homeward bound

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, including our Florida vacation visit. We had one final morning of sunshine and activity: Liesl and Grandma finished another puzzle; Steve and I ran 4 miles; Seb and Liesl biked the loop; Liesl and I went swimming in the pool; we had lunch at the clubhouse grill and all played bocce. All the favorites! (except tennis -- we'd played every day of the week, and were feeling done.) It was sad to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, but we know we'll be back soon!

Thanksgiving!

We spent the morning in various forms of exercise -- running, biking, working out at the gym, tennis -- and then enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving buffet at the Wildcat Run clubhouse. We ate so much. And then we also ate dessert. :)  It was good to spend the holiday together.

In the late afternoon, Grandpa took us out for a ride on a friend's golf cart, so we could see the course (and have a little joyride). There were lots of little ponds everywhere, and you could imagine that as a golfer the course would be very challenging.

We were also excited to potentially spot some more alligators, and we certainly did -- 4 or 5 of them in the various ponds. In the photo above, you can just make out an alligator snout sticking out of the water.

 

more fun in the Florida sun

We went to the beach at north Naples on Wednesday, my first time dipping into the Gulf of Mexico, and enjoyed fish tacos for lunch, collecting shells, and getting into the water.

Both our kids, accustomed to the Oregon coast, felt that the beach was very crowded and hot. :)

We waded in together, but Liesl got herself fully into the water first!

And then we immediately got ourselves out of the water!

Liesl and I had been really really hoping to see an alligator while we were here, and we finally did during a lunch-time bike ride around the loop. It was about 20-30 feet away, lolling by the edge of the water in the grass. Seb took a quick look and a photo, and then biked a safe distance away.

Also: one puzzle was completed, and another started. :)