Our Trip to Florida and More

Things are going swimmingly here on Campbell Street with each new day better than the previous one. It is just plain glorious. We just gave yet another tour to friends with Tammy proclaiming it was like a fairy tale. I could not agree more.

That said, because of the moving process I never had the time to give our trip down to Florida its' due. Mostly we went out to eat with friends and family. We missed the twins 45th birthday on April Fools Day so we made up for it with a trip to the Tap Room at Dubsdred. Gosh it was good to be enjoying delicious food with our loved ones!

That would be me, Bruce, David, Michelle, Fallon and Bill around the table. We ran into Bill and Fallon in the parking lot and the light was so nice I could not resist photographing the new-soon-to-be parents! 

Actually it is not really so soon but it is in the works. Yes, you read that correctly, if all goes well we will be first time grandparents at the ripe old age of 70! Actually my sweet husband had a birthday on Saturday and is now 71. If you are the praying kind please keep them in your prayers! 

We enjoyed a lovely evening with Joe and Cynthia at a tasty Mexican restaurant situated lakeside in Baldwin Park.

Joining Keith and Patty at a nearby restaurant called Cava, they regaled us about the joys of being grandparents as their daughter gave birth about three months ago. We also met up with them at the Dover Shores  pickleball courts where we were greeted warmly by the gang. Those were some very fun days for us and apparently folks missed us in our absence. The feeling is mutual.

Rene and Lisa are so much fun to play with,

as our Keith, Patty and Maryanne.

Sunday we spent the morning playing pickleball in our community,

followed by lunch with Mary at Johnny's.

Another day we made a visit to Orlando Wetlands Park in order for me to see some big birds for a change. We were not disappointed as there were plenty of them, beginning with this Sandhill Crane and their teenager who greeted us almost as soon as we began our walk.

There were so many Wood Stork and plenty of Roseate Spoonbills too.

And what exactly do I mean by plenty? This is but one spot where the nests were plentiful.

Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Anhingas, you know, all the usual suspects at this time of year! The Red-Winged Blackbirds were having plenty to say.

No trip to the Wetlands is complete without gator sightings.

Vultures too! Holy cow there were a bunch.

I did some roaming around the community which was lovely. In case you are new to this space, and are wondering what I mean, there are two lakes, two swimming pools, tennis/pickleball courts along with folks who have garden plots. While there, look what I came across.

I took this one below at the big lake,

and the one below at the small lake on which we have our place. 

I spotted the Wood Ducklings and Mama one day and it was two days later that two ducklings were missing. Missing is a bit of a euphemistic term for what really happens to ducklings so often. Lots of predators around including the otters in the lake and the hawks in the skies above.

I've seen a bunch during our time living in the village, but opening the front door to be greeted by a Peahen was a first!

Actually, as I recall there were four of them! 

Aside from cleaning out our storage space, seeing friends and family, visiting doctors/dentist, Bruce wanted his tools and I wanted more clothes. He won the car space battle, but I did manage to bring this batch up here to North Carolina.

I was blessed by a visit to Patti's remodeled condo which is fantastic btw, with Susan coming over to join us. Connie came downstairs on more than one occasion, gifting us with soup that she knows Bruce loves. And there was a visit to Hawkers with Nancy because those are two things we cannot do without while in Orlando. 

Then it was time to head back to the mountains with Bruce doing one last check of the door before departure.

Although we have called it home now for five years the only thing that bothered me before leaving was the thought of all of our pretty things just sitting there. More than one person has asked if we are planning on selling it but now that we are going to be FIRST TIME grandparents, for the near future, the answer is no. 

Breaking with tradition we took the interstate all the way to Macon in hopes of making it in one day. One thing I did neglect to mention, and while it won't be much interest to you, it will be a reminder for us in the future. Bruce took the Subaru into the dealership for an oil change and in a bit of a disappointment, to put it mildly, they pointed out all manner of maintenance that needed to be done. Not only did it delay our departure while waiting for a part, it put a pretty big dent in our wallet to the tune of $2,500. While that hurt a bit it is good to know that we won't have to do much in the near future. 

Anyway, the drive was lovely in Florida with wildflowers roadside,

but always my favorite part of the trip, no matter the route, is when the mountains first come into view.

This was a pleasant drive since we avoided Atlanta and before long we were on the winding roads that have become somewhat familiar.

During our ten day absence the trees burst into GREEN and so many shades of green.

It was just glorious to my eyes! Our plans don't include heading back to Florida for some time but when we do, this route might just be the ticket for both scenery and speed. 

This afternoon, the windows and doors are open to a lovely breeze with the sweet sounds of the ever present birds filling the air. Furthermore, the last of our purchased furniture should be arriving in the next few hours and then I will give you another tour. Gosh, it is just lovely although it does still look a bit like a showroom but personal touches are coming in here and there. Tammy will be arriving soon with some daylily and iris bulbs from her garden to ours, some of which are 85 years old. Growing up in West Virginia, both her mother and grandmother grew them. Does not get much more personal than that, right?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow is what I'm thinking right about now!

your friend,

Gail

 

The End and the Beginning

Although I have far more photos of our wonderful time spent with the family celebrating our 50th anniversary, after today's post, it will be the end of that chapter of our lives and going forward I will concentrate on the beginning of our next 50 years of marriage!! Wouldn't that be something?  Unlikely for sure, but one thing I do know is that it will not only be joyful but full of surprises somewhat like the photo below that I was looking at this morning.

When I begin a blog post, usually I go through my photos, choose ones that will fit a narrative and off I go. Obviously, at first glance,  the one above was about the big fat bumble bee until I discovered another living creature in the frame! Do you see it? But of course you do! Looks like a Damselfly to me.

We did spend lots of time at Deerwoode, but when we ventured off property it was either to a store to buy supplies, or something water related as was the case when we went to Dupont State National Forest to see, you guessed it, a waterfall! 

The younger folks climbed over the rocks, us old folks did not. I did, however, take my shoes off and stand in the nice refreshingly cool water.

Wonder what this dog was thinking? 

Getting to the falls required a small hike up and down with Nancy leading the pack; unlike her sister she did not take any rest breaks! Of course she is four years younger so there's that! The young folk took breaks only to help their parents which was very nice indeed. A nearby forest canteen provided welcome shade and victuals.

A highlight for me was when we drove by this place on our way to the falls,

and stopping in on our way back. Holy cow, the dahlias!

More dahlias up close.

And do I see a huge field of sunflowers behind them? Why yes I do!

Obviously I was in heaven and the only thing that would have made it better is if it were during prime time for taking photographs instead of underneath a blazing sun!

Some of the sunflowers were absolutely huge, the size of a dinner plate! There was a sizable track of multicolored zinnias attracting butterflies,

and bees. BTW, I took a photo with my phone of the flower below and the identification was a red dahlia. Now we both know!

The following day we decided to go tubing, something most of us had never done before. We were in downtown Brevard where we saw this fun display in front of an outdoor store.

After a yummy lunch at Sully's Steamers, we headed home to regroup. Water shoes--check! Towels--check! Hats--check! Sunscreen, double check! Deciding to go with Brevard Tubing, after a little faux pas on my part we met there to tube down the Davidson River.

Should you have clicked on the link you might have noted that their tagline reads: Just Sit Back and Relax. Ha ha! While there was a bit of relaxing on some folks part, I freely admit that for me it was far more about working than relaxing! This is one of the few adventures in my recent lifetime that I took not one photograph because my camera was left behind. Fortunately, Alissa, as well as some of the others, purchased cases for their mobile phones. She shared the photo below with me.

Because this blog is for memory purposes, I have to recap what happened so if it bores you, feel free to move on. In a nutshell, at about the halfway point I was getting out of the tube to cool off by the shoreline, and somehow it did not go as planned. The next thing I know Matt and Jonathan are hanging onto their mom for dear life before she is swept into the current. No rapids so I won't get overly dramatic, but there was decent water flow. So you might be tempted to think that when a second run was suggested that your favorite blogger would say, "no thanks", I will stay back with Alissa. Instead, on this trip down the river, while things started well for me, I ended up kind of stuck and Tom was kind enough to get out of his raft, ford the current coming against him and push me out of the mess I was in. I am using the term "ford" somewhat loosely. Another mishap on this second run was Bruce's favorite hat was stuck on a tree and much against our urgings, Matthew went back to get it. Whew!! Will I go tubing again anytime soon? Maybe, but at least this time I will already know that it is a "participation sport"!

A couple more before we leave Deerwoode, one more spider web hung from one of the freshly-painted Tree Swallow boxes.

And lookee here:

With everything tidied and all items packed, we went back to downtown Brevard, which if I failed to mention it, is only a few miles away, gathering for one last meal together at Morning Social, a delicious brunch where this photo was taken.

Gosh I love seeing this again in spite of the fact that I look pretty goofy! 

From there, Jonathan and Alissa drove North to Asheville where they were tourists for a day. Nancy drove Matt and Tom, who got to see the curves for themselves, while Bruce drove me. It is only about 120 miles but with mountain roads, all bets are off on how long it will really take. 

Rocks on both sides!

Lovely farms here and there with this one having exceptional flower gardens.

The views cannot be beat!

My goodness, once we were home we discovered that it was Third Thursday in Murphy, a perfect time for our family to see the life we have been living. Food trucks!

Entertainment!

Because there is an entrance to the River Walk behind the Depot where this was all happening, Matt and Tom took the opportunity to see what the heck I have been talking about for all of these months! 

While Nancy went to spend the night at Hank's house, Matt and Tom used the sofa bed in the living room with mixed results. At 7am, Road Warrior Nancy met us at the fire station where she took on her passengers and they drove like mad, making it to Orlando that evening. Who do you think was most tired after this week? Had to be Nancy who drove 1,500 miles or something like that! Without her help this trip might have been very different indeed.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the very special themed gifts from our family,  a beautiful gold bowl from Matt and Tom and a personalized 50th anniversary sundial from Jonathan and Alissa. (yet to be put on the accompanying stand)

We also brought home a bottle of champagne from J & A which we very much enjoyed at home. What a delightful surprise that it was from Biltmore Estates.

Nancy brought wine from both herself and a few of our dear lady friends at LPV.  Returning home after pickleball on that Friday, we were greeted by Laura bringing over a massive floral arrangement sent by Michelle and David. 

Whew! Long post, but it isn't everyday that a milestone anniversary rolls around, right? We never take for granted both the love of one another or our family. Or our friends for that matter.

Let the beginning of another half-century begin!!

your friend,

Gail