Florida Visit Part One

Grandma Alice has been with us since Dec 2 in South Carolina.  For her last full week down south we traveled to Kissimmee FL to a timeshare to get her some more warmth and sun.  We arrived Saturday and expected her to stay the entire week.  Sadly, Bob's uncle Chuck passed away in Michigan.  Grandma really wanted to be there for the visitation and funeral.  We were able to book a flight to Chicago on Monday and brother Dennis picked her up there and drove her to Sturgis.  A very sad reason to have to leave early.  We hoped to take her to visit good friends Pat and Katie Coakley in The Villages.  Grandma would have loved to see the place.  Rose and Bob made the trip and spent a very pleasant day with Pat and Katie.

Our hearts are saddened for Uncle Chuck's family.  He was a neat guy with a sensational sense of humor and a very lively wit.  

 The Denja family sent Grandma this beautiful bouquet of flowers in thanks for their Christmas gift.

 We arrived at the Polynesian Isles Resort and Grandma said to take a picture of the nicely staged dining table in our unit.

We had the ground floor unit with the pool opposite.

Grandma enjoyed the warm 80 degrees in the shade

Rose and Bob visited this beautiful church nearby.  The Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe is about 20 years old with a modern look and lots of crystal.  The grounds were quite impressive, too.

An arch just inside the doors of the church.

A view of the pond looking back towards our unit to the left with the pool umbrellas showing.

On our visit to The Villages to see the Coakleys we traveled to the far south development of the complex.  The new town square formed to serve this latest phase is called Brownwood.  It is named after the developer's original business back in Michigan near Torch Lake.  Brownwood Farms still exists there today.  This new phase is an all western style that does not exactly fit the Brownwood in Michigan but nevertheless is another well done addition.  Bronze cattle adorn the south entrance.

A view of the opposite side of the entrance.  Note the simulated cattle guard in the road.

We arrived at the Coakleys to find a bed in their garage.  Must be they were expecting us to stay!