This is out of order, but I want it
in my blog. I stole it from Debby's
blog, but what the hell, she stole it
from me in the first place. It is, of
course, a picture of my beloved
Labradore retriever. She loved
going sailing, and if we raised
a Porpoise or two, it was all we
could do to keep her from jumping
overboard, and joining them! 

reflections

reflections
This last few days, June 22,23,24, we spent in Mount Dora, Fl.
We stayed at the lakeview Inn hotel, built in 1883. The highlights of the weekend were dinner with my old cohort, Dual South and his wife Jane, and a trip through the Dora Canal. The canal connects Lake Dora with the rest of the lakes in Lake County, and was once used by steamboats to ferry people to their Island homes. The canal is a couple of miles long, and is unique in its pristine loveliness. It's hard to do it justice in pictures taken from the little cruise boat we were on, but I tried. We saw alligators, turtles, and many species of birds. These included, eagles, anhingas, cormorants, blue herons, Ibises, and others. In addition, the banks are filled with growth of all kinds. The most impressive to me were the giant Cypress trees, many dead, but also alive. These trees are upwards of one thousand years old!
All in all, it was one of the best "Nature trips" I've ever taken.

Another Blue Heron 

A Blue Heron on the log., Dora Canal 

On the Dora Canal, a Blue Heron in
the center of the picture. 

Look closely and you'll see a mother
duck on the log with her "ducks all in
a row". This was taken in tne Dora canal  

This is a picture of Dual and Jane South,
and Marge and me at dinner at the
Lakeview Inn. Dual worked with me
at Merrill Lynch. We were together about
10 years, and he was my closest cohort
during these years. 

This is a view of Lakeview Inn from it's
walk out to the boat dock.  

This is the "Historic" Lakeview Inn at
Mt. Dora, Fl. The hotel was built in 1883.
It's a delightful place to stay. The town
is shopper's delight for antiques. It is
on Lake Dora, on of the chain of lakes
in Lake County, near Orlando. 

June 12, 06 and still working on the
sea wall from last year's hurricanes 

reflections

reflections
Scenes like this are part of the reason
we live here. There's always action on
the waterway which stretches from here
South for about 5 miles to Peanut
Island.

 

reflections

reflections
This last weekend, June3-4, we spent three days in Jekyll
Island with our daughter. The Island is a designated historical
site, and reflects the life styles of some of our richest, and most famous citizens of a past generation. The heart of the site is around the old club house, now a 5 star luxury hotel. We had a wonderful weekend. The following pictures are from the Island.

This is one of the "cottages" we went through
on the tram tour. The cottages were owned
by the members, and were (are) quite
luxurious. Most had little or no kitchen
facilities, they entertained their guests
by having food prepared at the club, and
brought to a warming kitchen by servants,
and then served at their grand dining rooms.

This is the launching site for the kayak
school. My daughter was green with envy.
My guess is she will be back. She had her
kayak with her, but elected to stay with us.
 

The club is in the background, the trees
are 300 year old "live oaks". It's hard to
do justice, but the Island is covered with
them, and they are the most spectacular
specimans I've ever seen.

Marge and Deb having a cocktail before
dinner in our room at the Jekyll Island
hotel and club 

We, Marge, Deb, and I just spent the weekend
at the Jekyll Island hotel and club, The sign
in the museum says it all, "The richest, most
exclusive, and the most inaccessible, club
in the world. And that says it all. A taste of
one of the most spectacular life styles that
ever existed.