January 13, 2014. Ormond Beach, Florida. Art and Gardens.

Today we four saw the old Florida. First, we visited The Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens. The artist donated his work to the new memorial for veterans of the Second World War, and the rest of the property was turned into a garden. The artists work is still on display but is not prominent. In order to see his work you must wander through the offices, filled with folks talking to their computers. The three galleries are kept for other artists. But the garden is the real work of art. The foliage is dense so you wander around the paths, with benches at the right spots for a rest. The garden is not big, bounded by streets on all sides, but once we entered the garden, we four never saw each other until we gather together to leave. It is an amazing place in an urban area. Just around the corner we visited The Casements, the winter home of John D. Rockefeller from 1918 to 1937. The docents are enthusiastic about the property but told us too many facts so we left before climbing to the second floor. It was interesting to see how the wealthy lived in Florida in 1920's. We all decided that we were pleased to be living now. This house, The Casements, needed 24 servants to run the house. Horrors. We were delighted to tour the two old properties of central Florida.