A Week in the Sun

How nice to have a sister and brother-in-law who open their winter home to me so generously. After this winter in particular, it was wonderful to board a plane, escape the snow and still cold temperatures, and head south. Although I hear that they can be kind of pests, this was the only gecko I saw on my trip, and he was a permanent decoration.
Their home backs onto the golf course. This is one of the greens we could see from the lanai. The small shrubs are theirs and were planted this year. They are told that by next year, these plants will be the size of the neighbouring ones.

And now some views of the house, in no particular order. This is the IT centre, with my bedroom and bath behind. The door goes to the garage.
Looking through the living area to the lanai. The master bedroom and bath are on the left past the viewing centre. All furniture is very comfortable!
Looking the other direction, through the kitchen to the eating area. My favourite part is the pantry, hidden behind the counters you see (and the easy to keep tile floors throughout).
The view from the street, with the garage door open to show trusty Clara the golf cart. Clara seemed to need some extra oomph to make it up the last hill to the pool area, but she made it every time! Makes you feel a bit like Fred Flinstone when you are driving her.
Then we were off to see many stores and other attractions. No pictures of the stores - but I will just say that there were bargains to be found. One evening we went to Downtown Disney to shop and sightsee. This sea monster (not the one in the hat) is made entirely of Lego pieces.
Here is where little girls go to be made into princesses, for anywhere from 54.95 to 239.95. I decided that we could probably buy some dollar store tiaras and wands, some goo and glitter for the hair, paint the nails and put on a fancy dress, and do it all for about 10.00. Parents, if you are interested in the Bibbidi Bobbdi Boutique, I have details! I just wondered how long the hairdos last once the princesses jump in the pool!
Cinderella and two of her step sisters.
Buzz and friends.
Since my man was off visiting friends of his own, I had to make do with Mr. Potato Head.
On Sunday morning we headed off to Bok Tower Gardens, built on the highest point in Florida to preserve beauty. It was a spiritual experience to sit and enjoy the Carillon Music (the Carillonneur hits the keys with his fists to make the bells play), feel the soft breeze, and just enjoy the moment. Now that is church!
If I have done this correctly, there should be a short movie at the end of this entry. You can play it and hear a bit of the music.
I was attracted to this divider in the visitor centre. On closer inspection, it was made up of plants suspended from invisible wire. The plants take in moisture from the air, and are living creatures.

One day we took in Tarpon Springs, on the bay coast. It is a small community created to support the sponge industry, but now has many resort type shoppes. Our chauffeur waited patiently as we perused all the small stores.
We had watched a documentary on "Dirty Jobs" the evening before about how the sponges are collected, so we had a bit of knowledge about what had gone into the collecting of them. I can tell you right now, it is not a job from me. It was interesting, though, to see where the sponges I used to use for pottery originated.

Here are my gracious hosts, relaxing on their property behind their home. Thank you so much for a wonderful stay. I will close with my standard "view from the toes", this time of their wonderful pool and hot tub area. We had it almost to ourselves most of the time!