Weekend Trip with Friends

This weekend we took a trip to the Orlando area so we could visit Capone's.  We visited this place once before with a group of pickleball friends.  The time Nick and Tonyia organized the trip, and they did a great job.  We got a package deal with dinner, the show, a hotel and a shuttle bus there and back.

We were able to ride up with one of our favorite couples, Art and Hedy.  We got up there in plenty of time to sit and visit some beforehand.  Here we all are waiting for the shuttle bus.

At Capone's, we ordered drinks and visited for a bit and then headed down to eat.  They offer a buffet of Italian foods and the food is very good.

Here's Art and Hedy with "Fingers"!

The best part of this place is definitely the show.  The show is a lot of dancing and singing and some improv and audience participation.  For example, Nick was able to participate by lending a seat to one of the actresses.

My favorite part was when Todd was persuaded to participate.  He was a bit reluctant to begin with.  I think he was taught that women are like animals, if you don't make eye contact then they'll leave you alone.

He was such a trooper though.  He not only went on stage, he danced the Charleston for us!

We had so much fun laughing and talking with our friends and enjoying the show together!

I am hoping we have more trips like this during the winter months here together!

Happy Halloween

One wonderful thing about being in the park, is that we can celebrate the "kid" holidays even though we have no kids left in our house.  Since I work at the park, I have no choice but to be there when the park is celebrating.  Which is fine by me.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween wherever you are!

My Favorite Kind of Day

Since we spent all summer in Florida, and Florida in the summer is a dreadful experience temperature and humidity-wise, we are really enjoying the cooler days.  We went out to Sixteen Hands and spent the day there alone because everyone else went to an event.  It was just a lazy kind of a day.

  The horses are starting to really know Nathan now.  They greet him and then go and do their thing.  Well, except Patriot who believes "we" are his thing.

Gypsy girl shows us how she multi-tasks by drinking and bathing at the same time.

And Chevy bravely walks over to me, rather than running away from me.

It was a good day!  Hoping for more of them over the next few months!

Living the life in FL!

A Horse is a Horse...or Not

Nathan has decided if you can't beat them, join them, and now goes out with me on the weekends to Sixteen Hands.  Today I grabbed my real camera and grabbed some shots and we discussed how different the horses are from each other.  I didn't know how distinct the "horsenalities" of horses were until I spent time here.  They are all unique and all bring their own flavor to the sanctuary.  As someone who had a lot of kids, I love this about the sanctuary.

For example, Willow is a deep thinker.  She watches what is going on and seems pretty mellow, but she is as strong willed as they come when pressed by something she does not like.

 Dakota is Mr Personality, winning over the visitors with his stunning looks and friendliness.  I call him Mr Hollywood because I have to fight to get a shot of anyone else when he is around.  He is ALL about the camera and will circle around with me to be sure I am taking pictures of only him.

Cherokee is our wise and gentle soul.  He is pure, unadulterated love.  If I am feeling down for any reason, five seconds with Cherokee is my favorite cure. 

Dallas is one half of what I call the Dynamic Duo.  He is energy, fun and joy all rolled up into one.  Just watching him race down the track makes me smile.  He is not really afraid of people so he can be quite pushy at times.  He is smart as a whip and curious about everything!

 Nova is a classy lady.  She is above most of the foolishness that the guys engage in, but can hold her own against them if she needs to.  I always imagine after she kicks the guys with all her might, scaring the living daylights out of them, that she walks away disgusted that she had to break a sweat in order to do it.

Most of the horses here have unique "issues", being rescued from abusive or neglectful situations.  So they have baggage, just as most of us humans do.  They are also able to still show us who they are, when they get to the point where they feel safe and trust us.  Again, like most humans.  It's a really interesting thing to be a part of that process and I am grateful each day I spend time there and learn more about it.

Living the life in FL!

Cozumel Cruise~Day at Cozumel

Our day trip to Cozumel was a blast!  We were able to join Rich and Dee and Dean and Margie and some of Dee's family for an island tour with tour guide.  It was really neat to see the island this way!

The island was as pretty as I thought it would be.  The people were incredibly friendly.  The water was that same clear water that we experienced on our last cruise.

We stopped at a little village, where there were tons of goodies to buy. 

We made friends with some of the local critters.

Rich and Dean visited jail, we soaked up some of the beauty and we enjoyed the air conditioned van.

We enjoyed "real" Mexican food and ended the day with a tour of a Tequila factory. 

It was a great day full of wonderful memories! 

Living the life in Cozumel!

Cozumel Cruise~The Ship

Today we headed out for our second cruise.  This one was a Carnival cruise and was leaving from Tampa.  We have an extra special bonus that some of our pickleball friends are taking the same cruise!  Rich and Dee and Dean and Margie are the ones going.  Rich and Dee's daughter is getting married which makes it even all the more special.

We spent the first little bit exploring the ship which was just as fun as the last time.  We came upon the reception for Rich and Dee's daughter and got to see some of the toasts that were taking place.  Their daughter is stunning so she made the wedding absolutely beautiful!

We found an outside deck by the food areas, and decided we would try to spend as much time as possible eating out there.

Nathan and I decided since we are now officially kid free, that we would truly spend time enjoying the kid free zone otherwise known as the Serenity Deck.

After heading out to sea, we spent the rest of this day and into the night with lots of food and watching the entertainment they provided.  It was a great day!

The Ringling Museum of Art

I have not been keeping up on our blog at all this summer.  I still take lots and lots of pictures but when it comes to moving them from my laptop to the blog, I admit my motivation just has not been there.  For the most part, I am so deeply immersed in our lives here, I just don't even think of the blog at all.  Then we will go and do something like visit an art museum that we have been to before and I remember the blog and remember how nice it is to have the blog there as a record of the places we have visited.

Last weekend, we were grateful to have Aric come and visit us.  He and I went to The Ringling Museum together.  He came back to visit again this weekend and we took another trip over there, this time bringing Nathan and Lee with us.

I was able to do the Ca'D 'Zan tour this time.  I have been on the bottom floor for a self-guided tour but have never been on the top floor.  It is such an interesting place with an interesting history.

 My favorite part of this beautiful place is the Art Museum.  Each time we visit, I end up thinking I wish we had more time there and this time was no exception.  I truly love this museum.

We bought a membership so I'm guessing we'll be back a few more times over the next year.  Hopefully I will remember to take pictures and maybe even blog about it!

Living the life in S Florida!

Visiting Rich and Donna at The Villages

We planned to take a trip to visit Rich and Donna the weekend that we were visited by the tropical storm, so we moved it to this past weekend.  It was well worth the wait!  We have only been to The Villages to visit when we were buying pickleball paddles and we did not even begin to truly see all this interesting place has to offer.

 I decided while there that if I did not love to travel, this place would be where I could easily settle in and never want to leave again.  The place is beautiful.  Everything is manicured, perfectly decorated and laid out in a well planned, easily navigated fashion.

 There is more to do here than I could ever fit in during my lifetime and most of it is things I love to do, like pickleball.  There are reasonably priced restaurants, stores, movie theaters and town squares with entertainment every single night of the year.  There are recreation centers full of every fun thing you can imagine to do!  We might just have to be part time residents at some point and travel part of the year!

During our visit, we were able to play pickleball both days.  Donna and I played at one place, the guys played at another.  We had not played in months so it was great to play again.  In the afternoon, the guys played again while we girls did other things.  The first afternoon we went to play Bunco, which I had not played before.  I loved it.  Donna introduced me to So You Think You Can Dance so the second afternoon we watched some of those shows, which I loved!  We also had happy hour and frozen yogurt.  We visited both town squares, had a boat ride and learned more about The Villages history and ate at great restaurants.  We were spoiled rotten and I loved every minute of it.

 We were able to cram in so much and yet the weekend flew by way too fast.  We ate dinner together before we had to head back home, and as was everything else during our trip: it was wonderful.  Great food and great entertainment.

Thank you again Rich and Donna for such a wonderful weekend!  We hope we can squeeze in that one more trip before you head back to Wauchula!

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac

We are watching Isaac as I type this, and our hearts go out to those that are in his path right now.  We were fortunate that we felt minimal effects as he went by us and waved.  Mostly we were gifted with lots of rain, and after a summer of lots of rain that meant the already saturated ground was even more mushy.

It also meant the Peace River is up over the banks again.  And too close for comfort right now.  Here is a shot from our house.

We are still hanging onto the hope that we won't have to move!  Beyond that, the area is back to normal.  The cows are still clinging to the shade under the trees.

What? You don't see the shade from the tree?  That's Florida shade, y'all! The horses are still enjoying the benefit of all the grass that the rain has brought them. 

 And I still drive by my favorite treehouse, untouched by Mother Nature, and imagine it being my secret getaway.