Whereas I am sick to death of being hot, the same does not hold true for our visitors from London. Orlando delivered the heat in spades. And a few of those days we experienced the full force of the Florida sun. But before we get into that, one of the things Tom was most hoping to see was the otters. Day after day, primarily when he and Matt had left for a bit, I saw the group of three, both in the water, as well as rubbing off on shore, as is their custom.
They rub and they roll, what for, I'm not entirely sure, but I've seen them make these moves often. Finally,
while we were out, he saw all three of them frolicking in the water. Or so he says! Just kidding....actually, it made me so happy. Now he can add that to his owl and alligator sightings. You would think he'd gone to visit his in-laws in the country rather than two miles from downtown!
A week ago Monday we braved the heat to visit Leu Gardens.
While making the obligatory lake visit, turtles swam below.
A fairy door exhibit brought in loads of kids following maps and squealing with delight when they found one. This was our favorite.
My lens did not allow me to include all five doors which reminded us of GOT, shorthand for Game of Thrones. There are some mighty fine specimens of oak trees dotting the gardens.
One of the guys spotted this amazing grasshopper chilling on a post. We wondered, and this is kind of gross, if that little dangle was waste product. What do you think?
Beating the heat was our mission on Tuesday when we went to Cocoa Beach, arriving early before the sand gets blazing hot.
Perfect water temperature for swimming, and eventually body surfing. Eventually because I kept trying, watching while Matt rode the waves to shore, while I rode them for about a foot. Finally, I got the hang of it, only wishing the waves were bigger.
It was fun watching the surf camp just down the way.
We never could figure out exactly what was wrong with this crab aside from having one eye completely coated in sand.
While we were in Vancouver, I kept thinking the seagulls were much larger than the ones we are used to. I still think that is true.
A visit to the nearby Ron Jon's was fun with Tom getting sunglasses while Bruce and Matt came home with t-shirts. As you do. After a Publix sub in Merritt Island, while driving on 520, a warning light came on the dashboard signaling some sort of problem with the coolant. As a precautionary measure, Bruce turned off the car AC, driving home cautiously. The bad news was that they could not look at it until Friday. The good news is that it is now fixed.
While home, Matt and Tom kept working on the puzzle.
Crazy hard, they said it was a good thing I did not attempt a 1,000 piece puzzle and I tend to agree.
Wednesday evening was our Lake Pineloch party for the 4th of July with hot dogs and hamburgers,
cooked by Burch in the front, suffering from a sinus problem btw, and David. Unfortunately we had some rain, but the good news is that it was not enough to cancel anything. Michelle stood with her umbrella over the paper goods, while others gathered by the covered bar area.
When will I learn to position myself better for fireworks photos?
A potluck complete with loads of different dishes, desserts, and PLENTY of watermelon. We danced the night away....
On the 4th we went to Winter Park to attend their celebration,
along with several hundred others,
many of whom brought their own chairs. Because we did not, we snagged some seats on the bleachers, both a good and bad decision. Good because we had somewhere to sit, bad because it was blazing hot in the sun!
Next year we will know better. One thing though, they did everything possible to make folks have a good time, including giving out free water, old fashioned fans (worked great), hot dogs and watermelon. Pretty amazing.
And then there was the patriotic music provided by the Bach Festival, conducted by Dr. John Sinclair from our church. The keyboard player was none other than Lynn Peghiny who, get this,
played the organ for our wedding when she was 13 years old!! Pretty amazing, right? 
After lunch we spent a few hours at home before going over to Matt's old friend Liza's parents' home in Belle Isle for dinner, fellowship, and fireworks. Oh, and giant bubbles too!
Mike, Liza's Dad, made up some bubble mix that kept both adults and kids entertained.
It was so hot and humid, the smoke from the fireworks hung in the air. I had not seen Clara, Liza's oldest for ages, and what a delightful young girl she's become, although it does not surprise me in the least coming from such fine parents as Mike and Liza. Here she is writing her name with a giant sparkler.
Generally, when Matt comes to town, we get him to help us with technology. Do you do the same when your young folks come home? Bruce got a new laptop that he mostly set up himself, using the provided voice commands, a genius idea! Matt did some tweaking on the computer, and then, on his 43rd birthday, he helped us both buy and set up a new smart television, something that the kids had been encouraging us to get for a while now.
Matt did the technical part while Bruce did the hanging it on the wall part, something I've been wanting for a while now. He put up a spiffy hanger that allows us to turn the television any which way. Good stuff.
Then it was Saturday evening and time for them to head back to London under ominous skies.
One last photo,
and we left them to head to their gate. We drove over to Lisa and Oren's to gather with our friends for, what was meant to be, a pool party. Although rain was predicted for the whole week, mostly it came when we did not want it to, and Saturday night was no exception, causing their flight to have a delayed take off and the pool party to move indoors.
A few hours later then planned, they arrived home and dry to catch up with their non-holiday lives. In about six weeks it will be our turn to go to London, and instead of soaking in the heat, we do so hope we will be soaking up just the opposite! Two weeks into August, and I will be losing my mind....
your friend,
Gail
