Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A Quick Trip to Florida

One of the best things about being retired is being able to travel anytime we want instead of just during school vacation weeks.
 
 
What a treat to watch our grandchildren (Brian from Maine and our two grand daughters from Florida...Hannah and Taytum)  play in the surf on Clearwater Beach on an October evening...
 
 
...and to enjoy Japanese food  with Hank's daughter, Crystal, and her significant other, Ronnie...
on a "school night"!
 
 
The purpose of our trip was to take our grandson Brian, a high school Senior, to look at two possible college choices in Florida.
 
 
 
First we visited the University of South Florida in Tampa. A good friend of mine is a very successful alumna of USF and encouraged Brian to look at the school.


 
 
What a beautiful campus!
 
 
 
 
From the parking garage we could see the roller coaster at Busch Gardens and the Tampa skyline.
 
 
 
Guess who was speaking on campus the evening of our visit? Dolvett...one of the trainers from The Biggest Loser. I guess if my Weight Watcher leader, Mary Elizabeth, couldn't be there to remind me to stay on program, it's good that photos of Dolvett were all over campus!
 
 
We also visited the University of Central Florida in Orlando. This school was huge and, in addition to high-quality academics, was housed on another beautiful campus.
 
 
Brian will have some tough decisions to make!
 
 
Between our two college visits, we managed to squeeze in a family day at Busch Gardens...
 
 
Where Brain and Hannah went on Safari...while Taytum fed the baby kangaroos.
 
I loved all of the animals.
 
 
 
This guy was smart...he found himself a fan to use on a hot Florida day...mid to high 80's and sunny every day we were there.
 
The day after we got home, USA Today published the results of a Readers' Poll on the "Best Place to Watch a Sunset". #1 was Clearwater Beach, Florida.
 
 
I agree!
 
 
 
 

3 comments:

  1. I love your photos Cheryl and what a treat to be able to just up and go when the spirit moves you. Your family is lovely and it looks like you had a fun time and how nice to be able to share that experience with your grandson. I especially love your last photograph of the sunset...how beautiful....there's nothing like a Florida sunset.

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  2. Lucky you Cheryl. It looks like you had a wonderful visit to Florida and you took some great photos. Those campuses are really beautiful. So is the sunset on Clearwater Beach! I've never been to Florida. Someday....maybe. Blessings, Pam

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  3. What a fun trip. The prettiest sunsets I've ever seen were in Florida! Family time is always a joy!

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