Forty Years and Counting

Today is Greg's 40th birthday!  Where, oh where, have forty years gone?  It amazes me when I look back at how quickly time has flown.  Greg is such a delight.  He has a quick wit, coupled with a dry sense of humor.  He is a man of few words, but when used, they often make me laugh.  He is a wonderful dad to Ella, leading her safely through a world filled with many dangers.  He is slow and steady in his discipline, often difficult to maintain when dealing with the younger members of the family.  

He has developed a touch of gray at the temples, which makes him even more handsome.  

He shows his artistic side by practicing Zentangle and I love it when he sends me pictures of his latest creation.  

He is a voracious reader, he appreciates nature, he enjoys playing board games and he shares all those and more with Ella.

He's an all around great person.

Happy Birthday Honey!  I sure do love you!

It was very warm today, high near 85*.  We walked Titan from the Dollar General to the parking garage.  We stopped at Publix, I waited in the car with Titan (he was very hot) while the others went shopping.  We ate lunch at home, then the "kids" headed out to be tourists.  Bill and I stayed home and did some reading, I visited with Greg, too.  

We met Wendy and Dan at Hurricane Charley's, then drove over the bridge to park at the Pt. Charlotte end before walking back.  

Such a silly girl ;o)

There were tons of horseshoe crabs along the shore.  It's mating season!

We stopped at the Tiki Hut for drinks and nachos, watched the sunset from the Harborwalk, then to the Ice House Pub for dinner.

Love these two!

We played half a game of darts before being called for dinner.  I don't think Bill and I won ;o(

A couple of winners!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

We Had a Busy Day...

It was 50* when I got up this morning; however, it was -3* at home (felt like -27*).  We enjoyed a nice, slow morning.  While Bill took Titan for a walk, Greg and I did a little reading.  We left about 11:45, got gas and headed north to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.  As it turns out, not only is today Valentine's Day but it was also the first day of the Orchid Show, so it was really busy!   

We started in The Tropical Conservatory, which is where all the orchids are and ended going back through there, when it wasn't quite so busy.

There were several large displays of orchids, providing a great backdrop for photos.

There were over 500 varieties of orchids in this one room and the different colors were amazing!

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

Looks like a bug!

Some of the blossoms were as big as a hand and others were super tiny.

I enjoy all of the different textures found in the gardens.

Zombia antillarum

Philodendron williamsii

And they have super cool names ;o)

There is the koi pond

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

We enjoyed the children's section, except for all the children...

and the area that overlooks Sarasota Bay.

What do you see?  What do you seeee? 

I really like this photo ;o)

Not exactly sure what the theme was but there were a lot of mannequins throughout the gardens outfitted in flowers.

We stayed for about three hours, wandering around and taking pictures...lots of pictures!  We also had a bite to eat at the Selby Cafe.  The food was good, although somewhat pricey. 

We left about 4:00, stopped at McDonalds for iced coffees and drove to Venice.  The beach parking was full so we drove to the jetty and were lucky enough to find a parking space!  Continuing our lucky streak, Bill ran into a cousin of his, Richey Kenny, who he hasn't seen in years and years and years.  So weird!

We walked along the jetty and the beach, then decided to stay a little longer and watch the sunset.  So glad we did, I think we have a new Valentine tradition...sunset at Venice Beach!

There is a lot of erosion at this end of the beach but we were able to walk above it until it flattened out.

shell seeker

 It was really a beautiful evening!

Someone couldn't put down their stick (Bill)

The sunset was well worth waiting for...

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

Photo by Greg Wehmeyer

After a quick stop at home to feed Titan and take him out to do his business, we went to The Icehouse Pub for dinner and darts.

Greg takes aim

Although we didn't finish the game before our table was ready, someone got lucky and threw a bullseye on HER first turn.

Bullseye!

and consequently SHE was ahead and declared the winner!!!

Such a good winner...HAHA

Ended the day at home around 9:30.

Sorry for the long post but it was a very busy day!  Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Martineaus Come to Visit 3/15/15

What a busy day we had today!  After breakfast we went to the farmer's market at History Park.  It's a little less crowded than the one on Saturday.  We brought our purchases home and Bill headed to the walk-in clinic because he was feeling terrible.  The three of us decided to walk over the bridge while we waited for him.  It was a beautiful day on the bridge. 

The view from the bridge

I told them there were some really neat lizards at the far end of the bridge, which we saw fleetingly, but they weren't as colorful as in the past.  We could hear them in the bushes and Dan did his best to flush them out for a better look.

He's not a very successful lizard hunter.  Good thing it wasn't Survivor and we weren't depending on him for tonight's dinner.  However, to be fair, Dan did spot several stingrays, a shark and a few Gar fish in the harbor.  Wendy spotted a leaf but it was a pretty leaf!

Dan started jogging on the way back, while Wendy and I continued our walk.  We met up at Hurricane Charley's where Dan had already secured a nice table in the bar overlooking the harbor.  Bill texted me and was still waiting to see a Dr.  We ordered drinks, then decided to have a snack because it was after 1:00 and we were getting hungry.  Wendy and I split a lettuce wedge and Dan had an avocado sushi roll.  Bill arrived about the same time as the food and had a beverage.  The food was good but the service was very slooooooow.  

Bill went to get his prescription at Wal-Mart and we went home to let Titan out, then we met at the Icehouse Pub for a late lunch.  

From there, Bill and I picked up ice coffees at Dunkin Donuts and met them at Gilchrist Park, where we all relaxed for about an hour.  

 

 

It's a touch job but as they say...someone's gotta do it.  It started to look like rain so Bill and I headed home but they decided to stay awhile.  Wendy mentioned later that they might have gone by Hurricane Charley's again ;o)

None of us felt much like eating dinner so instead we had Wendy's guacamole and tortilla chips.  

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)