Visit With Chris and Mabel at Jekyll Island, GA

While in Florida, I made a special trip up to Jekyll Island, GA to visit my friend, Chris, and her sister, Mabel.  We had planned to visit on our way down to Ormond Beach, but because Chris got sick, we postponed the trip until she was better.  I'm glad I made the extra trip up there.  It was a trip under 3 hours which is closer than visiting her in Mason City from  Sioux Center.

This is the condo they rented while at Jekyll.

When I arrived, Chris served  home made scones.  They were soooooo good.

This is a little taste of what their condo was like.  Three bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, living dining area.  Very comfy.

My room, enough for four people. 2 sets of bunk beds.

Chris and I went for a walk and she showed me this interesting area of the beach on Jekyll.

Typical scene in Georgia.

Beach scene.

I took Chris and Mabel out for Chris's Birthday dinner.  It was a little late, but not too late.

Our food.  Mmmm good.  Shrimp and rice for me.

Crab cakes for Chris and Mabel.

To celebrate Chris's birthday, the waitress treated us to a birthday treat.  That was nice of her.

This was the sunset scenery looking out the restaurant doors.  Very beautiful.

One day we drove over this bridge to St. John's Island to attend an event sponsored by the Literary Society at their library.

This is Lauretta Hannon, a commentator on NPR's All Things Considered, and the author of the book, The Cracker Queen.  She was there talking about her book, and she was very entertaining.  She has quite the stories to tell about her life and how she overcame obstacles to become who she is today.  I bought her book, and I'm in the process of reading it.  Then I'll be giving it to Chris to read.

After the talk, we had lunch at a nice little restaurant.  Chris's sister, Carol, joined us on this trip.  She and her husband live on Jekyll Island during the winter.  That's why Chris and Mabel go there.

They had Brunswick stew on the menu which is something my Grandpa Carter used to make, and I always liked it.  It wasn't as good as Grandpa's, but it was good.

Chris, Mabel, and I took a really nice walk in the historic center, and it was very picturesque. 

 Chris and Mabel spend time putting together jigsaw puzzles.

We played Mah Jongg every night.  It was fun even though I didn't always agree with all the rules.

I had a great time.  Thanks Chris and Mabel.

Visit With Tom Wolfe, Bob's Friend

While visiting Florida, we drove over to the Tampa area to visit one of Bob's High School buddies, Tom Wolfe.  He invited us to come and play some golf, which we don't do often.  So he did have to show me a thing or two. I got a few good shots in, and a lot of bad ones.  The course was beautiful and I enjoyed driving around on the golf cart.

Got to admire Tom's form.

We visited at his place along with his three cats.  Tom is quite a cat lover.  He saved the three cats that live with him currently.

When Tom's mom died, Tom took in Gin Gin, the Siamese cat.  I have always loved Siamese cats.

One day we drove over a huge suspension bridge over Tampa Bay.  This is the park or rest area you can visit before driving over the bridge.

I was so busy taking pictures, I didn't have time to be afraid of driving over this bridge, but when I see the pictures, I'm wondering how did I do that?

We stopped to get a bite to eat at this beach area and beach concession around St. Petersburg.  I had the best cheese quesadillas.

We really enjoyed our visit with Tom.

Florida Visit 2013

We spent about a month in Ormond Beach with Bob's sister.  I didn't really take any scenic pictures since I've taken so many in the past, but I did take some interesting pictures.

Here are some goofy pictures of Bob and Charlene at Aunt Catfish's Restaurant, one of our favorite restaurants on the Halifax River, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  

For Valentine's Day we joined Charlene and her friend, Sandy, to attend an event at the Palm Coast Public Library featuring Linda Cole, one of Charlene's favorite singers.

Flagler Beach is just a few miles north of where Charlene lives, and on the first Friday of each month they have Music in the Park so we went.  Sandy joined us again.  There are food vendors and vendors representing local organizations promoting Flagler Beach.  They also provide entertainment.  It was fun, even though we had to wear jackets.

We enjoyed the guitarist.  He played a nice variety.

While we were there, Bob gave Charlene his old lap top so they went to the library a few times where Bob taught Charlene all you need to know about computers, but were afraid to ask.  Practice makes perfect.

It seems that I can't leave Ormond Beach without making a shopping trip to Bealls.  Charlene encouraged me to buy this outfit which is a little different from my usual outfits.  The orange pants caught my eye since they are close to the color of my sister, Susie's, alma matter, UT.  Our local school district's colors are orange and blue so I might be able to wear these pants to show some school spirit some time in the future.

As usual, we enjoyed visiting Charlene.