So, what's in store for 2024, por favor?

Monday, January 1 (12:01 AM) - Happy (EST) New Year from Fernandina Beach!! 
After seeing the new year come in on the chilly, moonlit beach, we turned in for bed with a long drive ahead of us back home tomorrow...um, I mean today.  

"Rivers and roads, (oh) rivers and roads til I reach you." - The Head and the Heart
We crossed many a river on the roads north from NE Florida and SE Georgia toward home today.

Hotlanta was anything but that as temps continued to drop as we headed north, but the traffic was 1000% better than when we drove down and we made good time getting home with a quick stop for Sunny again in Dublin, GA, (great free dog park) and a quick dinner with Paige in Chattanooga as well at the always solid Glen Gene Diner in Hixson. 

Thursday, January 4 - We finally had to time to go see the new Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom movie at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) tonight along with our friend, Toney.   Despite bad reviews, the film was OK and watchable for the most part.  

Sunday, January 14 - There's a long, WHITE train a-comin' this way...
Our first snow of the winter season hit today, and we waited it out in the house with ALL our pets since the temps were frigid as well.   In the end we got around 7" of the white stuff.  

Seems our polar bear loves the snow as well.  Shoulda figured that! 

Tuesday, January 16 - We took a little snowy stroll today in our 17-degree weather down to Los Compradres for a late Mexican lunch.   We needed to shake off some of the cabin fever we have since being snowed in for a few days already. 

Thursday, February 1 - Hey, it's not every day that the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile comes to town! But it did today to our local Kroger supermarket, so we stopped by to take a look at it up close.  It's a pretty sweet ride!  We got to talk with the driver (what a fun job!) who also snapped this nice picture of us with it.  Hot dog!  That was fun! 

Saturday, February 3- We attended the "Fudge and Flights" event at Cedar Glade Brews in Murfreesboro today where decadent fudge from Silver Fox Treats was made with four different kinds of CG Brews and then paired with those same beers in a flight.  They were all very good and a really interesting and tasty combo.  First up was their Maniac Pale Ale which was paired with a green apple and caramel fudge.  Next was their raspberry-infused Berliner Off Broad (BOB) paired with an orange creamsicle fudge.  Then it was their Native Creatures Belgian-style wild ale paired with a chocolate-covered cherry fudge.  And, finally, their Nuttin' But Fun smoked porter paired with a pecan fudge. 
We love these guys not only for their beer, but the fact that they allow dogs to come inside, so Sunny enjoyed herself as well getting lots of pets and attention (and treats!).

Monday, February 5 - This evening we went to Mt. Juliet for dinner at the M.L. Rose location there to support New Leash on Life which was getting 20% of the profits today. Our dinners were very good, and it was great to support such a wonderful cause.  

Thursday, February 8 - We took a nice lunchtime walk with Sunny up to Cumberland University to see some of the home opening day for their baseball team's 2024 season. The Phoenix were leading Indiana Wesleyan 2-1 when we left.

Saturday, February 10 - We flew down to Miami late tonight and stayed at a nice Homewood Suites near the airport in preparation for a 5-night cruise tomorrow.  

Sunday, February 11 - We set sail out today on the Scarlet Lady, our first time on a Virgin cruise ship thanks to a great deal (more than half off the listed price) for this 5-day voyage gotten by our friends, Kate and Curtis, through their work for Southwest Airlines.  Embarkation was quick and easy.  Instead of room key cards to have to keep up with, we had light, waterproof wristbands that worked great.  
Before boarding we killed some time and had a good lunch at the nearby Casa Juan Restaurant where they make killer mojitos! 

Our balcony room was not much more than an inside room on the Scarlet Lady.  The layout was a little different than what we are used to but worked out fine (even in the tiny shower). Photo credit goes to Ashlee on this one. 

It was a little overcast, but still a nice, warm day in Miami and the harbor was busy as we took it all in from our roomy balcony. 

Getting service almost anywhere on the boat was as easy as raising your "Ahoy" flag.  Grilled shrimp all day!! 

We got a pretty sunset with our Sail Away Party that included complimentary champagne. 

Instead of a regular buffet or a sit-down large main dining room, the Scarlet Lady has several upscale restaurants throughout the boat that are at no up-charge, but you do need reservations, and tonight we had them at The Test Kitchen.  The six-course meal was not all winners to our tastebuds but overall, in terms of uniqueness (an asparagus sorbet) and presentation (steaming salmon), it was an interesting and fun experience that would have cost a brother well over $100 on the mainland.

They had a Super Bowl Watch Party going on in their biggest venue, The Red Room, that included big screens and complimentary popcorn.  We popped in just after halftime and were only going stay for a bit, but the game was so intriguing and the atmosphere so fun, we ended up staying to the end which included overtime.  Congrats, again, KC.  Quite the juggernaut you've built there. 
It was almost always a party atmosphere on this adults-only (thank God!) ship, but there was plenty of quiet spaces too and the amount of common area places to gather, sit and hang out were aplenty. 

Monday, February 12 - It was our first Day at Sea today and we enjoyed the mild weather throughout the ship including the fun and unique hammock swing on our 11th floor balcony with a commanding view of Big Blue out there.  We've missed you, Mother Ocean.   

We explored the ship, got some pool time in, played some trivia, and just a had a relaxing and fun time.  Not bad for a Monday!  The highlight of the day was definitely tonight's dinner at Pink Agave, an upscale Mexican food experience. Spoiler alert: this place was the consensus best meal of the cruise, but with a couple of close seconds as well.  

Tuesday, February 13 - Welcome to Cozumel, Mexico!! 
Our first port stop was the island off the mainland that we've been to a few times before.  Ashlee and I decided to do a couple different solo morning excursions but met back up at the port for some fun together in the afternoon. 

It happened to be Fat Tuesday today and the last day of Carnivale for the folks here in Mexico. We were treated to an excellent and detailed dance from some young folks from the area while at the fun and frolicking bar, Alberto's.  We partied with some new friends Ashlee had made on her excursion that included a good amount of drinking...funny how that happens, lol. 

Pretty water and a pretty boat. Walking to and from the ship was enjoyable and we even saw a large barracuda in the clear waters below the pier.  

We got back to the ship in time to catch a performance of "Duel Reality" - a take on the Romeo and Juliet story with high-flying acrobatics, juggling and other jaw-dropping talents shown off by the performers.   It was a ton of fun!  

It was "Red Night" aboard the Scarlet Lady and the entire ship was decorated and festive for this fun party.   We all donned some red clothing and joined in on the fun! 
Dinner tonight was at The Wake, a traditional steakhouse setting.  My appetizer of a New York strip and then my entree of a filet mignon were fantastic, as was all the other food including some decadent desserts.  Yes, we tried them all! 

Wednesday, February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day at Sea!!  It's hard to believe it was almost 6 years ago to the day that we were able to actually cruise to Cuba.  That was another fun trip.  Today we just cruised by the still-mysterious island country on our way to the Bahamas.  

"Looking down on cruising" is not our thing...unless it's from an upper deck looking down at our wake in the big blue.  This shot reminds us of our painting in our living room somewhat.   It was another relaxing day at sea, and I even won $700 in a poker tournament!  

"Gunbae!!" means "cheers" in Korean and is also the name of tonight's Korean barbecue restaurant.  This was a VERY CLOSE SECOND to Pink Agave as our favorite food and FIRST IN OVERALL FUN as a dining experience.  We sat with a fun couple from New Jersey and became fast friends over our meal cooked almost entirely in front of us.  We also drank some unknown clear liquor and yelled "Gunbae!" when each of us had to shoot it.   
Beforehand, our foursome also won a free trivia contest that got us each a free drink of choice!  Go, Team Ship-Faced!! 

Thursday, February 15 - It was our first visit to the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas today and Ashlee and I booked an excursion to snorkel around the wreck of the SS Sapona which ran aground here during a hurricane in 1926.  It has had quite the sorted history!  Man, what an experience!  The 20-minute boat ride out to it and back was smooth and fun.   Especially on the way back with some rum punch in hand!   The water was not cold and clear as glass all the way to the ocean floor here at 10 to 15' in depth.  We saw a ton of fish and even a sea turtle from a distance.  I even snorkeled inside the ship which was beyond interesting.  Such a fun and unique experience! 

Back on the island, we got picked up by Curtis and Kate, who had rented a golf cart to explore the island.  Curtis did a great job driving on the left side the road (British rules here) and our first stop was Big Al's conch house and bakery.  We got some cracked conch (they've evidently been through a lot of it here based on the photo above) and some rum cake for dessert to go.  

Our picnic spot to enjoy our cracked conch was along Radio Beach and was pretty choice!  The conch was good and the cake was great!  

And our view back down the beach from our picnic spot was pretty nice too...

We had kind of forgot it was Valentine's Day yesterday while here in sunny Bimini, but our other "Sunny" reminded us that love was in the air...especially with her new boyfriend, Hank.  Thanks to Diane's Dog House for the pic and the excellent boarding of our girl during this trip. 

Our felines were doing great as well as we look to have found a great new cat-sitter in Kim's Precious Paws Pet Services.  Thanks to Kim herself for this great shot of Mr. Zippy to whom she gave insulin shots to twice a day while we were gone.  

We spent the rest of our time on the island at The Bimini Beach Club that was exclusively booked for our cruise ship today.  I had a nice rum and Coke while here and Ashlee had some coconut Malibu rum served up in a real coconut. 

It's been a while since we've taken a good shadow pic, but this one snapped by Ashlee on our way back to the ship is a winner for sure!  

Our last night on the ship was blessed with more nice, mild weather which we've enjoyed the entire trip.  We also had a full moon with Jupiter shining brightly below.

2/16 - We got back into the port of Miami early and disembarkation was smooth and simple. 

We had some time to kill before our flight home, so we Ubered over to The Latin Cafe 2000 for some good food and libations outside on their patio in some beautiful weather. 

We flew home standby with Kate and Curtis on Southwest, and while we appreciated the earlier flight home, the hassle of it just doesn't seem worth the free flight in our opinion.   We barely got on the crowded flight and had to sit in middle seats.  Yuck!   

When we got back, we were all hungry again, so we stopped by the Sindoore Indian restaurant in Donelson and had some amazingly good food.  

Speaking of food, we did have one more breakfast before getting off the Scarlet Lady this morning, so we made the best of it, especially Ashlee and her French toast burger pictured above.  

Saturday, February 17 - Go Dudley Go!! We've entered Dudley in a nationwide contest for America's Favorite Pet.  Daily voting is free, but you can get more votes with donations to PAWS.org that helps sick, injured and orphaned animals.   
(Editor's note:  as of 2/27/04 Dudley has moved up to 3rd!) 

Sunday, February 18 - We had a Sunday-funday drive today down toward Chattanooga with a stop at Common John Brewing in Manchester where Sunny loves their outdoor patio and astro-turf!  

Our last stop today was atop Monteagle Mountain at the amazing Sewanee Natural Bridge which has now been taken over by the state as a designated Natural Area.  

Thursday, February 29 - Happy Leap Day!  This evening Ashlee and I attended our first Nashville Predators game in quite a while.  It was a stocking stuffer gift I gave Ashlee for Christmas along with a free burrito from Moe's and a couple Preds Christmas ornaments and stockings which we picked up tonight.   The boys are doing pretty good with a 6-game winning streak and are currently in the wildcard hunt for the playoffs this season.  Tonight's opponent was the Minnesota Wild and by the time we left in the 3rd period the rout was on with a final score of 6-1 Predators!