WEEKLY UPDATE 3/3/2013
Monday morning, I took my car in to have her oil changed. It's been so long since I've done that, I can't even remember the last time. But, I'm sure it was time. As soon as the task was complete, I drove to Daytona, Florida, to spend a day or two with my friend Donna. She was staying at her sister's condo there, and had invited me to come down for a short visit. We went out for dinner that evening, and drove into downtown Daytona. It was a little difficult to see because we were there after dark, and the race had ended and the city was deserted by the time we showed up. We are quite capable of entertaining ourselves, however, and we played rummikub. I was beaten badly.
The next day it was rainy, but we had planned to tour the Stetson Mansion, which would be indoors. It was quite wonderful. It is still a home today, although not still occupied by the Stetson family. The Stetson Mansion is Florida's first luxury home and the grandest home ever built in Florida during the 19th century! It was built in 1886 by famed hat maker and philanthropist John B. Stetson.The eclectic and unusual design includes various complicated carvings,10 of the nation's most rare and intricate parquet wood floor patterns, and 10,000 panes of leaded glass windows. The fact that the owners allow tourists to traipse through their home is amazing, but all on the tour we joined were quite respectful. It is a wonderful home. No photos were allowed inside, and there were no postcards for sale (I don't have any postcards of my condo, either, so I guess I understand; on the other hand, my condo is not open for tours) so I have no pictures of the interior. We enjoyed a really nice lunch of mushroom/brie soup and salad bar at a local restaurant and that give us a nice mid-day break. Since it was still raining as we left, there was not much point in going back to the condo to sit by the pool and read, so we went to another historic house nearby - DeBary Hall. This was not furnished or remodeled like the Stetson Mansion, but it was very interesting. DeBary Hall was the winter retreat of European-born wine mercahnt Frederick deBary. He built this home as a hunting lodge in 1871. His last American heir died in 1941, and the estate is now maintained as a historic site.
The really amazing thing about this visit to DeBary Hall was that Donna & I had the tour all to ourselves except for one other lone visitor. Since it was raining, he was wearing a light jacket, but as the tour continued, he unzipped it and i noticed that he was wearing a Buffalo Bills t-shirt! What are the chances? I asked if he was from Buffalo, and he said no, he had been raised in Syracuse. I told him I was from Rochester, and he asked if I knew of Bauman's farm market in Webster. Did I? it was one block away from where Paul Field grew up, one of Paul's best friends growing up was Ronnie Bauman, and we were friends with Ron & Wendy and did things together with our growing families when I was much, much younger! What a small world!
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I drove back to Savannah Wednesday. The drive back was a little better than going down, since it wasn't raining. It proved to me that perhaps I AM able to drive and not crash into anything or endanger others on the highway. I guess that felt good.
Since then, I've done almost nothing. It's been quite cold here (well, I guess that's relative, but it's been cold for Savannah, especially since we're all looking forward to it being spring time). I've been snuggled in under warm covers on my sofa as I read, or watch tv. Next week should be more of the same, so I might have little to say then.
Hope you are all warm wherever you are.
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