Another Catch-up Post....

I totally forgot that I posted photos on Facebook last week, but did not do a blog about our three days with Sara and Matt - before we all went to the beach!!  I want to be sure to get these saved and our time together documented.

Sara and Matthew (Matt) arrived last Tuesday afternoon. They live in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Sara is a pre-school teacher, is just finishing her Masters Degree and will be going on for her Ph.D.  She wants to eventually teach at the college level.  Matt is in his first year of residency at the University of Cincinnati Hospital where he will be specializing in neurology.  They will both be finishing their studies at about the same time in three years.

We took them up to the Clubhouse Tuesday evening for the very affordable hamburger, hotdog, or pulled pork sandwich plate dinners. They got to meet some of the folks we spend time with and I think we all had a good time talking for an hour or so.

Wednesday morning, we took them to the farm (Joe's client) with us.  Had a great time with the animals (as usual, for me).

We left the farm and headed for Lakeland.  Sara specifically asked to go to Polk Museum of Art and I am always happy to show off our wonderful art museum (where I worked for 20+ years).

This is one wall of Richard Heipp's artwork. Very interesting.

 I do love this painting...

From there we went to the Garden Bistro for lunch.  It is located in one of Lakeland's many beautiful parks.  We all enjoyed our meal. I didn't get pictures there, but HERE is a link if you are interested.

The Hollis Gardens are beautiful. I have posted photos from there before, but here are a few new ones from last week with the kids.

This sculpture is a favorite of mine, by Robert Wick. 

A favorite spot for weddings.

Joe opted to stay in the car rather than hobble through the gardens.

He actually loves the seat in the car and says it is good for his back.

He also listens to Sirius radio while waiting.

My beautiful niece. 💗

(Curls run in the family.)

Wednesday night, we went out for Thai food and we all enjoyed our meal at Thai Oishi, located in our shopping area called Lakeside Village.

Thursday morning, we were up early and headed east on Route 60 to the Grape Hammock Fish Camp, to get our airboat ride.  Joe and I love taking visitors there and tell them it is much better than going to Disney!

Buffalo live on an island in the middle of Lake Kissimmee.

We got to see this lazy guy just keeping cool in the water's edge.

Wild turkeys (look  past the scrub) with his tail fanned out and

two females following him.

 

We only got a close-up of a 5-foot "baby" gator. 

We were told they grow about a foot a year, so this one was

around five years old.

We spotted a few larger gators, but they swam away from us.

The obligatory 'end-of-the-ride' photo.

Sara and Matt said they really enjoyed it.

I made pasta with meatballs and sausage for our dinner.  We also had a salad and bread.  I always make too much but we love the leftovers. As a matter of fact, Matt had two big helpings for his breakfast on Friday, before they headed to the beach. 

I did laundry after they left and got the bed changed and made, and the other guest room readied for Jo Anne and Mike to come this week.  We expect them in a few hours from now.

So now I am caught up here!! Thanks for checking in again for blog #2 today.  Peace & hugs!!