Photos from a happier time

As I write this we are in the midst of a national and world crisis unlike anything seen before. I'm late as usual posting on the blog and my photos and story happened before everything exploded and shut down. It truly seems like 6 months ago. So these are photos from some happy moments and not irresponsible behavior photos - just sayin'.

Sherry and I made the most of our free time while the guys were playing in Mark's member/guest golf tournament and no photos of the guys made it into this post. They were busy off on their own. This was a spectacular setting for a dinner on the beach at Turtle Club, a long time restaurant and resort. The food and service were also amazing. Thanks Sherry for the treat - loved it so much!

Both Edison and Ford had massive wrap around porches. 

Next, we went exploring to the Edison and Ford winter estates just north of us. A beautiful piece of property overlooking the water that Edison built on, followed by Ford at Edison's invitation. Many buildings including a separate office for Edison to invent more amazing things. His legacy (and Ford's) is long lasting.

Another day trip was to the Koreshan state park. This was a religious order that was cult like without the koolaid component that peaked at 300 people. The founder Teed died in 1907 and the group gradually died out with the last remaining resident deeding the whole property (300 acres) to the state of Florida. Lots of buildings including a machine shop and bakery. The building above housed the seven women who governed the day to day activities (called the Planetary Court) Teed believed in equality of the sexes and communal ownership among other things. Interesting place to visit.

And lastly, this is Lenny. Lenny is a lizard who lives around our pool. Lenny likes to spend a great deal of time inside this metal decorative koi. Every afternoon he races over and hops in the mouth and gets himself situated. I felt he deserved a name...
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Please be safe and stay healthy in these perilous times. We will get through this to better days.

Road Trip: Hilton Head, Charleston, and St. Augustine

Rainy Charleston

A great week was had golfing in Hilton Head, visiting Tiffany and family in Charleston, and a last night in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the U.S. (1565) despite some chilly and rainy weather. We decided to do the driving thing rather than fly. Kind of a nice change.

Stayed at Inn at Harbour Town. Beautiful place and great golf courses. We got to catch up with old Maryland friends which was really nice. We moved in 2008 - a long time ago now...

Practicing holding breath

fantastic new library close to their house

Super quick visit to Charleston but got to check in on the Walker family. Busy bunch - swim lessons for Juliet, library visit, school activities galore. I love everything about their area - marvelous place to raise a family.

Casa Monica in St. Augustine. Right in the middle of the historic downtown area. All things Spanish including this kind of Moroccan theme.

Museums and churches on every corner. They've done a great job preserving the old.

The historic fort that protected the city. Pretty amazing it's still standing. Oldest masonry fort in the U.S. with construction beginning in 1672 finishing 23 years later.

I'd say we're settling down but boy, the schedule seem awfully packed. Company coming and Mark has two fishing trips scheduled with friends in a few weeks. He's definitely making the most of this newly retired life. Not complaining for sure...

Maryland visit

We've just come back from a grand visit in Maryland, our old stomping grounds. It was a lot of fun visiting Aubrey who is growing like a weed. She's 18 months and a very busy girl. An amazing climber with no fear - keeps everybody hopping...

Granddaddy and Aubrey checking out the outside action

We rented a house on the water in Shady Side, the next neighborhood over from Heather and Brian. What a fantastic location. Right on the confluence of the West River and the Bay. A much better idea than an anonymous hotel. We don't use Airbnb often, but this was a great find.

A house with a comforting feel

The weather was not ideal - chilly and rainy most of the time, but Mark and I were there for family, and it is February after all. We found things to do anyway - playpark at the mall and some restaurant action. Aubrey does so well in these grownup places.

PF Chang's

We had wintering over friends at the rental home. Bald eagles, geese, and tundra swans. The tundra swans live in northern Alaska in the summer. That's 4200 miles of migration - some have been tagged and tracked year after year so it's legit. Amazing.

Next up golf trip to Hilton Head. Retirement is lots of busy fun so far...

Naples season madness, O'Keeffe, and special foods

2020 will go by in a flash if the previous years are any indication and I'm determined to pause and really experience what's going on. It's full on season here and all the crazy traffic and crowds. We're far busier than I expected so it's a bit of a challenge but's it all good stuff. And it's fantastic to have Mark around and not working. He's also determined to stop and smell the roses. Golf 4 days a week is a good way to start.

fresh pasta dept

Our new favorite grocery store. It's local and just opened after 5 years of building, yup you heard right, 5 years. It's called Seed to Table, the brainchild of Alfie Oakes who own Oakes Farms a huge food wholesaler in Florida. It's an experience to be sure, 74,000 sq feet, with in house pastry chef, bakery, fresh pasta station, in house restaurants, beef and fish galore, amazing produce-- I could go on and on. It's like Whole Foods times 10. And it's close, as most things are around here. Definitely appreciate that part.

Norton Museum of Art

What a great time my artist friends and I had going on a ladies side trip to Palm Beach to see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit last week. She was an amazing artistic talent. Made the most of it, spent the night and had fun meals before heading back of to Naples. These are great ladies for sure.

these expandable baskets make grilling whole fish easy

grilled whole branzino with lemon and fresh tarragon

I'm definitely getting the benefit of Mark having more free time. Some elevated cooking happening, not that he didn't already prepare amazing dishes. Along with fresh fish, experimenting with Indian cuisine - Biryani so far - was amazing!, and special fresh pasta with shaved black truffles and grilled veal chops. Keep it coming!

We leave for Maryland in a week to see Heather, Brian, and Aubrey for a few days. Excited to see them!  Crossing fingers for decent weather or at least not a major snowstorm. I have to remind myself it's winter weather in most places. Yanking back out those warm clothes....