Fun Time with Friends and Family

About every two years Gary's family has been meeting in Florida at New Smyrna Beach. This year family from 4 states met and stayed in a couple of condos near each other. One of the condo complexes had a wonderful pool area right on the ocean. We all met there several times over the week. We swam, reclined in the sun, walked on the beach, played in the surf, read a book and just visited. It was so good to see everyone.
Todd, Donna, Lily and her friend had to return to NC on Sunday. We were very glad they were able to come even if it was for a short time.
Their daughter Jessica stayed with her grandmother Sherry (Nana) when they left. Tim and Crystal's daughter Ashley is going back to NC with Nana (Ashley lives in Indiana) to stay for a month. During this week Tim and Crystal accepted an offer to sale their house in Indiana. So, hopefully they'll be moving back to North Carolina by late summer.
Monday morning dawned early for Gary and Dad. They joined Tim and Timmy and went fishing under the New Smyrna Bridge. Only 1 fish was caught (ugly, poison fish) I'm told. Still, they all enjoyed it. (OK..Gary doesn't fish..he walked, visited and listened to music while reading a book). Mom and I went over to Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse while they were gone. This lighthouse is the second tallest in the USA and the tallest that is open to the public. We didn't climb it, but admired it. It is a striking orange/red color.

On Wednesday some of us went out to Ponce de Leon Inlet and swam and played. The rest of us went on the Sterling Cruise Line Casino boat. This boat goes out past three miles from shore and allows video slots and poker. Fun entertainment. We all have fun winning and losing our money. They had a very good lunch buffet we all enjoyed.

And, when we got back we went to another Mexican restaurant. Note: Gary doesn't like Mexican food. But funny thing, he can usually find just the right item on the menu. All of this made for a long day and everyone was ready for rest that night.

Thursday was another at the pool day. Dad went fishing again with Tim and Timmy. Again, 1 fish was caught. Just not their luck this week. But they had a good time.
Gary, Mom and I went down to the pool. Doug was resting. He was fighting a bit of a cold. Sherry came down and stayed with us at pool side until we left. Ashley and Jessica came and went. Hot tub, beach, pool deck, sleeping..fun was had by all. We eat a bit of lunch from the cafe about the time everyone got back from fishing. About the middle of the afternoon we went back to our condo to rest and prepare for dinner.
We went to Porta Fino in Daytona Beach. Bob and Sherry's cousin Eddie is a chef there. Very good Italian food. There were 20 of us for dinner that night. Great lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken, Veal and/or Shrimp Francise, Shrimp Scampi, steaks and pizza. They make an excellent Italian salad dressing. Yum!! Stuffed again. Gary and I needed (and enjoyed) our walk on the beach when we returned to the condo. We hated to leave. This beach is a wonderful place to visit. I'd even like to live there (at least until the temp increases this summer).