Today we went down to the pier in Destin, Florida.  I had a great time.  I’m going to play a game with today’s fun stuff that we did.  This pier had lots and lots of hiding places.  When you look at the pictures ,try to find where I’m hiding in them.  You will have to look very very carefully because even Mum and Pop couldn’t find where I was hiding until they looked a long time.  A couple of times I got in trouble but I didn’t care, I was having a lot of fun.  Besides this is the last day we’ll be in Florida.  Tomorrow morning we have to get back in the truck and start driving back.

There were so many really big boats at this pier.  Pop promised that next year when we come down, we are going to hire a fishing boat with a guide so we can go out far into the Gulf of Mexico to go fishing.  I saw some of the people who had gone out fishing and they had some big fish.  Some of the fish were a red color.  I don’t think I would like to eat a red fish.

We had lunch at the pier also.  Erik ordered two platters of oysters on the half shell.  Everyone liked them but Mum and me.  Pop would take a fork and pick out the oyster and put it on a cracker and put some horseradish on it.  He said it was really good.  Mum said the only thing that would be good is if she found a pearl under the oyster.

Erik also ordered, crab, and calamari which we all liked the taste of.  I was thinking that it would be so great if we could do this everyday but Mum said if her and Pop didn’t get back to work we’d never be able to do this. 

OK here is some pictures to look at to find where I am hiding.  If you can see me, send me a note and tell me where I am and I will tell you if you are right.

After lunch we walked some more and Carmen and Mum did some shopping in the stores.  Erik bought us some Fruit Smoothie’s.  I had the coconut and banana.  It was DELICIOUS!!!

This vacation has been so much fun.  I’m not ready to go home yet.  I did get a little sunburned on my face today so at least people will know I went on vacation.  I can hardly wait to tell all my gnome friends what a great time we had.

Now I know where I want to live.  This is the coolest place ever.  If they were willing, I would like them to adopt me for about 3 months every winter.  I could so live here.  Their condo looks over the Gulf of Mexico.  All we had to do was walk outside, over a bridge and there was all the sand and water one would need to survive the long Minnesota winters.  We walked the beach picking up shells along the way and just looked at the beautiful houses along the coast line.

Lee and Kathy say that they live in the low rent district.  Maybe so but it looked awful nice to me.  As you can see by this picture, the homes are beautiful. They could hold my whole family and still have room for more.  Mum said she’s never seen such big houses and I think she’s right. Just to make sure you understand, Lee and Kathy don’t live in one of these houses but I wish they did.  I would visit all the time.

Lee and Kathy took such good care of us.  We ate and they toasted a long long friendship.  Now I know why Mum and Pop think they are such special friends.  Lee made us dinner and Kathy made us Snoopy pancakes for breakfast.  The time went way to fast and once again we had to get back in the truck and drive back to my Brothers house.  It was late before we got there but they waited dinner for us.  I was so tired I went right to bed after dinner.

Monday morning very bright and early, Mum, Pop and me drove first to Lake Placid, Florida.  We drove and drove and drove.  It was kinda boring but the weather kept getting warmer and warmer so I was glad.  I did sleep a lot of the way because there wasn’t nothing else to do.  Except stop at Harley Davidson store, which Pop did a lot.

Finally got to Lake Placid to I my Mum’s Aunts house at 7:00 PM.  They were patiently waiting for us and the first thing we did was go to a restaurant to eat.  I got to meet my Mum’s cousin Jim.  I liked him right away.  He also had a beard, but no hair on the top of his head.  I wondered how that can be but I didn’t want to ask him.  They are very nice people and she made us a big breakfast the next morning.  They have an orange tree in the back yard and they just go out and pick oranges off the tree for breakfast.  How cool is that.  They have a thing called a canal in the back yard also and they have a boat there for fishing.  When they want to go fishing they just go in the back yard and drive the boat around to the lake.

I saw this bird (Uncle Ted said it’s called a stork) in their backyard.  Pop wouldn’t let me go outside because he said I’m to little the the stork might think I’m food so I took this picture from inside their sun room.  Isn’t he cool.  They said they had never had one come into their yard before.  I think he maybe never saw one of me before either because he kept looking in the window.

Uncle Ted drove us into their town so we could see murals that are painted on the buildings.  Boy were they cool. It was raining so we didn’t get to go outside to see them but just drove by to look.  Except for this one picture where I made my Mum and Aunt Geneva get out so I could take their picture.  Just look at all of those cowboys and cows.  Pop said it’s just like the old days when the cowboys used to herd the cows.  The picture even made noise.  Pop said “it’s raining out there,I’m not getting out of this car” so I had to take the picture myself.  That was OK, I don’t need to be in every picture.  As you know my Mum loves elephants so I took this   picture just for my Mum.

We had a great time but now it’s time to get back in the car and go see some friends of Mum and Pops.  I never met them before either.  I hope they like me.