2/28/17 Tuesday

We said good-bye to John and Carole last night and they gave us a small palm tree for the sunroom to remember them by - very sweet of them.  We packed up the last minute bags this morning and got to work at 8:30.  Everyone was very sorry to see us go.  The whole gang had signed a card for us and there were hugs all around.  Mike had baked a batch of snickerdoodles for our trip and we were thankful.  We left at 11 and had pretty smooth sailing until we hit some road work in SC.  We intended to stop at Lumberton, NC, but were getting weary so decided to stop in Florence, SC.  There were no rooms to be had though so we pushed on to Lumberton.  They were full up also so we have just stopped in Fayetteville, NC at 10 at night!  Not only are we exhausted, but we got the very last room here so feel lucky as well.  I had packed a lunch for the trip, but it was Mike's cookies that saved the day as that is what we had for dinner!  Hopefully, we will not have to drive as late tomorrow.  We did finish Pillars of the Earth so will start a new book tomorrow.

2/27/17 Monday

We got up and did our final laundry, cleaned up a bit and basically got ready for leaving tomorrow.  We ate an early lunch and decided to go back to Boca Ciega to check on the alligator.  Apparently, he had been near the bridge when we first arrived, but by the time we parked the car and walked up to the bridge, he was nowhere to be seen.  I took a series of shots of a great blue catching and eating a fish.  As we walked around the end of the pond, I decided to walk a little closer to the heron, but as I walked, I heard a great bellow and knew instantly that I had found the gator (or he had found me).  I couldn't see him, but there was a clump of bushes next to the pond and I'm sure he was in there.  I called to Dave and as he came closer, we heard another couple of bellows.  We, wisely, decided to back away.  We got to work at 1 and we were extremely busy!  Poor Dave and Paul were the only two guys on the floor when a big truck came in full of doors, windows, thousands of feet of kick molding and other stuff - all of it heavy!  They were drenched in sweat by the time they finished unloading and they still weren't done as they had to load granite for one customer and tables and chairs for another.  By 5, we were done - in more ways than one.  We stopped for dinner on the way home.  We will have to say good-bye to John and Carole tonight as we will be leaving for work in the AM and will get on the road from work as it is part way to the highway that we take out of here.  We are hoping to get to North Carolina by tomorrow night - we'll see.

2/26/17 Sunday

What a beautiful day!  It was sunny and clear with no humidity - a great day.  We drove to St. Petersburg, found the parking garage and walked to the park.  We texted Kelly and she was right behind us so we walked through the art festival.  This festival was more fine art than craft, but there were some wonderful items sprinkled throughout.  No one bought anything so we walked into town and stopped in the Locale Market - lots of foods from different countries for sale here.  We then walked over to the Florida Craft Co-op, but had thirty minutes to wait until it opened so we stopped at a Greek cafe for a snack.  Dave had a fish sandwich and Kelly and I shared hummus with pita wedges and spinach dip with feta and tomato crackers.  The dip and cracker dish was HUGE, but we did our best before admitting defeat.  The craft shop was very nice, but the prices were a bit too dear for my wallet.  We walked back to the garage and parted ways.  When we got to the ticket agent, he informed us that Kelly had paid our ticket - what a nice surprise - thank you, Kelly!  We came home and puttered around until dinner time.  Tomorrow, we don't have to go in until 1 PM so we will do last laundry, clean out the RV, and pack everything into the car so that when we leave work early on Tuesday, we can just jump in the car and go.

The photos today are of a lovely hibiscus, metal sculpture, antique button jewelry, an embroidery made with over 200,000 stitches, a lacquered wood sculpture, an underwater photo, the sundial in the square, a park sculpture group of chairs, and the craft center.

2/25/17 Saturday

We got an email from Kelly yesterday inviting us to join her at the St. Petersburg art festival on Sunday so we decided to flip-flop our days.  We spent the morning cleaning out the car and packing up anything we won't need for the next few days.  We also went to Barnes and Noble to pick up another audio book as we are almost at the end of Pillars of the Earth.  We picked up a Lee Child novel and that should last us until we get home.  We spent the afternoon doing odds and ends and then went for a walk around the block.  I just have a few photos today - all from the yard here.

2/24/17 Friday

TGIF!  What a crazy day!  Dave and Larry (65, but acts like he's close to 80) were the only two volunteers on the floor today and we were crazy busy.  When we finally got done for the day, we came back so Dave could put his feet up, cool down, and relax.  About 5 PM, we took a walk down to the lake.  We were chatting to a couple on the dock and they said that an 8 foot alligator got into the discharge pipe at the lake's edge and crawled all the way to the office of the housing complex.  They had to call someone to come and get it and take it away.  It created all kinds of excitement.  We went out to dinner tonight and are now just relaxing until bedtime.  I don't think either one of us will have to be rocked to sleep tonight.  Tonight's photos are of an hibiscus, an anhinga drying his wings, a mallard, a coot, a stork, and a young osprey.

2/23/17 Thursday

Another very busy day at work today.  We priced, sorted and shelved all of the items that came in on the truck yesterday and many items sold as soon as we put them out.  We have two truckloads due to come in this afternoon so tomorrow will probably be busy again.  After work, we went to Boca Ciego park and walked along the waterfront.  We met two nice men from Toronto, Canada, who were also taking pictures.  One of them had just come back from Africa and his stories made us excited for our trip this fall.

The pictures today are of a coot, a gopher tortoise, an alligator, an egret and ibis, an azalea in bloom, a turtle coming up for air, an egret, and a heron.  Tomorrow we should start cleaning out the car and getting ready for our packing up.  We hope to do something fun on Saturday and then spend Sunday packing up.

2/22/17 Wednesday

Today was a true rainy day.  We had over an inch of rain.  The weatherman said that was the most rain in one day since September.  No wonder they have been having a brush fire problem here lately.  We were very busy at work today and when we left, we decided to go to the store to pick up a few groceries as there was a break in the rain.  I'm glad we did as it started pouring again about 3 minutes after we got in.  I have to say, rain on a metal roof is very loud!  It is not raining now, but it looks like it could start up again any time so no walk today and therefore no pictures.  The rest of the week looks fine so maybe tomorrow, we will start to organize for when we leave next Tuesday.

2/21/17 Tuesday

Lots of people in the store today, but most of them were small sales.  The truck went out for pick-ups so I imagine we will be busy tomorrow pricing and selling whatever comes in.  Dave continues to bring things in from the back room.  We price them and put them out.  It is amazing how often someone buys something just after we put it out for sale.  After work, we went to the botanical gardens to enjoy the sunshine and quiet.  The pics today are of a coot, a lizard on top of a sign, iris, coleus, trumpet flowers, dolphin fountain, and a cardinal hiding in the brush.  While we were walking, we got a phone call from Alex to let us know that his grandfather Antipas had passed away.  Our hearts are with Katie at this time.  Things happen so suddenly.  Give your loved ones an extra hug tonight.

2/20/17 Monday

Wow!  What a busy Monday!  I would guess that it was because it was President's Day, but we were busy from opening until we left at 1.  We came home for lunch and to put our feet up and then went down to the beach with Carole and John (our hosts) to their club.  We walk down the beach and then went to a restaurant on the beach called Mango's.  We sat outside and had a lovely dinner and watched the sun go down over the water.  It was a hot day today - in the 80's and has not cooled down too much so we are running the A.C. for a while so we can sleep tonight.  The pix today are of black skimmers, terns, a juvenile gull, the sunset, and a sea glass display at the restaurant.

2/19/17 Sunday

It rained a bit during the night and when we woke up it was quite foggy.  It soon burned off and we had a brilliant day from 10 o'clock on with temps in the low 80's.  We decided to stay close to home today so went for a walk down by the lake and then after lunch drove over to the park on the other side of the lake and took a nice walk in there.  The park was very busy with families picnicking and lots of kids at the playgrounds.  We came home and relaxed before our leftover dinner.  Tomorrow starts our last full week of work.