A very cool experience

We had a great dinner with Cousin Ron and Aunt Marie, and it was wonderful to see them! They're just as crazy and fun as ever, and it was so much fun to get caught up. I was having such a good time talking with them that I totally forgot to get a picture with them, and I'm just kicking myself!

After we left the restaurant, we stopped by the little cove where we always go to watch the manatees (and sometimes dolphins). Cousin Ron has been coming to New Smyrna Beach for years, and he never knew about this little cove. (The lady who sold us the timeshare told us about it.) When we got there, we saw the manatees right away, but what was really cool was that a woman renting the condo across the road was giving them fresh water. Apparently they love fresh water, so they came right up to the pier to get a drink! The woman invited us down onto the pier, and Ken, Ron, and I went down there. We were able to reach down and touch their noses! I can now say that I have touched a manatee. Ron said, "In all my years down here, I've never gotten to touch a manatee." Pretty neat, eh?

Here are a couple of pictures--Ken is pouring water in their mouths. They rolled over on their backs and just drank it up. Manatees are a case of beauty is in the eye of the beholder...they aren't all that cute at first glance, but they are incredibly gentle, sweet creatures. Look at the eyelashes in the one picture! It was really a neat experience, and I'm glad we stopped when we did. We'll go back on Friday, but I don't know if that woman will be there with her fresh water. Thank you, kind lady, for giving us a great experience!

Oh, and for further commentary and pictures from our vegecation, be sure to visit Ken's blog, Bucko's World.

Fore!

We got an early start this morning and headed out to Turnbull Bay Golf Club. I drove the cart, and putted a few. As always, the course was beautiful, with plenty of nature to check out. I saw a Little Green Heron, a family of ducks, and several mockingbirds. Here is a video for your viewing pleasure.

He may be a tyrant with a nine iron, but he's MY tyrant with a nine iron. (Please be tolerant of a private joke.)

After we got back, we cooled off by heading out to the ocean, and wow, it felt great! (Sorry, Howard, still no frolicking pictures!) We both got some nice sun, but didn't overdo it. I hope tomorrow is nice, too, and I'll head out when Ken goes golfing again.

Now I need to go get cleaned up for our dinner with the Fam tonight!

A 1946 restaurant and the ocean!

We went for a late lunch at Norwood's today. It was established in 1946, and I loved the retro vibe! I took a couple of pictures, and I noticed another woman walking around taking pictures. I told Ken, "See, I'm not the only crazy picture lady!" After we finished lunch, I walked around a little bit and took some more pictures, and I passed the woman I saw earlier. I heard her say to her friend, "See, she's taking pictures, too!" I laughed and stopped and said that I'd noticed her earlier and told her what I'd told Ken. She said, "You're probably not taking pictures of the walls, though." I said, "Actually, I did!" We had a good laugh. Always nice to find a kindred spirit.

Here is one picture that surprised me. If you look on the left, you'll see an image of the photographer. There were lots of mirrors in the place, and I had no idea I would show up in this!

Here is a little collage of the interior of the place and the sign. I love the stone walls and booths and wood. My favorite, though, is the pendant lighting. Very cool place! (Click to view all pictures in an embiggened state.)

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Oh, and the food was tasty, too! Ken had flounder stuffed with a crab mixture, and I had blackened mahi mahi with a pineapple-mango salsa. Yum! They also had a wine shop there and we found some reasonably-priced selections to bring back with us.

After we got back, the sun came out (it was very overcast earlier today when we took our beach walk), and we spent a little time by the pool, then headed out to the ocean. The clouds looked so menacing earlier, and it was wonderful to see it become a gorgeous day! We splashed around in the ocean for a while...you might even say that we frolicked. Okay, I'll say that I frolicked...Ken might balk at the frolicking thing. It was very pleasant to get out and enjoy the ocean! Wheeeee!

Ken is utilizing our downtime to plan our trip back. We think we're going to stop at Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina on our return trip. I've been there with my family years ago, but Ken has never been there. It will fit nicely into our return trip, and I would love to see it again. I told Ken that the coolest thing to me, something I've never forgotten, is that while the entire place is a museum, full of paintings and sculptures and the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed grounds...what struck me the most is that in one of the guest bedrooms, a small Renoir painting hung upon the wall. It was maybe 10x10 inches, but it was a freakin' Renoir...in one of the guest bedrooms!

The fanciest thing you'll find in our guest bedroom is an I Love Lucy print. (But it's really pretty cool.)

A walk on the beach

A bit overcast today, and looks like we'll have rain later, but we were able to get out for a stroll along the beach. The beach repair and restoration that was being done last year seems to be completed, and all looks well with the beach. I took a few pictures, but until I get them edited, here is a brief video for you.

Here is another one of some gulls fighting over a piece of seaweed. They're funny to watch, but I get the impression that they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed!

Change of plans for tonight--Cousin Ron just called and something came up, so we're moving our dinner to tomorrow. That means it's time to get cleaned up for a late lunch at Norwood's!

Livin’ loud

We definitely are not lucky this year in our neighbors. From what we can tell, there are four kids and five adults in the condo. These are two bedroom, two bathroom condos, and the couch folds out into a bed. Where are they stashing everyone? Whatever, but these are not quiet people, either. They like to shout at each other from the condo to the parking lot. "Mom. MOM! WHERE ARE MY FLIP-FLOPS?" Or "Honey. HONEY! MY CAR BATTERY IS DEAD!" Passive-aggressive "Honey" mutters under his breath; the wife says, "CAN I TAKE YOUR TRUCK?" "Honey" says, "I'll go." Wife says, "WHAT?" "Honey" says, "I SAID I'LL GO. LET ME GET MY SHOES ON!"

Sigh.

I'm making good progress on Lord Jim, though, and called Cousin Ron this afternoon. We're meeting at 5:30 tomorrow. Ken is off for a run on the beach, and I'm enjoying taking it easy. (Something I ate yesterday didn't agree with me--in fact, it apparently hated me and wanted to make me suffer--so I'm recuperating today.) We had a brief rain, but it seems to have cleared out for the moment.

Laurel, I didn't get any of the Daytona motel pictures. It's a busy drag, and we were anxious to get to our destination. A couple of years ago, I got several pictures of the New Smyrna motels, and many of them are also in good shape. Remind me, and I'll send them to you when we get back.

I'm seeing more sun out there. Perhaps a walk on the beach is in order soon.

We made it!

A few glitches here and there, but we made it down in good time. The best part was when we were able to get off of the interstate and get onto the smaller roads. A little south of Jacksonville, we went rogue and abandoned our MapQuest directions. We found a really cool place called Palm Coast, and we were driving down this tree-shrouded corridor, Spanish moss dripping from the live oaks crouched over the roadway. It was incredibly gorgeous and beautiful. We headed down A1A, through Flagler, Beverly, Ormond, and Daytona beaches. We stopped at a little place in Flagler Beach called Turtle Island (I think it was Island) Cafe, and sat outside and watched the ocean and felt the breeze while we ate a late lunch.

As we drove through Daytona, it made me glad that our timeshare is in New Smyrna. Daytona has so many high rises along the beach, but NSB has an ordinance about how high buildings can be. It's just so much more laid back, and I appreciate that. It was great to get back to our home away from home! After some grocery shopping and a dinner out at PJ's Sea Shack, we're back in and settling in for the night. I feel wiped, and I'm not the one who drove! I'm looking forward to sleeping in and having some time on the beach tomorrow, weather permitting.

Also, there are lots of cool old motels still operating in Daytona--the court-type motels, many of them one story, with just a handful of units. It's very disappointing to see the lack of original signage, though. Even though the motels themselves are still in operation, they've usually added a bland, cookie-cutter backlit sign. Yawwwwn. I hate to think of the wonderful signs that have been lost.

Oh, the picture here is the one I told you about from Nickajack Reservoir in Tennessee. Isn't that just about the prettiest little rest area you've ever seen?

Greetings from Georgia!

Jonesboro, Georgia, to be exact, a little south of Hotlanta.

We went around Indianapolis, around Louisville, around Nashville, around Chattanooga, and right through the middle of Atlanta. It was a pretty good trip, despite a couple of slowdowns due to construction. We stopped at a rest area near Seymour, Indiana (home of John Mellencamp) to have a pick-a-nick and I swear, I've never seen such a busy rest area. People were pick-a-nicking right and left! I wondered if this was an indicator of the economy...are more people packing a lunch to take on the road? I don't know, but it was a really nice rest area with lots of tall trees.

We also made a pit stop at a rest area north of Chattanooga that was just gorgeous. It was right on Nickajack Reservoir, a lake formed by the Tennessee River. I got some cool pictures, but after settling in for the evening, we discovered that we'd both forgotten to bring our camera cables! D'oh! We'll pick up another one as soon as we can, but tonight I have only a picture I found on the Net.

It's great to be back in Georgia, the land where kudzu turns the trees into menacing alien life forms. When we got off at the exit where we decided to spend the night, we rolled down the windows to feel the hot Georgia summer night...ahhh...and when we drove by the trees, I could hear the cicadas. It reminded me of our place up in the mountains. I hated to have my windows closed at our house, so I closed off my bedroom and opened both windows so I could hear the cicadas and night sounds. The rest of the house was air conditioned, but I loved having my windows open. Like I told Ken, my leather purse and belts got moldy, but I didn't care! Hearing the cicadas tonight made me smile. It's a very comforting sound to me.

We hope to get on the road by 9 tomorrow and get to New Smyrna Beach by around 5 PM. We made it over halfway tonight, so that seems doable.

We listened to NPR almost all the way--are we getting old? Geeky? Excuse me...geekiER?--but apparently Walter Cronkite died sometime this evening. We didn't hear about it until we signed on. A great loss. R.I.P., Mr. Cronkite. On a happier note, Happy Birthday to David Letterman’s Mom. She’s so adorable!

It's been a long and tiring day. I'll do a little checking around and then it's off to Snoozeville!