SUNRISE ~ SUNSET

AMAZING...

FRIENDS FROM WISCONSIN

Friends from Wisconsin came to visit, for two days. Just so happened the Wisconsin Days Picnic was being held that day, in our park/having typical WI food-brats, potato salad, etc.
Joe and Mel took off for the golf course, while Robin and I went to enjoy the pool.  For them, in February, golfing and the pool were a treat!  
In the evening we joined thousands of people at Old Town.  Live music and an old car cruise makes for a great warm, winter evening. The next day we took them to the preserve that we frequent.  We saw 40some alligators and various species of birds.  
Good to see friends from WI, in the winter months! 

Mel and Robin Gunnink

Volkswagons were featured at the Saturday night cruise, after the classics.  My favorite vehicles!

Smart cars were also featured that evening. 

How many pictures of gators do I have now?

Nature ~ pretty

With all those gators out there - I spotted this bunny!
We saw a similar one/maybe the same one/when my sister was here.
How do they live amongst the gators?

MOUNT DORA, FLORIDA

The first weekend of my sister's visit we went to the Art Fair, in Mount Dora.
A sea of white tents crowded the main streets and side streets of Mount Dora.  The art at each vendor was unique and worthy of the thousands of people that came to view and buy.  Not many food vendors were on the streets, as the many restaurants and cafes were open for business.  A fun day/we saw it all as sprinkles started falling.  
We left Mount Dora in the rain and drove right out of it toward home. 

Yes, the streets were crowded.  We managed to go up and down each street, at least twice!  

What we ate ~ arepa's ~ like two corn pancakes with cheese in the middle.
New to us, and very tasty.

A beautiful palm that looks like a sunflower!
This is art ~ to me.

OUR VISIT TO THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA

While my sister was here, we drove the west coast from Naples to St. Petersburg and the beaches on the West Coast.  We stopped in every little town along the way and had a great time! 

Tin City in Naples

Tin City building/a place to browse, eat and shop for the treasures of Florida.  http://www.tin-city.com/history/

Animal strollers at Tin City.  We see many people walking their pets, using this type of stroller. 

A fisherman's catch at Tin City.

Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda, FL.
We really enjoyed this conglomeration of shops and boutiques the most on our visits and tours of places along the way. 

The Pier ~ St. Petersburg, FL
I've been frequenting The Pier since Joe and I started going to FL 24 years ago.  It was a constant stop for us, a great place to go.  Then it started falling apart/as far as stores and restaurants leaving.  Recently, life has been coming back to The Pier.  Small, unique shops and restaurants are trying their best to make The Pier a place to visit once more.

The Pier as it has looked since it was built.  There is "talk" about modernizing the look of The Pier.

A mural at The Pier.

This is not on the West Coast!  This is a large artsy tower greeting visitors to the town of Kissimmee.
(It just happened to get posted with the other pictures in this blog. It's nice, isn't it?)

Coconuts ~ place to relax, have a drink, a meal or an ice cream/as we did/on the third floor of the The Pier.

Downtown St. Petersburg, FL you will find the Chihuly glass museum and the Dali Museum.  This glass sculpture is in front of the Chihuly Museum. 

UNUSUAL CAR SIGHTED ON THE ROAD/THEN AT THE FLEA MARKET

We've seen some "sights" on our travels around the USA; this car is one of those; as it drives past you, it deserves a quick, second glance.  
Amazingly, we saw it again, at the Auburndale, FL Flea Market.  The owner of this car was probably at the Flea Market searching for more little statues and kitsch, to embellish the car - more than it is! 

The birds on the fenders have moving parts.  The wings flutter up and down in the wind. 

A maze of statues and bumper stickers!

You'd think the statues, on the hood, would be a distraction while driving, guess you get used to them being there. 

Oh my, even on the dash! 

GRAND-DADDY OF ALL ALLIGATORS!

                       ONE GIANT ALLIGATOR!
Each time we go to the Circle B Preserve, we see something different.  The vegetation changes quickly, winds take down the hanging moss and weak limbs.  Flowers bloom and various grasses grow, in the water and out.  Each time we see alligators/I have so many pictures of them.  We've seen as many as 60 alligators in one day walking down the path, appropriately called Alligator Alley.  
On one visit we saw the Grand-Daddy of all gators. Look at the gator lying on the log-then look at the gator's head to the right, resting his head on the back of the log. 
His head is so large!  We would've liked to have seen his entire body.  This would be an excellent catch on the show Swamp People! 

Double click either picture/it should enlarge so you can see the monster head on the right, resting on the log. 

His head is so large in comparison to the one lying on  the log/and at first we thought he was big, at least 6 or 7 feet long.
Wouldn't want to meet the one in the back, on the path!  
They can run 35 miles per hour, in a straight line.
Guess we should practice our zig-zag running!

LAKE PLACID, FLORIDA

                   A DAY IN LAKE PLACID, FLORIDA
A day in Lake Placid is like going to an 
Outdoor Art Center.  The murals on the buildings, all over town, are so professionally done.  If you get to Lake Placid, be sure to pick up the booklet about the murals.  They are all listed, as to where they are, the artists, the sponsors, the date completed and the size. A picture of each mural will be found in the book, as well as a short "blurp" about each painting. 
With a clown school in town, there are clowns to be found in the most unusual places.  
         Clowns can be found on park benches.         

Faces of Florida history.

WOW!

Symbols of  America on one of the buildings.

We found these birders in a wide alley on a side street, amongst other sights of nature.  A little bridge, a pond with fish and multiple native plants grace the small alley way of magnificent murals.
This was my favorite "mural" place in town! 

Amazing ~ these bears were huge and appeared to look so real to life. 

Birds are found, here and there, around town.
So true to life they were.

Garbage cans around town are painted with various scenes/so unlike regular garbage cans. 

This actually looked real as you walked up to it. 

Small-sized vehicles are found in different places in Lake Placid.  Painted and people riding in them.  
So cute!
As you walk passed some of the murals and small vehicles, like this train, you trigger a mechanism that  starts sound effects for that particular mural or vehicle. 

These murals are so great!  They are also huge, taking up the entire sides of buildings in town. 
It really has to be seen to be appreciated.  

HARRY P. LEU GARDENS

Walking through the Harry P. Leu Gardens was calming, relaxing, educational and visually stimulating. Various gardens are on the grounds and kept up by many volunteers.
The Harry P. Leu house is on the grounds and tours are given every 1/2 hour. It is beautiful and worth the wait, on the porch, if another tour is taking place. 

Several sculptures in the gardens depict everyday life in Florida. 

Picking oranges, or are those grapefruits?

Tropical ~ the plants and vines growing on the trees. Notice the tiny red flowers.

Father and son going fishing.

How beautiful is this?

February and there was a Monarch caterpillar munching away on a favorite bush.  
Soon to make a chrysalis/the cycle continues. 

Harry P. Leu's house ~ wonderful tour.

Isn't this just gorgeous?  

Bird sculpture ~ in one of the gardens.

Beautiful paths throughout the gardens.
I will return in April to see the gardens in full bloom.

Large clumps of Bamboo growing in the gardens.  Bamboo has so many uses.
I have several T-shirts made from Bamboo.
Bamboo can grow up to three feet a day and creates more oxygen than trees.

Muskogee Crepe Myrtle ~
an interesting tree - with no bark.