And we're off!

First stop: Tampa

After arriving in Tampa, we rendezvoused with Samuel and then traveled over to a saint's house for a late Thanksgiving dinner. That night, we stayed with Kevin and Laura Lo.

The Lo's sons are cute!

Ruth and Laura finally allow a picture to be taken of them

Dad and Ruth are united again in Inverness!

Enjoying Mom's garden

Guess who took this picture?

It's a mint leaf on our bright white rental Corolla, if you're wondering.

Lunch at the olive garden

Sophie's enjoying lunch

Hello!

Her sisters

Ice cream afterwards, for everyone except Ruth and me. : (

Generic flower

Relaxing in the sun - good for your health

Rhubarb - I love that color

Peas?

Fish!

Enjoying lazy days on the dock

One lonely flower

Nice view

That afternoon, we took a trip to a family friend's. They own a nice property that we got to drive around.

Ruth is master of the golf cart!

Samuel with dog

Food to attract the deers, which then get...umm...

For the bugs

Who's gonna win?

Here, we have the area wildlife

Out from the ranch and to the lakes

We went to one of Ruth's uncle's place, where his wife took us out for a sunset cruise on the lake. The sky was mostly clear, and the low sun made for great pictures. Here, I block Ruth's face.

Nice

I love silhouette pics

Sunset

Boat, water, and one foot!

It's not flipped upside down - it's a reflection in black water

Two feet and one flip-flop

Ruth looks like a giddy child here ; )

Hunter's playing monkey bars

Beautiful

At the front

It's nice sitting at the prow of a boat, looking straight ahead, wind blowing in your face. Exhilarating.

Okay, enough already

Holly and Hunter

One more...

As the dark came, Ruth engaged in some silliness

Back to the house for dinner - shrimp!

UF...or is it FSU?

The next afternoon, Ruth, Samuel, and I took a tour of the UF campus. Ruth was our tour guide - most of her talk consisted of reading from the signs posted in front of buildings. "So, this is the Foster Building, and it houses the School of Art." "Just like it says on the sign?" "Exactly."

Samuel took great joy in the jail cells...I mean carrels reserved for grad students doing their work.

I'm supposed to be frantically keeping the moving bookshelves from crushing me, but it looks more like I'm musing over the meaning of the universe.

Campus life

Ruth telling us about the significance of the sign

Bell/Clock tower

We stopped by the UF aquarium - sorry about the reflection - it's the glass.

The French Fries!

and, we have the Swamp!

Dinner was at a favorite haunt of Ruth's - Blue Highway. We both cheated and ate pizza with tons of cheese...mmmmm.

Mmmmmmmmm

Geometric Tangerine Architecture

Greek food

On our way back to Tampa, we stopped off at Tarpon Springs, a mecca of Greeks and sponge from the nearby sponge flats. It was raining, but we enjoyed our short stay.

Samuel's salade

Mmmmmm, fresh bread

We stayed the night in a hotel, and then flew back to good old cold Seattle.