Orlando Visit

This past week Keith and I had a real treat.  We were invited by good friends Peter and Rachel Ferrara to visit them at their home in Orlando.  They are fellow boaters and Peter is also a golfer.  So, Keith and I rented a car and off we went to Orlando.  The 4 of us had a great dinner Thursday evening at an authentic Italian restaurant.  My octopus salad was wonderful.  I had never had octopus before, but it was a special, and when in Rome you just have to go for it.  So glad that I did.  The salmon I had was also phenomenal and the flowerless chocolate dessert was incredible.  I just cannot even begin to describe how good it was.

Peter and Rachel have a lovely condo overlooking a lake in the development of Vizcaya.    They also belong to Bay Hill Club and Lodge, and Peter and Keith played a round of golf at Bay Hill.  This was a highlight for Keith to play golf at this well-known and challenging course.  

                                             The view from Pete and Rachel's balcony

Bay Hill Club and Lodge is a beautiful and very esteemed golf course and resort.  The first 18 holes of the golf course was designed by Dick Wilson and built by Bob Simmons in 1961.  Bob built an additional 9 holes after Dick’s death.  The course plays 7,381 yards from the championship tees.  It has been owned by Arnold Palmer since 1974 and over the years Mr. Palmer made changes to ensure the ongoing quality of the course.  Mr. Palmer was a resident at Bay Hill and regularly played the course during his winter residence there.  The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA tour that is played at Bay Hill every March. 

  While the boys were golfing Rachel and I did some damage shopping.  I was tickled to find a nice summer sweater for evenings, but also found some linen pants and shorts I was not expecting.  Rachel took me to lunch at the club.  We had a great meal sitting by the pool.  You just cannot beat that kind of a day.  Thank you, Pete and Rachel, for a very special visit.  We cannot wait to catch up with them again in May on the Chesapeake Bay.

It will hopefully not be much longer before we are leaving FL and heading north for our year on “The Loop”.  As soon as some engine work is completed we will be wheels up (maybe another 7-10 days).  We hope to go to St Augustine and then, weather permitting, cruise outside to Charleston.  Now that the newlyweds are back we hope to have dinner with Lacey and Davis when passing through Charleston.  I can also now safely post a picture of the first quilt that I have done on Southern Style as it was made specially for Lacey and Davis for their wedding.  It certainly was a learning experience trying to put together a reasonably sized quilt on board, but I got it done.  It may be a bit unique due to the circumstances, but hopefully that will make it more special for Lacey and Davis.  I have a few more projects on the go and will show some of them as they progress.

                                                             This is how the quilt started

Getting the quilting started

Adding the binding

                                                            Ta Da!  Finished double wedding ring