Recap

 What i love about our yearly Florida vacation:

Too much to list, but i can start with sunrise walks and sunset walks on the beach.  Those i could love year round.

The proximity to what we need, but none of it is so close that i would be tempted to go often if we lived there.  (With no MomAndPopGrocery across the highway and BigBoxStore a short drive away, i wouldn't be tempted to go more than once every couple of weeks.)

Complimentary coffee in the lobby from 5am to noon.

One of the most comfortable beds i've ever slept on.

The slow pace, the quiet, the gardens (which i could never replicate with my black thumb), the ability to just relax.

What i wish could be better:

The fact that there is no recycling unless you find a place yourself to take stuff.  We are spoiled here with being able to recycle almost everything and have it picked up at the curb.

A couple of highlights of this vacation that i haven't had a chance to write about yet:

Little Girl and #2 Son found a wallet stuffed with money, and didn't even look in it when they walked straight up to the front desk and turned it in.  The owner of the wallet is someone who lives in his condo full time, and he knows Doc and was impressed that they turned it in almost before he had a chance to realize it was gone.  (Little Girl says G-d better give her brownie points for this one!)  And yes, he did leave a reward for them when he found out who had turned it in, although they would have done it anyway.

Finding out that most of the people they met assumed that Little Girl and #2 Son were dating was a hoot to me (although not to them, they were embarrassed).  They didn't know that people were assuming that, and when they figured it out had to start introducing themselves and saying "This is my brother" or "This is my sister" during the introductions.  It's not often i get to laugh that hard.  (No, they don't look anything alike, that's why new friends assumed they were dating, not brother and sister.)

Bryn and Dre hardly fought the whole week.  Anyone who knows how much a 13-year-old and an 8-year-old sister and brother can fight will understand how nice it was that they got along.

Doc has revealed that plans are underway for a Disney vacation in 2015.  We didn't expect to be going back, so that's a big thing to us.

Oh, and for anyone who has any doubts about whether we are fully operational again, the call from Miss W came right as we were passing Biloxi.  We threw the stuff in the house and headed right for the shelter, and now have one single bottle-feed kitten in the house.  He's a newborn, so we are back to the every two hours feeding again.



Today is

Abused Women And Children's Awareness Day

Accession Day -- Jordan (King Abdullah's accession to the throne in 1999)

Donald Duck Day -- his screen debut was today in 1934

La Rioja Day -- La Rioja, Spain

Murcia Day -- Murcia, Spain

National Heroes Day -- Uganda

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

Profess Your Love Day -- promoted by ecard companies which think you need to say "I love you" more often

Puerto Rican Day Parade -- NYC, NY, US (recognizing the many Puerto Ricans in the US, and especially in New York City)

Purple People Eater Day -- Sheb Wooley's hit reached #1 this date in 1958

Race Unity Day -- Baha'i sponsored observance promoting racial harmony

Remembrance for Sigurd the Dragonslayer -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (in some traditions called Siegfried)

Sjalvstyrelsedagen -- Aland Islands (Self-Governing Day)

St. Columbia of Iona's -- Celtic Christian, today is one of the luckiest days of the year to superstitious Highland Scots, especially propitious if it's a Thursday (Apostle to the Picts; Patron of bookbinders, poets; Ireland; Scotland; Pemboke, Ontario, Canada; against floods)

St. Ephraem's Day (creator of hymns; Patron of spiritual directors, spiritual leaders; Syria)

Torikoe Matsuri -- Torikoe Jinja Shrine, Tokyo, Japan (festival and highlighting of Tokyo's largest Mikoshi [portable Shinto shrine])

World APS Day -- spreading awareness of Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndromewww.apsfa.org/

Write to Your Father Day -- a week before Father's Day, write him a letter and ask him things like what he finds most enjoyable or exciting or scary or satisfying; encouraging people to stay in touch with Dad on a deeper level than the commercial holidays


Anniversaries Today:

Nero marries Claudia Octavia, 53
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito marries Masako Owada, 1993


Birthdays Today:

Natalie Portman, 1981
Johnny Depp, 1963
Michael J. Fox, 1961
Dick Vitale, 1940
Jackie Mason, 1928
Les Paul, 1915
Robert Cummings, 1910
Cole Porter, 1891


Today in History:

Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, 68
Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse, 721
Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River, 1534
The Harvard Corporation is established as the first corporation in the Americas, 1650
James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia, 1732
The Congress of Vienna, forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN, ends with much of Europe's borders redrawn and settled, Switzerland's neutrality confirmed, and free navigation guaranteed on many rivers, 1815
Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts, 1856
Alexandra Palace in London burns down after being open for only 16 days, 1873
China agrees to lease Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years, 1898
Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, becomes the first woman to drive across the United States, 1909
Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, 1958
Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria, 1967
Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, 1973
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) opens its priesthood to black males after 148 years, 1978
The British lease of Hong Kong expires, 1997
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty, 1999
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, six women were arrested for practicing driving in an empty car lot; women are banned from driving on the road, 2011