Back To The Cold

Tomorrow morning we will be leaving this paradise and heading into the snow and ice of Ohio. Well, we will probably only make it to Kentucky, but I can't imagine it is very warm there. We have had a great 6 weeks and have been blessed to be able to do this. We visited Mary and Jerry one more time today. We got to laughing at the way we have been almost free-loading on this trip to Destin. Jerry was making fun of the way we had to pay next to nothing for our penthouse. We realized we even free loaded when we visited him. They couldn't remember the combination to the beach-access gate used by their condo, so all of this time we have been breaking into the gate used by the condos next door to him. This afternoon, while we were sitting there free loading, a man brought a table down and told us they were going to have a wine and cheese party FOR US later in the afternoon. We thanked him like we knew that we were entitled to that, without letting him know that 2 of us were from a different condo and the other 2 were just simple free loaders. We laughed hysterically after he left. Jerry started calling us squatters, which made us laugh even more! We will have stories to tell!

The best thing about being in Destin is seeing my sister, Barb. It has been too long. Our lives are totally different, but we discovered that we laugh alike, look similar, and even have mannerisms that are the same. We are proud of our heritage and eager to share our family traditions with those around us. Thank you Mom and Dad, for making all of this trip possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking down on us smiling at the sight of us together. That always made them happy!

Barb's Transformer Car

Aunt Barb has a really cool hard-top Volkswagen convertible. After our boat trip on Saturday, she demonstrated how the top went down. I didn't have my camera ready in time to put the top down, but I was able to get it going up. I hope you enjoy all the moving parts!

Destin Boat Trip

It was close to 70 degrees Saturday, so Tony thought it would be a good day to take the boat out. We traveled along the harbor then went out near the ocean to anchor down for a while. Mary's dog Icky went with us and did fine on the boat. I seemed to be the only one having problems with motion, so I was under the influence of Dramamine. We had a great time. Barb and Tony are always gracious to take us out on their boat when we come down here.

In Search of Margaritaville

Friday we walked the beach, had lunch at the Boat House with Mary and Jerry, and walked along the Harbor Walk investigating the shops along the way. Our mission was to find Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville to buy T-shirts for friends up north. The Harbor Walk also had docks with boats used for fishing excursions and tours. We saw a lot of people coming back with the catch of the day. The fish was cleaned on the spot, which attracted several pelicans. We got a great picture of them, as they did not seem too afraid of all the humans in the area. They concentrated only on the fish that were being cleaned.

We finally found Margaritaville and were able to make our purchases. We caught this great picture of Earl's shopping experience and enjoyed the Florida sun in the chairs outside the store.

Destin at Last!

Wednesday, Feb. 4, we arrived in Destin, Florida. Finally. I love the Gulf! We first visited Mary and Jerry Smith from Green who were staying in Miramar Beach.  After dinner at Bubba Gumps, we checked in with Barb and Tony. It was so good to see her - it had been too long. They arranged for us to stay in a friend's (Art's) condo while he and his wife were in Aruba. The condo was on the top floor of the building adjacent to Barb's building. The view was spectacular looking over the harbor! This is just paradise to me.

View from our bedroom:

View from our bedroom at night:

The next morning, Barb and I walked to the beach. The only beach access is about a half mile away, but it is worth it to get to spend time on one of the finest beaches in the USA! I made this walk almost  every day during our stay.

A Stay in Live Oak, Florida

We left Palm Coast Saturday morning on Jan. 31 and headed northwest to visit Kenny Butler and his wife Lee Ray in Live Oak, Florida. Earl went to high school with Kenny so they always have so many stories to swap. Kenny lives out in the country on 25 acres that belonged to his father when he was living. When I say country, I mean COUNTRY! We saw miles and miles of farm land, pine tree groves harvested to make pulp, dilapidated houses with junk strewn all over the yard, and a variety of mobile homes in all sizes. Kenny lives in a double-wide, pre-fab home with a huge screened-in porch along the back. The temperature was in the 60s so we spent a lot of time on the porch.

Late Saturday afternoon we drove up to an old bridge that crosses the famous Suwannee River. The bridge is no longer being used, so the kids use it as a hang out and a place to display their graffiti.

Sunday, before watching the Super Bowl, we walked all around Kenny's property. His "street" is made out of sand. Only some of the streets in the country are blacktopped. I drove Lee Ray in a golf cart down the sand road. Everything was going well until I put the cart into reverse to turn around and stepped on the gas rather than the brake! We had a good laugh over that and decided not to tell the men about it.

All over the property are "Gopher" holes. We northerners think gophers are like prairie dogs. However, a "gopher", according to Kenny, is really a land tortoise that digs a hole in the sand for his home. The holes can be about 1 foot in diameter. We saw many holes, but never a gopher. I was not about to stick my hand down there!

Tuesday was cloudy and cold, but that didn't stop us from going to a retirement community along the Suwannee River called Advent Christian Village. It was a small village out in the country complete with a restaurant, shops, grocery store, drug store, clinic and more. Retirees lived in purchased homes, condos, apartments, an assisted living complex, a rehabilitation center and, of course, a nursing home. It is a quaint little area with everyone riding golf carts.

We walked through the woods on a path along the Suwannee River. Even though it was overcast, we enjoyed the walk. I always wonder what it was like for the indians and explorers who occupied the area. After our visit to this community, we did what we do best - go out to eat! We ate out every night and met Kenny and Lee Ray for breakfast Wednesday morning before leaving. If anyone has any money, feel free to send it! Enjoy these pictures of our walk:

Flagler Beach Pier

Earl and I spent the day packing on Friday, Jan. 30. We were going to pull out on the 31st and head northwest to Live Oak, Florida. We took a break to meet Tom and Michele at Flagler Beach for lunch on the roof of Finns restaurant. It was a perfectly sunny day with temperatures in the upper 60s. While we were eating, a lady at another table asked Earl how the fish tasted. He offered to have her try some to see if she liked it. Wouldn't you know, she took him up on it, but waited to do so until her husband joined her to see how he would react. When her husband arrived, she marched over to our table and dipped her fork into Earl's fish. It was clear that her husband thought she was crazy. We all enjoyed the show!

After lunch we walked on the Flagler Beach pier from which many people fish. The pier extended well into the ocean and the boards on the pier had interesting memorials carved into them. I am ready to move on, but I will miss the history and sights of the Palm Coast.

View of the Flagler Beach Pier:

Views from the pier:

Memorials on the boards of the pier:

Matanzas Inlet

On Thursday, Jan. 29, Earl and I drove a few miles north of our condo to the Matanzas Inlet where the ocean meets the Matanzas River. (By the way, the word "matanzas" means "killings" in Spanish. The river was named Matanzas River because the Spaniards massacred a number of French Huguenots who tried to overtake them near the Matanzas Inlet in the 1500s.) There is a bridge that crosses the inlet and I was curious about the beaches that were on each side of the bodies of water, so I dragged Earl out to explore them. It turns out that you can walk entirely around the inlet on the sand, much to Earl's dismay. You can see how the layout of the area in the picture below, borrowed from the Internet, of course.

We walked all around the inlet, starting with the ocean beach and ending up on the river beach. It was beautiful! We saw so many different shells here and the sand dunes were tremendous. I wasn't sure where we would end up, but I kept singing the "Gilligan's Island" theme song until I saw the boardwalk that would take us back to our car. We had a great time exploring!

Check out the size of the sand dunes!

A view of the bridge from the river.

Blue Spring State Park

After our trip to Mount Dora, we drove to Blue Spring State Park with Tom and Michele. This park features a natural spring with crystal clear waters, which makes it easy to see the marine life through the water. The main attraction, especially in January, are the manatee that swim along the spring run. We were there later in the afternoon at the time the manatee were coming in off the river and heading to the cool waters of the spring. We walked the boardwalk along the spring run and enjoyed watching the manatee, fish, and turtles in the water. Some of the manatee were huge! We also visited the original home that was built here by the Thursby family. The area was a popular steamboat stop along the river back in the 1800s.

 Here is a picture of the boardwalk:

The waters were so clear you could easily see the manatee.

Papa even made a friend!

Mount Dora, Florida

Our friends, Tom and Michele, took us to the lakeside city of Mount Dora yesterday. What a beautiful treasure in the center of Florida! The downtown area is situated on Lake Dora and is loaded with quaint little shops and restaurants. Michele and I sent the men to the lake while we went shopping. Are you surprised? We had lunch in a cafe located on the top floor of a building. I believe it was called One Flight Up. They offered food items similar to Panera and was broken up into individual rooms that were probably used as living quarters above the shops in the early 1900s.  It reminded me of the rooms on the second floors of the old buildings in Garrettsville. It was here that I finally had a great cup of coffee (I miss my Keurig so much!).

I borrowed these pictures from a website since I didn't take any of my own pictures. Evidently, we missed so many other attractions in this city, including the original victorian home of the city and a segway tour, to name a few. I'll add this to the list of areas we need to visit again.

A Trip on the Intracoastal Waterway

Today we went out on the Intracoastal Waterway near New Smyrna Beach with Tom and Michele. It was a perfect day. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature hovered in the lower 70s. Tom has a small skiff boat he uses for fishing. It is perfect for calm intracoastal  waters, but I would not want to be in it on the ocean. It was a bit chilly on the water. I wore jeans, a short sleeved shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a hat, a scarf and a jacket with a hood and I was still cold!

We saw dolphins, all kinds of birds - including white pelicans, beautiful homes, and large yachts. Can you see the dolphins in this video?

We docked the boat and had lunch at a restaurant on the waterway. It was good to warm up in the sun!

Next, we drove to Disappearing Island and once again docked the boat. Tom threw in a fishing line as the rest of us walked around. The sand was loaded with jellyfish that had washed ashore. We sat in the sun for a while thinking about the snow everyone was getting in Akron.

Someone even dozed off for a few minutes. Too funny!

Not a bad day for a group of old retired people. I am so grateful to Tom and Michele for giving us these experiences.

Interesting Coquina Rock

Yesterday we walked further south on the Marineland beach heading toward our condo. On the way we ran into some really cool formations of the coquina rock that is so prevalent in this area. It was amazing to see this rock in its natural setting.

I loved the markings in the sand around this one.

Look at these interesting shapes.

Some of the rocks were covered in barnacles.

All of these rocks were formed as layers of shells settled and calcified at the bottom of the ocean. You can see the layers of shells in these rocks. The Spaniards used this rock to build with. They found it did not burn and termites could not eat it. They even build a huge fort in St. Augustine with the rock. They found that even cannonballs could not shatter the rock when they were fired into the walls of the fort. Instead, the cannonballs bounced off the rock or stuck in it a few inches. How cool is that!

A Day on the Beach

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! The sun was out and the temperature was in the upper 60s. We decided to head south to see if we could find a spot on the beach. We ended up in Ormond Beach, once again, driving on the beach. It was easy to spend the whole day there watching people and walking the beach. We set the chairs up next to the car to soak up some sun. When it got too cold, we climbed into the car. It was a perfect day.

A Day in New Smyrna

Sunday we left the condo at 7:00 a.m. to meet Tom and Michele at their home in Edgewater. The men met a friend for breakfast and Michele and I went to a flea market in Daytona. The market was huge and before too long we were laden down with purchases. Michele convinced me to purchase some Honey Belle oranges. They were delicious and so juicy. We then drove to New Smyrna Beach to meet the men. The town was a perfect tourist trap with shops and bars everywhere. The biggest surprise of all was driving our car onto the beach itself to park. What a great idea! We took the first parking place we could find, then headed to the shops for a little more shopping. Michele suggested we stop in for a beverage at a place called Peanuts, so how could I refuse? Eventually, we met up with the guys and relaxed on the beach. I definitely would like to return to this area.

An Evening in St. Augustine

The past 4 days have been rainy, windy, foggy, and cold. I should define "cold" as temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s. One morning I could not even see the ocean for the fog. We need a good dose of sunshine. Yesterday, Tom and Michelle drove up from Edgewater to explore the city of St. Augustine. We were excited that the sun had come out here in Palm Coast, but found out that it was still cloudy and foggy in St. Augustine. The weather didn't stop us from visiting some of the sights and shopping in Old Town.

As the sun went down, we enjoyed the city even more. The Christmas lights were still up bringing an added sparkle to the city. I hope we can go back on a nice day before we leave the area. I have a lot more exploring to do!

Oh My Aching Back!

About a week ago, Earl developed sciatic problems. We don't know if it was due to the long drive down here or the soft bed in our condo. He took muscle relaxers to relieve the problem and consequently slept for 2 days. By Friday, the 9th of January, he made an appointment with a chiropractor in St. Augustine and paid out-of-pocket for the visit. He was still in pain on Saturday and we had to cancel an outing with friends. I actually looked up flight information thinking that I would have to send him home for treatment. On Sunday, he began to feel better and actually had moments that were pain free. He was doing stretching exercises on his own and now sleeping in one of the firm twin beds in the guest room. It is a good thing we had plenty of football to watch on TV. We learned that choosing the right insurance plan under Obama Care is very important. I don't think we will continue with his plan next year. It is very hard to be treated in another state. Let's hope we don't have another incident.

Snow Birds 2015

Now that both of us are retired, Earl and I have made arrangements to spend January in Palm Coast, Florida and the month of February in Live Oak and Destin, Florida. This will be our first attempt at trying to cut short the winter months. We left January 2, 2015 and made it as far as Columbia, South Carolina the first day. The next day we finished the trip by 1:30 p.m. only to find that we could not get into our condo until after 4:00 p.m., which gave us plenty of time to explore the area.

Our condo is in the Surf Club I building right off of A1A. The area looks to be underdeveloped, probably because the beaches are loaded with coquina rock. There are two boardwalks stretching from our building to the beach, but none of them have a sandy area - just piles of rock in beautiful formations.

Fortunately we have a great view of the ocean off of our living room, master bedroom, and patio, and there is a public beach with sand one mile to the north of us at Marineland, FL. Now I understand why the price was right on this place. Our condo is very nice, though, and the area is very quiet. The weather here has been sunny and close to 80 degrees. It sure does not look like January. We will give it a try.