Saturday, March 29, 2008

3/29/08

Well, we're home. I miss the warm sunshine, but it is nice to back in my own bed. We left Florida Monday morning and got home Wednesday afternoon.

We had a nice time at Gainesville, Florida. We stayed at Travelers Campground for 5 nights. Other than being right next to the freeway, it was pretty nice. They have a bird house there with about 8-10 macaws. The owner let me go into the cage and take some pictures of the birds. I'm going to try doing a watercolor/pen and ink drawing of one. I also went to the Haile House, a 6200 sq. ft. plantation house built in 1856. It was an amazing place. Serena, the wife and mother of 15 kids, started writing on the walls, poetry, a medicine recipe, lists of the silverware, and in a small room, a record of her periods! One of her boys signed his name and the date of 1865 in an upper room. After Serena and Thomas died, the house went to one of the boys who lived in Gainesville. He had parties on the weekends there, and his guests would write on the walls. So there are dates from 1865 up to 1977, when they filmed a movie there. It's interesting to just walk along the walls of the rooms and read all the different dates.



Another day I went to the Florida's Museum of Natural History. They have a butterfly garden there. It was so nice and warm, and colorful with lots of flowers and butterflies. That will certainly be on my list of places to go again, especially when we first get down there from Minnesota.



So now it's back to my daily regiment of having my cup of coffee, doing my Bible study, catch up on the news and email, and then on to lampworking. And wait for warm weather!