"At the Beach"

The weather over here has been frightful - understatement!

I guess that makes looking back to a few weeks ago in 

sunny Florida all that much sweeter to remember.

Our last two weeks, or so, were spent on the Florida "panhandle" 

near Panama City and Destin.

St. Andrew's State Park had high winds the day we rolled in.

There was lots of wild life and some not so wild ...

Mama Owl watching

These owlets were a definite highlight!

Do you see him?

The wind was relentless but at least that white stuff was sand and not snow!

After spending a few days at St. Andrew's State Park,

we had two glorious weeks at

Grayton Beach State Park,

our Happy Place!

One of many, many spectacular sunsets! It never get's old.

We basically had the beach all to ourselves - pure white sand!

This was our relaxing and staying put time.

The beach was a quick 10 minute walk from our campsites and we took full advantage

of long walks and sunsets!

Each day included "happy hour" (appetizers and refreshments)

with our friends before making our evening meals.

One of my favourite appies was this delicious blossoming onion that

they made on their grill - I have to get one of these!

We had some wonderful meals from the grill and also

went out a few times for delicious local foods

(shrimp and grits, seafood gumbo, she crab soup, etc.).

The seafood was expensive but so delicious.

Never fear - not all of our meals were "fancy".

There were a lot of hotdogs and hamburgers consumed as well (even some Mac and Cheese).

Intentionally however, we tried not to overdo the food - wanted this to be a 

kick start to healthier clean eating. We tried ...

A nice little side trip from our campsite was a day out to explore

the nearby Eden Gardens State Park.

A little, almost hidden, gem that is part of the Living Shoreline Trail

and a must see!

The magnificent moss-draped Live Oak trees, Camellias, Azaleas, Magnolias, Ginkgos,

just to mention a few were so pretty on this beautiful former Wesley estate.

I loved the whimsical statues of playful children that popped up here and there

throughout the gardens.

We were treated to an unexpected show of some playful dolphins just off

of the park's fishing pier! 

This place is often used for weddings and they were setting up for one the day we were there.

Back at camp I decided to try my hand at tie dying - have you ever done this?

We happened to stop in at a nearby Goodwill Store and I purchased a white cotton

bed sheet and then picked up some fabric dye at the local grocery store.

What fun to do this outdoors on the picnic table.

Did you know that bed sheets make the best kind of beach blankets?

They are light and the sand doesn't stick to them - something I learned from

my friend Anita - what a great idea!

It didn't turn out quite like I wanted but makes a great beach blanket none the less.

I'll need to do some more experimenting with this method.

This post was named "At the Beach" by our darling granddaughter

who told everyone that's where we were.

Meanwhile, when we returned home just before Easter we quickly prepared 

for a family gathering, a beautiful Easter Sunday service,

and tried desperately not to stray too far off of our intentional clean eating regime!

It was hard, especially when the Easter Bunny had hidden chocolate 

eggs all over the house and even in our shoes and boots.

Last year, this time, my Spring flowers were blooming and the air was warming.

We are still snow covered over here but the sun is shining and there are promising signs of

a Spring to come! 

Till next time .... a bit anxious and praying for the safe delivery of a new grand baby! Will keep you posted.