George made sure that my 79th birthday was a very special time, and it sure was special. For several years we have talked about walking the Ringling Bridge that goes from Sarasota over to St. Armands Island so this is the year we did it. It is a two (2) mile round trip andI thought it was a very easy walk with a beautiful view even though it got rather warm by the time we got through…11:30 a.m. Since it is a bridge, there’ s lots of travel both coming and going so the noise was loud at times.
After we walked the bridge, we drove around looking for the public restrooms…which were no where to be found…and we ended up at Lido Beach park. That’s a pretty beach and not many people were there…public distancing for sure…and most were wearing mask when they were moving around. We then went to one of our favorite restaurants, Columbia, and I order their famous Cuban salad, the 1905. It is so delicious and George got a Cuban sandwich which was yummy and enough for two meals. We did the carry out, of course, and took our lunch to the park at the edge of the bridge…right on the water. I even saw a Manatee as we were there. The enclosed picture is a picture of the bridge from the St. Armands side. I felt very celebrated that day with numerous comments on FB, text messages, calls, cards, and being sung to by a couple of different people.
The month of February has several birthday’s and nearly all are within the same week. Chase had a birthday on the 6th, Tyler on the 7th, me on the 8th, Marjorie on the 9th, and the twins on the 12th.
Our time here in Florida is rapidly coming to an end…just 10 more days. We’re enjoying sunny days, currently 75, and the possibility of getting back to all that ice, snow, and bitter cold is certainly not appealing. The majority of the USA has had, and continues to have, an unusual winter. Wilmore has had more snow, ice, and cold this year than in the pass several years. This year’s ice storm was bad, and did some damage to the trees, etc. but it certainly didn’t do the same amount as what happen in 1998 when there was significant damage to property throughout the city and surrounding area.
We are looking forward to getting our COVID vaccine as soon as we possibly can once we get home. We had hoped to get it while here in Florida but that never worked out for us…couldn’t get on any appointment list. We continue to be diligent about wearing our mask, washing our hands, keeping a social distance from others, and staying put. Going to the beach is about the only place we go and some days it has been sort of difficult to social distance even there due to the amount of other people wintering here. We’ve had lots of strong wind this year so that has helped in blowing any germs away…we believe that and sticking to it.
Guess that’s about it for now. Keep us in mind as we travel home starting on the 28th. So thankful for all the family members that had COVID are now recovered, even though they still can’t taste or smell and fighting fatigue is an ongoing problem. Stay warm, stay safe, and l love you all.
Blessings….