It Is A Go but First, Caladesi Beach

An interesting day with extending circumstances dominating our thoughts as we, again, experienced a very special part of Creation.

First, Ben had surgery today. Last summer Ben literally landed on his ear as he attempted an in air somersault on his wakeboard at Oconee. The impact broke his eardrum. It has been healing but not completely. Today surgery was done to graft some of his skin over the eardrum to fill a gap that had not healed. The surgery went well and the recovery should be short. Hopefully and thankfully.

Secondly, we received word that the shuttle is now scheduled for lift off on March 11, at 9:20 pm EDT. Barb and I will head over to Canaveral tomorrow.

This week, we couldn’t have planned it better. Today it was 80 degrees and no wind. Our last day here found us at two natural preserves, just 5 miles from our condo. Honeymoon Island was originally named Hog Island until 1935 when a New York developer constructed thatched roof bungalows there and marketed them toward honeymooners. The bungalows are gone. Just beach, natural vegetation, the roads and parking lots remain.

From that island one can take a passenger ferry (actually, just a pontoon boat) to Caladesi Island State Park, which over the years, has been rated as the top state park in the nation. The weather was perfect. However, due to the storms and wind last week, dead sea grass had washed up on the beach giving blemish to the otherwise perfect beach. Thankfully it did not have the odor of the washed up grass we experienced in the Keys a year ago. Shell collection was the main activity while pausing to marvel at the turquoise gulf, white beach, and the antics of pelicans as they, in kamikaze style, dove headlong into the sea for fish.

There are many reasons that we find Florida our favorite state. And there are more reasons that we find this area personally attractive. The weather, the unique communities, the beaches, the baseball and the arts. Our condo this week is located on the outskirts of an unincorporated community where most homes were constructed in the '50's. The houses on the gulf have been purchased, torn down, and replaced with huge homes. A few have for sale signs. But for the most part, the community of Crystal Beach remains what it has been - a close community that supports commerce, the infastructure, the bike trail that runs through it and the arts. The sign above is the community bulletin board and the message, as we drove by it, changed every day. The message today says it all. Florida - what a state.

You can click on pictures to enlarge them.