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.

January 12, 2014. Ormand Beach, Florida.

The merging of sea to shore is special. This huge expanse of ocean bring treasures to the shore and we walk along looking for these gifts. This afternoon, Ken and I walked the Ormand Beach. It is a wonderful beach. The sand is hard and level, which is perfect for walking. Today was especially pleasant as it was sunny but chilly, so very few people were on the beach. And there were thousands of shore birds, some we recognized and some we had to look up when we got home. Once again, I needed my birder friends along. We spotted at least three different types of gulls. And two types of turns. One bird we could not name, until we looked it up in the computer. Black Skimmer was the bird we missed naming. I thought it a Tern but it is merely "tern like" according to the internet. We also saw Plovers and Sanderlings. When we were just about to turn 60, Ken and I and Andrew ate lunch in the Canary Islands, sitting outside waiting to take our flight home. I asked a simple question: "What do we want to do in our 60's?" After much discussion, we decided to buy property on water. So we talked and thought and schemed and planned. The first thing we did was buy lake property in Texas with Suzanne and David. Next, after we sold our house in Kensington, we bought Ocean property in Nova Scotia overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. And we purchased ten weeks of a condominium in Mexico at Nuevo Vallarta, where we watch the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. Our little condo in Mississippi is located 15 feet from the Reservoir. Now, in our 70's, we live overlooking water in every season. This all started because we answered a question and set in place a plan. I am often teased because I plan so far ahead, but unless you make a plan, nothing will happen and all you will do is respond to circumstances. Watching the sea meet the shore is magical which we enjoy every day, thanks to our plan.

Jamaica

Buckleys

Towel art

January 11, 2014. Ormond Beach, Florida. The Beach.

The day was not perfect, but people were still at the beach, sitting in lounge chairs sitting looking out to the sea or walking along the shore. No one wore a bathing suit even though it was 80 degrees. The wind coming from the west made you feel uncomfortable. We drove along the beach, which you could do because the tide was low. The sand is made of the kind of stuff that packs tightly together. Above high tide, the sand is soft so if you drive on the beach right now, you will definitely be stuck. The waves were high so the only people swimming were the surfers. It was difficult to see them as the waves were so high. I was not brought up in an area where you could drive on the beach. Galveston beaches were a pleasant surprise. The first year we moved there in 1964, we drove along the beach every day. The sand was hard packed and we loved driving along the shore right next to the sea. It was exciting and unusual. Now, I believe you can not drive along Galveston beaches, at least along the Seawall. Here at Ormond Beach, everything is organized. There is one traffic lane for cars. The speed limit is 10 mph. There are signs keeping cars off the high tide line. It is all civilized and well controlled. We four enjoyed the drive on the beach. The Speedway at Daytona Beach is huge. The decision was made to avoid the races or the tours, but I was impressed just to see the size. Wow. Alan at the farm would be astonished that we drove by the Speedway several times but never did attend a race. Racing is just not interesting to us I guess.

January 10, 2014. Daytona Beach, Florida. The Beach Scene.

The Beach must look the same all up and down the east coast. Daytona Beach looks exactly the same as Ocean City, Maryland or Nags Head, North Carolina. The T shirt stores, gift shop and restaurants are indistinguishable from one another. Even the people look the same. We ate lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, built out over the water at the end of a long pier. We wondered if it would be a tourist trap but it turned out to serve excellent food. Normally I only eat crab cakes in Maryland but I took a chance and was rewarded. Ken ordered a big pot of seafood. In the pot was crabs, scallops, mussels and shrimp, along with potatoes and corn. He was still picking crabs long after we had finished eating. His opinion is that Chesapeake crabs are better that the ones he ate today. Now we are heading to Ormand Beach, just up the coast. We will be in a time share for a week, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. I have never loved beach communities perhaps because of the numbers of the people. But we will enjoy ourselves this week at Ormand Beach.