Our 2005 Homeleave: Florida

July 11-27, 2005

Off we flew to the USA for our homeleave. We only had a short flight on this tiny plane from Miami to Orlando, but the view was pretty. This was the start of our trip that would take us to 6 states, seeing over 100 people.  

probably the smallest airplane we have taken on a commercial flight!  
Artie's parent's house when they lived in Orlando   Our first stop was in Orlando where Artie's parents lived when we were living in Lake City. Artie's Aunt Bessie and cousin Ira still live across the street from Artie's parents' old house, shown at left.
The 4 of us went out to lunch together and stopped at Radio Shack on the way back so Ira could buy some wireless earphones to make it easier for his mom to to hear her television.

Aunt Bessie and cousin Ira in Orland

 

new earphones for Aunt Bessie

We headed down to Melbourne that afternoon to stay with Margy's sister Anne Fay and her husband Peter. Our visit with them was short, but we managed to fit in some power shopping with Anne Fay and a yummy barbecue dinner as well as spending some relaxing time in their beautiful home.  

at a barbecue restaurant

Margy with Carol and Bob behind their retirement home   The next day we left for Fernandina Beach, stopping to visit our neighbors from Lake City. Bob and Carol retired to this home (by his shoulder) in Flagler Beach. Bob and Artie carpooled when we lived in Florida.
  smiling retirees
We were only with them for an hour, and some other retired work friends came before we left.
Artie is SO big he can touch a big fake fish!   a fake shark with 2 real people
In Fernandina Beach that evening, we went out to dinner with Eddie. We had been planning to spend 2 nights with both Eddie and Eileen, our dear friend and former librarian director at the library in Lake City, but she passed away a month earlier.

beautiful view over the water at dusk

The next day we went to White Springs and met with Artie's former secretary Gail, who had arranged a lunch gathering of 17 good friends from the 80s at the Telford Hotel.   meeting with old friends at the Telford

Margy with Gail

 
lingering in the lobby of a beautiful old hotel   Many of the attendees hadn't even seen each other for many years, so it was a delightful reunion for all of us. Here are a few shots of us as we enjoyed time catching up during lunch.
 

Gene and Marvin   Stan
   
Marvin Bhaskar
Jim and Tom   Joe and José
Donna Sue and Tom   Rob
Ray and his bride   Bill and Helen
A different look for the reclamation center than we remembered!  
After lunch, Rob took us on a tour of the reclaimed mining area that has become a beautiful recreation site.
Artie and Pop's memorial plaque

chess players at the library

    We visited the library in Lake City and found the plaque in memory of Artie's "Pop." He would have enjoyed playing chess with those who were there.

The house where we lived in Lake City

We drove to our old neighborhood, visited a neighbor, saw our old house, and drove around the lake.
   
The next morning was our last day in Florida, so we walked on the beach.  
 
at the beach  
  Soon it was time to say goodbye to Eddie and Florida and to head for the airport.

 
     

The next stop in our vacation was Massachusetts.