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At long last, we finally made it to Coral Springs to spend time with Ken & Cathy
in their Florida home. Thanks to some “sneaky” discussions between Lindy and
Ken & Cathy in December 2008, we coordinated a “surprise” trip to celebrate Ed’s
70th birthday.
We had a blast spending Thursday, 20 August, through Tuesday, 25 August, with
the Ken, Cathy, CoCo, Louie and Alex (the latter names refer to their wonderful
puppies). Ken picked us up at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Thursday evening
and we quickly arrived at their beautiful home. Ken and Cathy had done wonders
with the outside by adding numerous plants and flowers and removing some
original decorative walling. On the inside, they created a gorgeous gourmet
kitchen and put beautiful hardwood floors in every room. Awesome!!
Ken and Cathy planned a delicious dinner. A real surprise for Ed was that Ken had a delicious stuffed clam recipe that was created by Ed’s mother. Ed didn’t have the recipe and he hadn’t had the dish in over 40 years so what a treat and a surprise! FYI, they were delicious as well as a baked pasta dish that Cathy prepared. Cathy also had made a fresh loaf of banana nut bread. However, the only individual who enjoyed it that night was Alex, their Springer Spaniel, who managed to snare it off the counter and enjoy a nice hunk before being caught.
As a wonderful surprise, Cathy & Ken presented Ed with a
beautiful birthday present – a framed needlepoint that Cathy had made. It’s an
old Italian blessing…
May your life be like good wine,
Tasty, sharp and clear.
And like good wine,
May it improve with every passing year.
The framing was done so that it perfectly matches our kitchen décor!
● On Friday, Cathy took us as well as Alex and Louie on a
walk through the neighborhood. According to Cathy, the walk really helps Alex
settle down since he’s a bundle of energy. We walked to a local park and then
returned to the house. Let us tell you – we were all worn out thanks to the
heat and humidity! Alex was probably the brightest one of us as he headed
straight to the pool for a quick dip as soon as we returned home. After we
cleaned up, Cathy took us shopping in the local markets, including a great
Italian market. Ed decided to make a Southwestern dinner so he bought all the
goodies for making guacamole, bean & cheese tostados and poblano peppers stuffed
with black beans and cheese. Yummy, yummy! When Ken returned home from work,
we all enjoyed the feast!
● Saturday morning began with Ken
and Cathy taking the puppies on their walk. Ed and Ken then did some
morning shopping at the Italian market to pick up 6 lbs. of fresh mussels for a
Sunday evening feast. After they returned and cleaned the mussels, a real treat
was in store for
everyone. We went to the Loxahatchee Everglades in nearby Boca Raton and
enjoyed an airboat ride. We all had a blast and we saw lots of wildlife –
alligators, a Great Blue Heron, an Anhinga (snake bird) and the Multicolored
Heron to name a few. We saw the Willow tree that Aspirin was first extracted
from by the local natives. We also enjoyed the ride itself as we were able to
navigate in very little water and see lots of the natural setting of this unique
area.
Saturday evening we went to a wonderful fish restaurant located very near to Ken and Cathy’s home and one of their favorites. We all enjoyed a delicious dinner along with a nice crisp white wine. The seafood was outstanding and the service was excellent. We really enjoyed the evening!
● On Sunday we drove into downtown Fort Lauderdale to see the
area and also pick up some fresh bread from a local bakery there. After
shopping in a couple of stores, Ken drove us north along the beachfront so we
could see the various districts along the sea. Even though it’s not yet season
in Florida (it’s still a bit too hot) most beaches were fairly crowded.
We returned home in the afternoon and relaxed for the balance of the day. Then, Ken cooked the fresh mussels and we had a feast eating them with the fresh bread purchased earlier in the day. Yum, yum again!
● Ken took Monday, August 24, off from work so we decided to
do a bit of shopping. First we visited an indoor flea market that was filled
with various booths (and also a great bagel store). We all did a bit of “window
shopping” and then Lindy purchased some earrings. We picked up bagels as well.
Then, we did a quick tour of Ken & Cathy’s immediate neighborhood. It’s amazing
that while being in a secluded residential area they can also access shopping
within walking distance. Of course, no walking to the stores until the weather
cools down in winter.
We celebrated Ed’s birthday that evening. We began with birthday toast featuring a marvelous raspberry martini alla Ken. Delicious! Then, Ken prepared two homemade pizzas. One was a “white” cheese pizza (meaning no red sauce) and the other was a deep-dish pizza with cheese, red sauce, tomatoes and basil. Both were excellent and there wasn’t a slice left! We then relaxed in front of the TV and enjoyed a preseason football game featuring Ken & Cathy’s NY Jets.
● Tuesday it was time for us
to return home. Before leaving we enjoyed a great breakfast at a local diner.
Boy, once again we were stuffed. Then, we returned back to Ken & Cathy’s
to say goodbye to the puppies. Then, we had lots of hugs & kisses with
Cathy before heading out to the airport with Ken and saying goodbye to him there
with those same hugs & kisses.
In closing, it was GREAT seeing Ken and Cathy! We also had lots of time to enjoy CoCo and Louie and to get to know Alex. As Lindy said, “we’re now in puppy withdrawal!” We had a wonderful time and we will definitely be back soon!
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LOXAHATCHEE EVERGLADES
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ED'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
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MISC.FUN
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