TWO BLOG STORIES THAT AREN'T--

I started out the other morning to do a blog story on the local bus service and watched the buses leave as I was hoofing it their way.

Evidently I was misinformed by the well-intentioned folks who told me their schedule.

Then, later that same week Sue and I headed downtown, hoping to do a blog story on their 1st Friday of the month Art Walk.

The only "artist" we saw engaged in painting when we arrived was the fellow on the right who was redoing the exterior wall of a local sporting goods store.

He thought it rather funny when I shared that news with him.

There was one 14th Avenue studio mildly populated with finely dressed folks enjoying their tea and pastries while being "seen" downtown with the artist whose work was on display.

"The place to be seen" was how the local columnist had previously described the two-block art walk.

How nice.

We did find a splendid, artsy gift shop open where Sue found a delightful gift (left) for a friend soon to celebrate a birthday.

Later we found our way to other amusements, but, now armed with good bus schedule info I hope to salvage that story with a future expedition.

We'll see.

GREAT DAY WITH GREAT FRIENDS--

...and, life is good!

Lady friend Sue Brooks casts a gee-whiz grimace toward Terri Garafolo who can be imagined to be wondering what bit her toe as we romp in the surf at Cocoa Beach, Florida yesterday.

Terri, who lives in Savannah, GA, was visiting Mansfielder's Dave and Mary Ann Lenahan and Sue and I drove up to spend a day with them.  All of us have danced together with the Johnny Appleseed Squares, our Mansfield, OH square dance club.

A wee bit of silliness continued to prevail as the five of us splashed our celebration of the 80+ degree, January day in sunny Florida.  The photo was done by Janet from Windsor, NY who readily volunteered to photograph our mini-expedition.  She and a friend were enjoying the sun as we passed by.  Janet's son lives in Cocoa Beach and she was here for a short visit.

Our marvelous day was capped with a fine dinner at the Lobster Shanty in Cocoa Beach where we were rewarded with this also delicious sunset as viewed from their outdoor dining area--looking across the Banana River, part of the area intercoastal waterway.

Life is good, indeed.

POTPOURRI from VB--

The above scene lingered into 2012 as we celebrated New Year's Eve at the clubhouse on the pond at our digs in Vero Beach.  Christmas decorations even lingered until January 5th in the clubhouse, and, a huge, Christmas star remains aglow at a neighbor's abode just across the street.

At our collective ages there does not appear to be much reason to hurry.  Ever.

That's Sue (below) taking a peek at Vero Beach's public marina on the intercoastal waterway.  The bridge in the background is the northern of two that serve the city's traffic from the mainland to the barrier islands.  If you look closely between the pilings in front of Sue you will see a Zodiac-style boat.  They are commonly used to ferry folks back and forth to shore who live aboard their boats while anchored in the waterway.

The main channel for the waterway is hidden from view by the island greenery.

A TOURISTY COST OF LIVING—

I wandered the aisles of a Vero Beach grocery store and it quickly became apparent the cost of living could be higher here than in Ohio.

A tub of “I Can’t Believe it is not Butter” was priced at $3.81.  I remember that being about $2.50 back home.

Here are a few more items with which you can make your own comparisons:   Large Grade A eggs were $2.19 a dozen, Heinz Ketchup, 32 oz., was $3.19, a 15 oz., can of Del Monte peas was $1.43, and a 7 oz., box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was $1.69.

 

Ground beef in this Publix store was $3.69 a pound.  Publix dominates the local grocery market but shares it a bit with Win Dixie.  Wal Mart has a presence here as well.

Naturally, costs were considerably lower if you use the store’s brand.  The Publix box of macaroni and cheese sells for 79 cents.

On the other hand, Bryer’s ice cream sells for $6.17 in the shrinking, 1.5 quart size at Publix.  I remember that selling for about ½ that price at the Mansfield discount store.

In fast foods, a Big Mac sandwich costs $3.39 and Wendy’s charges $3.69 for their single burger with cheese.

Gasoline was about $3.20 a gallon for regular during this period.

Herb Tunis, who, along with wife Karen, serves as our RV park host, says he finds the costs here similar to their Delaware (state) home except for the local 7% sales tax.  They don’t have sales tax in Delaware he explained.

The local sales tax compares to 6.75% in Ohio.

Without doing serious math, Sue felt the local food costs were about 10% higher than at home.

Our Syracuse, NY friends, Dick and Dee Weeks, make good use of coupons, bulk purchasing, and “buy one, get one free” deals, for another example.  They find they do as well here as at home.

In casual conversations, some local folks believe prices appear to be higher here during the winter when the supply of snow-birding tourists is ample.

Other folks just shrug when I randomly inquire about local prices.  Judging by the more than ample quantity of very pricey automobiles on the road around here, I do not find that surprising.

However, when scenes like the above photo are commonplace as they are here, enduring a wee-bit higher cost of living somehow becomes a lot more tolerable.

 

NIGHTS OF LIGHT—

Just a mile or so north of our winter digs in Vero Beach is the McKee Botanical Garden where last week visitors were treated to their first-ever, after dark peek at this luscious, 18 acre piece of tropical real estate. 

          

In 1922 a local land company purchased 80 acres of tropical hammock along the Indian River and seven years later the McKee Jungle Gardens was born.  With the help of a landscape architect the basic infrastructure of streams, ponds and trails was designed.

Native vegetation was augmented with ornamental plants from around the world and the work grew into an acclaimed collection of water lilies and orchids.

By the 1940s more than 100,000 tourists were visiting the gardens each year but, by the 1970s attendance dwindled due to competition from new attractions and the garden closed its doors in 1976.

The land was sold and all but today’s 18 acres were developed.  The remaining acreage sat vacant for 20 years then, in 1995, a local land-trust purchased the remaining acreage for 1.7 million dollars.  Close to $9.1 million was raised to purchase, stabilize and restore the garden which held its formal dedication in 2001.

This season’s inaugural “Nights of Lights” event featured 400 walkway luminaries with 100 additional, floating luminaries leading visitors through a visual treat of spotlighted ponds, plants and sculptures.

A rustic building known as the Hall of Giants contained a mahogany table; at 35 feet in length, the longest piece of solid mahogany in the word.  It was tastefully adorned by 190 conical shaped “trees” fashioned by the staff from scraps of wrapping paper (pictured above).

More than 1,000 folks were expected to enjoy the three evening walk in the park such as shown in the small photo top right.

We, along with friends Dick and Dee Weeks, were happy to be among them.

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http://www.mckeegarden.org/index.php

CALIFORNIA ORANGES; in Florida??

We were shopping in the Vero Beach Sam's Club yesterday and noted their large display of navel oranges on sale.

They were grown in California.

We found that very curious, but, as I learned later, adverse weather in the late 19th and early 20th centuries shifted the dominance of orange production from Florida to California.

It still doesn't seem right.

Speaking of adverse weather; we awoke this morning to a temperature of 42 F.

That doesn't seem right either.

FLAT STANLEY ARRIVES ON THE BEACH--

Second graders at Mansfield Christian School recently read the book "Flat Stanley".   This book is about a young boy of that name who is squished "as flat as a pancake" when a bulletin board falls on him.  Stanley is very, very flat but otherwise just fine.

The story goes on to tell there are advantages to being flat.  Stanley can slide under doors or go down into sidewalk grates to do some exploring.  He even can fold himself up small enough to fit in an envelope and be mailed to some far-off place for an exciting vacation.

Sue's co-worker Sarah Conn (before Sue's retirement) has a second grade daughter at Mansfield Christian, X'zaria Murphy, who colored the Flat Stanley pictured above and mailed him to Sue in Vero Beach where we took him on his adventure to one of our near-countless beaches.

Flat Stanley asked us to share this picture with X'zaria and to wish everyone out there a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!