It's not a long drive and it's really like going back to "old Florida"....just wonderful.
Another night they came to our house for dinner, then a "hot game" of Dominos, was a blast. Another night we went over to their condo for dinner then they showed is Sub-Zero ice cream shop, wow, what a treat. We had a blast Sharon and Farrell, we'll see ya next year.
Later in the month my friend Susan was in Orlando for a week solo, so I went over and spent 2 nites with her. We did the Disney whirlwind tour, not including any parks. We saw downtown, jumped on the Monorail and looked at all the resorts on the Monorail, and had dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge.....YUM-O!! Then we found time for some shopping and went to see the Boardwalk area of Universal...it was a busy but fun 2 days...come back soon Susan.
We went into an art gallery on The Disney Boardwalk....loved this picture...made me think of Ashley
Some cool animal viewings at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
Feeding time is always cool to watch...
Awesome entertainment while we were having dinner at Boma's....
The Universal Boardwalk has a really big Margaritaville....we did some shopping here, but had a great lunch at Emeril's
Then a bit later in the month, we made a quick trip to Atlanta to see Ashley play in the marching band and since this is Chad's last year of flag-football we wnated to see at least one game.
Friday Night football came first....I remember these days........
There she is in the middle of both pictures.....playing her flute...
Then came the Saturday afternoon flag football game....they always announce the players....he's #33, when all this started he was one of the smallest kids, with lots to learn Now, he's one of the tallest and is one of the best players....so proud of you Chad....good job buddy.
They start each game with a prayer....love Upward sports...they really teach the kids that it's about way more than just winning. In fact, for several years he might not even know if his team won or not, he knew he had fun playing...now that says a lot.
It was a great trip and we even had time to have a Chick-fil-A lunch with long time friend Ben Benfield....what a great busy weekend....then we zoomed back home.
We had a few slow weekends....my birthday and our anniversary was a wonderful weekend. We had a picnic on the beach one nite, a massage for me and fondue dinner to follow....just a nice weekend.
A neighbor also had a 70th birthday, and celebrated all weekend. Had 3 parties....it was a blast. She did a fundraiser for Take Stock in Children....this will help a child go to college...VERY COOL.
Next on our social calendar...Mom/Shea and friends Gloria and Paula stopped by after their Panama Canal Cruise ended in Miami. I had a pot roast for dinner the night they arrived, was assuming they might like to just take it easy after the drive from Miami. The next day there was a car show on Anna Maria Island....lots of food, crafts...etc....so we ventured out. It was a bit of a parking nightmare, but Paula found us a spot and we started walking around....these old cars are too cool
Denny liked the bright Orange one.
Mom was even enjoying "remember when"....
Check out these weird windows....sooooo custom
Vanilla Ice was Denny's fav....it was toooo cool
This was a bigger car show than we had figured....was really nice. We were all a bit hungry so we found the food booths and listened to the LOUD band while we ate.
Then we did a little shopping....these signs were too funny....don't need them in my house, but they did make me laugh.
Craft shows are always fun. There were a few purchases made...can't say what, they will show up for Christmas. So we headed back towards home and to have dinner at Walt's....one of the BEST seafood places in Sarasota...crab legs.. YUM....they know how to cook m' right.
The next day was football for Mom and Denny and another art festival for the rest of us...no cars this time, just food and crafts, but this old fire truck was cool
And I just happened to spot this old car that someone drove to the festival...there are lots of them down here...I suppose in retirement folks have time and money to spare....one day maybe I'll find out!!
Shea had to head home today...so we took her tot he airport, stopped back by our new HUGE mall and headed home for some grilled chicken, corn and asparagus.
Gloria and Paula left early the next day and Mom stayed one more night. She got her day on the beach while I worked. We joined her for sunset, but we didn't really get a good one, then we went to Pelican Alley on the water for dinner. We'd never been there, but I bet we go back, it was delish!!
Another fun month with family and friends.
Last night we met friends Nancy and Alan for dinner...we got to hear about their 3 week cruise to Vietnam and into that area of the world....WOW...sounded very nice....maybe we'll go one day. For now, we'll be happy to go to Park City, Utah for some R and R real soon. Love the palms and the beach, but the mountains will be a nice change.
I leave you with another sign we saw on a church kiosk....some good food for thought
"If God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seats"
