Jacksonville in Pictures Nov–Dec

On our last 2 trips to Jax:

We went on nature walks and saw many birds:

Had some nice “sister time”

Celebrated Birthdays

Spent a cold evening watching a light parade and fireworks.

…and had a wonderful family Thanksgiving.

Back From Oregon

We had a fantastic trip to Oregon!  We flew into Portland on Sat afternoon-saw Kathy and Joe at their hotel that was right next to our rental car pick-up.  Then we checked in to the Heathman Hotel downtown. Our room was on the 10th floor with a nice view.

The hotel has real art on the walls with a different Andy Warhole print on the elevator landing on each floor.

We joined up with Lou and Betty and we all went to eat Mongolian barbeque.

Sunday was our day to see downtown Portland.

We started with church.

Then the Art Museum.

Saw a walk for The Cure.

Then  Pioneer Square.

Then to Powel Books.

Lunch at Lardo’s

Then the Rose Garden and Japanese Gardens.

We walked miles that day and ended the day with a meal at an Italian Restaurant 3 blocks from the hotel.

Nova Scotia (NS) and Prince Edward Island (PEI) Trip. Day 2

This day began with a 3-4 hour drive to the Province of New Brunswick to see the tides at the Bay of Fundy and the Flowerpot Rocks at Hopewell Cape. We made a rest stop at the town of xxx.  Penny and I got a coffee at Tim Horton's and then spent the rest of the time taking pictures of the town, primarily the church there.

The church had tree stump people in front.  These are figures carved onto an existing dead tree trunk.  Here they are:

The Church was impressive inside too.

It would be low tide when we got to the bay and along the way all the creeks and inlets we saw were little dribbles with lots of muddy banks waiting for the incoming tide.

This drastic tidal action is what caused the Flowerpot Rocks.  The best way to explain them is to show some pictures.

That’s Penny in the last picture.

We took pictures of the water level when we arrived and when we left and in the couple hours we were there the tide came in remarkably.  Tourists that come at high tide kayak among the rocks.

Next we travelled to PEI crossing the 8-mile long Confederation Bridge.  The bridge has a remarkable story about its construction and it is the longest bridge in the world that crosses water that freezes each winter.

We made a rest stop just over the bridge and took more pictures.  They had a large flower bed that Penny and I enjoyed happy snapping.

After that our last stop was at the Northwinds Hotel.  We were out in the Boondocks of PEI and suddenly there’s this large hotel complex.  The rooms were surprisingly comfortable and had a great view of a grassy field.  Here’s our room.

That evening we ate at the PEI Preserve Company.

Here’s our group (that’s the lawyer and his 3 boys in the front):

They grow a lot of potatoes there and I had potato pie for dinner.

It has bacon crust and tastes a lot like potato skin appetizers.

On the way back to the hotel we drove to the national park there and saw their red sandy beaches as the sunset.

That was Day 2.