Cold Weather in Florida- February 19-21, 2015

Thursday morning (19th) the temperature was in the low 40's and even with the bright sunshine did not get far above 60 degrees. We drove to Ft. Myer Beach to meet a group of graduates from North Baltimore High School, the school in Ohio that Tom graduated from. Since there are quite a few graduates that winter in Florida it was organized that during the winter month whoever could attend would gather for lunch together. Skip One Seafood in Ft. Myer beach was the meeting place for February and we were about 85 miles away. It was a nice restaurant with good seafood. There were about 20 people attending, some that Tom knew and some that he didn't know. A nice day of reminiscing and catching up on others lives.

The temperature really dropped during the night and Friday morning we had a showing of 29 degrees. Still not as bad as what the weather is in Maryland with temperatures near 0 degrees along with wind. Again the sun was shining brightly and the temperature did get close to 70 degrees. The cold period was said to be over for this time and we are hoping for this winter. We went to Solomon's Castle about 20 miles away near Ona, Florida. Solomon is the creator of this castle structure.

The outside is covered in print plates. There are numerous stained glass windows. And touring through the interior there are sculpture pieces made out of old car or motor parts and pictures in wood relief.

Solomon never throws anything away so the tour guide stated. Along with his wife, 79 year old Solomon lives in the castle. A restaurant built in the shape of a ship in a pool of water is operated by Solomon's daughter and son-in-law.

There is another home called the chocolate house on the property that the daughter and her husband live. We ate lunch in the restaurant and enjoyed our meals of baby back ribs. We had been here once before years ago but new things have been added and will continue to be added. A workshop is also on the property where Solomon creates his pieces of art.
When we arrived back to the motor home a notice had been taped to our door about a water break in the campground that had been repaired but we were advised not to drink the water or wash dishes and such for several days. So we made a run to the store to obtain a few gallons of water and some additional bottles of water. Returning to the campground we saw a notice reminding us of a program on this evening with the "Old Pro", a magician. So we went to see this show. It was something to do and the kids really got a kick out of the show.

Saturday (21st) was a much warmer day but not as sunny, thick clouds covered the sky much of the day. We drove to Winter Haven stopping at "Tijuana Flats" for a late lunch. Cypress Gardens, a popular attraction, was at one time in this area. It has since been replaced by an amusement park, Legoland. We did not go to Legoland- that will be saved for sometime when we have grandkids. It is nice to drive around to see changes but I must say I feel some sadness that Cypress Gardens are no longer.