10-19-10 (Tuesday):  Egret, tortoise and dolphins, oh my!  Not a lot going on here, but we drove to Canaveral National Seashore today.  Had lunch at J.B.'s Fishcamp and were greatly entertained by "Whitey," the local American Egret who has lived on a nearby island for several years and keeps all other comers at bay (according to some locals sitting nearby).




We also enjoyed watching a pod of dolphins fishing right off the deck where we were eating.  When you see how voraciously they attack the fish, you kind of question swimming with them as a recreational activity!

When we finished our lunch entertainment, we drove into Canaveral National Seashore.  We get in free with our senior pass, so this is a place we visit often.  This wasn't the biggest gopher tortoise I've ever seen (about the size of a basketball), but it was really brave.  I got about 2 feet away to take this picture and he (she?) never stopped eating!

We're happy to be back home in New Smyrna Beach.  We've decided to leave the big fifth wheel here permanently and do some traveling in the little travel trailer in the summer.  Best of both worlds!  We'll go over one day a week to help Wiley's mother with his father, who's pretty disabled now with Parkinson's Disease.  In the Spring, Wiley hopes to have another deep brain stimulator implanted at University of Michigan and then we hope the medical crises will end and we can take a trip to Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico to see some of the great national parks (Yellowstone, particularly).  We might even make it to New Zealand for a visit with Mark and Heather next winter.  For now, we're heeding the old adage to "grow where you're planted."  Peace!

10-9-10 (Saturday):  It's quiet here today.  We're still in Winter Park getting Wiley Jr.'s IVs every morning and evening.  We're also helping Mag out with Wiley Sr., who is in the late stages of Parkinson's and needs assistance with his daily living.  We're trying to fit a little fun in, though, and I have a few pictures to share.

I know I posted a picture in a previous blog of the baby raccoons who visited Mag's back yard, but I couldn't resist posting another one.  They're so darn cute!

Wiley and his sister and I took Wiley Sr. to Leu Gardens for a stroll check out what's in bloom.  These berries caught my eye.

I thought this striking black flower would be an appropriate Halloween decoration!

The bird of paradise is a favorite of mine.  It really does look like a fancy bird, doesn't it?!

This pink hibiscus was humongous--as big as a dinner plate!

Wiley, Cathy and Wiley Sr. in front of an elephant ear -- another appropriately named plant!

The elephant ear plant has spread out of local gardens and become a pest in the wild.  But it's so neat and tropical looking that it's difficult to hate it.

On another day, Wiley and I stopped at Lake Eola after his doctor's appointment.  These white ibis were once endangered.  Now we see them everywhere!  The young have dark plumage, which then becomes peppered with white feathers until they eventually turn all white.

It had been a while since Wiley and I went to Lake Eola.  They've built a lot of condominiums in downtown Orlando and now there's a lakeside Publix grocery store!  Downtown has become a vibrant, upscale place to live.

We enjoyed our visit to Lake Eola so much that a few days later I took Mag and Wiley and we had an equally good time.  It's a little slice of wilderness in the middle of the city.









We're hoping that we'll be able to head home to New Smyrna Beach on the 13th when Wiley completes his IV therapy.  The stone crab season starts that week and he can't wait to put out his traps.

Hope everyone is enjoying this autumn weather.