SIDEWALK CHALK ART

                HAINES CITY, FLORIDA
A great place to view chalk artists!  Many artists/all levels of abilities/a variety of subjects/
all having fun and doing their best. Several artists had pictures to look at and some had books of pictures on display of their previous works, all over the world.
A parking space was each artist's canvas.   
We didn't stay for the awards and prizes ~ they all should've received something for showing up!               ENJOY ~ WE DID

MARDI GRAS PARADE ~ LAKE WALES, FL

                Mardi Gras ** Lake Wales
We totally did not expect the parade to be as much fun as it was.  A small town that put on a great parade.  The floats were "ginormous" and the people threw tons of beads!  Caps were also thrown and we caught many ~ which we passed out to children along the route that didn't get any.  

  Stand and be proud ~
GOD BLESS AMERICA

Chet ~ "King Zues" 
(Chet is a neighbor from up north. He informed us about the parade in Lake Wales.  He was the King, on the float he worked on, behind the open-mouthed lady.  Wonder what she saw?!)

The pirates, on KAOS, were great!
Black and gold beads from them.
Their float was huge!

FLOUNDERING NATION
  This was the largest float, the last float, the loudest float, the one throwing the most beads and a great end to a great parade. 

After singing and line dancing, these "cowgirls" also threw beads into the crowd. 

King Zues with his court.

Coming or going these ladies,
'dancing with their friends'
were hysterical!

BEAT MY COUNT~~~~

Twenty-four strands of beads, at the first Mardi Gras Parade I viewed.  (Really ~ viewed and yelled at and waved my hands/arms at.)  If you want beads to be thrown you must "look" like you want them!  

This parade yielded two dozen strands that I took home, and one dozen that I gave away to kids around me.  Hats were also thrown and we caught nine, from various companies.  We also gave those away to children that couldn't reach them.  A fun parade!

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.