Christmas in Pictures

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

We had a perfect day - best yet. Hope you did too.

These pictures are in reverse order! Sorry about that.

Diva Duck

Palm Beach's Only Sightseeing Adventure over Land & Sea

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Tour Details:

• A 75-minute, lively, fully narrated, historical & musical tour
• USCG inspected Amphibious Vessel
• See the charming neighborhoods of old West Palm Beach
• View the estates of Palm Beach's Rich & Famous as you cruise South Florida's waterways

We had such a good time! Laurie treated all of us to this tour and it was a blast. The Duck can go from land to water with no hesitation, so half of the time you're on a bus ride, and the other half is a boat ride.

The couple sitting behind us overheard Dick saying that we are from Traverse City. The woman got very excited - it seems she was an exchange student in T.C.H.S. in 1964. They live in Stockholm, Sweden, and also have a home in France. They were planning to spend Christmas in London with their grandchildren. It was a unique experience.


After the tour, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, which was right across the street. Nobody had cheesecake!

Oxbow Eco Center

Fun Place:Oxbow Eco-Center

Category:Nature

Address:5400 NE St James Drive
St. Lucie, FL 34983
Port Saint Lucie, FL 34983

Phone:772-785-5833

Website:co.st-lucie.fl.us/erd/oxbow/index.htm

Contact Name:None Specified

About:The Center situated on a 220-acre preserve on the North Fork of the St. Lucie River, the Oxbow Eco-Center offers a rare glimpse of "the real Florida" – a place where geologic history and the present time come alive in the canopy of the floodplain forest, in the sandy soils of the scrub and pine flatwoods, and in the primordial swamps and ephemeral wetlands.

At the Oxbow, you can join a naturalist on a guided walk through quiet gardens planted and nurtured by Mother Nature herself, or journey on your own through the verdant and wild sanctuary.

Tom's name in the game is Oxbow, and our telephone exchange in Belleville was Oxbow - so driving to the Oxbow Eco Center in Port Saint Lucie was a must-do. They have a nature center with some dedicated employees and volunteers who take care of the animals - turtles, snakes, etc. The animals all have names. One of the turtles was wounded when it arrived and was given physical therapy (no kidding) by a volunteer and is now almost back to normal.

They also have a trail system, and our hikers enjoyed the walk. I believe there was a geocache involved!

Halpatiokee, Sailor's Return, Wildcat Park, Halo Risk

The day began with a walk in the park (Halpatiokee) with Tom, Laurie, Dylan and Dick. Dick was doing cache maintenance. Dylan was able to find the one Dick couldn't find yesterday. It was a beautiful morning - cool and sunny - perfect for being out and about.

Out to lunch at a new place by the bridge in Stuart. It's a very nice place, and quite popular. It's right on the waterway, and next to a marina with big. beautiful boats. We enjoyed it.

After lunch Laurie drove over to Palm City Elementary, where they have a brand new play structure - Wildcat 2 Community Park. We explored and had a good time just fooling around.

Back at Laurie's house, Dylan set up the new Halo Risk game that he got for his birthday. The set-up takes a long, long time, and of course the game itself is even longer! Tom was such an obnoxious victor that Dylan suggested that he and I make an alliance, and only attack Uncle Tom . That worked like a charm! Tom was defeated after three hours (!). We left the game set up on the table, and tomorrow Tom will take over my armies, and he and Dylan will have it out! I'll be glad to be just an observer.

Tom Arrives

Started the day by walking at Halpatiokee Park - nice park - great paths, nice facilities. Did you know that Halpatiokee means "alligator water"?

Tom flew in this morning on the red eye. Lucky Laurie went to pick him up after minimal sleep from the party last night.

We spent the day just enjoying being together. Peace is on our earth.

Christmas Party 2010

Pre-party quiet time
The Great Gillespie Cookie Decorating contest:
Dylan and Peyton are serious about this cookie thing:
The 2 girls on the left were the eventual winners


Party time:

The living room with the fireplace video :)
Grandpa and friend:
The winning cookie:
All the kids - smile pretty everyone - let's see those camera faces:

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Dylan is now a teen-ager - can't believe that bouncing baby boy is now thirteen years old! Happy Birthday, Dylan.

He didn't want a party, so Kyle and Peyton came over after school for pizza and cake and a sleep over. Grandma and grandpa were lucky enough to be able to participate and receive a birthday hug. Or two. Or three :)

Lots of great presents!



Time for pizza - it was yummy - I haven't had Domino's for ages.

Cake and pie - that cake from Toojay's was most excellent.

Outstanding pie buffet from Perkins!




For his birthday, Dylan also got the last day of school before Christmas vacation! That's a very appreciated gift.

Pork Loin

This evening we grilled pork loin and had Laurie and Dylan over for dinner - pork loin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Chip is at work. It was very good. Dylan got a break from his homework, and Dick got some help from Laurie with the game.

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 103 today.

Sugarwar

This morning, these cranes wished us a good morning outside the kitchen window. At home we have a couple dozen turkeys who greet us every day. This is quite a change!

This morning we did some caching in Jensen Beach, just north of the Roosevelt bridge.

Here are Dick's logs:

12/15/2010 You couldn't find Room at the top Visit Log
Dang!! Another DNF. We gave this a quick look but our time was running out. We had a lunch date with Sugarwar and had to cut the hunt short.
12/15/2010 You found Wolverine Visit Log
Being loyal Michiganders and life time Wolverine fans (Grads, children of grads, grand children of grads, parents of 3 grads) we HAD to find this one. And NO we did not bring this weather down with us! Signed the log and left our micro card. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Cxing's Very Skary Shari! Visit Log
We had some errands to run this morning in Jensen Beach and then a luncheon appointment. We got the errands done with some time left over and decided to grab a few. As the previous logger said, " The wife beat me to it"
Signed the wet log and drove on to the next. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Temporary Insanity Visit Log
We had some time before lunch to grab a few caches. This was a nice walk from the Cracker Barrel parking lot and a quick find of an interesting hide. Considering an earlier log, we have had quite a number of discussions about the etiquette involved in dealing with a find when in a group. If one simply shouts "Got it!!" and grabs the container, then they are depriving the others of the pride of the find. We decided that the best thing to do is to sit down, signaling that you have made the find and allow the others to continue the hunt if they wish. We know that such behavior cuts into the numbers for the day but it does allow others to sharpen their geosense.
The log is too wet to sign but we did our best. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Payback Visit Log
The wooden structures threw us. We couldn't figure out what their purpose could be. Thankfully we were scheduled for lunch with Sugarwar. Not only did we have great ribs, we had a fun conversation about caching, families, life in Michigan and in Florida. In the process, they explained the arbors to us. We appreciated the hide. A container which obviously required some thought, planning and effort is so much more enjoyable to find than a film can under a rock. Thanks for your creativity.
12/15/2010 You couldn't find It's A Snap Visit Log
Not a snap for us today. Not sure what our problem was here. Perhaps we just didn't spot it or perhaps it's in or under the pile of fresh cut brush at GZ
12/15/2010 You found No Justice Visit Log
We love creative hides!! Another nice one. Signed the log and left a Compass Rose tag. Thanks for your efforts in creating the hide.

At one o'clock we met Sue Ellen and Gary at the Park Avenue Grill for ribs and conversation. They are a fun couple and we had a great two hour lunch! As Dick said, we discussed Florida, Michigan, geocaching and families - all favorite subjects of ours.