Kennedy Space Centre

One of our last days with Uncle Ernie and Aunt Lynda was spent at one of our favourite places.  Only about an hour and a half away from the villa..........

....... is the Kennedy Space Centre - the hub of NASA's space program.  Uncle Ernie had his camera out and clicking before we even reached the main entrance.  You can see the fuel rockets which would have been attached to the shuttle in the background.  There is so much to do here, and so much to see - we only saw the most important things.

We passed through the rocket garden where the Gemini and Apollo versions are on display - the Apollo is the large one in the background.  Aunt Lynda.....

........ went over to get a closer view of the landing module, but there were already some tourist sitting inside, so we didn't linger....

.......... we passed by this tribute to the 35th President of the United States of America who was largely responsible for the initiatives which led to the lunar landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969, carried there by the Apollo 11.  If you click on the picture you should be able to read a quote from JFK.

We stood in line for a bus tour of Merritt Island (the location of the KSC) to see the highlights of the space facilities, which included.....

..... the Vehicle Assembly Building - where all the early rocket  ships, then the shuttles, and now the newer, more powerful and modernized rocket ships are built.  We passed....

.......... the big crawler - which is used to transport the shuttles/rockets to the launch pad.  It moves at a speed of 1/2 mile per hour and takes about 7-8 hours to reach the launch pad.  One year while we were there, Poppa and I saw it moving a shuttle and it was a lot like watching paint dry - the movement was barely discernible.

This was as close as we could get to a launch pad - that large framework is part of the apparatus used to attain the upright position of the rocket/shuttle that you are accustomed to seeing.  They travel in a horizontal position on the crawler.  We went back to the Space Centre for a ride in the simulator (which is really fun and not as scare-ey as they lead you to believe before you get in there), a look at the actual shuttle Atlantis which is displayed gloriously in a flight position, just the way it looked when it returned from its last flight.  I was too awed to remember to take a picture - but you can see it for yourself when you come to visit!

I had a call from Aunt Lynda last evening.  They arrived home in Canada safely about 2:30 pm yesterday after a harrowing journey the day before through the blizzard that was afflicting Tennessee and Kentucky - with a record snowfall in Kentucky of 21 inches in less than 24 hours.  But yesterday, although cold, was bright and sunny and a perfect day for a long drive!  We're glad they arrived home safely and hope they enjoyed their small vacation in our winter neighbourhood!  We miss them already!

Poppa and Squeegie are doing dishes again - and want to say "Hi" to everyone in Canada!

A Day at the Beach

When one is in Florida, it is, of course, mandatory that one visits at least one beach!  So on a nice sunny day Poppa chauffered Uncle Ernie and Aunt Lynda to Siesta Key.  We first went to Siesta Key Beach with Denis & Liz a few years ago.  It is now our favourite beach to visit when we are here and... we are not alone...  Siesta Key Beach has again (for the sixth time) been voted this year as the best beach in the USA.  It is always crowded and parking is always at a premium.  To make it worse, the parking lot is being re-vamped and a lot of it is currently un-usable.  We drove around and around and eventually we discovered a private parking lot..........

....... owned by this gentleman - who waved us in and said he had one spot left.  For $10.00 we could park there until midnight if we so desired.  Of course, we had no intention of staying that long - by the time we got to the beach, Aunt Lynda was already turning red.

I asked them to stand still for a few seconds while I got a picture, and then..........

.... off they went looking for shells for Uncle Ernie's grandchildren (are they brothers?).  We strolled for quite a while - then headed back to have supper and an early night.  But, we still had one more place we wanted to show them.  More on that later!

Haircuts....

........seem to be the order of the day!

Is there anyone in this photo that you recognize???  Well, let me help you........ from left to right (not including the hair-cutters) are:  Daddy, Munchie and Curtie.  In that order - here is the finished product......

Yep - Daddy looks handsome and happy!  Munchie..............

....... looks like a happy little Iroquois (oh dear!) - he's adorable, but I really prefer a more conservative style myself.....must be the generation gap, because....

...... little Curtie looks like a happy little Mohawk!  I love this picture - isn't he too cute???

Another Day....

.... in Florida, is how Poppa described Feb. 10, 2015, which happened to be.....

............. his birthday!  You can see his cards, received from people in Canada!  We went out last night to have supper at Longhorn Steakhouse for his birthday dinner.  Tomorrow is Squeegie's birthday (and also Uncle Shaun's!), so we chose a date in between for them to have their steak.  While we're in Florida we frequently...........

...... head out to go for a stroll.  Poppa stopped to chat with our next door neighbours - who just put their house For Sale.  Then.....

............. we headed out of our community..........

............ and up a long incline.  At the end of this road there is a Walgreen's.  Sometimes we stroll up there to have a look around or pick up some toothpaste.  But, this day.....

.............. we decided to walk through another development up the road - which required trekking up another hill, before....

............ we arrived at the top and had a nice shady downhill stretch of sidewalk which led to....

......... that scenic circle of palms leading to other sections of West Haven (where we stay).  We passed the ....

......... wetlands area, where Poppa spotted..........

...... this well-camoflaged fellow searching for lunch (he's right in the centre of the photo!)....

............ who moved quickly to the right when this larger (and easier to spot) bird startled the grey fellow away and I think stole his lunch!  Further up the road.........

............. we were amazed to see.....

......... how many new houses had sprung up in the newest area of West Haven - called the Dales.  Where last year there were a few houses in the middle of a sandy tract of land, now there are very few empty lots remaining!  We've noticed this trend all around this part of Florida.  Developments that seemed to have stalled for a few years, are suddenly being started up again.  I'm hopeful that this is a sign of a recovering economy for Florida!  On the way back to the villa.........

.......... we checked out the wetlands on the other side of the road........

.......... and were delighted to find these little ducks swimming around in there!  When we arrived back at the villa - ready for a rest and a beverage...........

........... Squeegie had his bathing suit on and was outside enjoying the sun, while back up in Canada.....

.......... Munchie was out enjoying the weather there and Mommy...........

......... seemed to be doing an Eskimo imitation!  I get the distinct impression that it is kinda cold up there!

A Pic from Home

This morning I received a picture from Canada.  When Daddy opened the door to blow away some snow from the driveway.....

....... the wind had been so strong that some of it got trapped between the inside door and the screen door - so when the door opened it fell into the house!  I'm so glad we're in Florida!  Squeegie is busy writing .....

........... a grocery list - as usual he is starving.  Taffy has been spending a lot of time....

.......... playing games on her tablet - like all young people these days it seems!  The weather has been very nice with lots of sun.  We came home after getting the stuff on Squeegie's list, to find this....

........... lovely white bird in our front flower bed.  I took the picture through the car window since I didn't want to startle it away.  But it stayed there until we walked towards the front door, and then took flight!  I think we have everything sorted out with the insurance company and the body shop and now we are awaiting the arrival of the necessary parts to get the car fixed.  The expectations are that it will be next week.  I hope so!

An Incident

Nothing much has been happening....

..... we've been relaxing and....

............. watching TV..........

....... and eating......

............. Poppa has done a chore..........

............ or two!  But, on Sunday, since it was too cool for pooling, we decided just to take a drive and we headed towards St. Cloud because there is lots to see along the way.  We were almost at St. Cloud, sitting stopped at a red light and chatting.  Suddenly there is a crash and a jolt!  Looking out the rear window there is a large white vehicle looming.  We both get out to have a look..........

......... Oh!  Poor Spiffy!  The police were called by the other man, since he was a Floridian and knew the protocol.  He readily admitted that we were stopped and he just ran into us.  I didn't hear why this happened, but I suspect that he was on the phone talking to his wife.  We waited for about 15 minutes and the St. Cloud police arrived.  They checked to see if anyone was hurt (everybody was fine!), they chatted with both parties separately, made a report and told us all to wait for the Florida Highway Patrol.  The man's wife and son came to wait with him - they lived about 15 minutes away.  Another 10 minutes or so and the Florida Highway Patrol officers arrived.  After a repeat of the same process, and another 15 minute wait while they checked us all out and printed out a very brief version of the report, they said we could all go home. Because....

.......... Spiffy's muffler was hanging danerously close to the road, we drove up the highway a short distance and Poppa went into a Pep Boys and got a plastic zip tie to hold it up temporarily, then crawled underneath and got the muffler up approximately where it belonged.  Since this all took place on Sunday, Monday was spent on the phone with insurance representatives and repair shops.  We went to Jarrett-Gordon Ford, which is about three miles up the road.  They have an in-house body shop there and an Enterprise Car Rental - so Jaime - from Jaime's Collision Center gave us an estimate and Melvina at Intact Insurance arranged for us to have a rental car today so that an adjuster could look at the car.  Right now we have a Chrysler Town and Country van.  Spiffy is over at Jaime's awaiting the adjuster.  He estimated about $4,000 damage!  Poor Spiffy!

A Day in the Life....

.... of a bear in Florida.  Over all the weather here has been quite nice.  The day Taffy posed for this picture was just a little cool, as you can see she has her shrug on over her romper.  We have had some....

.... chilly days when the bears put on their sweat shirts and long pants.  And.....

........ the twins, Smoothie and Crunchie, stayed tucked into their blankets for the day to keep warm.  Then again...

.... we've had days that were hot enough to play in the pool with Wilson, sit in the sun and read, and drink lots from our new insulated cups.  Aren't they nice?  As usual....

...... Squeegie's favourite part of the day is snack time - he can be seen here sneaking some cheese puffs from Poppa's dish........and.....

............ he has taught the same tricks to little Crunchie - who is seen here relishing a bite of the cheese and crackers I put in Poppa's dish while he was computing.  Meanwhile, Auntie Colleen made a comment about the twins looking like little bare bears compared to Squeegie and Taffy.  Crunchie, being a boy I suppose, didn't care and is quite happy.  However, Smoothie, being a little girl....

........ immediately ran to search through Taffy's drawer to see if she could find something to put on!  Then both the girls sat for this photo of Smoothie covered up a bit, and Taffy in the newest outfit she bought at the Build-A-Bear store in the Florida Mall.  For all you folks asking, Poppa has been feeling pretty good.  He still reacts poorly to stress - yesterday we were rear-ended while sitting at a red light - but more on that later.