Melinda reluctantly leaves Florida

Monday was a beautiful day...the heavy winds have subsided and temps are in mid 80's...
Water Aerobics was first on the agenda...click on the picture and you can see Julie and Melinda do the stretches in the foreground....and yes....the pool water was just as beautiful as it looked. This was Mel's last day in Florida, so she got to pick the schedule....after WA, we hung out at the pool until lunchtime, and then reclaimed the lounges again and enjoyed more sun until about 3:30 when we all came up, showered and played a couple more games of bowling.

Here we are at Orlando Airport...

do you believe this? they are texting each other...

Melinda has checked in and on her way to the gate...

they are actually on opposite sides of the glass doors....

and now they are on their cell phones....

Guy is shaking his head wondering how we all were able to survive

before this modern technology....

Good-bye Mel.....we'll miss you....

Saying good-bye to some of our new friends

We've made some wonderful new friends since we've been here this Winter and some of them will be leaving this week. We decided to host a gathering to say good-bye to them and hopefully, we'll all be reunited again next Winter.... Vic and Arnie

Vic is from Royersburg NJ and Arnie (who writes children's books)

hails from Windsor, Ontario

I look mad, but I'm really not....

Left to right...Julie, Linda to left of palm tree and Jean (who belongs to Vic)

Melinda, John and Marcy

It was a fun (and a little loud) afternoon...

After we cleaned up, we took a ride down to the Port, walked around

and ended up at Milligan's for a drink and snaks

Manatee's and Peacocks

On our way to the Craft Fair on Saturday, we swung by Harbor Drive to show the "girls" where the Peacocks hang out! They were all over the neighborhood...strutting their stuff!

The Craft Fair was held at Manatee Park and the namesakes were there in numbers, putting on a show for all the visitors. We had a great time visiting all the booths and managed to help the economy . Can't let on what we purchased, because there are gifts for some of the blog readers....

Later that afternoon, we played a couple more games of bowling....Guy managed to whup our butts... Joe and Pat, our next door neighbors invited us over to sample some of their Almond Rum they brought back from the Islands. We figured we should accept their hospitality rather than hurt their feelings.....yeah...right!!!

Happy 4?th Birthday Julie

Friday was Julie's 4?th Birthday..

She and Mel got up early and started the day with a brisk walk w/Guy
When she got back home, she opened her present..
SURPRISE!! it's a "Fishbowl" wall hanging.

Since it's was her special day...she got to plan the day!!!

She wanted to lay in the sun....so we did....

She wanted to go to the Flea Market..so we went..

it was only for 20 minutes before it closed, but we got there!

She wanted to go to Coconuts on the Beach for dinner...but the weather

turned crappy and it started to rain, so we ate in....

it was a lousy....a Chinese dinner from the freezer....

I'm sorry Julie....you didn't have a good Birthday...

Maybe next year it will be better

Wednesday and Thursday

We're at airport waiting for Julie's arrival....
Pretending not to see us....but we're too clever for her....

There were birthday ballons, signs and a birthday tiara ....

Special shirts were made for the occasion!

Click on picture to read what they say....

Guy went to an Atlantic Braves game in Viera ..

do you suppose he felt outnumbered??

Julie brought her Wei game with her and so we bowled,

golfed and played tennis!

Great moves Mel!

Thursday morning Mel went to water aerobics while

Julie and I went to Quilting group

After we got together and went over to Ron Jon's

to their Water Park for the afternoon.

We all got a 20 minute massage ...

here's Julie enjoying her treatment....

It was a fun day and tonight we are exhausted!!!

Monday and Tuesday

Monday evening Melinda made her infamous Chicken Cordon Bleu

It is the best!
I had admired this glass Flamingo wine stopper in the kitchen store
but was too cheap to buy it....it somehow appeared at the table that night..
I love it Mel....thanks:)


The meal was delicious..she served asparagus along with hot rolls....

and as if that wasn't enough of a treat....I got a wonderful, relaxing,
and much needed pedicure...

What a treat!

Guy woke us at 4AM on Tuesday so we could watch the

Delta II rocket blast off...

We had the perfect spot to watch it...right on our balcony...

The roar was unbelievable..

certainly well worth getting up at that ungodly hour for...

After morning water aerobics, we relaxed at the pool

and then changed and drove down to Cocoa Beach for a Zumba class.

Dr. Tom is the instructor who is also a Snowbird and is

heading back to his home in West Virginia next week.

We will miss taking his Tuesday and Thursday

afternoon classes...

Melinda arrives in Florida

Melinda arrives in a flourish!


Her suitcase apparently got caught on something during the tender
baggage handling process, arriving with zipper ripped from frame..
She checked with Jetblue, who gave her a credit voucher
and a strap to get the 51# case to our van.


After a quick tour of our immediate surroundings, we went
down to Milligan's for an adult beverage and to
view the Cruise Ships.
She's on the phone with Julie, telling her all about her trip...

Guy's favorite...the Disney Ship...

Before dinner, Melinda tried out my latest gadget

measuring everything very carefully.

A little cranberry juice, pineapple juice

and a splash (?) of coconut rum!

See how easy this is!

Voila! A Florida cocktail....

She's anxious to meet our puzzle challange!

It's a bit frustrating for her, to say the least...

Pat's visit and St. Pat's party

Pat Call was one of our neighbors at Park Place in Cocoa Beach last year.

This year she's staying next door at Boardwalk. We picked her up on Tuesday and

had her over to lunch. She was telling us it's a good thing we weren't able to get back

in at Park Place because someone bought the Penthouse and has a boa constructor there..

and he walks around with that s----- around his neck!!

That would freak me out!! and I'm sure we would have looked for another place.

Anyway, we enjoyed Pat's visit and took her for a ride around the Port

ending up at The Locks.

It's amazing how those Pelicans swoop down and gobble up those fish!

While we were there we saw a couple of Dolphins swimming around.

Later that afternoon we brought her back "home" and went inside

to see her new place. It's right on the beach and we were a little

homesick for our condo, but remembered quickly that we're

a lot better off where we are!

Solona Lakes has a social gathering every other Friday.
This week the theme was St. Pat's Day.
Everyone brings a dish and we all share.

Here's Vic and Jean

Tammy & Joe

Joan, Paul (can't remember the other 2)

Jim, Karen, Gene and Dorothy

Who are these strange looking people..especially the one with shamrocks on her head??