Back to reality

I probably wasn't fooling you with those Wordless Wednesdays.  Yes, I was away with my sister, Ruth, and good friend, Claire, for a whole idyllic month in sunny, warm Florida.  It was wonderful to get away from the endless winter here in CT.  From the moment we stepped off the plane on March 1st to when we left on March 31st we reveled in the blissful weather. Unlike other Marches away when we did a lot of running around and visiting, we had a mostly layed-back relaxing time.

I never got a picture of the main gate with much larger and prettier flower beds.

We stayed at a lovely golf community called Kelly Greens in Fort Myers.  It was a great place to be because of its proximity to many things. It was about a five minute drive to the  Sanibel Island bridge, about an hour from Naples and close to numerous shopping areas, good restaurants and beaches.


We did manage to do a lot of this.....

Ladies who lunch. Dining out with friends from home.

and this...

and this...

Ruthie and Claire relaxing on the beach, but trying not to get too much sun.

and this....

Those who know me well know that I rarely go in the water, but the water in the pool that went with our rented condo was warm as a bathtub and I discovered the joys of floating around with a noodle.

and this...

A St. Patrick's Day party  with friends.  The men were all on the lanai, just like high school.

and this....

A visit to the Edison and Ford estate. We also went to the Artis-Naples Museum for a docent tour of the Duchamp family art.

and this...

Walking every morning with views of the golf course.  We did see an alligator on more that one occasion.

and this....

A trip to the Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.  Those are rare white pelicans.

and lots of this...

Shopping in Florida is fabulous and we sure did our best to help out the local economy.

 We heard that it was the worst March ever, weather-wise in the north east.  There was even a snow and ice storm on the morning that we got home, but thankfully it was all over with by the time we arrived.  It's always good to get home and I will have a lot to keep me busy, but it was so good to have a lazy month away in warmer climes.