Florida

Wednesday up at 5 - holiday starts here! Arrived at Dallas Fort Worth airport at 2.15 pm local time. Through immigration, luggage pick-up and customs control in record time. Walked short distance and just handed trolley with luggage to airport personnel. So easy - no queues. Took Sky Train to our Tampa departure terminal. Pensioners in stetsons all along way to help passengers find their exit gates. Enjoyed ice cold medium sized Bud Lights at Chilli Too restaurant. (That's a Texan medium size - thank goodness we did not order a large!) Left at 5.10 pm for our 3 hour flight to Tampa where we caught up with Rose at the luggage carousel. Over an hours drive to Rose's condo. Lovely - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge/diner, large kitchen and balcony overlooking 2nd hole on the golf course. Only realised the great location in daylight.
Thursday morning off to Siesta Key beach. Cool breeze off the Gulf of Mexico made it too chilly to swim but glorious for sunbathing and walking. Back at the condo, Ed took a nap whilst Rose and I sat on the balcony enjoying champagne. Braaied a huge piece of steak which we enjoyed with a salad.
Friday morning Rose made sandwiches and put some bottles of water in a cooler then off to the aquarium on an offshore island. After, we sat at a bait shop, drinking beer and eating clams, shrimp and chips. Loads of pelicans diving for fish just a few feet from us. Rose & Ed dropped me off at a shopping mall for a couple of hours on way back from beach. Bought some bits and had a pedicure & manicure in a Vietnamese beauty parlour. Back at the condo Rose and I went for a dip in the pool whilst Ed enjoyed a siesta. Then went to a little pub on a waterway to watch the sunset.
Saturday I went down for a swim at 7.30 as no one else was up and about. The water is as warm as a bath! Rose went grocery shopping for an hour whilst I went to Michael's for scrapbooking items on sale and Ed went to the bookshop. When we got back, Ed took the car to go watch drag racing and Rose and I cycled to the mall. More shopping but limited by the fact that it had to fit in a backpack! Rose's niece Laurie and her partner Tom came over for dinner - Roast salmon, cheesy mashed cauliflower, broccoli and roasted herb potatoes followed by the local specialty Key Lime Pie. Lovely evening loads of talking and laughing - helped probably by the fact that Rose and I had finished a bottle of champagne as black velvets!

Sunday at Casey Key