Memorial Day weekend...

The trip to Sao Paulo is behind me. Good meetings, good trip, great to be home!! Lisa and I went to see my dad and Shirley in Venice, FL. We left Saturday morning after a quick stop at Starbucks. The weather was overcast with periodic showers and some torrential downpours that made driving a challenge. Lisa drove and did an awesome job. We went across "Alligator Alley" the east/west route across the state that connects Miami and Naples. We didn't see all that many of the pre-historic creatures, not like our previous trip across. My dad thought it was due to the temperature, as 'gators need 80 degree temps to digest their food, it was plenty warm so he thought they were in the water...oh well, we chose a different path home...

My dad  and Shirley are in their late 70's. (sorry no pics, we even took  the camera) Shirley's probably not as healthy as dad and always has some ailment. She was using a walker due to a recent fall and broken leg. They live very modestly in a small home in a "adult community". Seems that most of their friends are back "north" for the summer. They choose to stay because Shirley is no longer a fan of traveling, but they plan to take a trip to Muskegon in July, assuming the Physical Therapist gives his OK. 

Most of their day I think evolves around sitting, talking  and eating 'cuz that's what we did a lot of. We did take a drive, after lunch (at Clocks,  where Ralph was out waiter) up to Sarasota...and Longboat Key. Lisa and I chose to stay at the "Best Western" because they only have a twin size bed and...well you get the picture...Dinner Saturday night was dad's choice and we went to "Stuff a Belly" in North Port...I'm not sure why he likes the place other than the prices...or maybe it's the entertainment, which Saturday night was "Karaoke"...really bad Karaoke...Lisa and I enjoyed a nice beer with dinner as the wine choice was white or pink...we had Salmon which wasn't bad. We both never saw that karaoke  coming...Shirley had an advantage on us as she could turn her hearing aid down!

Sunday was a leisurely morning having Starbucks and reading the paper. The had a pull out section on Hurricanes that was actually pretty good. Did you know they have names already chosen for all the expected storms? and they have stricken "Katrina" from any future storm name? We enjoyed a quick lunch at "subway", then Shirley had to go to a "tea" that her grand daughter's girl scout troop was hosting...she was off to that and we went for a walk with my dad. He chose a trail down by the inter-coastal, but it was very warm so we didn't last long. We did see some gopher turtles along the way which was cool. We then went to the Venice fishing pier and then the jetty. We dropped dad off and went to change for dinner. After Saturday's choice, we let Shirley choose and she done good. We went to "The Left Coast" a seafood restaurant. The service, ambiance  and food we very nice. The check was reasonable as very little wine was included...I think we ate for about $110 w/tip...gotta love Venice!!

We repeated the Starbucks run today, packed and showered and were at dad's by 10:00 we chatted for a bit and the said our good byes. It was a nice trip, good to see family, but I enjoyed getting home at a reasonable hour. I felt like I had to go visit, as I'm living here and this was our first visit. They seemed relatively healthy, happy and content. We've never been close, but you only have one dad, so you gotta take the time and do it.  

I bless Lisa for enduring the karaoke with me!!