Savannah

To begin our journey home, we spent two days in Savannah, GA. What an amazing city! We took a trolley tour of the city and a boat ride on the Savannah River. It was a very busy day, but a beautiful one.

Spring was in full bloom as the azaleas above show. Savannah has a variety of parks or squares that are a sight to see. They are full of flowers, statues, and monuments.

This is the river boat we took for a ride on the river. It was relaxing, spacious, and an enjoyable ride.

We took a trolley tour, but this horse and wagon looks like an interesting way to go.

Here's Gary having some refreshment at an outdoor pub table.

One of the most interesting things we have discovered in the south is the live oak trees. They are huge and grow in every direction. They are hanging in Spanish moss, and are a sight to see.

On the riverfront in Savannah we found the replicas of Columbus's ships, the Nina and the Pinta. We had planned to see them in Florida, but we missed it because of stormy weather. We did not know they would be in Savannah, but they are coming to coastal Maine in June.

This is the location of the Paula Deen restaurant, but we did not go there.

Here is another of the Savannah squares.
Today we took up the travel again and covered all of North and South Carolina, and most of Virginia
as we are staying in Charlottesville tonight. Our trip has been enjoyable thus far. We have actually met quite a few people who are making the same trip as we are, and have enjoyed talking to them. We are still in short sleeves, but that may end tomorrow. It was 88 today in Virginia. We have heard rumors of another storm for Saturday, so we will try to avoid it!

Goodbye Florida, Hello Georgia

That time has come. The three months in Florida are over. We went to the beach yesterday to get a last taste of sunshine and salt water.

It was a busy day at the beach - the end of spring break week for all the local schools. Louise had to get her feet in the water again, and actually got quite wet!

We have been packing and cleaning for several days to leave the condo in pristine condition.

Finally this morning we put the last of it in the car. Notice Gary's basil plant that he is hoping to get home alive. He has been growing it for a couple of months.

It has been a good winter and we have enjoyed the condo and our time in Florida this year. We have no commitment yet for next winter, so that is something we will have to work on after we get home.
It is with some sense of dread that we face the remains of the horrible winter at home. As a result we are going to take our time getting home. So many people have advised us not to hurry back! Usually we do it in three or four days, but we plan to spend more time at it this time.

Our ride through Florida was uneventful. Lots of other snowbirds were on the road today. This bridge on the 295 route around Jacksonville always stands out as an amazing sight.

This afternoon we crossed the border into Georgia where we plan to stay for a day or two. We are in Savannah and hope to tour the old historic city tomorrow. We may spend a second night here. The temperature is in the 70s and the sun is shining. We are still in short sleeves with no jackets. One more day of summer weather!

Louise has finished sweater #4 - this one for Bridget.  She has another one almost done for Emily. It's been a good knitting winter!

Afternoon on the Banana River

With the temperature about as high as we have seen it this year, and a little cloud cover to lessen the impact of the sun, we went on a boat tour of the Banana River today with Chelsea and Andy. It was a wildlife tour, looking for dolphins, manatees, and birds.

This is a picture of the boat at the dock in Cocoa Beach. The number of people going was small, so we had lots of seat room  and place to move around.

Here we see a group of birds enjoying the afternoon. It is mating season for some of them.

This has nothing to do with wildlife, but there are beautiful homes in Cocoa Beach built along canals on  the River.

Here's a lone pelican, drifting along the river, hoping for fish to come along.  We saw several dolphins, but they are impossible to photograph because they are so quick when they come to the surface and dive.

We are near several causeways. This is the one connecting Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.

here is a picture of us enjoying the boat ride. It was so warm last night that we turned on the air conditioning for the first time, since it was 80 in the living room. To get a wind chill warning this morning for home was a dose of reality. One more week!

Animals Galore!

Andrew and Chelsea have been visiting us since Sunday. We have had lots of adventures and have enjoyed their company. Wednesday we visited the Brevard Zoo and have a couple of pictures to share from that visit.

As always, the birds are spectacular there.

Here we have some brand new ducks. They are still all fuzzy.

This picture of the flamingos is for JoAnna!

 Our only disappointment at the zoo was that we were too late to see the giraffes as they were being put away for the night.
On Thursday we ventured to Orlando and visited Sea World. We accidentally chose a day that was a busy one in Orlando-President Obama was there and a basketball game was going on in the evening. Despite all of that the traffic wasn't bad and we had no problems getting in and out.

Here we are outside the penguin exhibit which we did not get to see. The waiting-in-line time to get in was 70 minutes and we decided our feet and our patience wouldn't take it.

Here we have a picture of Andy and Chelsea enjoying the visit. Notice the sunburn they both had.

Here we have the dolphins performing.

These flamingo paddle boats were popular, but none of us had the energy to try it!

This photo was taken at Sea World. The flowers are lovely all over Florida right now.

Here is an interesting view of a sea turtle in an underwater aquarium.
We have had fun with them, and know we will be seeing everyone soon at home, if we can avoid the snowstorms coming home.

Spring on it's way?

This morning we sat looking at photos from Facebook of the extreme amount of snow at home, dreading the thought of returning to it in a couple of weeks. We are spending a couple of days visiting with Leslie Cole, and we went to visit a pioneer village today, becoming acquainted a bit with early history in Florida.

Just as we were leaving we spotted two robins on the ground. Perhaps it is a harbinger of spring.

These flowering trees outside the school is another good sign!
This village included equipment for the sugar cane and turpentine industries, simple homes and cabins, gardens, farm animals, a church, school, post office, fire department, railroad station, and other buildings.

A cabin bedroom in an earlier time.

Here we see Gary reading the plaque in front of the church.

Leslie exploring the flowers in bloom.

Some of the buildings are very old. This looks a little spooky with the moss hanging from the trees.

This peacock adds a lot of color to the farmyard.

The chair looks inviting, taking you back to an earlier time.

The school room is well preserved.

This old stove in the school kitchen is a classic.

Every village needed a country store.

Notice the wall papered with newspapers.

This is a turpentine mill, an early product of Florida from the pines.
We had a lovely day going back in time and enjoying a beautiful day.

Wetland Birds

Today we visited the Viera Wetlands to see the birds and wildlife.

Instead of driving through the paths in the car, we decided to hike it. We were out about an hour, got lots of exercise, and have some lovely photos of the wetlands and the birds.

There were two flocks of white pelicans that showed off for us.

We saw a few small alligators sunning themselves along the banks.

These birds perched on tree stumps are interesting. We did see one bald eagle at a distance.

There were lots of ducks everywhere and many herons of different varieties.

The white egrets were everywhere.

The grasses were interesting, and full of the sounds of birds hiding out in them.

Here we have Gary walking along the trail.

And Louise taking a break in a gazebo.

Sweater #3 in Louise's attempt to knit 14 in 2014 is this baby sweater, destined for niece Heather and baby Emma.