Lion Country Safari

Jana has to leave tomorrow, so today she wanted to do something special that she's never done before!  We chose Lion Country Safari, which is always a treat even if you have been there before.

It was the perfect day for an outing - cool, clear, sunny- perfect, as I said.
Great for picture taking, too.  We drove through at a very slow pace and had terrific views of most of the big animals. Afterwards, we stopped to eat at Bru's Room Bar and Grill in Royal West Palm Beach - they do a wicked salad!

This is one of a pair of lions guarding the front gate.  He reminded me of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Lions are very sleepy in the daytime.  The CD guide we were listening to said they sometimes sleep for 20 hours per day.

A wildebeest, or gnu.  We thought he looked like a grumpy old man.

Mom and baby white rhino

Horses in striped pajamas

Zoo buddies

Gibbon

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Yard ornament

Giraffe - sweet close-up

THANK YOU JANA

One lion did get up and walk around - she flopped right back down in the shade.

Gnus

THE END

Bye Bye Tom. Hello Cirque

Since Tom is leaving today, it's the perfect time to have a farewell breakfast at the Galaxy Diner. It's almost a tradition.

Laurie drove Tom to the airport to fly the first leg of his trip to Melbourne, Australia. He flies first to Houston, waits 3.5 hours, then flies to LA, waits another 3.5 hours, then off to Australia - a sixteen hour flight. We will all miss him - he's such an integral part of the family.

The remaining six of us went off to Ft. Lauderdale to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts to see the Cirque Holidaze Dreams show. It was such a colorful, spectacular performance, filled with impossible physical prowess and flexibility. By the end of the show, the splits were just ho-hum! It seemed as though everyone on stage could do the splits. The two child performers were very impressive - I especially enjoyed the little girl in pink who must be double jointed in every possible joint.

 Dylan and Laynie with the Cirque Toy Soldier in front the the Performing Arts Center:

Dylan and Laynie seated and ready to watch:

Grandma and Grandpa can't wait!

Steiger/Gillespie Christmas Day

Dick found this water at Publix - perfect for you know who!

Laurie Jane - hostess and chef extraordinaire :)

Dylan had a stocking to explore.

His first gift was - ta da! - an iPhone!!

We were so happy that he had an iPhone that we all called him.

I'm sure that Tom is recommending some really good apps.

Host and Hostess with the Mostess !!

Brave Tom brought this all the way from China!

Chip's first moments with his new grill - Merry Christmas!

Traditional Christmas Day

Chip has to work on Christmas Day, so our family is celebrating Christmas tomorrow. Chip should get here around noon tomorrow. This is the first time that we've ever not celebrated on the Very Day - but it's really not so hard. Since Dylan is now such a grown-up, it didn't bother him either.

 Laurie made us a terrific turkey dinner, with such a beautiful table setting - I'm so sorry I didn't get a picture of it. The dinner was scrumptious, and we appreciated all of her hard work and hospitality!

 While the turkey was cooking, we took the opportunity to do some Christmas caching near her neighborhood. Laurie wanted to show us a tricky one, but Dick walked right to it - it was a kind with which we are very familiar. She took us to three all together - it was a beautiful day, lots of fun, and the turkey bird was roasting peacefully in the oven while we were gone.

After dinner and clean-up, Dylan, Tom and Jana tried their skill at Jenga - it's as much fun to watch as to play.

As Dick Strolls Through Town

This morning, Dick went walking around downtown Stuart. It's fun to see Kilwin's and Harbor Wear right next to each other - makes you feel like you're back in Traverse City.

Well.....almost:

Later on at Laurie's, Tom and Dylan had a bunch of fun playing Halo on the xBox -

I watched for almost an hour - no, really - but then my eyes felt bloodshot, so I left the playroom!

Christmas present to our family from the Hardy family :)

Cookies from Kathee:

Terrific looking U of M ornaments - Go Blue!

A Kind of Irreverent Christmas Card

Kind of?

Dick's Dip/ Descendants

This morning Dick drove over to Publix to do some walking and to pick up some caches in that area. He saw many of these muscovy ducks - apparently some people feed them, and they have no fear of humans. They're not the prettiest duck you'll ever see! He says that they are the only ducks in the U.S. not related to mallards. The native Americans were the first to domesticate them.

I stayed here and walked around the building, along the riverfront, and ended up at our condo's little pool with my Kindle.

Our Gate:

Fountain number 2:

When Dick got back, he joined me poolside and took a dip in the pool - he said it was warmer than the summertime Bay.

 

 It would have been nice to spend more time around the pool, but the hedge trimmers came to trim all of the hedges, and it was so loud we retreated upstairs. We had to close the windows upstairs for some peace and quiet.

 Laurie and I went to the Treasure Coast Mall to see George Clooney in Descendants - such a sad, sad movie on so many levels. It was worth seeing, but the men would have hated it. It was a five tissue movie. I especially enjoyed the Hawaiian music and the beautiful island scenery. 

 Even though we were full of popcorn when we got back to Palm City, we had a slice of pizza and watched an episode of Burn Notice - then it was time to come home.