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)

Greg's Visit...Sticking Around Town

Today is the day between two busy days so we decided to stick close to home.  We ate breakfast at home, then headed to the farmer's market.  From there, we walked to The Foot Landing, which is a running/walking equipment store which also sells Hawaiian pressed coffees.  Of course, we had to each have one.  I didn't realize each cup took four minutes to brew and they were only able to brew two at a time, so this took awhile.  Once they were ready, we sat in the sun in the court yard and drank them.  They are quite tasty.

Bill continued to soak up some sun while Greg and walked through the Artist's Artelier, then to Publix, then home for lunch.

We wanted to get to the Peace River Wildlife Center in time to watch the pelican feeding, which I thought was at 2:00 but it turned out to be 2:30.  Needless to say, we were there plenty early, giving us lots of time to take pictures and observe the birds doing what birds do.

Brown Pelican (photo by Greg Wehmeyer)

Sandhill Crane (photo by Greg Wehmeyer)

Great Blue Heron? (photo by Greg Wehmeyer)

Well, it gave Greg time to take photos ;o)

We walked along the sandy beach to the pier, back to the car and on to Fisherman's Village.

Bill was duped into buying fish food although there were absolutely no hungry fish to be seen.

 Didn't stop him from trying tho.

"Here, fishy, fishy, fishy"

Greg captured this Great Egret perched along the dock.  The green on its face only appears during breeding season.

Greg did some shopping for Ella, we all got beverages and took a silly photo on our way out. Guess it would have been better if I had backed up and got the whole fish!

On the way to our next venue, we stopped to show Greg the exercise equipment located along the Liner Park Pathway and of course, he and Bill had to get their daily workout in.

work it, Bill!

From there we drove through Maria Manor to show Greg where my condo is, then to Port Charlotte Beach Park.  We stopped and took a short walk along the beach.

One more stop on the way home...T.T.'s Tiki Hut for an adult beverage.

According to Greg..."With the sun low in the sky and the wind coming off the water, the temperature plunged into the 60s".  hahaha  Actually, my teeth were chattering and I finished my drink in the car.

Greg said "I was just pretending to be cold in solidarity with New England" because it was brutally cold there, while he was here.  He has a great sense of humor.

Bill fixed pasta carbonara for dinner.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)