Welcome Home

At Bonita Imperial Estates, where we spent two of the “annual duty” weeks in Florida, there is a terrific dog walking area down by the small branch of the Imperial River where it crosses under the high tension lines headed south to Naples. In that area of the park there are mostly “park models”- a euphemism for trailers and doublewides. In some parks they are not terribly special dwellings but here they are upscale, nicely landscaped and well cared for. It’s a pretty little park actually. On our second to last day there, I spied this “temporary lawn ornament” which I thought immediately rated a picture and a word or two, even though I had no clue as to the circumstances under which it was constructed. So on the way back from a nice walk with Abby, I stopped by and asked permission to take the picture. It turns out, the owners of this property had just returned from a cruise and this ornament was the neighbor’s way of celebrating their friend’s return. We had a good laugh together over the story they told and I asked where they had been cruising. And once again, I find that the world gets smaller as I get older- they had been to Roatan, where we lived on the beach for 5 mostly wonderful years. Like any island I suppose and especially those in the Caribbean, there is a downside to living there, but it is certainly kept in balance by the incredible beauty and kicked back comfort that surrounds you day to day (at least on a good day). And the food is great!
So this was a warm if unusual welcome home in the park. And as a result of the process, we were “welcomed home” in conversation as well.