Watercolor and Dewey Destin

We arrived in Grayton Beach a week ago Wednesday after a nine hour drive from Sanibel. My back had been in spasm for a couple of days, and I'm sure the trip didn't help matters any. Joan schlepped the packing / unpacking routine, then we found a doctor and a chiropractor. The combination worked wonders and I'm well on my way to being back to normal, whatever that is.

Our good friend Jan Pierce joined us last Sunday, so the puzzle making has started with a vengeance. So far: five puzzles in four days. These ladies are quick, and manage to laugh a lot in the process...

Yesterday was a good time to snoop around the neighbourhood so checking out the Park's prescribed burn behind Watercolor was in order. Here's a view of the burn from the Watercolor side of Eastern lake.

Of course, water means water-lillies right? Here are a few in bright sunlight.

Further down one of the many walking paths, this snag stood proudly against the bright blue sky. Just the spot for birds to hang out, unfortunately, they were elsewhere as I walked by.

One of the shocks of revisiting a favourite place is that time moves on; in this case, a fire last October destroyed a good restaurant in a fine building. The good news is that I made this picture before the ruins are taken down [sometime this week].

Today, we drove off to a restaurant named Dewey Destin. It was mentioned in this blog last March when we survived an exciting hurricane-watch while having lunch there. This time, the fog was everywhere and we were able to eat outside in great comfort. The food there never lets you down, this time being no exception.

Of course, our two fashionistas were perfectly colour co-ordinated for lunch as we sat under the umbrellas.

The umbrellas actually served us well and protected us from the birds droppings of these hungry scavengers; you didn't want to leave your food unattended for more than seconds, otherwise, the armada would swoop in to raid what they could.

As you can see, our view was quite special. We managed to see two loons in their winter plumage, many anhingas, pelicans, sea gulls, as well as a half dozen dolphins doing their spring dances.

I saved this shot to close this restaurant adventure because this is the restaurant entrance: the first trailer is the kitchen, the next building being the restaurant itself.

Not the most inviting place, and no valet parking. But who cares, the seafood is without equal.

Further down the lane is this fish processing place with it's collection of herons. Here's a challenge for the grandkids, and anyone else who wants to play: how many herons can you find in this image? Don't forget to let me know, there could be a prize.

To walk off our food we drove over to the marina nearby; they have fishing boats for hire, and more than a bit of a Coney Island flair...

You may have noted that sometimes I make pictures of weird things, like staircases... Hope you like this one.

Florida has a pretty harsh sun and if you live here year 'round, some of the plastics in older cars just plain disappear. Here's an older Cadillac Eldorado with the plastic inserts between the bumpers and the bodywork completely gone. The trouble is, everyone else's' have disintegrated too, so there are few if any replacement available. It is quite weird to see these vintage cars in great shape but missing their inserts. UV is really bad!

Here's another puzzle for the grandkids: help me figure out what this is a picture of. I can tell you it's not any part of a pine tree or a pine cone, but it is part of a tall plant that grows well in Florida. Good luck, and don't forget to let me know, please.

I guess that I could give you a small hint: look at your hands, turn them over...