Our last day in Cocoa Beach:(

It was a perfect Florida day and when we got up, we both had a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs....it was our last day in Florida :( The beach was filling up fast, and we had to clean the Condo so couldn't go out to play:(

This afternoon after everything was spic n' span, we cleaned up and decided to visit a few of our favorite places.

We had lunch at one of our favorite spots and I ordered Fish n' Chips .... here is where it's the best....

Then we walked over to Coconuts to pick up a few Tshirts

The place was packed...Coconuts is the best party place in town:)

The Peluso's gave us a gift certificate to The Mango Tree for Christmas and we used it tonight!

Grandfather ordered himself a Mango Marguerita and Crab Cakes..His plate (and glass) were empty when he left...I had a Mai Tai and Filet Mignon...

Thank you Peluso's....it was delicious:)

Dinner at the Little's

Friday we were invited over to Walter and Marge Little's place for dinner.....Marge made her famous Pot Roast and it was delicious! The Little's were instrumental in finding us our Condo on the beach and we are forever grateful to them for that. Walter and Marge are originally from West Islip, New York. They sold their home about 10 years ago and moved here in Cocoa Beach and never looked back.

About 6 years ago, they built this gorgeous new home....It is a beauty....

Thanks again folks! You are the best...See you next year:)

Our Internet service has suddenly gone back to normal speed this morning, so I'm downloading the pictures that went with yesterday's blog.
Here are Joyce and Gerry Betz that drove down from Pt. Orange to spend time with us Monday.

Here are pictures of The Villages that we visited on Tuesday. The Villages consist of approximately 40 different "villages" within this space. It is not a city and has not been incorporated, but exists as a city and you can live within its boundaries without having to leave to acquire any services such as medical care, entertainment, grocery stores....they have it all!

The total population is about 68,000 residents, so you can see how vast the area is. Most forms of transportation are golf carts and they have underground tunnels you use so you do not have to drive across streets with vehicular traffic.

The areas are divided into regional sections and each section have their own recreational buildings and swimming pools. You can use any of the recreational areas you wish, you are not confined to your own area.

This is one of the recreational buildings. Here there are meeting rooms for you to use for any of the groups there...for example these are just a few of the wide variety of activities offered: Line dancing, Bingo, Card playing, Clowning, Country Music, Creative Writing, Journalism and the few that perked my ears open...Knitting, Jewelry Making, Scrap booking and Quilting. They even have a Polo Club that you can watch and have a tail gate party on the back of your golf cart. As you can see, I was quite enthusiastic about the entire concept.

Of course, they were more than happy to show you the Model Homes available. Our "salesman" was especially nice and thankfully had a "no pressure" policy. He drove us around and probably spent a total of 3 hours showing us the areas.

This picture is on the dark side....it was my favorite layout....the kitchen is in the front of the home...

Here is the outside of my favorite home...I would prefer to be in a building constructed of concrete rather than the tradional wood homes we have back home....(due to weather-related issues, of course)

Here is the one Guy liked best. More of an open concept...Kitchen is huge, but I've learned this winter that, believe it or not, I can work pretty well in a smaller scale kitchen!!

Guy's favorite...a wooden structure....

One of the "Town Squares" in The Villages......Oh well, it's fun to dream!!!

Happy Birthday Julie!!!!

Today is Julie's Birthday....hope you had a super day, Julie.....I love you:)

I have been trying to upload pictures for the blog since Monday and the signal is so low I can't get it done, so I'll forego pictures for now.

Monday, Joyce and Gerry Bets drove down from Port Orange and spent some time with us. We walked over to Coconuts and a late lunch...too cool to sit outside, but nice nonetheless.

Tuesday we drove up see "The Villages", taking our neighbor Pat Call, along with us. It's quite a place....there are about 40 different "villages", town squares, Hospital, Medical Center, Grocery Stores, Movies, Bowling, and too many swimming pools to count. We went in model homes and wondered if we could sell everything and move down here permanently?? Suprisingly we have both fallen in love with Florida and really don't want to come back home. Guy has settled in quite nicely and hasn't been bored for a minute (even without Sea-bbatical) It's a decision that can't be made lightly and I'm sure once we get back home and into our normal routine, we will feel differently.....but right now, we're in heaven and enjoying it.

We've been in limbo for the past week, not knowing just when our final day will be. The unit we're in has been sold and the new owners said we could stay until the 15th and then decided they didn't want to rent it after all....our RE Broker was trying to find us another unit in this building and finally said there was no place available, so we're slowly packing up, hoping to fit everything back in the Van.

Our plans are to visit Frank and Marie Morrison in Charleston, SC for a few days and then head up to Myrtle Beach, the Outer Banks in NC, stopping along the way wherever it looks interesting. Our final stop will be to visit Meghan in New Haven, Ct. and visit Quinnipiac College....

As soon as our internet service improves, I will download pictures....just wanted everyone to know we're fine and still kicking!!!

Busy weekend in Cocoa Beach

This is the 44th Annual Easter Surfing Festival weekend in Cocoa Beach. This event is sponsered by Ron Jon's Surf Shop and brought a crowd of about 100,000 people into the area. Most of the events were held up by the pier, which is about 3 1/2 miles from our Condo. We did see some surfers paddling their boards right out front yesterday morning...one of the markers were placed directly in front of us, so we did get to see some of the action without having to brave the crowds.

A couple of weeks ago while Guy was out and about, an eldery gentlemen approached him, inquiring about the USS Brownson T shirt he was wearing. They swapped names and phone numbers and yesterday met at the VFW to talk about when their ships (Brownson and Roan) collided in 1950 about 280 miles northwest of Bermuda.Charles Bowen brought old newspaper copies of the collision for Guy to share with his shipmates on the USS Brownson. He is 79 years old and was on the helm of the ship when the destroyers collided.

Charlie is the proud Dad of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard and another Son who is a second class MK in the Coast Guard.
Guy is excited to be able to share this info and will be writing an article for the next edition of the Brownson newsletter.

Saturday evening, Guy hosted another get together at the Condo. He was disappointed that there were only 3 people that attended....but we did have some good food and conversation.

Pat made a delicious Strawberry Pie....

She also brought a crab and shrimp casserole.....and Claire brought Potato Salad and chips.

Guy furnished a couple of roasted chickens and Italian Bread. We were all setup to have it outside, but it started raining, so we dragged everything inside and ate here.

Claire is here visiting her Dad Tony, who will be going back to Virginia with her in June.

On Friday, we went visiting...

Drove over to Haines City on Friday morning to visit our friends from Vermont, Bob and Jackie Knapp. Those who don't remember them.....Guy and Bob met when travelling Maine, NH & Vt. years ago. Bob was the rep from Morton Salt. They live in Essex Jct., Vermont and I met them when I met Guy in 1978.....(They only lived a few miles down from me in Vt., but I didn't know that then). Jackie sang at our Wedding.... They have been coming down to Florida for 18 Winters now and reluctantely have their home up for sale. Bob will be 85 this Fall and feels it's time to stay home and be with the Family.

Looks like Jackie's really excited to see Guy.....

Jackie fixed us a nice lunch and after saying our good-byes, we headed down the road to Avon Park to see Bev and Herm DuBoice. Herm was a shipmate of Guy's on the USS Brownson and they attended the reunion in So. Portland last May.

They swapped more navy stories .... it was good to see them.....Get a load of those slippers on Herm's feet...I wonder what team he's a fan of???

Sandra & Vern Seile's stop by for a visit

On Wednesday, Sandra & Vern Seile's , owners of V&S Pharmacy from Stonington, Maine stopped by for a visit. After lunch, we all took a nice long walk on the beach...it was another beautiful Florida day:)

Brenda and Sam arrive in Florida

They were too busy looking up at the Hotel to notice that we were there to greet them with welcoming signs. (Or were they just trying to ignore us with our florescent signs?)

It didn't take them long to unpack and start enjoying our nice warm, sunny Florida weather.

Saturday we toured Kennedy Space Center. Sam was very interested in all the exhibits. We took a ride on the Shuttle Launch Experience and enjoyed the IMAX theater.

It was a fun, educational day!

We set our alarms for 2AM on Saturday and got up to watch the Delta II Rocket lift off, carrying a GPS satellite. These pictures certainly don't do it justice....it was magnificent....(sad to say, so much better than the Endeavor Shuttle we went over to KSC to watch). It was worth losing sleep over.....

Sunday, Sam and Guy drove over to Titusville to see the airshow. Brenda and I stayed behind and enjoyed a wonderful beach day. They came home full of stories and picturesto share.

We were invited to a St. Patrick's Day dinner at Libby and John Duncan's (one of our neighbors upstairs in #401). It was decorated so nicely. We were pleased that they included us along with Friends and Family in their annual event. The meal was superb!