Are You Still There?

So sorry I've been missing in action around here lately.  All is well; we just decided to take a little trip to Florida to get us over the winter hump!  We got to spend my birthday at one of my favorite restaurants in our old stomping grounds on the Gulf Coast and to visit our oldest son for his birthday!  I thought I'd share a few pictures from our trip.

Our son works at Disney, and he is always so generous and treats us to a day or 2 at the Parks.

Epcot was in the midst of their Garden Festival, and I always enjoy seeing the special plantings that they add at this time of year.

Before leaving for the coast, we stopped at Winter Garden's Farmer's Market and got some Honey Bells (oranges) to enjoy.  Oh MAN, are they good!  Juicy and sweet!

Then we spent a week in the Englewood area and were able to check off some boxes of favorite things to do.  Despite being there during Spring Break, we were able to spend a couple of days on the beaches, and though they are much eroded from how we remember them, that beautiful blue water is still there.

We got to go to our favorite restaurants in the area, Farlow's on the Water and Nicola's Italian Kitchen (twice!) in Englewood and Mi Pueblo in Venice for fish tacos.  At Farlow's I had a gorgeous Hogfish garnished with coconut touches, followed by Pina Colada cheesecake!  

We were so pleased to be able to get out and take a nice walk each day, in a different park each time.  The weather was perfect: high 70's/low 80's and we only had rain once, and it was at night!  The house we rented provided views of the beautiful birds that we don't see here at home and even an alligator floating down the canal the day we arrived there!  And the Florida vegetation is always such a lovely change from our "neutrals", to put it nicely, at home at this time of year.

On the way home, we spent some more time with our son, who took us to the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, where I saw my first camellias!

I also found a new plant I'd never heard of before, called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  It starts with purple blossoms which then change to lavender and then to white, and all 3 colors bloom at one time!  

We ate well there, too: his birthday dinner at Jaleo, a Spanish restaurant, and also a German dinner at Hollerbach's in Sanford, something I've been dreaming about since the last time we were there!  They are the only place where I can have Weiss Wurst, a veal sausage.  The guys split a mixed sausage platter and a Jaeger Schnitzel meal.  

We take it easy driving down and back home now, taking 3 days instead of the mad dash we used to do when we were younger.  It was smooth sailing all the way with no major delays or weather hold-ups.  We came home to the beginning of spring here, with greener grass, some trees budding out, and daffodils blooming!

So now I have lots of wonderful memories and pictures, too.  Can't wait to do it all again!  Thanks for allowing me to share a bit of it.