What a Busy, Fun Day!

I was up by 7 and Ken around 7:15.  The sun was shining and it was in the upper 60's.  We got ready for the day and then I mixed a batch of pumpkin pancakes for the 4 of us.  We cooked and ate outside and it was the 1st time Chuck and Melissa had pumpkin pancakes.  The pancakes were a success!  I called my mother and the 4 of us sang "Happy Birthday".  Today is her 85th Birthday and she is doing so well.  We cleaned up and were on our way to the pickleball courts by 9:15.

We played at least 7 or 8 games and even played with some folks we didn't know.  Even though we were hesitant to play with "strangers" we all thought it "stretched" our playing ability and we got to meet some new people!  It was an all around good thing!!!

We got back to the CG around 10:45, showered, and then went to Tervis Tumbler Outlet for a 2nd time.  After purchasing a few tumblers, we left there and went to Costco for lunch - hey, where else can 2 people eat for around $5.00, including ice cream and then go in the store for some free samples!  It was a special day!!!!!  From there we headed to Wal-Mart for some groceries, getting back to the CG by 3:00. 

We left again at 4 to go to Nokomis Beach for the drum circle that celebrates the sunset every Wed. and Saturday nights.  There were about 300 people there and it increases to about 800+ in the winter time.  It is a fun event!  .  Ken calls the man who is there everytime, Featherman.  He has a "sun ritual" he does everytime at the drum circle.  There are usually belly dancers, hula hoopers, etc.  Tonight the sun got behind some clouds, so the sunset wasn't spectacular, but the sky definitely was exceptional.  The bright pink coloring with a sailboat near the shoreline was beautiful.  From there we drove down Casey Key Road to see the outdoor lighting at those gorgeous, huge "mansions".  We weren't disappointed!

Just walking onto Nokomis Beach around 4:30!
Note the sailboat!

Of course I had to look for shells and sharks teeth!

And of course, Melissa was busy taking photos for
her blog!  She takes great ones!

Another beautiful beach!

So many shells on the beach tonight!

This is Ken's, "featherman"!  He must workout!

I'm talking to my sister and Melissa is busy taking photos!

A beautiful sunset even though there were some clouds!

Gorgeous sky filled with birds!

Featherman is making a sounds by blowing into
a conch shell!

This is the sailboat we saw when we arrived, but
now the sky was magnificent!

The photographers were busy taking pictures of the
sailboat the the bright pink sky!

Isn't God's creation exceptional!

I called my sister from the drum circle - she had some hip surgery today that was more extensive than planned. But it went well, and she was back home by mid afternoon.  We are hopeful that the pain she has been experiencing for several years will be eliminated.

We were back to the CG by 7 and got some photos of the full moon.  We ate a late, light dinner and then the 4 of us played 1 game of Spades and Skip-Bo.  The men won both!  By 10 we were all tired and called it another special day.  Can't believe we only have 4 more days together!  Our time with special friends is just flying!

The ending of another special day!