We left Michelle & Co. reluctantly, but not before the summer plans were settled. In German - meine Gute! - goodness gracious! can you believe these kids are willing to spend yet another couple of summer weeks with us? I am totally flattered and loved that Hannah pulled out a postcard fan of Bremen sites so she could show me what we have to do again when they are here. Of course we will do it again, and new stuff, too.
Michelle and Riley waved us bye-bye and we headed to Tallahassee.
Normally, it's a 1+ hour drive, but we are not normal. Wander through St. Joe, stop in Apalachicola. Mother had mentioned that a great-uncle of hers settled in Apalach and was buried in the local cemetery, so we took a look to see if there was a Shropshire to find on a headstone. No, but there were of course other headstones to admire, some not even of stone.
Naturally, at the coast one eats seafood and where we landed we ate wonderful oysters and fried shrimp. That in itself makes a Florida vacation. Afterwards, we enjoyed wandering around the downtown and browsing the funky shops.
Our Tallahassee stop is often a one-nighter, but since our total trip was longer than usual, we got more time there. Good idea - Nancy's in a "new" house! Of course, the best houses are not new, but have patina. So with this one: a late-30's bungalow with an ample yard for Minnie, the wild dog, and indoor spaces that are warm and welcoming.
I also got to have a nice morning with Paul, my former boss and forever friend, and Nancy invited Kevin, the master renovater, for dinner one evening. All around, a welcome visit.
Then we headed back to Orlando, to finish up our time with Lee, Crissy, Hayden and Dylan. There's always some project on tap with them - this time it's the lawn. Or what is left of it. Or what will be removed. An infestation has devastated lawns all over the neighborhood, and Lee had the idea to dig it up with a mini-bulldozer. Alas, didn't work so well, but nevertheless there were photo ops. And Farmer Lee did get the tomatoes planted. Can't wait to see how they turn out!!
(Another) Nancy, Crissy's mom, came to babysit one night so we dressed up for an adult dinner - and what else, but fondue. The whole shebang from cheese to chocolate. It was wonderful. Thanks, Nancy!
On our last day there, we gave Hayden his birthday present, a week early. He certainly didn't mind! The airplane couldn't get out of the package quickly enough and we left him buzzing happily.
And happily did we buzz to home, arriving in good shape on time without hassles, though as always a bit sleepy but with lots of warm fuzzies to hold us over till the next visit.
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