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.

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

Resident peacocks at the park.

               


              ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA HAS 
                THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH!
A daytrip ~ a cool, rain threatening day took us North to St. Augustine.  Starting with a great breakfast, at one of the local diners, we were off, with friends Gail and Jerry, to check out the quaint streets of the town.  After meandering through the streets and nosing around in the shops we decided to visit ~ 
                THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH!  

Ponce de Leon met the natives and saw how young, strong and vital they were in comparison to himself and his crew.  He deducted it was the water they were drinking, from the spring in the area.
Thus: Ponce de Leon discovered ~
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

A painting of the water coming from the spring when Ponce de Leon found it. 

1518 Discovery by Ponce de Leon

The original well that the natives drank from.

The original cross ~ marking the spring's location.
Ponce de Leon also claimed Florida and all land north to Canada - calling the entire area of land Florida. 
Florida meaning: place of flowers
This is the story told by our guide.

THE BEACHES

                           VISITING BEACHES 
                ON THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA
My sister, Geri, came from WI, for a some warmth and sun.  She missed the big snow storm and the extreme cold that WI was hit with for the past two weeks or so.  
I thought it would be fun to see Melbourne Beach.  We hopped into my VW Beetle and set off for the day.  The sun was out, with a slight breeze, but sitting on the beach, watching the pelicans wait for a hand-out, from the nearest fisherman, and collecting shells made for a great day. 

Oh, but wait...
We continued North and went to Cocoa Beach, onto Port Canaveral for lunch and then to Daytona Beach.  Driving my VW on the beach was a fun adventure!  The sand was getting soft and the ruts were deep, so we only went a few blocks, but it was great!  
Felt like "Spring-Breakers" ~ only a "bit" older!  

The yellow flower in my VW~the GPS on~the view in front of us driving on the Daytona Beach!

Seagulls having a meeting on Daytona Beach, we just happened upon them with no invitation to join/see how they turned their backs on us! 

Can't forget to add this picture.  Daytona Beach entrance to the racetrack. 

Speed limit of 10 ~ on the beach ~ looks smooth here.
When it started to get deeper we turned to the right and hit the regular roads.  
A VW Beetle doesn't ride too high off the ground!

SANIBEL ISLAND ~ AVON PARK

A short trip to Sanibel Island. Quiet, peaceful and very nice beaches!  We stayed at the Anchor Inn, an extremely "beachy" place.  All of the rooms have a kitchenette and plenty of space.  I didn't take pictures of it/guess I'll have to go back sometime!  

Great place to stay and a good "deal" too. 

We awoke very early to walk the beaches and look for seashells.  I found an olive shell, which is an elongated oval shape. They rarely grow beyond three inches.  The one I found is about 1 3/4 inches and very

sun-bleached, with small shells imbedded inside of the narrow opening. 

My footprints walking in the sand, at a very early hour, on Friday.  We found many seashells ~ a small selection in the photo below.  The Olive shell I found is not extraordinarily beautiful, it is just hard to find on the beaches.  It's the one at the bottom, to the right of the snail looking one. 

                                                                   

Went to Ding Darling Refuge for birding.  All information I had said it is open 7 days/week. We planned on the Refuge for Friday, but found out at the Sanibel Island Tourist Center it's closed on Fridays!  No problem, a little glitch won't stop us!  We flew out there and got in before closing time.  The ride through turned up the "regulars" as far as birds go.  Roseate Spoonbills being the main attraction. 

Schnapper's Hot Dogs, on Sanibel Island ~ YUMMO!

...of days gone by...

Yes, even tastier than it looks!
Joe had a sausage with onions and green peppers, No time to take a picture, he devoured it quickly.  

BONES - hmmm?  We saw several on the beach, what/who could they be from? 
 An old pirate?
 Al Capone's  era?
Someone that fell off a cruise ship?
An animal?  

Taking the long bridge over to Sanibel Island.
Above - paying the $6 toll to get onto the island. 

JACARANDA HOTEL - Avon Park 
http://www.hoteljac.com/
We stayed at the Jacaranda one night. The interior is full of original antiques, from back in the day when Al Capone, Clark Gable, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, the entire St. Louis Cardinal baseball team, George Burns and Gracie Allen and many other celebrities vacationed in Central Florida. Pictures of visitors to the Jacaranda grace the walls, along with pictures of what the town was like back then. 

Avon Park ~ The Longs/Heating and Cooling Company/their home has a plane in the frontyard and the buildings have dramatic paintings on them. 

BUSCH GARDENS AND OLD TOWN

VACATION IN FLORIDA

Ceci, Brian and Ciera arrived and we barely stopped. 
Fishing, riding four-seater bikes, Old Town, dancing, old cars, Downtown Disney, roller coasters, alligator watching, birding, antique car cruise, paddle boats, car museums, an ice bar with Cotton Candy Martinis, Busch Gardens in Tampa, Circle B Ranch, animal viewing; all you can eat crab legs!  Whew! 
A great time - a good night's sleep was well deserved when all was over. 

Paddle boats at the Liki Tiki Hotel Complex.

Brian, Joe, Ceci, Ciera

A bicycle built for four-actually easy to pedal.

One ~ of over 100 ~ old, classic cars in the cruise at
Old Town.  

What's for lunch?

Hmmm...same expression!

Dancing to live music at Old Town.

Dreaming...ahhhh...

I have so many pictures of alligators!

What the zoom on my camera can do!

CATS!

Reaching ~ but not quite there.

This elephant kept posing for us.

Human statue with wings, at Downtown Disney. 

ICE BAR with lights.