Intruder Alert(s)

Well ever since the weather has started to take a turn for the better, the "Duke Boys" have seen quite the upturn on animal visits as well. No, I'm not talking about my old college roommate, Teddy, but rather wildlife that has lived in Palm Harbor far longer than us. Two weeks ago while I was doing laundry, I turned the corner in our living room to find a large bird walking up our walkway towards our open front door. He didn't seem that scary, but when you're face to face with a bird of this magnitude, you give it space. How the next visitor actually got in the house and when remains a mystery, but we're just glad we saw him when we did rather than find him cuddling up next to us in bed. Luke was on his way to workout when a 2 foot long snake hid under our couch until we drove him out with a hockey stick. The good news is that non of these animals were harmed in the removal process from the property, but the "Duke Boys" have found themselves keeping a watchful eye over the next brave animal that wishes to become the 3rd roommate.

The Stork here for Vlasic Pickles...

Snake... Not cool.

Jimmy Buffett Adventure

In the weeks leading up to the Jimmy Buffett concert I heard nothing but great things about the people, booze, and festivities that take place. Some even go just to tailgate rather than attend the actual concert, and oddly enough I ran into a few folks who were doing just that. When we got there I couldn't help but admire some of the other "parrot heads" dedication and elaborate set-ups for tailgating. Some included sand in flatbed trucks, hot tubs at maximum capacity, and tiki bars stocked full of liquor. Anyone who ventures to one of these concerts in the future should definitely take bikes to ride around on to explore, and in my case, take the opportunity to say "hello" to beautiful women.

After having a great time tailgating it was time to go into concert, and that proved to be an interesting endeavor in of itself. For the first ten minutes I was together with my friends, but after finding a lovely 38 year old woman in line waiting for a beer to make-out with, I knew I was in good company anyway. Despite what some may say about Jimmy Buffett's athleticism on stage (coming off a recent injury from his last tour where he fell off stage), the concert was very entertaining, visually appealing, and an overall great time. And wouldn't you know it, after spending part of the concert alone I found Amy, the 38 year old from Ft. Myers who thought I was "too cute" and loved kissing me. The kissing continued throughout most of the concert with spurts of dancing, chugging of $10 beers, and making fun of intoxicated onlookers. After it was all said and done I treated Amy to dinner at Five Guys and where we parted ways for the last time, but not before exchanging numbers in case I was ever in the Ft. Myers area. Looking back on the day there is a lot to think about and remember, but most of all I'll remember the people, cocktails, and non-sense. Florida continues to churn out great memories while I'm down here, and the Jimmy Buffett concert was sure to not disappoint me and those who spoke about the craziness. 

Our tailgating area.

Cocktails anyone?

Shotgun race with Amy and Darse.

Get your concert gear ready with Milan and Jeff.

Our group included (from left) Cole, Erin, Kim, Darse, and Amy.

Jimmy!! The stage was sweet.

Not great seats, but then again it was a sea of humanity unlike any other.

Drunk faces at Five Guys says it all. What a day..

Man V. Surf

Luke travels to the east coast to camp and search for waves to surf. Meanwhile Beau stays back to hang with the schellhause crew and get the house ready for mom's (constance) visit

Mom Comes To Visit

This past week we had the fortune of having our dear mother down from up north, and spent most of that time forgetting about her bum shoulder in the Florida sun. Well that was the plan but mother nature decided to grace this part of Florida with rain, and not just a light dusting but a storm of epic proportions at one point. After arriving on Monday to fair weather the sun barely shined for the first three days in town, and Thursday's forecast called for severe weather. Severe was an understatement, this according to the excited (nipples hard as little rocks) meteorologist that was ecstatic that an off-shore tornado had moved onto the land, which was most unusual for this part of Florida. Buckets, upon buckets of rain fell that morning, and didn't really stop until about an hour before sunset. Still, we didn't let the weather get to us as we watched "Black Swan", starring academy award winning actress Natalie Portman. I'll tell ya, this movie was very confusing at times, hot-n-heavy in other, and changed my outlook on ballerina's forever.

After we shook off our post-depression symptoms from the dreary day and the movie we accelerated quickly into the weekend, and everyone was fortunate enough to get plenty of sun (some more than others, I didn't put lotion on my face Saturday and got fried). Luke was fortunate enough to get out both on his surfboard and kayak this weekend, and mom was able to do her little "swinging arm" exercise (leans over and swings her arm) and got to swim in the gulf all weekend long. Having mother down to visit is a great thing for us "Duke Boys" as we get a chance to hear a strong "voice of reason" in our lives, and mom hasn't dulled down from the stern structure we grew up loving and respecting. I encourage everyone who reads this blog to try and have a strong relationship with their mother, because she's the one women in your life that truly knows best.

Love You Mom, Come Back Soon.

At the beach with Mom.

Luke heads out to the waves, and "Shred the Gnar!"

Acqua Di Gio... Giorgio Armani... Available at Macy's...

Long before her shoulder surgery and health ailments, Constance was a fitness model in the '80's...

Just the Good Ol' Boys sitting out in the sun. Some day the mountain might get em, but to the beach they'll run.

Luke heading out.

No Fear.

Ted's Trip & Kenny Chesney

So after a few weeks off from the writing block, we're back for another installment of the adventures of Beau (LaVigne) & Luke (Wertz) Duke. My old college roommate, Teddy Ogdahl, visited for six days as he was taking time to clear his head from his job on the railroad. We began the week off on a great start as the second night we all went out Ted was lucky enough to slay some recent-divorcee that considered him "therapy". For the weekend, we went only 10 miles south to Clearwater Beach to stay closer to the beach, avoid DUI's, and more intertwined with a youthful spring break crowd. The first night started as only three healthy, young, attractive men should start at Sheppards Bar & Grill where we were instantly embraced by women who wanted nothing more than meaningless relations... if only for a night. I'll leave the details to those who lived through the night, but it was entertaining, intoxicating, and quite hilarious to say the least. The next day we spent the entire day at Sheppards once again as this time the crowd was even more youthful, vibrant, and somehow even more intoxicated from the previous day. Ted got extremely hammered and sun burnt on this day, and instead of going out to join the beautiful women we had just met he opted to stay in and sleep it off. The Duke Boys went and met up with two very nice girls, and despite communicating via text messages they were never seen again as they flew back to New York. Guess it's true what they say, "don't fall in love on spring break!" Ted and I wrapped up his Florida trip with a small venture of our own to Lakeland where we caught the Detroit Tigers v. Boston Red Sox spring training game, and what was a great change of pace from the constant work-a-holic mentality I've seem to have developed since being down south.

                     Ted feeding his fat face before going out.

                      Luke with a classic "duke boy" outfit.

                             Ted, what an athlete.

                                     Ted and I in the pool.

                              View from our hotel towards the Gulf. 

Once Ted left and I was able to get a few more days back at work it was time once again for another exciting weekend, and this time it was going to be a Kenny Chesney concert. The rumors of this concert had been in circulation for months about the beautiful women in "Daisy Duke attire", and so naturally I was sold. The weather was amazing, tailgating was amazing, the food was amazing, the women were.... Amazing. From watching hillbillies smoke pot in the woods to teenagers defecating on themselves, all the way up to directing traffic as a "makeshift bathroom attendant" for the woods area this concert proved to have it all... And we weren't even in the stadium yet. After opting out of Billy Carringtons' performance, we made it in to see Zac Brown Band and Kenny for what was an amazing concert. After the concert however is were things get a little blurry, and by a little blurry I mean a lot of blurriness. My boss Keith was able to give me the details as they were events I don't remember acting upon, but we'll once again leave those details to the people effected by them. So far, Florida is proving to have a slight upper hand in the entertainment factor of a region that I've ever lived in. There is so much to do around here, and a young man like myself has a lot of great opportunities to have fun, meet people, and experience amazing things.

                (From left, Rob, Keith, and Evans) at our seats.

                       Keith, Evans, and McClure.

                            Hi, I'm from Montauk, NY...

              View from our seats, not the greatest but it was still fun.

                Kenny's that little highlighted guy... in the hat... duh...

                 Kenny!

          Gettin' a little "sausy look" going on now for Rob. I'm entering "Blackoutville".

               Kenny!

Trip Across Florida

There doesn't seem to be a dull moment in the lives of The Duke Boys, as we've had yet another exciting weekend with lots to do and see. Friday night we had tickets to the Slightly Stoopid concert in downtown St. Petersburg. The atmosphere during the show was amazing, and the aroma of hippie lettuce filled the air throughout the entire concert. We also were blessed to see a rare special appearance from "the funk master", George Clinton.... Ah, that takes me back to the good ole days at PCU... I mean BGSU.

Saturday we awoke to raging hangovers and dry mouths only to have to get ready for the days road trip towards NE Florida to help Keith's brother move. After getting food and non-alcoholic liquids in our body we started off on our journey across the state, and as Keith as our "tour guide" we saw a lot of interesting sites. From the insanity that is Orlando, FL to the Blue Spring State Park that featured a natural freshwater spring that pumped clean water up from the depths of the earth. The water was crystal clear everywhere, and would have been great to swim in or treat as a lazy river (since it flowed like a river) but the sun was going down too fast.

After finally reaching our destination at Mike's place we were able to relax a moment, and enjoy a cocktail before going out to dinner. Saturday night's alcohol level consumption was not as dramatic as the previous night, and this was atypical of the company of the Duke and Demchek brothers. Either way, we all had a great time, and had an even better night of sleep in a comfortable bed in Mike's rather empty house. The next day we loaded a U-Haul truck and cleaned up the house, and once again we were back on the road towards home... But of course, we had Keith who was a Florida resident for some time now, and wanted to show us "Bike Week" at Daytona Beach. The drive probably took a bit longer than first anticipated, but proved to be a wonderful change of pace from the west coast lifestyle I've become familiar with here in Florida. Overall, the weekend was extremely enjoyable for the Duke Boys, and we learned a great deal about what this state has to offer.

 On the way home, there was a Sasquatch sighting... He's a big dumb animal isn't he folks.