Rain and Shine

 Can't believe that it's been ten years since Lynn dragged Roger out of the Hawaiian Pacific for their marriage.  All the best to the two of you!

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Packed up this morning......

................then I went into recovery!

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I drove the first two and a half hours during a morning drizzle, then Mardi took over (sunny period) and I finished in a torrential downpour.

Recovered at a Japanese restaurant where we had agreed to meet the girls.  And I was treated to a (bit premature) happy birthday.

Lots of fun.

Stay well. 

Games Day

 A picture that may have added some context to the Orlando Wetland piece:

The boardwalk is over half a mile long, and they have placed it strategically - close enough to the trees that you can see and enjoy the birds, but far enough away so that they are not disturbed.

The Wetland improves the quality of the water at minimum cost, and provides a sanctuary for thousands of birds.  Brilliant!

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Our one bedroom condo here in Myrtle Beach is beautiful.  And they also have a lazy river, although it's just wide enough for one of those tubes you see in the background.  Probably creates traffic delays - just one lane!

Today was cool and damp so we didn't swim, or even check out the beach.  But we did enjoy a game of Mexican Train with the girls at our temporary home.

And we'll be seeing them again tomorrow night in Summersville, West Virginia.  And the Ottawa girls are then staying in Stoney Creek for a week so we're not finished with them yet.  More fun to come!

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Stay well.

A Long Day

 We were packed and loaded by 9 a.m. and headed for Myrtle Beach.  Should have been here by 5 p.m.  But a short lunch stop and a gas fillup, plus an hour and half traffic delay got us here around 7 p.m.

The last part of the journey, after we turned off I-95 was a delight.  Quiet back country and lots of  Wisteria vines. in full flower, clinging to the trees.

A slow check-in and then we couldn't find our unit, and we were supposed to meet my daughters at 7:30, so we gave up and headed to the restaurant.  But it was located in a bizarre shopping centre/amusement park and it took another few minutes to find it, so we arrived a half hour late.

Fortunately, a glass of wine  (after I showed proof of identity - I know that we didn't look our age, but really!) put me out of my misery..........

 and I was able to enjoy Barbara........

.....Jo-Ann..........

...........and Kathryn (steak, not crab legs).....

and my better half.....

We had an enjoyable evening, with more to follow tomorrow.

And I was actually able to find our unit afterwards.

Life is a test, but it's still good!

Stay well.

Last Day

 On the advice of a lady that we talked to at Bonnet Springs, today Mardi and I headed toward Titusville to see the Orlando Wetland.

Orlando sends its treated water (14 million gallons a day) through a 17 mile pipeline to what was a cattle ranch and is now a 1650 acre wetland.  It drops through three levels, contained by berms, to a stream that empties into the St. John River.  And the wetland takes most of the remaining phosphorus and nitrogen from the water as it flows through the three levels down to the river, a process that takes 30 to 40 days.

It is a beautiful place!

She's cute too!

We toured by electric tram (they only run Friday, Saturday and Sunday), with a wonderful volunteer driver/guide.

And the birds!  Jim Maguire would be in seventh heaven with his camera here!  

Roseate Spoonbills by the dozens, on the ground.....

...........in the trees...

...........including lots of young Spoonbills.

And treeloads of Wood Storks as well.

I watched a Stork fly back and forth taking building material for a nest.  What a graceful flight!  My cellphone just doesn't cut it - couldn't get a picture.

Lots of other birds as well.  Like this Giant Egret with a frog.

And lots of these guys too (Mardi's cell phone takes much better pictures than mine - if we come back I'll bring my old camera).

A wonderful way to spend a few hours!

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Then home for a last splash in the pool.

And dinner at Sakura Asian Fusian................

......with our friend Joy looking after us.

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In the morning we leave this place (it looks much like the ones across the street).

Tomorrow we'll be reporting from Myrtle Beach.

Hopefully the current political drama will have subsided so that we can return to Florida next year.  We'll see!

  

Stay well.

Winding Down

 We said goodbye to Maureen and Matt this morning.  They have left two days early - Stoney Creek neighbours are vacationing in Myrtle Beach and invited them to stop over on the way home.  Maureen loves the ocean beach so the obvious answer was "yes".

With our time running out, Mardi and I decided that we should use up the balance remaining on our Orange Lake golf card and our Miller's Ale House card.

So we headed to Orange Lake and the Crane's Bend course.  And we both beat our age!  Oh wait, it's only nine holes 😉.

We did see a male Osprey on a branch near his bride's nest.

These days he has to feed two or three mouths while mom tends to the nest.

We also saw several Sandhill Cranes, but this year we have yet to see any chicks.  Disappointing and concerning.

After golf we headed to Miller's for a beer and I got a nostalgia feeling.  Using up those cards felt like a farewell.  Will we ever be back to our beloved Orange Lake?  Or to Miller's?  You look at these  things with a new appreciation at a time like this!

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And we enjoyed the pool for the last time.  Our planned excursion for tomorrow will take up most of the day.

I had a minor victory over Mardi at Skip-Bo.  Enjoy it while you can Bud.

Stay well my friends.

Bonnet Springs

 Matt and Maureen suggested that we visit Bonnet Springs Park today and what a good idea that turned out to be.

The park was previously a large, but mostly unused railway yard, as you can see from this old overhead view.

Some local visionaries took the railway lands, and some acreage to the left of it in the above picture, and have turned it into a 168 acre park that is pretty awesome.  No government money, but lots of rich friends made it happen, in just the last four years!

The railway yards were removed and the debris buried under new "mountains".  Landscaping is incredible in such a short time.  And an existing Live Oak forest adds some real character.  Like this ancient behemoth..........

...............that was split apart a long time ago.

 An electric trolley takes you to various parts of the park and there are beautiful buildings, boardwalks, paths and this overhead structure.............

...............which fortunately has some benches for the tired and frail.

There is also a butterfly house...

............which includes some fairly large specimens.

Lots of bird life, and we also saw an Otter in one of the ponds.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and made a new friend - blue lipped Freddie with his Superman ice cream cone.

All in all, a really nice place to visit.  And if we are lucky enough to return to Florida it will be one of our go to places.

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The ladies won at cards.  "Nuff said!

Stay well.

'The Countdown Begins

 You know, you reach a point in a lengthy vacation where you've been everywhere, done everything, and end up just sitting around the pool or playing cards.  That's why there was no blog yesterday.

It means we're nearing the end of our Florida journey.  Just this week here and four days more to get home.  This year we're heading to Myrtle Beach for two nights on the way back, which will let us have a nice visit with my three daughters who have been enjoying the ocean beach.  

Our timeshare package gets us two free bookings of up to a total of five days each year.  We used one day to complete our Orange Lake visit and now Myrtle Beach for the second booking.

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Golfed at Deer Park again and we both shot our age or better (I'm the one who shot better, only because I'm so damned old).

Four old guys in front of us sure took their time...........

............ but I'm very patient!

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P.S. The guys won at cards........again!

Stay well.

Happy almost Easter

 Time doesn't mean anything when you're on a long vacation.  That's my excuse for being a day late with yesterday's birthday wishes.  Sorry Lynn and Jeff!

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What do you do when you're on vacation in Florida?  Cook a turkey of course!  

Our friend Lori, who owns the house next door from the one that Matt and Maureen used to rent, had a turkey.  And she was going on a short cruise with friends, with time running out before everyone heads home, so she gave it to Matt (after it's cooked some of it will return to the Misuraca household).

So, after a couple of days of thawing, the team got to work....

And, the final result:

Thank yous go out to:                                                                              -  chef Matteo                                                                                        -  sous chef Maureen                                                                              -  donor to the underprivileged Lori

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We also played golf at Deer Creek today.  Mardi played her age and I beat mine.  And despite her outscoring me I won more holes.  Love that course!  

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Stay well.

An OK Day

 Today's birthday celebrants are Roger's Lynn, and Jeff Marshall.  All the best to both.

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That was the big news of the day.  The oil change on my van came in second.

Throw in a quick swim (it was a bit cool today) and some card games and we wrapped up another day.

Golf tomorrow.

Stay well.

Just Chatter

Birthday greetings today to Lillian Kopysh.  What are you cooking for her Barry?

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 Some words of explanation of why we picked last night's eating spot.  A few year ago we ate there and it was a really nice restaurant, good food and service, and a nice deck with a view of a park and lake.  But, apparently during Covid that owner went broke.

So, having entered the place last night we decided to take a chance despite the name and decor.  We all enjoyed our meals and Matt said that the brisket was the best he's eaten.  You never know.

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The demons have found my computer!  The other day I mentioned my golf ball with the Grove logo on it.  Today I received an ad from the Clermont Grove Golf Club.  Sneaky!

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A pool day for me, but nobody else got wet!  They seem to like shopping better.

And we finished it off with the boys beating the girls at Skip-Bo.

Stay well.

A Good Day

 This morning we headed to Deer Park for a game of golf - and I beat Mardi!  Bearing in mind that it's a shorter course that just totals par 60, I finished with a 79 - and crushed her!

Then it was pool time.  Nice and warm!

Tonight we headed to Kissimmee for dinner.  Found a classy place called Big John's BBQ.

Food was good.  Decor ho-hum.

Then it was back to Davenport to finish the night with a game of Skip-Bo.  And the boys beat the girls.  Quite a day!

Stay well.

A Good Day

 Belated birthday wishes to cousin Jill and to grand neice Sylvie.  Apparently, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day a bit too much yesterday. 

And, best wishes to Joyce, who is in hospital battling pneumonia right now.  Get well fast my friend!

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A quiet day today.  Mardi and I headed over to Orange Lake and played the nine hole walking course, Legends Walk, while Matt hit the driving range to fix his swing.  Apparently we all need to fix our swings 😒.

To improve international relations, I used my Am-Can ball marker.

Although I like the maple leaf on my ball, I have no idea what "WE THE GROVE" means.  Michael Jordan has a private golf course named The Grove - perhaps?

Played cards for a while before dinner.  The girls crushed us.

Leftovers from last night at Miller's.

Do you suppose that there is a reason for Americans being overweight?

Stay well.

St. Paddy"s Day

 Cool and breezy today, but we still managed to spend a bit of time around the pool, working on our tans.

Then we headed to Miller's to join Lori and Frank for the wearing of the green day.  And then, all hell broke loose - crazy ladies!

Flashing lights, headgear and earrings to mark the occasion.  But no dancing!

The following picture is not the fault of the guys - we were coerced, i.e. frightened for our lives!

Fortunately, we escaped and headed to Lori and Frank's for games of Farkle (Frank won two games and I won one - possibly because the ladies had downed too many!).

A great night spent with special friends.

Tomorrow will be a recovery day.  News may be sparce.

Stay well.