Wow!! If you haven't experienced the Holly Trolly at St Augustine's Nights of Lights - then you certainly must put it on your bucket list.


I'm trying to decide what made it so spectacular:


    The special glasses they handed out that turned every light into a colorful, sparkling snowflake?
     Or the festive holiday music they played on our trolley?
     Or the contagious chipper spirit each driver conveyed?
     Maybe the incredible art galleries! Or the friendly people!!
     Orrrr...the period costumes on some of the townspeople.
     The incredible artisans!

Manatees by TG Rice

      (While admiring his artwork - ask artist and shopkeeper TG Rice to show you his finger!)
      There is so much to choose from.


       Oh wait! I think I forgot two very important details! BOGO with coupons from the Holly Trolley for Kilwins (can you really have enough fudge?) and  beers at Ann O'Malleys! Yep - that may have been the kicker.


        Thanks to Cruisers Grill (yummy burgers!) and Ann O'Malleys, I introduced myself to Shocktop this weekend. I may have just found myself a new favorite beer.


         May have to do it all next weekend!
       


      

Life is good. Really, really good. Not much else to say other than that! I wish joy for everyone. I truly, truly do.

I'm so HAPPY!!!!!!!

And I wish for all the people I meet to be as happy as I!

I take full responsibility for my love, my luck, my decisions, and my attitude!

I have no regrets, no guilt, no coulda, shoulda, wouldas...

Life is wonderful to me because I am wonderful to everyone I meet!

If you are not happy, look within. What can you change? Do not blame others...it only makes you weaker.

I'm a true Peaceful Pirate!
And I surround myself with others like me!

What makes a Peaceful Pirate?

At first I kind of left Peaceful Pirate up to the imagination of the reader. Who is he to you? What does he represent?

It's time now to truly define Peaceful Pirate - what he stands for, and what he doesn't.

In actual history, Pirates were the most disgusting, vile humans that ever roamed the seas. There I said it. Only in Hollywood have we seen 'heroic"pirates like Errol Flynn and, of course, Jack Sparrow. Um, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow.

However, three years ago (where has the time gone?), I was visiting Madeira Beach, Florida around the time of the annual John LeVique Days Pirate Festival. I felt like I had stepped back in time since everyone was in full 17th century regalia and I was the only one wearing shorts and flip flops.

I couldn't help but be swept up in the nostalgia of old fisherman villages, sailing ships, and pirate lore. I've always been drawn to tall ships, lost horizons, and that warm tropical salt spray you can only get from the high seas. I was in the best mood and tried to find a t-shirt to reflect this incredible spirit. Every shirt I came across had skulls, crossbones, swords, knives, and even blood. Words included "beatings, planks, etc".  Yet none of this described the pirate in me.

I began to imagine, in this day and time, what kind of pirate WOULD I be? What kind of pirates would exist? And I realized, I didn't have to imagine it at all! They are all around us - Peaceful people that love the ocean, island life, and warm breezes.  Instead of   demanding others to follow their lead, they inspire by the life that they lead. They do not need armed crews to destroy those that are different, they instead gather and extend their arms to toast to our differences.

They are Peaceful Pirates. And I am proud to be a part of a fantastic crew.

Are you a Peaceful Pirate?