Ski Show at Miromar Mall

This local ski troup performs at the mall each Sunday. What fun to watch but the water is so cold--I feel for them when they come out of the water and hit the wind.

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

We love to drive through the 11 miles of Ding Darling. A great place to see waterbirds in such a small concentration. We were amazed to see so many Roseate spoonbills right by the road. Usually these birds try to hide and get far away from people. There colors were so bright!!!







These ibis are everywhere.

Bird Watching on the Seashore

Shelling on Sanibel Island

My favorite place to find shells of all kinds. The winter waves bring them in and pile them up. It is like a treasure hunt to see how many kinds you can collect. I gave Fred some books for Christmas. (one for identifying shells, one for rocks, and one for birds)


Your back hurts and it is hard to stand up---you have the" Sannibel stoop".


Fred even enjoys it. (even though he pretends that he doesn't)


What a fun day!!!

Naples Botanical Garden

This garden was closed last year for remodeling. It looks like they started over. Only 3 sections are finished and all the plants are young. The main feature is a 2 tier waterfall with a lily pond on top and a large tile sculpture in bright colors. The design is fantastic and it will be worth visiting again in a few years. The lakes all have walkways around them so they are good for birding. The Butterfly House had butterflies hatching out so you could watch.



The Children's Garden was so unusual. Meredith, I don't know if our Arboretum has anything like this. They had this garden shed that was a maze inside. All along the walls they had small beds with objects being used as planters. One wall was full of purses with plants in them. Some objects were on top of the fence. This boy is doing a scavenger hunt. He has a sheet with pictures all over it and he was so excited when he found this toilet!! I couldn't resist joining in the fun. (Other objects were high heels, sewing machine, teacups, purses, sink, chair, etc.)


This is the children 's water feature. They also had thatch-roofed play houses, swinging walkways, a brook with a waterfall and cave behind it. All through the Caribbean garden, they had hammocks and porch swings for the adults. You could also play a game of lawn bocce.


This is real bananas. We wouldn't have those at home.

Naples Beaches

You wouldn't believe it is February, in the mid 60's and windy. There are people everywhere on vacation and not just us old retired people although there are plenty of those in Florida.



This is Vanderbilt Beach near the Ritz Carlton. Lots of partying going on here and it is not even the weekend.


I can't believe surfers are trying to surf here. The waves are not that big!!


The sand is so white and sparkly!

Boat tour of Naples

Today we took a tour with Double Sunshine to see the Naples Bay, hear about the history, and view the mansions of Port Royal, the wealthiest area here. There are about 800 homes here all with water access. Large homes--we saw some that sold for $18, $25, and $30 million. (Some go up to $50 million.)



85% of these homes are vacation homes that are only used about 1-2 weeks or 1 month each year. The older homes, as they are resold, are torn down and newer mansions built. The guide said that anything under $14 million is considered a teardown. These people are very wealthy--the owner of Steak and Shake, Inc., the founder of Aetna Insurance, the owner of CMT, the Revlon family, etc)


These 94 and 98 ft yachts really block the waterview of the mansions. So one guy bought the next door teardown so he could park his there. Then when the one next to that came on the market, he bought it, too. He is now building two guest houses on those two extra lots. And the guest houses they build here are mansions, too.


The Donahue family (old money from up North) owns the two islands that are at the mouth of the bay. He has a house and guest house built there. He also has his own private ferry boat which holds about 15. When he has charity events, he rents out this tour company to ferry the guests over. He has 13 children and he plans for each of them to build a house here when they grow up. He has set up a trust for each of them. They are all still young. What a daddy!!!

Our Day in Lakeland

This children's park was so wonderful. On warmer days, this part has sprinklers for the kids. I sat on this statue and Tex jumped right up beside me.


The playground part had rubberized flooring and these statues all over. We thought someone was in the park until we got closer.


I loved these swings---I would love to have one of these at home. It was so much fun to lay down and look up at the sky.


Hollis Garden was beautiful--it is rented out for weddings and garden parties. The Hollis family left a trust to care for the garden.


After the rain, we have had a cold front come through. (the same one that brought snow to Texas) Today it was 65 and windy. They are predicting 40 tonight. Not what we had planned on this time of year in Florida.

Lakeland, the city of swans

On our last day in Tampa, we drove out east to see Plant City, the strawberry capital and Lakeland where all the lake country beings. We saw the strawberries being picked but the harvest has been light because of the colder weather that the whole country has been experiencing. That explains why we had to pay $3.50 for a pint of strawberries. But in a month, they are predicted to be so cheap and much sweeter. Ours was really sweet so I can't wait for them to be even better than that.

We walked all the way around Mirror Lake near downtown. It has several parks, sculptures, a garden, and is a real haven for waterbirds. As Tex and I walked, this swan hissed at us.

Beautiful place even though it was cloudly.


We always love the flocks of ibis.


This was the largest sculpture and was called The Mirrors.

Tampa's Lowry Zoo

Beautiful weather again today---sunny and up to 81. Sorry that it is snowing at home. We went to the zoo here today. My favorite--this baby orangutan. He was so cute as he played hide and seek in this blanket.



I have never been this close to a giraffe. We got to feed him a cracker.


This tapir was fun to watch. He must have had fleas because he rubbed up against all the trees in his cage---really hard rubs.


The white tigers were lazy and just laid there.


Really a great day to be out and about. We went to a new place to eat after the zoo---Kody's Original Roadhouse for happy hour and steaks.