Away from Florida

On St. Patrick's Day, Charlie and I flew to St. John Island in the US Virgin Islands.  Ray and Dianne had recommended the Coconut Coast Villas, where we had a spacious room and our own porch overlooking blue water, and the car/truck ferries going to their harbor.

We visited several beaches on the island, each with beautiful sand, and some shade under the trees. This one is Cinnamon Bay.   And we drove on several amazingly narrow roads with hairpin turns and steep inclines/declines, that had me so nervous that I never thought to take any photos.

Here I am enjoying my birthday Lunch/dinner at the Caneel Bay Resort--note the mango-peach cold soup.

On our last day on St. John we went to Hawksnest Beach in the morning.
And then we had to leave for Miami.  We had really enjoyed the island!

After another night with Charlie's niece Carolyn in North Palm Beach, we went to an afternoon game of the Cardinals in Jupiter.  This was another nice park, and we had seats in the shade, so I was happy.

After the game we picked up Zeke from the "Camp" where he had been staying.  He sure was glad to leave camp behind and play with Charlie when we got to the motel!

We drove and drove and drove to get across the Florida panhandle and the Gulf coast of Alabama and Mississippi. 

Tonight we were able to have dinner with Kurt and Joie Hauschild and their daughter Avari in Baton Rouge Louisiana.  Lots of fun to have an evening of conversation with them.

Tomorrow we head for Memphis, the St. Louis on Friday.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Incredible warm weather and sun, sun, sun on St.John

A cooler day with clouds and some rain today

SPRING flowers along the Interstate10 are in bloom  

Ft. Myers, FL report

But first the baseball report:  Charlie at the Tigers' field in Lakeland last Sunday.  Then he attended a Phillies' game in Clearwater, and a Yankees' game in Tampa.  We both went to a Pirates' game in Bradenton, where we were called out of game, by name, and told it is illegal to leave a dog in a closed car, even in the shade and even with the windows cracked open, so sign to accept the ticket, and move OUT.
Charlie replete with Stone crab claws looking out at the beach near St.Pete Beach.
The "pet friendly" beach along the causeway to Sanibel Island, where C walked Zeke this morning while I was sewing in the motel room in Ft. Myers.
Here I am knitting in the shade of a palm tree at Ralph Bunche Beach.  This beach was the first and only beach in this county designated (in 1949) for blacks until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

The blocks I made today for the Spoolspinners' mystery.  Since we can't leave Zeke in the motel room alone [motels' rules], and we can't leave him in the car alone [Florida rules], I stayed home with Zeke, and Charlie gave our second ticket away at the ballpark.  I was glad to get a lot done and also watched a little of So.FL and NC basketball game as well as the poor performance of our Michigan State Spartans. 

 

Tomorrow across to the East Coast.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Race situation is better than in 1949!

Lovely visit with the Rahns on Sanibel

No longer sunburned

Working hard in Florida

The line-up for the Cardinals-Astros game. Wow, Albert Pujols actually played for the first half of the game.

So here is my motel room work station. They intend it for a desk and computer, but the Featherweight machine fits it well, and the rounded end holds a cutting mat and rotary cutter.

And above that are two of the 12" blocks I made in this set-up while Charlie was doing the laundry or going to another ball game.  I am working toward more "Wonki-ness" in the blocks as I go along.  The sample blocks, made to get the sizes right, were fairly regular until I got to the smaller sizes.  Now I am cutting more strangeness into them as I go along.  I also need to make a total of six 9" blocks before the Bee meets in March, so that is my next task--tho I'm staying in Florida and not going back to Michigan for that meeting!

Tonight I have packed everything up in preparation for another move tomorrow.  We will spend one night in Bradenton and see a Pirates game.  Then on to Ft. Myers for three nights, so I can get the machine out again there.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Pet friendly beach meant that Zeke could come with us

Dolphin was fishing just off the beach

Martha helped me with computer problems

Hot in Florida

We are so new to the laptop and motel internet connections that we are having trouble keeping "online". Tomorrow Charlie is supposed to have a class where he will learn how to put photgraphs on this computer, and then you may get some illustrations. 

But we have visited relatives and friends and so far have been to two spring training baseball games. Charlie's dear Cardinals beat the Astros, on Saturday, and our Tigers lost ignominiously to the Yankees on Sunday, in blazing sun that burned both of us despite #50 sunblock.  Guess we missed a few bare areas of skin.  

We are currently settled in a Red Roof Inn for three nights near Clearwater, so I bothered to carry the borrowed Featherweight up to the room along with sewing supplies.  Today Charlie went off by himself to see if he could get into the Phillies' park for an afternoon game, and I have been working on my 12" blocks for our Bee's mystery. So back to work now, and then out to the beach when C returns.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Safe travel all the way

Warm weather, but usually a breeze to mitigate

Pleasant company!