St. Augustine, and Venice, Florida

We decided to stay in St. Augustine for the night, as we had never been there before.  The fact that it is the oldest continuously inhabited city founded by Europeans in the United States was enticing.  We had heard only good things and were not disappointed for our very short stay.

We drove downtown and sat on a bench overlooking the harbor (see circled
area in the middle top of the map).  It was a little breezy but we managed to
finish a bottle of wine and be thoroughly entertained by people and boat watching!

The harbor in front of us

The street where all the action is-many bars and restaurants

This was a four masted schooner that pulled out just as we arrived.

This beautiful lighthouse was on the island
across the bridge.

The city is just gorgeous tonight!

Flagler College is so beautiful-especially at night!

 We crossed interior Florida to Venice and made it by happy hour!  John and Suzy look so good to us!

This is their new outdoor fire pit.  It was too hot for a fire-YAY!!

 Alligators are very at home here.  They live in the ponds by the golf course, which are right outside John and Sue's house.

This little guy found a home in a neighbor's pool.  Luckily,
there was no one home!

Later, he crawled up the stairs to sunbathe on the deck!

This is the golf course side of their house.  John still loves
gardening and is so proud of his flowers (see below).

One of the first nights we were there was Trivia Night.
There were probably a hundred people at least.  We did not
win, though I thought we did a pretty good job as a team.  Our
team's name was Gator Bytes.  This is our mascot.

The regulars on our team plus us and Bill's mother-in-law.

To think that we drive all the way to Nebraska or New Mexico to see these guys up close and personal:  Sandhill Cranes strut their stuff right outside the house.

A big gator by the pond

Some of the beautiful flowers and plants in the yard.

Suzy cooked us a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner one night while we were there because we would be on the road, and not with family on Thanksgiving day.  It was absolutely to die for!  Afterwards, we learned to play Euchre, which was lots of fun.

The other team

My team

John has lost alot of his bulk since his cancer treatments.
Suzy is, as always, a little thing!

These are Dad's dog tags.  I love being with my brother as
it brings me closer to my parents.  Gosh, I never get over
missing them.

Ever since Alabama, my hair has been a frizzy
mess.  I was reduced to using a curling iron or
straightener to keep it tamed.  I finally begged Suzy
to take me to someone who could get my hair back
into some manageable state.  Kyle was the answer:
He told me that I had actually burned my hair with
those darned heating implements.  He cut off the burned
ends, got rid of all the orange in my hair and gave me
a protein treatment.  Thank god for Kyle!

 On Sunday, we drove down to Sharkey's on the Pier to meet for lunch with old friends from San Carlos.

It was a glorious day at the beach.

Sharkey's from the pier

Dave and Gay and us.  

The happy couple.  They are working at an RV park in
Palmetto, FL and think they will stay in this part of the world.

Mi Familia

They throw these nets out to catch the billions
of sardines that they then use for bait.

The waters are teaming with sardines around the pier.

The place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

A sad farewell - we left early Monday morning.

Probably smiling because they'll have the house back to themselves :-)