Friday - Weather: High 80, low 62. Windy, mostly cloudy. Wind ENE 23.
After breakfast, we walked around the resort and looked for units that we would like to stay in.  In the future, we can request specific ones.  We want to be able to look out toward the pond, across some yard space with grass, bushes, and trees. 
Lunch here, then in afternoon we went to Celebration, had our treats, walked around to the opposite side of lake 1, sat in the shade, and read our books.  We had a hard time finding a spot out of the wind.  While sitting there, an osprey landed high in a pine tree right above us.  We forgot about it, until we heard a splash, and then we saw him come up with a fish, flying away to eat it or feed it to its young.  We really enjoy being near nature at the lakes at Celebration.
Saturday - Weather: High 81, low 59. Partly cloudy. Wind E 17.
Midmorning, we went to the FL mall, which is near the airport about 20 miles away.  We walked around, then had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays in the mall.  I had a crab-cake lunch, with sides of mashed potatoes and sugar-peas in-the-pod.  All of it was excellent.  The crab-cakes are made with chunks of crab, not shredded crab meat.  Linda had a California chicken salad - good, but not outstanding.  After lunch, Linda went to get her hair cut, and I went to a Starbucks for coffee and a soft chair to sit in while reading my book.  The store is in a very wide hallway joining the mall area and the Florida Hotel.  I like it, because it is fairly quiet, away from the crowd.  Late afternoon, we went to get groceries at super-Target before coming home for a lite supper.
Sunday - Weather: High 83, low 61. 40% chance of shower, but it didn't rain. Wind S 5.
We went to Celebration mid-morning, had coffee, tea and scone, and walked around the outdoor market.  One street is closed for a block, and there are lots of vendors of crafts, art, etc., but also lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, and even fresh fish.  At 11:00, we went to the Presbyterian church, which is about a 2 block walk from downtown.  Lots different from home, with a huge crowd and a band for music.  This is the blended service, so mostly piano and organ music, but some great contemporary singing also.  Lots of talented people.  With the first hymn, we both were surprised because of the huge sound - you can sing as loud as you want , and you won't stand out!  Home for lunch, read and relaxed, went for long walk, watched the Super Bowl.  Good game, not rooting for anyone, love the commercials - our favorite was the Dorito ones with the great dane and the baby slingshot.  Linda liked the werewolf one.  Also, Clint Eastwood was excellent.

The live oak trees all have lots of Spanish moss on them, sometimes really thick.

Nice crop of oranges.

Most of the lily pads have not quite bloomed yet.

TYPES OF PALM TREES

There are hundreds of different palm trees, but here are some of the common ones we see around us in FL.

Date Palm.  

These are not so prevelant, but are very pretty. The top fronds stick up in the air and make a nice dome. Just before the fronds, the trunk gets much larger in diameter.



Royal Palm

 The bark of the majestic royal palm is very smooth (looks like cement from a distance) and just before the fronds, the bark is green. The fronds are very full, can get 10 ft. long, and the trees can get 70 ft. tall. Used extensively in nice yards and lining nice streets.



Bismarck Palm

 These do not get very tall.  This is a big one. Very pretty silver-blue color.

Sabal Palm (or Cabbage Palm)

 The state tree of FL. Lots of them around. They are very hardy, and can take cold down to 10 degrees.  Fronds are fan-shaped.



Coconut Palm

Coconut palms are the tallest, up to 100 ft. and they can live to be 100 years old. Their fronds can get up to 18 ft. long and hand way down.



 Of course, coconut palms have coconuts on them!!



This is not a palm tree, and I didn't take the photo, but I had to put this in the blog.  The newspaper has had several articles about these pythons that are a huge problem in the Evergaldes.  They are wiping out populations of small game and birds in some areas.  They even eat deer and will go after alligators.  There population is exploding, and they have no predators because they are not natural here, getting their start from people releasing pets that became to large to manage.