Sunday, April 27, 2008

Where Has Gail Been?


She's been around.

While in Vero Beach with Bruce I visited McKee Botanical Gardens again. It will probably be my last trip there so thought I'd take advantage of it while I could. The water lilies were gorgeous; I was hoping one of the lotus flowers would be in bloom which was not the case. I did come across a little bunny while walking one of the paths, unfortunately the picture was not good enough to share. I heard the familiar sound of a cardinal and looked up in the tree in time to see a mother feeding two babies. Excellent adventure.

After a wonderful lunch in their antique district Bruce drove us to Hutchison Island where we stayed in an ocean front room in Jensen Beach. There's nothing like falling asleep listening to the waves crashing onshore.

Next morning after a stroll on the beach to catch the sunrise we headed to his job in Port St. Lucie. Actually it's in this massive planned community which interested me little. The map showed me I was but 45 miles north of Palm Beach so I steered the Beemer onto I-95 South. I drive Bruce's car infrequently because it makes me nervous. I can motor in the MINI all day but when I can't even find the gas gauge I'm edgy. I will tell you it has amazing acceleration. My destination was Flagler Museum located along the river amongst some pretty amazing real estate. If you've never been to Palm Beach you primarily see HUGE hedges surrounding grand homes. Now I say that but a glimpse of the actual home is hard to come by. Definitely how the other .00005 live.

Turns out the museum is a home called Whitehall that Flagler built for his third bride, Lily, who was half his age I'll add. Apparently, she requested a seaside cottage for a wedding present; during the Gilded Age this was Flagler's idea of a cottage, a mere 55,000 square feet of opulence. Frankly, it is hard to describe except to say that it is spectacular. The memorabilia from the building of the railroad down to Key West was so interesting as was his personal railroad car. When I was a child I loved to read biographies of inventors, as such Thomas Edison was a hero to me. Is it any wonder I married a man who is an inventor in his own right? I digress.. displayed is a letter Thomas Edison wrote explaining a new and improved concrete he'd developed and thought Flagler might want to use in building the railroad. It is safe to say that Henry Flagler changed the face of Florida, making it a major tourist destination, which as we all know, it still is today. Lot's more to say about it, but you get my drift.

The family is good, the bills are paid, and the clothes are on the line drying....all is right in our little corner of the world.



----------------
Listening to: Portishead - Glory Box
via FoxyTunes

No comments:

So This is Springtime