and licking there feet or eat grass. It is not making me like Florida at times!

Day out at Markham park. We are looking for gators! Daisy almost jumped in the
water. That girl had come to love the water.
 

Hunting gators!!
We spent a day out riding through the Everglades. Stopped for a picnic
lunch in a quiet little park off of a backwoods road.

GATOR!!!
 

Ran across this little place on our back road adventure.

Back road...as you can see it is off the beaten path! It was a great find and we
had the chance to see beautiful areas.

We saw some pretty birds along the route as well.

Sitting pretty for the picture.

This is Daisy's favorite spot. She will lay out here for hours
on her pillow bed. She and her dad sit out at night
for hours while I am at work.

We have been so impressed and happy at how quickly they have adjusted to their new traveling life. Our next great adventure will be to find a dog friendly beach to take them to.

         More doggie adventures to come!!

Sunny Florida!

We did not get to venture out to the surrounding area much during the first week in Florida. Usually during the first week of an assignment you are doing orientation stuff. I ended up being at the hospital 4 days that week. So between that and unpacking stuff we didn't venture out much. As I said in my previous post, the hospital is small; 4 inpatient floors, 9 or 10 bed ICU/CCU, 23 + bed ER. It is in a "co-op" (as I call it) with an in patient pysch facility; all owned by same company ( I assume). So we get a lot of psych for medical clearance (oh joy!). Sadly a lot are children; would love to throttle some of the parents (but that is a different soap box discussion). I really like the staff. On the most part they are all very friendly and treat me like part of the family. We really like the area and I have already signed a contract extension until April.

Our first outing was to Pompano Beach which is a short 15-20 min drive (depending on traffic).

Pompano Beach

Pier @ Pompano Beach
Just to prove we really are at the beach!

This is a shot of the beautiful walkway that runs along the beach. Very nice
and lots of clean bath houses, nice picnic shelters and a nice kiddie
play area.
 

And naturally we had to try out a ice cream joint!
Black Cherry....yum :)
 

It was a nice little afternoon in the sun. We will be back for many more before we leave!
More fun in the sun to come.....

A long drive ahead

My next contract is taking us to Tamarac, Florida. We decided to make the trip over 4 days/3 nights. We try to stop every 3 hrs or so to let everyone stretch their legs and use the potty. We had already reserved hotel rooms for stops in LA, AL and FL.



Just some of the scenery on our drive through Texas and Louisiana.

Mobile Alabama



Getting ready to go under the Mobile Bay via the tunnel.

We had some pretty sunsets on the way.

Orange grove

Finally in Tamarac after 4 very long days! Now to get into the apartment and unload.
 

I leave the apartment hunting and confirming with David. I tell him how much we have to work with per the stipend and leave it up to him. So far he has done well. Every time we drive to a new place we have a knot in our stomach wondering if the apartment complex is going to be a dump or not. You know that you can not always go by the pictures on your Google search.



We both breathed a sigh of relief when we pulled into the complex with this enterance!
 

I think he did a pretty good job.

The apartment is just a few miles from the hospital I will be working at. If I had a bike I could ride it to work it is so close.

University Hospital

We made a trip out on Sunday night to find the hospital and make sure I knew where I was going on Monday. The hospital is small, 23 beds (+ hall beds); nice to be at a smaller place. Ratios are 3,4 or 5 to 1 depending on the staff and how busy it is. It is nice not being a trauma center or have OB/Gyn on staff. They have great techs who jump in before you even ask them to do something. So far everyone has been very nice and the staff have been begging me to stay longer. I actually just signed my extension contract so we will be here until April.

So far we have enjoyed being in south Florida for the start of winter. Laying on the beach in November is kinda nice :)
                                                                        Don't hate!



Goodbye Dallas!

My time in Dallas was coming to an end. What was originally going to be 13 weeks turned into 9 months; we made it through all 4 seasons. I made some great friends while there and worked with some great nurses. I will miss them very much! Thanks for treating me like one of your own. And those of you who said "Oh stay through the summer, it's not bad", lied to me. It was hot as hell!

Thanks Texas for a great adventure!

Good bye Dallas....until next time.

Good bye Medical City Dallas Hospital. It was a great
nine months. Rough at times but the staff made it tolerable. Your team work is outstanding. I will miss you all very
much. Thanks for the good bye cupcakes. We all know how the staff there like cupcakes! I will miss cupcake Friday and all the staff running to see what cupcakes we got this week; everyone checking their watches to see if it was 5 o'clock yet.

Maybe you will see me there again......


                    ...but for now it is off the FLORIDA!!!