Contemporary.....

We met Shelly and Bill at the Contemporary Resort at Disney for brunch on Monday. (Shelly being my roommate all those decades ago.....and still looks exactly the same !! ) They had just spent a week on a private yacht with crew in the Bahamas with their family....nice to hear how the other half vacation.... We had last been to the Contemporary 37 years ago when we took the boys and Mike celebrated his 12th birthday. It was the days of the "E" tickets and I think the only other hotel on grounds was the Polynesian. I thought the Contemporary looked quite dated on the lower level and in the restaurant.... looked dark and spare with low ceilings.
On the 4th level where I remembered these colorful tiles and where the Monorail stops as it passes thru the hotel, it was obviously updated and bright and had many art
installations. The food was very good tho and the conversation was lively. Too bad we couldn't have brought them back here for a few more days of catching up.

Meanwhile, back in the bubble, one of us is cleaning out closets and cupboards of stuff after 4 years of staying where I first put it. Downsizing isn't totally complete until you get rid of the stuff you don't need but just couldn't do away with the first time. I find it all very liberating and refreshing. And the benefit is more room in the closet for more clothes and shoes and handbags !! Today I tackled the shelves in the garage and I threw out with abandon..... Unfortunately, I picked the afternoon and a western exposure to do this task and had to give up due to heat prostration....meanwhile the other side of the house is refreshingly breezy and comfortable. Hopefully, Goodwill will be happy to see me tomorrow with my big load of goodies.

Sebastian Inlet State Park

It was a relaxing week, despite the itching, and we found the area to be remote and quiet
except for the noise of the dredging in the inlet. Above is a picture (not taken by me !) of the inlet separating the barrier island. At the top is the inter coastal waterway and on the bottom is the Atlantic. The current was strong, depending on the tides. We were camped in the area on the left. It seemed to be very popular for fishing and the only restaurants were also bait shops !

Camped next door to us, this little cutie gave us pause the first time we saw her....she is a carbon copy of our Laddie and like her, he would have loved the lifestyle and sitting up front.
The area is populated with pines and oaks but mostly sea grapes. I have always been fascinated with the leathery, plate sized leaves but didn't know that they turned such brilliant colors.
We went to a museum along the coast where the sea grapes covered this walkway.
Speaking of the museum, it was to commemorate an event in 1715 when 11 Spanish galleons, loaded down with jewels for the Queen, sank during a hurricane. Over a thousand men, women and children died. In the early 60's, coins were found on the beach and diving teams began the search and found millions of dollars worth of gold and silver and unimaginable jewelry. It is felt that most of the treasure is still buried and occasionally, after a storm, items are still found on the beaches. One company has the rights to the wreck and the search continues. We set up our chairs but after a few minutes, the sand flies drove us off despite more bug spray. We'll search for treasure another day.

After a few days of eating my cooking (remember, no restaurants), we headed down to Vero Beach for our Panera fix.... love the bread and the salads. We stopped by a small Botanical garden dripping with ginger plants.....not sure why the lily is so dark except it was almost under a bridge and I like the look of it so didn't edit.
And , while we are home , the Scotts headed over to Hilton Head to tag along with the golfers on their practice rounds for this week's event. And Freida just knew that she'd get in the blog again with this picture of her and Boo Weekley.

Hi again

We've been home for a few days but the blog has taken a back seat to all sorts of boring stuff. We had a great time and I have a lot of pictures to prove it....well, it's hard to capture a picture of just laying on the beach doing nothin and watching the birds scampering along in the surf and waking up to the mockingbirds overhead and sunshine every day....but this one kind of sums it up a bit. But alas, not all was great......I became the Sunday buffet for no-see-ums and am covered in bites. I was diligent in the use of bug spray but it must have attracted them. I'm am one big welt and the itching is extreme. The other person on this trip has nary a bite !!??

More pictures when I edit a few......I tried to post the blog from the iPad but for whatever reason, it failed but at least I tried to take you along...............

Packing up and heading out........

But not to the mountains..... I just like looking at some of the views from last summer's long trip and looking forward to getting away again. We've been wanting to get out on the road but preferred to stay within a few hours of home.... But, since the entire retired population is in Florida in the winter, all of the campgrounds and State parks were full. As of yesterday, the bird migration was in full force and you could hear the collective sigh from the full-time residents around the state. We happened to be on the roads yesterday and I- 75 northbound was bumper to bumper with spring breakers going home, snow birds heading north and more RV's than I could ever count returning home. It was quite an amazing site. Around here, Jan-Mar is a popular rental season and yesterday we were finally able to pick up open tee times and get a reservation at a state park.

We're heading over to the coast for a few days of beaches and kayaking and birding and some exploring. Pictures at 10...............

A day on the golf course....

We fought the gale-force winds and played 18 holes yesterday......having finished a pretty good front 9, we battled the back 9 and the wind was fierce....so much so that it whipped the score card off our cart and sent it sailing to far off places. It was impossible to reconstruct our scores so I'm assuming we broke 80 !!!! Anyway, the coolers popped open about the same time and we played the last couple of holes feeling better.

This course is one of the original and it is quite lovely with some large homes and mature trees. We are all responsible for our own lawn care and landscaping and mostly it is pretty nondescript and appropriate. And then we came to this..............

No accounting for some people's taste or sense of humor..........it was rather creepy, especially in the land of the old and decrepit....

Family Fun

Company came and went and look what they left ! Love tulips and these are just perfect..... My sister, Maureen and her grandson Josh, flew all the way from California to enjoy the sunshine, Florida style. First stop was a trip to see Winter from the movie Dolphin Tail..... the aquarium was busy but Winter cooperated and thrilled the




crowds.

Josh became very adept at catching anoles that had taken up housekeeping in the lanai. He's better than a cat at keeping them in check.

Like all the kids who visit, he loved tooling around in the golf cart. Rules are very strict down here about not driving until age 14 but he 'practiced' around the block.

And of course, he swam and swam and swam.

I'm having problems with picture placement today....

Anyhow, we spent ALL day at Universal on Monday. Fortunately, it was warm and breezy and not too uncomfortable. We waited an hour for the Harry Potter ride. The castle and village are impressive. There are warnings about motion sickness on the ride and midway thru, I had to close my eyes to keep my breakfast in place. It is a fairly long ride and the wait was about an hour....it was very well done but once was enough.
Becca had a day off and joined us. She and Josh rode all of the roller coasters while we sat in the shade.
This is a quick view as they zipped by.
Maureen and Josh waiting in line for Harry Potter.
Becca, Josh and Maureen in Jurassic Park. Universal has 2 parks and they charge admission to both....it is very expensive for a one day pass to both and then we added the Express Pass for everyone so we could by-pass the long lines.....it works well but can't see how the average family can afford it. (they don't accept Express Pass at Harry Potter).

So, it was a great weekend....filled with good times and catching up.

The guest room is now empty and reservations are being accepted................

And, yes , I do have an opinion about the Manning /Tebow/ Bronco events ..... I think it was very risky and I think that Tebow should have stayed put and learned from 2 great mentors (Elway and Manning) and waited patiently because Peyton probably doesn't have a lot of time left......Then it really could have been Tebow Time.

Grandkids are the flowers of life...........

.............yep, I thought that one up.....sorry for the bad metaphor but I just love all of our Grand-Millers. And today is a very special young man's 9th Birthday. He is witty and very smart and tall and loves steak and his cats and his brother.....and Star Wars.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW PAUL.....

( I took a picture of his class picture, thus the glare on the photo....I haven't opened the box on Photoshop yet nor figured out how to scan ....)

And then there's the story of Alex. !! Our jock, , our golfer, our handsome hunk of a 17 year old....... just the nicest , sweetest, funniest kid ever.... and more broken bones over the years than anyone should experience.
Here he is at 6 with a perfect swing......he is a natural at golf and also an excellent lacrosse player. Unfortunately, his latest injury during that violent sport has put him on the sidelines once again. And since it's a broken right hand, it also eliminates golf for awhile. He started at an early age with both arms broken in rapid succession (fell off of top bunk and then injured on a trampoline)....the fractures continued including the bilateral stress fractures in both tibia a year or so ago from lacrosse.... and another broken arm from lacrosse within the last year or two..... there were injuries from snow boarding and football also. I can't remember them all but suffice to say, he is familiar with the ER. I'm hoping that this talent for all sports will now focus on golf where the injuries are not life-threatening.

Yesterday, on a beautiful perfect day, I had lunch with 4 Connecticut visitors.....and I took NOT ONE picture....not of them, nor the food, nor the conversation. It was so great to welcome Claire, Mickie, Sheila and especially, my friend Norma from Ct. They are spending a month in Sarasota and touring the state visiting friends. I fixed a delicious (if I do say so) asian inspired bok choy chicken salad ( special thanks to Rian) with egg rolls, fruit and the best Key Lime pie ever from Publix.....(they even have a commercial showing the making of it). It was a delightful day and I'm so happy we were able to meet up.

Later, my favorite Miller and I filled our RED SOLO CUPS and headed to the Square to take in the music and the evening. The sky was stunning and I thought I'd share it with you since you didn't come along on our ride. (iPhone camera)

March 13, 1970

It was Friday the 13th when we welcomed our 3rd son. Despite the fact that we couldn't name him Elizabeth, he became a wonderful son and we are so proud of all he's accomplished in his 42 years and the fine man and father that he has become. And, yes, that is a black eye on that child......he had two black eyes, an egg on his forehead and a scraped nose from tripping on a sidewalk a week earlier....now days, they would have arrested us for child abuse.

To celebrate this event a few days early, we played golf on Sunday....it was another overcast grey morning and we mostly had the course to ourselves.

The only company watching our brilliant shots was this rather beige seagull .... and he was unimpressed I think.

Exercising the brain....

To all of the accomplished photographers out there........ don't cringe....I'm learning.

Since I bought the new camera several months ago, I have been slightly intimidated by it and have floundered a bit. I have read and studied and asked questions. I just finished a very basic 5 hour class at our Lifelong Learning Center.....(they offer over 1000 classes, tours, speakers for 'personal enrichment' at a nominal cost).
Anyway, I'm getting smarter and I'm taking more pictures and I'm viewing the world a bit differently.


The above pics were all taken with different cameras. As I learn about one, I get better at the others. This picture of a mockingbird in a crepe myrtle tree looks rather grey but since the bird IS grey, beige and black, and it was a very overcast drizzly day on the golf course yesterday, I guess I captured the moment. I should have used video as he was serenading us.

I picked up a copy of Photoshop Elements but haven't opened the box yet. Not sure I want or need something that complex but iPhoto seems a bit lacking. I might try Picasa first.

PS: Thought I'd spice up the blog a bit with this new font....stay tuned, I may go NEON next. !!

Family time......

It was a great Girl's Weekend.!! Jenna and Lizzie flew in

to see the Fairygodmother-in-training and we packed a lot of walking and shopping and sightseeing into a few days. We went to St Augustine but by-passed the Fountain of Youth for the beach.

Do two pair of glasses on your head work better than one ! ?
Daytona Beach is unique in that you can drive on the sand. Rather convenient if you carry a lot of beach stuff but busy busy busy. I think I prefer the quieter beaches with softer sand where you have to schlepp your important stuff thru the dunes.

On the last day, we wandered about at Epcot. They are gearing up for the Flower Show
later in the week and the topiaries were in place.
And with lunch at Italy and a stop by China and Norway and Mexico, we made short work of the world.

Driving home, this skywriter summed up the weekend for me ....