At the DeLand House which is not in DeLand, Florida

Joan's View

Bud in the morning hours greeting his frequent visitor that nests nearby, a Blue Heron.

Although Bud claims that his distant ancestors founded DeLand, Florida, Theresa & Bud chose Port Charlotte for their winter home. Bud is a fisherman and he says Port Charlotte is better for catching fish. 

The day started out with Tony observing Bud as he fished in the channel right out the DeLand's back yard. Once I got up and joined the others, Bud made some yummy stromboli omelettes. We devoured them and headed out to see the town. Our first stop for Theresa & I was the Puenta Gorda Art Center to check out the art show. Theresa is an artist so I like to learn from her when we go to those type of places. Theresa & I proceeded to Fishermen's Village, a shopping area which features lots of local artists' creations. The boys, meanwhile, had gone to the Peace River Wildlife Center to check out eagles and other local wildlife.  We met up and decided to get some late lunch. We found a local eatery called Manatees Pizza and better yet, they had 1/2 off pizza on Thursdays! 

Back at DeLands place, Bud & Theresa took us on a nice walk to the ElJobean Pier where Bud does quite a bit of fishing.  After returning, they took us to their local housing association "Thirsty Thursday" get together. Tony even snuck in another walk around the neighborhood and some nearby RV parks. We then came back to their house and let the boys win a few games of euchre and that was draining, so we had to call it a night.

Tony's Side Notes

It was fun hearing all of Bud's fish stories while walking around today. It is neat hearing about all the salt water fish. I think Bud needs a boat or even a kayak to get better opportunities. When Bud and I went to the Peace River Wildlife Center we saw and heard some Laughing Gull. They sounded like they were laughing when they make noise. Bud and I were cracking up listening to them. There were some other birds that made it sound like we were in Jurassic Park. Bud is a big fan of Jurassic Park. I thought it was funny when the retired folks got all excited by the 1/2 off pizza Thursdays. Check out their smiles. We made Theresa go get a neighbor's scale so we could get the bike cases back to 40 pounds. We started at 55 pounds and finally we got them down to 40 pounds since that is Allegiant Air's weight restriction. We have some fun things scheduled for tomorrow.