Florida Vacation

Well, we've had our vacation for this year and are back from the trip. It was 44 years since we were in Sarasota, Florida, for a wedding and we finally made it back. 

We had originally planned to go in January and share a house with our daughter and her family. But when Cheryl found out her first grandchild would be born at that time we changed the date. By that time the only week still available at that house was March 24-31. As it turned out, when that week in January came it was cold in Florida and we were glad we weren't there. The weather the last week of March was sunny and warm and a much better deal. On the downside, after the house was reserved I realized Easter is early this year and our annual Burkholder dinner would be on March 31. So we cut our week short by one day and came home one day early, on March 30.

We flew from Philadelphia to Tampa on March 24. Cheryl and Richard drove down from Louisville and their timing was perfect. They picked us up about five minutes after we claimed our luggage. Two of their children flew from Ohio to Sarasota and again the timing was perfect. We got there just as their plane was landing. We and our luggage were all jammed in the van for the last stretch of the journey to the house we rented.

The house on Ingram street in Pinecraft was very nice and fully furnished. The only thing we wanted that we couldn't find was a clip for the chip bag. There was three bedrooms, two baths, nice kitchen, living room, screened-in porch, and back yard patio. Even the garage was equipped with a washer and dryer, lawn chairs, bikes, and everything we needed.

We went to the Tourist church Sunday morning. The snowbird season was winding down and people were heading north every day so attendance was only 190. At the peak of the season they will have 600 people. In the summer, attendance is only about 30.

Some people spend their winters fishing and playing shuffleboard. We observed those activities but did not participate.

Instead, we had a list of friends we wanted to visit. Some are there for the winter and some live there all year. We enjoyed visiting and seeing their homes. We didn't do a lot of sightseeing but we did go to Sarasota Jungle Gardens one day.

On the last day we went to watch a training session at the Royal Lipizzaner Ranch operated by the Herrmann family. The Lipizzans were bred in the 16th Century by the Hapsburg royal family of Austria. A Herrmann ancestor, a knight, was given a Lipizzan stallion as a gift 300 years ago. Ever since, Lipizzans have remained in the family. Some were among those saved by Herrmann’s father and grandfather alongside General George Patton’s operation to protect and smuggle horses behind enemy lines during World War II. Some of them were brought to the United States where they are maintained and shown.

The horses are a dark color when they are born but turn completely white by the time they are seven years old, as shown by this three-month-old colt and his mother.

No trip to Florida is complete without going to the beach so we did that one day too for a couple hours. I sat under an umbrella most of the time and still got some sunburn. Other than that, we just took life at a slow pace, resting, having cookouts, going for morning walks, and just enjoying each other's company in the summer weather. 

We had a direct flight home from Tampa to Philadelphia on Good Friday, March 30. We enjoyed the week of warm weather but are glad to be home again. Just no place like home! Perhaps we'll go again someday but we can't wait 44 years. By then, I expect to be in a place that is a lot better than Florida.