Jan. 27 - Feb. 2 Melbourne

Melbourne is a small city, with a big beach on the Atlantic Coast.

Before we left Kissimmee for Melbourne, we stopped in one of our favorite neighborhoods there to look at houses for sale.  We ended up looking at two, and having some serious discussions about moving from Rome (What???) to Kissimmee …

We stayed at a suite at the Space Coast Inn/lodging at Patrick AFB in Melbourne ($53/night).  There is other lodging there, too, on the Banana River and on the Atlantic Ocean beach. 

Our first night, we ate at the base Dining Hall – a first for us.  Good food, at a good price – it was located right on the crystal-clear Banana River.

For five days, we rode our bikes, walked along a nice trail on base and along the beach off base.  I also got lots of photos of pelicans and sunsets.  I went to the base library, and signed up for a program that gives me 4 song downloads per week for my MP3 player.  We ate at Sonny’s BBQ and Texas Roadhouse.

Below are some photos:



PART OF THE SPACE COAST INN LODGING, PATRICK AFB, MELBOURNE, FLA.




MORE OF THOSE FUNNY BLACK BIRDS, CORMORANTS



PELICANS ARE EVERYWHERE!

LOOKING OUT OVER THE CRYSTAL CLEAR BANANA RIVER, MELBOURNE



3 PELICANS, 2 SLEEPING



I GET A KICK OUT OF THE MILITARY SOMETIMES ... THIS SIGN WAS ON THE WALL OF THE BOWLING ALLEY .. IT SAYS "CONTROL OF THE BATTLEFIELD STARTS HERE."  REALLY?  IT STARTS IN THE BOWLING ALLEY ??? :)  :)

A GORGEOUS TROPICAL SUNSET IN MELBOURN

 BELOW ARE TWO VIDEOS, OF PELICANS FLYING:

Jan. 5 - 27 Kissimmee

We enjoyed sun and scenery at our condo in Kissimmee.

We bought the condo in 1993, have stayed at it for a week to a month every year, and we rent it out the rest of the year.  There are photos of it, and information about renting it, on the website below:

http://www.vrbo.com/13309


Bob rode his bike every day, and I went for my 3-mile walk every day (or walked that far on days I went shopping!)  One of my favorite places to walk is downtown Kissimmee.  It is a funky place, with a lot of old buildings and an old train station now used by Amtrak.  It is also is right on Lake Toho, and there are lots of unusual (to me!) birds walking around that I like to take pictures of.  I also enjoyed walks and a bike ride around the Disney development "Celebration," designed with a small-town atmosphere, with beautiful homes and its own charming downtown.

We usually spent an hour or two at our condo development's pool every day.  They have a nice warm bubbly spa that we love, and which soothes our aching bones after our morning exercises!

We did some minor repairs to the condo, like we do every year:  Touch up paint, replace broken blinds, shampoo the carpets, etc.

We are finding the residents here to be more diverse every year.  Nearly half the population is now Hispanic.  A big change from Rome, NY, where only 6% are minorities.  So it's a good chance for me to practice my Spanish!

 

We did some shopping, went to see the movie "Lincoln," and went out to eat two or three times a week.

We also attended a mini-reunion of Bob's high school classmates, who live in Florida in the winter or full-time.

Below are some photos:

BLACK BIRD IN LAKE TOHO

HERON AT WATER'S EDGE

BIG WHITE BIRD

ANOTHER HERON

NOTICE HOW HE IS RESTING ON HIS LEGS.

CORMORANTS AND DUCKS IN A ROW



ODD MAN OUT -- BUT THEN, THESE CORMORANTS ARE ALL A LITTLE ODD!



PELICAN?  ALSO SITTING BACK WITH HIS "KNEES" FOLDED BACKWARDS ...

GOOD TO KNOW!

CRANES -- THESE ARE ALL OVER.

OLD FISHERMAN TAKING A NAP

MOSS HANGING FROM THE OLD OAK TREES.

BOUGAINVILLEA AND PALM TREES

THE FAMOUS KISSIMMEE MONUMENT, WITH ROCKS AND INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALL 50 STATES AND SEVERAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES.  I LOVE THIS FUNKY LANDMARK!

SIGN ON OLD RAILROAD STATION, NOW USED BY AMTRAK.  BUILT IN 1911 BY THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE, OLD-TIMERS REMEMBER CATTLE BEING LOADED ONTO THE TRAIN FOR SHIPMENT TO CUBA.  THERE WERE ONCE A LOT OF CATTLE RANCHES AROUND HERE -- STILL SOME, BUT MOST REPLACED BY HOUSING, BUSINESSES ... AND DISNEY WORLD, UNIVERSAL, ETC. ...

THE OLD COURTHOUSE.  BUILT IN 1860, IT IS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. 

OLD FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DEDICATED IN 1886.  IT FEATURES STEAMBOAT GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, WITH WOOD TRIM SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS USED ON THE STEAMBOATS ON NEARBY LAKE TOHO.

OUR TWO-BEDROOM CONDO IS ON THE SECOND FLOOR

THE FOUNTAIN IN ONE OF THE LAGOONS IN OUR CONDO DEVELOPMENT.

BOB'S ST. ALOYSIUS HIGH SCHOOL MINI-REUNION -- OF WINTER AND FULL-TIME FLORIDA RESIDENTS.  FROM LEFT, BILL AND CATHY TAYLOR DEMARE OF TAMPA, PAULA (MONDRICK) AND BOB GIRARD OF MICHIGAN AND THE VILLAGES, FL, AND CHIP AND BOB OF ROME, NY, AND KISSIMMEE, FL.  ANOTHER COUPLE, PETE AND SHARON FAVRETTO,OF MECHANICSBURG, NY, AND TARPON SPRINGS, FL,  HAD TO LEAVE SHORTLY AFTER THEY ARRIVED, DUE TO A HOSPITALIZATION OF HER FATHER.

Jan. 4 - 5 Mayport, Florida

Arrived in Mayport, Florida, about 4 p.m.  Walked from the Navy Lodge ($64/night, right on the beach) to the PX, then to the beach.  Beautiful!

Got up Saturday, and walked some more on the beach and around the base.  Stopped in at the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites, where I found that the rooms are bigger, and cheaper ($55/night)!   So we hope to stay there on the way back.

Below are some photos:

THE BEACH JUST BEFORE SUNSET

THE NAVY LODGE, RIGHT ON THE BEACH

JUST READ THE LAST LINE OF THE SIGN -- I DID NOT SEE ANY WHALES! -- AND THE LITTLE SIGN AT BOTTOM LEFT -- I ALSO DID NOT SEE ANY TSUNAMIS!

NOR DID I SEE ANY GOPHER TORTOISES!

BUT I DID SEE A COUPLE SURFER DUDES!

HANG TEN!

AND LOTS OF SEAGULLS ...

THE PRETTY LITTLE MAYPORT LIGHTHOUSE ...

AND A HUGE CARGO SHIP, COMING AROUND THE BEND!

Dec. 30 - Jan. 3 Relatives in Raleigh

Arrived at Bob's sister Josie's house in Raleigh at about 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30.  She drove me to a nice lake/walking path Monday morning, and we walked the 2 miles around it. 

To celebrate New Year's, we just ordered pizza.  Josie's daughter Deb came over and joined us.

New Year's Day we went to Mass, then I did my usual daily 3 mile walk.  For dinner, we went out to eat at Kanki's, a Japanese restaurant where they cook the food right at your table.  Deb joined us again, along with her daughter Natalie.  Josie's other daughter, Lori, also joined us with her fiance Brett.  Nice dinner!

Wednesday, we drove to Cary to visit my brother Dave and family.  His daughter Julie came over with her husband Chris, daughter Scarlett and new baby boy Logan.  Scarlett, age 4, is already reading.  And Logan showed us what a great little cuddler he is.  Nice evening!

Thursday, Jan. 3, we drove to Triange Mall for a bit, then had leftovers for dinner.

Below are some photos:

BOB AND HIS SISTER JOSIE -- LOOKING AS YOUNG AS EVER!

CHIP'S SISTER-IN-LAW SUE TWELLMAN, WITH JULIE'S DAUGHTER SCARLETT AND NEWBORN SON LOGAN.

SCARLETT (THE READER) AND LOGAN (THE CUDDLER)

BRETT AND LORI, NATALIE AND DEB AT KANKI'S JAPANESE RESTAURANT

BOB AND CHIP AT KANKI'S

Dec. 28-29: Rome to Arlington National Cemetery

Left Rome about 6 a.m.  Roads were clear and so was the weather!  (And so was our driveway, sidewalks, deck and roof, after we spent a few hours Thursday shovelling, snowblowing, plowing and roof-raking, after a storm dumped about a foot of snow on us!)

Got caught in a huge traffic jam outside Washington, D.C.  (Note to Tom Sorokas:  I know, I know, we should know better ... )  Same thing happened last year, so we gave up our plan to visit Arlington National Cemetery.  This year, we decided to stop overnight and visit Arlington the next day.  We had been to Arlington, and other D.C. sites before, but it was several years ago.

We checked into Liversedge Hall at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va., about 4 p.m.  Only $42/night for a suite!

Saturday morning, we headed for Arlington.  Its 624 acres are the final resting place for some 400,000 veterans and others.  Started in 1864 as a "potter's field" for Civil War soldiers whose families could not afford to have their bodies returned home, the cemetery grew gradually in the number and status of its burials.  Now, there are an average of 100 burials each week.

Below are some photos and videos:


Bob walks among the graves at Arlingonton, as the carillon plays the Navy song.

BURIAL PLACE OF ELI PARKER OF CAMDEN, NY, AT ARLINGTON

MASS OF GRAVES, DECORATED WITH WREATHS

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS, DESIGNED BY LORIMER RICH OF CAMDEN, NY

SIGN IN THE WOMEN IN MILITARY MUSEUM

WE COULD SEE WASHINGTON MONUMENT IN THE DISTANCE, FROM ARLINGTON

BOB IN FRONT OF DECORATED GRAVES