Bye Bye Boat

Since we're selling our Florida home, we put the boat on the market too.  Sad though we are to say good bye to a boat that we've owned and loved for 14 years, we couldn't leave it on the dock if we no longer owned the house.

Fortunately, we found a friend who will love and care for it!  Our neighbors, Connie and James,

went out with us to see how it ran, and introduced us to

a new island, a new restaurant and a new friendship!

From the dock on the bay side of Palm Island, we walked across the mangrove swamp to the beautiful resort of Rum Bay.



We had a great lunch looking out to the Gulf of Mexico.

It was a lovely day for a boat ride.  We saw so many birds, dolphins, and a few other boats.

Truly a wonderful way to spend a December day in Florida!



Christmas Boat Parade - Venice Florida

It's always nice to have friends who organize get-togethers to do interesting things!  Fran and Patti went up to the canal in  Venice on Wednesday and staked out a place for us to gather.  Since so many people come to this parade, we went up early to be sure we could find a parking place.

Fran and Patti



Bob and Rosemarie

Lis and Reall

Paul and Mary

 

As the sun started to go down, we rearranged our chairs so we were facing the canal and waited for the parade to begin!

Just a few of the many boats - and yes, they were all boats!

 

Jim and Sheryl Visit

Ron's sister, Sheryl, and her husband, Jim, came to visit us just before we headed from the Georgia house to the Florida house. 

Before we left Georgia, we took a trip down to the dam to have a look back at a big part of Lake Eufaula.

 We took Jim and Sheryl to one of our favorite places in Abbeyville, AL, Huggin' Molly's for lunch.

 

After enduring a 3 hour delay on I-75 on our way to the Florida house, we arrived at the Florida house and began to show them this area.  One of the places on our tour list is Solomon's Castle, where we went to lunch one day while they were with us.

And, on another day, lunch at one of the weirdest places in Florida, the Linger Lodge.

They wanted to see Manatees, so we went to the bay where Tampa Electric warms the waters so Manatees can come when the gulf cools off.  Not too many in residence yet, but we did see several.

Banyan trees are always fun.  This one is in downtown Venice, a couple of miles north of us.

We enjoyed the taxidermy display and the many unique retail items to be found at the Shell Factory in Ft Myers.  Then we went to the Ft Myers Flea market - where they picked up some Christmas presents and we stocked up on oranges.