Postcards from the Road ~ Catching Up

I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the next edition of Postcards from the Road, and now the wait is over. Woo-Hoo!

I’ll start somewhere in the middle and go all over the map before ending this post, so bear with me, sweet friends.

Here’s a look at some of our activities while in Port St. Lucie:

One evening, we combed our hair, put on normal clothes and struck a pose before heading out to eat. (And I thought that top was so cute when I bought it. I ended up looking like I was wearing half a blanket. But it was comfortable, which means I will surely wear it again.)

 

 

The Man decided on prime rib.

Don't you love the lampshade?

 

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

They are in bloom all over this area of Florida. I've never seen anything like it and I smile all over whenever one appears.

Here's the bloom close-up. They resemble some kind of trumpet flower.

One morning, I had this for breakfast at The Original Pancake House. You'll be glad to know I didn't clean my plates, but came frighteningly close.

We witnessed as God painted this sunset's reflection aross the Atlantic Ocean. Another masterpiece.

In my spare time, I picked up my crochet hook (after many years) and have been crocheting away, for no apparent reason. I'm thinking I might make a headband or bow for sugar plum, but for now, just piddling. (I saw some of these at Hobby Lobby, which gave me the fever.)

If you're a lover of all things in the sky, as I am, then you already know March has been an amazing month for planet watching. I snapped this photo on March 26th, at our campsite in Port St. Lucie. What you're looking at is the moon (you probably guessed that one), along with Venus (above the moon, and my favorite planet) and Jupiter. Jupiter is slipping closer to the horizon, and won't be visible much longer, but April promises to have a few spectacular evenings, as well. Count on me, your unofficial astronomer (not to be confused with astrologer) to keep you posted.

 

 

Cloud Nine rolled further south on Wednesday, and on Thursday, we took a little riverboat cruise tour and saw how the wealthy live, with their multi-million dollar homes and $30-million dollar yachts.

It was an amazing sight.

Mile after mile of mansions and yachts.

 

Most of the owners don't live here, but use these places as getaway homes. I told The Man I'd need lessons to learn how to live like this. We both agreed we don't want to find out. There's something to be said for contentment.

 

 

Many of these people started with nothing and created empires. My hat is off to them.

Others are of the Hollywood sort.

(Yep, that's a single-resident house.)

 

Did you know Ft. Lauderdale is the yachting capital of the world? Me neither. From all we saw on our little riverboat cruise tour on Thursday, I’d say that sounds about right.

 

 

Yesterday was a glorious day at the beach, my favorite kind.

This gentleman had the right idea.

 

The Atlantic never looked better. This was my favorite picture of the day. Love how that umbrella makes a bold statement.

 

 

I guess I'll leave it at that, for now. Thanks for taking the journey with me. Until next time, sweet friends, press on!

 

The Miracle of Morning ~ Postcards from the Road

A little before dawn, The Man and I sat on the sands of the Atlantic Ocean, waiting for the sunrise. Except for the sound of the waves rushing endlessly to the shore, and the wind whipping about, the world was still.

With eyes fixed on the east, the depth of the moment proved too weighty for words. We sat silently, sipping coffee from paper cups.

In a few minutes, along the eastern horizon, a smear of pink appeared among the clouds. No trumpet blasted, no angels sang. Just a smear of pink in the east, quietly announcing the imminent appearance of the sun, and the coming of a new day. Do you see it?

With each passing minute, the sky grew brighter, the darkness surrendering.

While the clouds hid the sun’s face, they could not hide the blaze of its light, as it made its steady climb, heralding the miracle of morning.

“My voice shall you hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer to you, and will look up” (Psalm 5:3).

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is they faithfulness” (Lamentation 3:22-23).

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Linking up with:

Outdoor Wednesday
Wow Us Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
At the Picket Fence (Inspiration Friday)

An Ocean View Refreshes

I’ll get to this lovely photo of the Atlantic Ocean momentarily, but I'm just gonna be honest here. I’ve had a bad case of the blahs lately. Yes, I’m here to tell you it’s possible to be on a long holiday and still get the blahs. Being a normally cheerful person, who sees the bright side more than not, it is very irritating to me whenever I come down with a case of the blahs. I mean ... seriously?

I will admit that I’ve been more homesick on this trip than I have any other trip in recent history. That’s part of it. But the other part has to do with being in the Sunshine State and having been to the beach one, little, bitty time, and that was way back in Destin and, to be honest, it was a bit chilly that day so I can’t really call it a “beach day.” I've been bummed out about it, and I suppose that helped lead me to the state of blah.

That’s not to say we haven’t tried to go to the beach since leaving Destin, but it’s Spring Break. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will. The times we have attempted to go, we discovered 10,000 other people had the same idea and, quite frankly, that’s not the kind of experience I want to have whenever I go to the beach.

So … I’ve been missing out on the only reason I really care to come to Florida.

Until this evening …

To catch you up, since the blahs left me with no desire to blog, we are now on the Atlantic side of Florida, spending a few days in the beautiful Port St. Lucie. Truth be told, we are really here to attend a spring training baseball game (it’s part of The Man’s agenda), but since we couldn’t get tickets to today’s game, I did laundry instead. Oh, joy!

Now back to this evening …

Just before sunset, with laundry folded and put away, we took off to find the Atlantic Ocean, and that’s just what happened. And the best part, it was pretty much deserted—just the way I like it.

As far as I could see, in both directions, nothing but the ocean, doing what it does, year in and year out.

And, oh my goodness … I’m a collector of seashells, and have been to dozens of beaches, but I’ve never seen seashells in such quantities in my life! It went on and on and on.

As we strolled along the water’s edge, I felt it again—that certain stirring of the soul, the shedding of burdens, the refreshing of spirit, the calming that comes whenever I visit the seashore. For me, there's nothing like it in all the world.

Before leaving, we paused for a photo, and then I said out loud, “I feel whole again. This"—I opened my arms in a great circle. "This is just what I needed.”

We turned to go and, I declare, it seemed the heavens were cheering me on (would you look at that). And, I didn’t hear him, but I’m fairly certain that under his breath The Man was shouting, “Hallelujah!”

There's more to share and more to show, but that's it for this time. Thanks for taking this journey with me.

Until next time, sweet friends, press on.

Postcards from the Road ~ Sketches and Ramblings

Another weekend is half over. It seems the days are kinda sorta running together for me. I’ve not done anything terribly exciting since my last post, although there was laundry day. Woo-Hoo!

AND .... I’ve done a little more sketching in my sketch diary. Ain't that a thrilling thought?

This sketch was by the pool. I edited out a bunch of stuff because it was too hard to draw. In case you can't tell what this is (and it's highly likely that you can't; I have problems with it myself sometimes), this is a woman (wearing an ankle bracelet; don't miss that bit of detail), with very short hair, watching her granddaughter swim, but I ran out of paper on the left and couldn’t get the granddaughter in the sketch. J Clearly, I need lessons here.

Can you guess who this is? Diesel and I were sitting out on the patio one afternoon when I started sketching him, but he wouldn’t stay in the same position long, so I took a photograph and worked from it, as well. I have to say I thought it turned out quite nice. The Man thought it was frame-worthy. Hmmm ...

Speaking of Diesel, here he is shortly after his bath today. His papaw keeps him in working order, let me tell ya.

Let's see ... what else?

Oh ... The Man played a round of golf today. (I'm in love with all of the Spanish moss that drapes from the oak trees here. I've seen more on this trip than I have anywhere in a long time.)

I decided against playing today and was the chauffeur and scorekeeper instead. I wished later that I had played, as the course is all Par 3's and Par 4’s—something you don’t find very often.

Well, I guess that's about it. Monday, Lord willing, we will be back on the road, headed to the next destination point. Since I'm not sure what that is yet, I will have to share later.

On a final note, I’ve been a little homesick, missing people back home, and that includes a certain little person, in a mighty big way, my sweet sugar plum.

I send her “Dear Ainsley” text messages every day, along with pictures to show her what we’re doing. Her mommy said she sometimes gets really excited about the picture, and always says "Diesel," when she sees him, although occasionally she still calls him "Deedul." I sure hope she won't forget who I am before I get back home.

She and her sweet mom send me text messages, too, and when she sends a picture (like the one above), I look at her precious face and smile all over (I mean how can you not?), although a time or two I’ve had tears in my eyes, as well, just because I miss my sugar plum very much! [sigh]

I’ve decided if I ever have a grandbaby, I may never leave town again.

Until next time, sweet friends, press on, and thanks for bearing with me in this rambling post.

What's Been Happening ~ Postcards from the Road

It's been a busy few days. We are still in the Tampa area and should be here through Saturday, at least. The weather has been amazing. Here's a quick look at what's been going on in my little world.

Relaxing around the campsite. 

Out and about in God's glorious world.

That's the edited version.

Until next time, sweet friends, press on.

And thanks for coming along with me on my travels.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

What better thing to do, on a brilliant Sunday morning, than spend quiet time outdoors, reading, writing, drinking coffee, praying? It's one of my favorite things about camping, the unhurried feeling that renews and refreshes both body and soul.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 37:7

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Linking up with:

Lorraine for Think on These Things

Karen for Sunlit Sunday

A Sweet Problem

Well, the retirees have arrived at our second destination spot—Tampa—and already, I have a mighty big problem.

It started before we left Destin. Wednesday evening, we ventured out to one of our favorite little places there, The Donut Hole. Don’t let the name fool you. They serve a lot more than donuts. Great food, great coffee, and breakfast all day. I ordered a Gulf Coast omelet (shrimp included), which was just the protein I needed, and it was lip-smacking good.

But then, I got up and walked to the counter (at The Man’s request) to see what kinds of pies they had for the evening and that’s when I looked to my left and saw the bin holding white powdered Bavarian cream donuts, my very favorite donut in all the world.

(Google Search Image)

I hemmed and hawed and named all the reasons I didn’t need this load of carbs and calories, but, in the end, my sweet tooth took over and I ended up with confectioner’s sugar all over my clothes.

I promised to repent and start fresh the next day.

And I did just that, until we stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel.

I saw this beauty on the dessert menu—a new promotion consisting of two sugared biscuits, with layers of vanilla bean ice-cream, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream on top—and that was the end of Miss Goody Two Shoes. After all, I reasoned, we'd been on the road all day; I was plumb tired and I deserved this, didn't I?

And The Man sort of egged me on, promising to help me eat it, and thank the good Lord, because this baby, as you can see, is huge! Needless to say it was another night of repenting.

Then today, after we got settled in at the campground, we struck out for the grocery store. Diesel was with us, so The Man said he’d go in and I could stay with the car.

When he returned, he said, “I’ve got a surprise for you in one of the bags,” and did he ever!

Yep, that’s a strawberry-kiwi cream pie. It was on sale.

Coffee anyone?

Until next time, sweet friends, press on! Even when you mess up, try again tomorrow, just as I plan to do.

Postcards from the Road ~ Sketchy Tale of Destin

After two days on the road, with some major traffic delays, the retirees arrived at the first destination spot on the Spring Tour of 2012—beautiful Destin, Florida. Diesel is such a big help with the driving (wink, wink).

A little history, if you have a minute.

My first trip to Destin was in 1979, when my twin sister and I drove over in my white Corvette (a stunning combination, don’t you just know ... wink, wink) and spent a week enjoying our freedom.

I don’t know why we didn’t take many pictures (we carried a Polaroid with us and everything), but we didn’t. This is the only picture I have of me on the trip, and what big hair I am sporting. I don't have a single shot of twin sis. What up with that?

But back to my story. I fell instantly in love with Destin, even though there was hardly anything or anybody there in 1979. The Holiday Inn (seen here) was the tallest hotel in town, and almost the only hotel in town. Destin was still an undiscovered jewel.

After marriage in 1980, The Man and I continued the tradition of coming to Destin, and even though it’s packed to the brim with commercialism and tourists these days, the magnificent beaches remain the same, year after year.

Last evening, we almost missed the sunset, but managed to catch the final glorious rays.

We turned around and there was the moon, in all its splendor.

This morning, we enjoyed some quiet time here, drinking in the view, and considering the wondrous works of God. (That's The Man in the chair, wearing a baseball cap, but of course.)

I’m not an artist, by any stretch of the imagination, but I decided to bring along a sketch pad on this trip, just for fun. While The Man sat, I found a place on the dunes and sketched. It looks pretty rough (no, I mean it really does), but I had fun.

Until next time, sweet friends, press on!

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Joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style

The Making of a Photograph

Saturday, The Man and I drove over and spent the day with my parents, since we won’t see them for awhile. We ate Mexican food out, then came back to the house for coffee, dessert, dominoes, conversation, and a lot of laughing.

Before leaving, I pulled out the camera for a photo. If you’re a fellow-self-portrait-user, you know full well that sometimes things work out better than others, and there’s always a bit of testing the waters before you finally get a shot you can all live with.

Not having a tripod with me (which I seldom do) makes for some interesting angles and outcomes, to say the least. Heads chopped off. People missing. Too far away. Camera pointing skyward. People talking. Nobody paying attention. That sort of thing. Ten seconds isn't very long to get people situated and make a mad dash to get in the shot yourself. Even if you do the two-shot thing, it's still a challenge and not the ideal conditions.

But in my family, the real fun is in getting to that final shot, especially if my dear old dad is in the mix. Saturday, he was in his usual fine form, telling funny stories left and right, between every take. By the time the planets aligned and the camera didn’t tip over, we were all smiles. And that’s the goal of a good photograph after all, isn't it? "Everybody smile!"

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Linking with Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.