FROG FESTIVAL FELLSMERE FLORIDA--

I headed for the festival enjoying visions of Huckleberry Fin and his pal Tom Sawyer in their idyllic days along the Mississippi River

This festival, however, wasn't exactly a festive time for the frogs

The longest line we saw was of folks waiting for their helping of fried, frog extremities.

There were a few carnival-type rides there too but about the most exciting ride for us was the pedal-powered trip we enjoyed from our parking area to the festival grounds.  That's lady friend Sue (above) along with friends Dick and Dee Weeks arriving at the festival gate...

...whereupon we immediately commenced a tour through rows and rows of commercial tents with a wide variety of surprisingly nice products.

Sue bought two computer mice decorated with acrylic encased sea shells and Dee contributed to the carnival economy with the purchase of two nice shark-tooth necklaces.

There even was a pirate selling spiced pickles among other flavorful veggies.  He warned Sue he would have to alert the Pirate Protective Agency if she told anyone of his secret recipe.

I felt sympathetic for the folks patrolling the grounds in their frog suits on a near 80 degree, sunny Florida day.

My companions cajoled me to ride the carnival's mechanical bull; you know those contrivances you sit on like a rodeo cowboy while it bucks and spins until you fly to somewhere in an adjoining county.  They assured me they would use my cameras to take nice photos of the event.  

I carried a second camera that day with a telephoto lens hoping for some nice super-detailed photos of folks enjoying frogs.  Turned out that wasn't to be.

The enforcers of those enterprises were carefully protecting frog booths from photographers who failed to pay their $5 or $10 for a critter photo--the advertised ransom appearing to be related to the size of the critter.

We left the carnival and headed for a highly recommended, local restaurant, The Marsh Landing.  That turned into a delightful experience.  The restaurant building, now beautifully restored, began life as the home of a huge real estate business capitalizing on a Florida land boom which ultimately crashed after a huge flood then the depression in 1929.

While leaving the restaurant I shouted an "O-H..." to the gal running the adjacent gift shop.  She recognized my cue with a rousing "Ohio!"  I had learned earlier she was from Reynoldsburg.

Curious about the restaurant?  See the link below.  I was too, especially the origin of its name.  But, none of the staff I talked to, nor the many historical photos on display, nor their web page answered my question.

Regardless, I will be watching for my next opportunity to feast at that fine establishment.

Marsh Landing

THE NEST NEAR INDRIO ROAD--

American Bald Eagles have been nesting near the intersection of US 1 and Indrio Rd., south of Vero Beach but appear to have abandoned that site this season.  A local observer believes new lighting in the nest area has caused the birds to move away from their old site.

We were not successful in locating the new site but did find this solitary adult perched in a mature pine growing in a scrub pine, dune area just north of the old nest. 

A nest adjacent to our RV parking area also is active again so we will be keeping our eyes on both locations as the season progresses. 

We did not disturb the above bird.  The photo was taken from about 150 yards distance.  It simply sat quietly and observed our brief visit.

The photo was done with Canon's 70-200 mm, f/2.8 image stabilized, L model lens and fairly severely cropped to create the relatively close appearing distance.  You can do that with this very high quality lens, carefully, hand-focused.

COMMENTERRY--

Saturday we drove from Vero Beach 105 miles to Lakeland for the Florida Winter Square Dance Festival.

Just before Lake Wales we saw a roadside caution sign which read:  Jaguars Crossing.

Don't remember ever seeing a sign quite like that in Ohio, or anywhere else for that matter.

************

We stopped at a Wendy's in Lake Wales and ordered lunch.  When we finally got our order it seemed like dinner time.

On the bright side, they were just a wee bit faster in service than our local Wendy's.

************

We rolled back into Vero Beach just after dark and I had a clown on a motorcycle riding my tail and blinding me with his bright headlight.  I reached up and toggled the rear-view mirror on Sue's new Chevy Cruze to its night position and that gesture immediately launched an emergency call to OnStar.

If you grasp the little lever behind the mirror to make such an adjustment your thumb lands squarely on that little blue button.

I wondered which gee-whiz-kid in GM's engineering department came up with that brilliant design while Sue talked our way out of OnStar's insisting on sending something with lots of flashing lights our way.

And so it goes....

THE FULL MONTY

A Musical Comedy

The phrase “Full Monty” is a British term meaning “complete”, or, like popular US slang, “going all the way.” “It also became known to mean ‘taking it all off’ “, according to the director’s notes in the playbill for the production of this name we recently and very thoroughly enjoyed at Vero Beach’s Riverside Theater.

The play is about six out-of-work steel workers who are driven to make some cash in order to save their families, their homes and their self-respect, and they choose to become male strippers.  What follows is nearly two hours of hilarious, poignant, very, very professionally staged scenes that celebrate the strength of the human spirit.

It features the actors and behind-the-scenes folks alike who dazzled the audience with a staccato of smoothly transitioning scenes framed by an eye-pleasing montage of sets.

There are splashes of visual sizzle as the play delighted its evening guests who wondered just how the obvious conclusion of “taking it all off” might be presented in this very tasteful, family environment.

It was handled masterfully as the actors did a dazzling choreography of undressing until exquisite timing had them reaching nudity at precisely the same time the audience was blinded with a blast of light from the play’s illuminated name.

This acclaimed facility is known as a professional producing theater.

It was easy to see why it enjoys this artistic acclaim.

Bravo.

___________________

That’s lady friend Sue (top) approaching the palm lined entrance of the theater in a city park on its barrier island while (below) patrons are dazzled by a terrific light sculpture in the lobby.   We were unable to share any views of the stage or auditorium because theater officials are fussy about such things and we respected their wishes.

SEAGULLS and DOLPHINS
and fun with friends

While we enjoyed the antics of always-hungry seagulls, we felt really blessed when a dolphin or two swam within 20 feet of our dining table on a restaurant pier in Sebastian that recent day.

As the big fish enjoyed a gentle frolic in the boat basin it shared a smile when it porpoised its sparkling length above the water's surface.

I'm sure we smiled back.


It was one of those magical days when good friends, in the comfort of their mutual presence, shared the routine tasks of the day with the unhurried pace of our advancing age.

While younger folks hurried about we paused to enjoy those two bald eagles perched unseen by most in the nearby oak tree.

While our friends the Weeks handled the chore of enrolling with a new doctor in their winter digs, Sue and I loitered away some time in the nearby shopping center then returned to the waiting room until our friends were paroled from their task.

Even the quiet conversation shared in the waiting room was silently recognized as a blessing of friendship.

After lunch we headed for Merritt Island to see what we could then reversed course for home as we noted the time already passed that day.  That island deserved more attention than we could bestow in the waning hours.

Highway A1A courses easily down the barrier islands from our Melbourne location so we drifted along that route hard beside the coastlines of the ocean and the inter-coastal bays.

Cormorants perched lazily in the restful sun and ospreys peeked from their fussy nests here and there above our route.

We passed the Sebastian inlet on our return route and I wondered where our dolphin dining companions had gone.

Yup.  Life truly is good.

INSIDE OUT TICKET TELLER--

The queue for purchasing movie tickets is located outside the theater in this Vero Beach facility.

They do things like that in Florida.

Inside, the building is very similar to the more modern movie houses in Ohio; complete with the vividly lit walkways and the deep red material  adorning the walls.

The interior photo was done as patrons began to fill seats for a showing of War Horse--a show with dramatic war scenes and extraordinary "acting" by the animals.

Movies are an occasional diversion for us when weather conditions or a relaxed social schedule make them a good alternative.

Otherwise I would prefer a nice romp on the beach.

ARCHIE'S BAR and GRILL--

On a Sunday in Fort Pierce, FL

Our waitress told us, as we were pondering our lunch offerings, "You should have been here just a bit earlier--and enjoyed the biker church service.

She said something about the beer flowing and I wondered if she was talking about communion.

Actually, we've enjoyed many visits here.  It's kind of a cross between Key West and Woodstock.  Regardless of the casual ambiance the food is very tasty and the behavior has always been civil but, well, a bit casual too.

It is located on Highway A1A along the ocean shore and on the way to numerous beaches where we have enjoyed shelling and hiking and just plain loitering--the nautical variety.