Our first stop this day was to the Florida Caverns State Park. You can see a photo of the caverns here. 

Here is a sketch I drew while taking the tour.

From there we toured Marianna. Making stops at the Chamber of Commerce and the wonderful building it’s in.

	We made many, many, many stops afterward. We went through ten counties and ten times as many stops. Not that we mind. What an outstanding way to experiencing our great State of Florida and all it has to offer!Our final stop was at Staff’s Restaurant, the oldest seafood restaurant in Florida. Here’s a sketch of a part of the fascinating interior.

A whole mess of family members gathered to celebrate my father’s 75th birthday in Bushnell, Florida. Bushnell is northeast of Tampa and where my uncle Charles lives. Charles and his wife Barbara hosted the party. Their son, Charles, Jr., and granddaughters Kim and  Lindsay were there. As were my Aunt Nickie and Uncle Connie from Tampa. Sandra’s father drove down with Sandra and I to join the festivities.  As for art for this entry there’s:1) the cake in the shape of ’75′ by Publix. 2) Whoever sculpted this marker at the Dade Battlefield historic site in Bushnell. Sandra and her father, my father, brother Jeff and myself went to the battlefield site and roamed where Major Francis Dade and his men were ambushed by indians in 1834 continuing the path to the start of the Seminole indian wars. The markers were placed for significant members of Dade’s crew who were killed. Here is Robert Smith, Sr., Jeff Smith, Sandra Friend Smith and her father Phillip Friend. They stand next to the monument of where Major Francis Dade fell. After this battle Dade’s name soon was given to the county that Miami is in. 3) Here is a very quick sketch of clothing worn by the Seminoles during the time of the wars in the 1800s. Drawn from a mannequin in the museum at the park.

‘Hurricane Punch’ is Tim Dorsey’s 9th novel about his comdeic serial killer anti-hero. The more you know about our great state of Florida, the funnier the books are. This has some great scenes. Covering everywhere from Everglades City to Bok Tower in which the state is understtack by innumerous hurricanes.

One stop for my birthday was at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City. Lots of wonderful historic buildings, a train, oodles of historic tools, books, dolls and typewriters. The drawing is of a one room school house that once stood in Hernando County. Too bad we don’t have those any more. I guess the closest to that we have is home schooling.

Quite a bunch of us got together Sunday night for vittles at an oriental spot near the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando. I found myself doing some drawing while there.

The drawing is of James Carter who I once worked with at the ol’ Stars Hall of Fame. He and his wife were part of the group that included Rob Labby, Manfred, Nancy and David Stewart, etc., etc.

The next stop was near Coral Gables in an area known as Pinecrest. The stop was at the original Parrot Jungle, now named Pinecrest Gardens. Strolling through the park you can still find the giant bird cages. The park has been very well kept and well worth taking a walk through and enjoying the plants and flowers.

The drawing is of the area that folks would come through after coming through the original entrance to Parrot Jungle in the 1930s. It still stands though part of the roof has caved in and it appears to be otherwise used as a storage room.

Our first stop was to the infamous Vizcaya! Most of anyone reading this has heard of or been there. For more about this model for the grand home of Orson Wells in ‘Citizen Kane’ click here!

The drawing is of part of the ornate grottos on the property. Time does limit more complete drawings. This was a busy day with lots to visit! Sandra took the photo of me drawing.

A visit to Silver Springs in Ocala. After 125 years of being around, they must be doing something right. I drew pages of sketches. Here are a few. 

The day after Christmas found my brother, Jeff, joining Sandra, my father and I. We went over to Don Garlits car museum, south of Ocala off U.S. 75. The museum is a tourist attraction owned by Tampa native and car racing legend, Don Garlits. There are actually two museums. One of older cars and one of the history of drag racing.

Cars are tough for me to draw. The sketching was a good exercise. The drawings are of part of the nose of a 1942 Mercury Sport convertible, a 1964 mustang, a truck and a dragster.

 

 

 

 

After the museum fun we went over to Stumpknockers restaurant south of Dunellon on the Withlacoochee River for seafood. They are considered to have some of the best seafood in Florida, but be warned that their cooking is northern based and not Southern.

  

The drawing is of Christmas carolers at Silver Springs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My father joined us Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. To enhance the Christmas experience we headed over to the 129 year old attraction, Silver Springs. They have a wonderful ‘Festival of Lights’. Lights are everywhere throughout the park. We waundered the park and enjoyed the feeling of Christmas. Dinner was also at Silver Springs. We took in their buffet.

Another stop on Monday was to Butterfly World(http://www.butterflyworld.com/) in Cocoanut Creek. Lots of Butterflies. More gardens, flowers and birds, birds, birds. The drawing on the upper left is one I made looking straight up. That is where this hummingbird sat and pooped on me. I didn’t see the tiny feathered “friend” previously. We had wandered through much of Butterfly World when we sat in one of the bird aviaries. The bird then greeted me in his own special way. The bird never looked down and kept staring ahead. So here is a drawing of his underside.