Today it was 'hang out, relax and chat' day! We all checked out Richard & Ann’s trailer; they had sort of portrayed it as a...not so nice...trailer that needed a ton of work, but the reality is that this is a nice place that will be even better as they continue to fix things up. It has a lot of potential as a nice litle home. It has a carport and a nice big sun room with big windows, a front porch screened in area, and the main living area. Steve spent hours talking over his ideas on how to do some construction changes on it, enlarging the bedroom, etc. Kaylee’s favorite is that there is a real, live orange tree in the front yard, loaded up with oranges right now. She went out today and picked an orange and came in and ate it right off the tree, and she was pretty impressed with that. We saw our share of wildlife; a very big turtle that crossed the street in front of the house that Kaylee followed around for a bit, the quick little chameleons, and the two local sand cranes who have set up residence in the village. Today Kaylee flopped down on the couch today and said “Florida is the best place ever. I never want to leave.” We asked her why, and she said “It feels like SPRING here!” Yes, yes it does. She’s in flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt while everybody back home is cold and gray.
We’ve gotten a bit of humorous mileage out of one facet of the house. The bathroom door kept banging into and bruising Ann, so they removed it. Yes, I said “removed it”, meaning there is no door on the bathroom. So showering and using the toilet are rather public events, though you can open the slotted closet door and get partial coverage as long as nobody stops or really looks. Ann said we could make fun of it if we want to, so I’m going to. ;) It's quite interesting standing in (or getting out of) the shower and hearing the conversation of your in-laws in the room just a few feet away, without a door in between you. Or having to go to the bathroom, and making the necessary public announcement so nobody goes past while you’re indisposed. Steve loves to be able to provide commentary while he’s in there doing his business, though he usually manages to wait until his mother isn't there. ;) Hey, it works. Kaylee thinks it’s hysterical, and I have to admit, we’ve found it pretty humorous too. And I have a newly-found appreciation for public restrooms! Hey, they have doors! ;)
One other thing we’ve found pretty funny: this is a retirement community, and it’s very large. I don’t know HOW big, but it’s big. Tons of houses, trailers, apartments, the community center, indoor pool, everything. Across the street from this retirement community is a Very Large Cemetery. We’ve already joked that hey, it’s just one step across the street for most folks! Steve’s mom’s sister Ruth and her husband Hank live down here too, and we visited with them some today too. But Aunt Ruth made the comment that they didn’t buy one of the houses early on, because it was facing the cemetery. She said “I don’t need to stare at that all day every day!”
Kaylee is sleeping on the porch area, which she is pretty excited to have as her own special room. She has her own heater, her own clock, her own couch/bed, and her own sliding door. (All things that excite her.) She slept like a rock out there last night, and she loved writing notes and slipping them through the window between the main room and ‘her’ room. She’s just in hog heaven.
We ate breakfast at a really neat place called “Farmer John’s.” It is a little restaurant unique to this area, and has only about ten tables in the whole place. It’s a tiny building, but the walls are painted vivid colors, with murals, and it’s clean and bright. The waitress could have worked at a five-star-place…she was THAT efficient and fast and good. But the food. Wow. Now THAT was good. I had pumpkin French toast with a rum caramel glaze. Steve had a crab omelet that had cream cheese slices, etc. It was GOOD. I mean, they sound weird maybe, but they were Really Good. I could eat there every day that I’m here.
From there, the boys took the car to get the rear window repaired, and Kaylee, Ann and I walked over to the community center they have here, and checked out the library, community room, dining hall, etc. VERY nice. Kaylee checked out a library book and a puzzle. I could donate a ton of books to their library, but it’s in a Wesleyan community, and the library only accepts some classics and Christian literature, so Steve was out of luck of me getting rid of a bunch of books. ;) Although I could still donate two shelves full of “Chicken Soup” books and a bunch of Janette Oak. Except I want to keep those for Kaylee as she gets older…
Tonight we went to “Charlie’s”, which is a seafood restaurant on the water. I’ve had a craving for sea food for quite awhile now, and so has Steve, so we went a little far. We had crab, shrimp cocktail, and calamari…just for appetizers. We even had dessert. We were baaaaaaaad. And we liked it!
Kaylee is so tired, she’s wound up way past exhausted. So tonight I finally got her to bed around 8:30, and I think she went out pretty quickly. I hope she sleeps all night…she’s been running on fumes since Monday.
I went on the hunt with my wireless laptop to no avail today. There isn’t an unsecured wireless network anywhere close to here, and nowhere really to plug in, either. The community center up there wants to get internet access, but for now...it's puzzle and book time. :)
It’s a beautiful area, a neat home, and it’s fun to see family and meet their friends. We’re having a good time!
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