Last Days in Florida

After we returned from Charleston, time seemed to speed up. What seemed like a long visit was now quickly coming to an end. There was still so much we wanted to do!

The Governor of Florida declared two free days of fishing for all visitors. We did not need a license. Off we went to Cape Canaveral National Seashore for two days on the beach. Abe showed me how to use a screen in the surf to get sand fleas for bait. I even got a two inch pompano - my contribution to the catch! Dan and Abe were surf fishing and caught whiting and croaker. None met their standards for keepers so after two days of fishing we had nothing to show for it but a good sunburn! I enjoyed being on the seashore. That really seemed like summer to me.

One day we got the call that the night blooming cereus was about to put on the yearly show. Abe and Frances have this unusual plant growing up their pecan tree. It only blooms once a year and it is only for one night. The last time we saw it there were well over a hundred blooms. What a spectacular sight! This time we could not be there for the big bloom but caught the late arrivals the following night.

We were invited out to our friend Dan’s home for a barbeque. Dan and I had worked together while I was in Lake Mary, Florida. It was the first time I had managed to fit in a visit to the Douglas Lake Ranch. Dan and Luke are seasoned hosts. We had a lovely evening touring the property, meeting the four legged residents and visiting good friends. I think Dan had been hiding the fact he was in the food service industry for a number of years. If I had known he was such an accomplished cook, I would have been on his doorstep much more often! We talked long into the evening. (sorry Luke - I know you had an early morning the mext day!) Then we got a little lost driving home. It was the latest night we have had for a while!

The last weekend we went for a drive with Abe and Frances to visit their son Kenny on Merritt Island. He works on a lovely estate growing avocado, mangos and lychee. He must have developed his green thumb alongside Abe! The grounds are beautiful, wonderful gardens looking over the Banana River. We met his employer and were invited in to visit. Evelyn made us very welcome. Looking over her kitchen bookcase, I was delighted to see we had many of the same cookbooks. We pulled them off the shelf and got involved sharing favourite recipes. While we were visiting, her housekeeper was busy in the kitchen, using Chinese eggplant in a stirfry that was delicious. I brought that recipe away with us as well!

We fit in last visits with friends as we could. That is always the hard part about leaving - saying good-bye. We did not get to see everyone we wanted to see but the day had come and it was time to go. We will be back….