Sunday March 8, 2009

Home-again, home again, jiggety-jig! We decided not to set the alarm for this morning as we were really tired. By the time we showered, dressed and got out the door, it was 7:30 (the old 6:30). We were really tired! We skipped breakfast at the motel as we had snacks in the car. We really cannot believe how much traffic we encountered on the road! At least today was not motorcycles, but there were plenty of cars and trucks on the road. We decided to use the GPS to route us home and we had a very interesting experience in D. C. - we went right by the Jefferson Memorial and could see the Washington monument and the Capitol building just a stone's throw away. We were only on surface streets for a half a mile or so and then got on to the Washington/Baltimore Parkway. It really wasn't bad - probably because today was Sunday - and I'm sure it saved quite a bit of time over going around on the beltway. This is not something I would have liked to do on a work day though. We had a few hold-ups: George Washington bridge, Cross-Bronx expressway, Stamford, New Haven, but all in all made pretty good time. We only had to stop twice to change drivers and arrived home at 5 PM after stopping to see Jaime and Dotty Jo for a few minutes. We had called Amy and Dean from the road and invited ourselves to dinner which she made at our house. Today is Dean's birthday so we had cake for dessert along with some strawberries we had picked up in Florida. It was really nice to see everyone. As much as we enjoy traveling, we do miss family and there really is no place like home. We chatted with Doug this morning in the car on the cell phone and called Laura this evening. So this is it for the blog for now. We will start it up whenever we have another adventure. Thanks to all of our loyal readers - we enjoyed your comments along the way.

Saturday March 7, 2009

We got off after breakfast this morning at about 8:15. We gave big hugs to Sandy and Larry - we had a wonderful week visiting with them and now won't see them again until they come back to Mystic in the middle of April. It was a beautiful day to travel: 68 when we got up this morning and it got up to 80 for the high in Georgia and South Carolina. We decided not to stop for lunch and pushed through. There was much more traffic on the road than we had thought. There also must have been a motorcycle rally just north of Daytona Beach - there were hundreds of them on the road as well as trucks hauling 6 to 8 cycles in trailers. At the exit, there was a back up of about a half a mile to get off the highway! The other thing that I haven't written about in the blog is the large number of different license plates in Florida. Dave and I have seen about 50 different ones and Sandy Levine thinks there may be as many as 200. I assume they don't cost as much as the special ones in Connecticut. We finally stopped for the night in Rocky Mount, NC at 8:15. We have just come back from dinner at Denny's which is next door and will read for a short time before going to sleep. Unfortunately, we will lose an hour tonight, but we would like to get an early start tomorrow so as to get home before dark if possible.

Friday March 6, 2009

Another beautiful day! We went for a walk at Green Cay this morning. This is another nature preserve nearby. We elected to go for the mile long hike on the boardwalk. Most of the walk was over wetlands. We saw many of the same things that we saw the other day, but there were a few new things: Florida soft shell turtle, teal winged duck, grebe, and a baby alligator about a foot long. Momma was nearby and kept a watchful eye on the baby - it was very cute! After lunch, Sandy took Larry for his physical therapy appointment and while they were gone, Dave and I packed up the car. It only took 10 or 15 minutes. We are certainly going to miss the sunshine. We went out for dinner at a restaurant named DaDa - it was really funky and artsy inside: red walls with gold molding, giant ants pained on the wall and ceiling, a lamp shade made out of a black fringed shawl. Our waiter wore a black tee shirt, combat boots with white socks and a kilt! The food was delicious - I had butternut squash ravioli in a cream sauce with asparagus, artichokes, fresh diced tomatoes and topped with flakes of parmesan cheese, Dave had a giant burger, Larry had a pork chop and mashed potatoes, and Sandy had a chicken penne dish with green beans - everyone was delighted with his meal and we took the leftovers home for Larry and Sandy to enjoy over the weekend. We played pinochle and the boys won again - 2 games to 1!!!!! They really had the luck on their side this week.

Thursday March 5, 2009

What a perfect Florida day - the sun is shining with a slight breeze - definitely shorts weather! We went down the turnpike for a few exits and got off at Sample Road to go to a huge indoor flea market. They sold just about everything you can imagine in there and it is so large that the wide aisles have names just like street signs so you don't get lost. We didn't buy much, but had a good time looking. We came back to the condo and had lunch. While Larry took a nap, Dave and I went back to Festival (the local flea market) and had another look around. We stopped at the local supermarket on the way back and picked up a few items for when we travel on Saturday and some bananas for Larry and Sandy. We went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant - great food and great service. We were joined by Sandy's sister, Jean, and a couple that are friends of both Jean and the Levine's. After dinner, we went back to Jean's for coffee, tea and dessert. Jean has a lovely apartment very close to where Larry and Sandy are. She lives in a high-rise right on a golf course - large eat-in kitchen, living room with dining area, large bedroom and a den where she has her computer and a pull-out sofa for guests. We chatted and had a good time while enjoying fruit, carrot cake and brownies (not all of course as we were stuffed). We are going to another nature preserve tomorrow and then we will have to pack the car in the afternoon.

Wednesday March 4, 2009

We woke up to mega clouds today. We were going to go to the Orchid House and gardens, but the weather looked iffy. We decided to stay in and ended up playing cards. The boys won again (2 games to 1 - boo hoo). We had a 15 minute shower - just enough to wet the grass. We read for a while and Dave ran the vacuum around to clean up a bit (even though we haven't been overly messy). We went out for dinner to a local diner and then went to the big clubhouse for a show. Sandy and Larry gave us a tour: card rooms, fitness rooms, ceramics, art, library, jewelry making, indoor heated pool with 30 person jacuzzi, 2 outdoor pools and a 1500 person auditorium with stadium seating - the place was huge. The entertainment was a comedian who had been on the Johnny Carson show 25 times and a Dean Martin/Frank Sinatra impersonator/singer. The comedian was better than the impersonator, but the evening was a fun one. I realized that I had forgotten to describe the Bento box that Dave had for lunch yesterday - it was a black lacquered box with compartments for each of the different food items - it really was a work of art!

Tuesday March 3, 2009

We went for a lovely walk this morning and then showered and had breakfast when we returned. After breakfast we went to The Morikami which is a museum and Japanese gardens. What a treasure! It is 200 acres of peace in the middle of a bustling city. There were winding gravel paths, boardwalks and bridges that featured hidden gardens, bamboo forests, ponds, waterfalls and plenty of benches on which to sit and rest or contemplate life. We enjoyed our walk immensely. One of the last places we visited was the Bonsai garden which was fantastic - one of the trees was started in 1600! We ate lunch in the cafe which of course features Japanese cuisine. Dave was brave and had the Bento box. His lunch was a sampling of many dishes such as tofu, rice, eel, dumplings, chicken teryaki, poached salmon, shrimp, sushi, Spring roll and a variety of vegetables. Lunch was wonderful. Larry took a nap when we got back. For dinner Sandy cooked a pork tenderloin in the George Foreman grill and we had that with baked while and sweet potatoes, salad and broccoli - yum. Carol Shasha who lives nearby and used to teach in Waterford came over for dessert. We had a wonderful time catching up with her and talking about "the old days". We have decided what we are doing tomorrow during the day, but will go to a show at the clubhouse in the afternoon.

Monday March 2, 2009

We woke up to a chilly, breezy day, but the sun is shining so all is well. We went to the Wakodahatchee Nature Preserve nearby and had a lovely walk on the boardwalk over the wetlands. We saw alligators, an iguana, egrets, ibis, Great blue herons, small blues, night herons, cormorants and anhingas along with some that we weren't sure of. We also saw some turtles and fish. I think the best part of the walk was seeing the babies: herons, anhingas, and moorhens. They were all very fuzzy and cute. We can't post any pix as we downloaded the camera onto our laptop and Sandy and Larry don't have wireless. I am using their computer with dial-up to post the blogs while we are here. It has been a long time since we have used dial-up - seems like ancient times, but we are not complaining - so it takes a bit longer - we have time. After lunch, Larry and Sandy went to a doctor appointment for Larry and Dave and I read for a bit. We had an early dinner of hot dogs last night and then went to a lecture put on by the women of Brandeis University. The speaker was an anchor woman from a local news channel. She was very young and didn't quite hit the mark of the topic which was Politics and the Media, but she did have a few interesting stories. We came home and had dessert and chatted until just after eleven before going to bed. Tomorrow we are going to a Japanese garden of some sort. I hope the weather will be nice so we can get some good pictures.