Long Way Home

  October 4, 2013-Well, today we said farewell to the white sands and ocean to set our faces North for home. We did most of our packing last night and loaded up the van and car back up this morning before hitting the road. I thought this song was fitting for our drive today:

Farewell, Fords & Schlotzsky’s

September 25 – All good things must come to an end, and it was time for the Fords to begin their drive back home.

 

Last suppe…or rather….last breakfast together.

They take a last look at the ocean…

….and say goodbye to Lydia (and the rest of us) before packing up and hitting the road.

 

That evening…

 

We visit the set of “Charlotte’s Web”

-Or maybe it was just Pier Park again.

Love all of the lighting and architectural elements in this tropical setting

I ate my first meal at Schlotzsky’s as we outside.  We enjoyed listening to the strains of music floating upon the night air from from a nearby “dueling piano” bar. 

“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man. 

Sing us a song tonight.

‘Cause we’re all in the mood for a melody…”

 

The evening ended by going home and playing a new card game, “The Pit.”  How we’d never heard of this game before, I don’t know, but it was fun.

Ice Cream Eating, Sea Gull Feeding, Dolphin Seeings

September 25 – The next morning my Mom and Mrs. Ford took a walk alongside the water before getting in the waves and playing in the surf.

Mr. Ford and I tried catching some photos of the dolphins – which was no easy proposition.

These were probably some of the best shots we got, but there were times when they’d jump completely out of the water…just as long as we didn’t have a camera in our hands.

Parasailing

Lunch on the deck

After lunch we headed to Pier Park for dessert….

 

I love all of the details that went into making this strip mall a real seaside-inspired destination for tourists…

…even if it doesn’t make Phil happy.

The three things that I take the time to photograph well:

dogs, sunsets, ice cream

 

BTW: This turtle caramel ice cream sundae was absolutely delicious and tasted every bit as good as it looked.

 

 

 

 

 

Visited the Croc store again

The “As Seen on TV” Store

 

 

 

 

 

 

“To Err is Human.  To Blame It On Someone Else Shows Management Potential.”

And when’s the last time you saw something worthwhile on TV?

No surprise Noah is looking at the RC cars and helicopters!

Waiting outside the store with Lydia

 

Back at the beach…

Was this photo-shopped or not?  I have no idea; it came from Mr .Ford .

 

Feeding the birds some stale bread.

“Tuppence a bag”

 

Lydia wishing she could be outside

We had beautiful weather while the Fords were here – even though there had been a rather wet and gloomy forecast.  It wasn’t until after dinner that a very strong thunderstorm blew in.

It was quite an experience to feel the full force of the ocean’s winds against the house and to see the lightning flashes revealing that broad expanse of nothing which is the horizon.

We spent a very delightful evening together having some great discussions – until I found a comfortable spot on the couch and dozed off…

The Fords Arrive!

  September 23, 2013 – The Ford family hit the road this morning to begin their drive down to come and visit with us for a couple of days!  At this point in our trip we’ve been getting pretty lonely.  I never realized how much I would miss the sweet fellowship of our church family.

   Well, with the arrival of "company” it was time for Lydia to get a bath – finally! 

(It had probably been 4 or 5 days since she’d had a bath!)

Check out tonight’s sunset!

   After a long drive, the Fords arrived at our home-away-from-home and we ate dinner after taking in the view from the deck.

  Wow, what a blessing to have such good friends sitting around our dinner table and to have some fantastic conversations!  It was great to hear how everyone was doing back at home…they even brought back the remaining pieces of communion bread our church family had torn pieces from the day before.

  After dinner we took a relaxing walk on the beach in the dark and used flashlights to find crabs and shells.