Observations

We've been mostly house-bound this week. Our oldest son hasn't been feeling well and the kitchen is in the middle of being upgraded. This means we need to be here for the contractors, which isn't a problem. We love to cook so we're pretty excited about being the first ones to try everything out!

Being here for the contractors also gives us an opportunity to see how everything is installed and meet the craftspeople. For example, the granite fabrication company who installed the counters is owned and run by a local Jamaican family. They each have their own specialty and watching them all work together was pretty amazing. Just observing their interactions with each other and their employees spoke volumes about how much fun they have together. Their expertise and care shined though in every step and they graciously took time to explain everything. It was a fantastic experience and I loved meeting them. Plus, the counters look beautiful!

Since the scenery hasn't varied much this week, other than in the kitchen, we've been trying to pay attention to things around the house that we haven't seen anywhere else. The first is that every morning we see hot air balloons. Local tour companies offer sunrise champagne flights, which seem to be pretty popular judging from the amount of balloons we see floating by each day.

The bird varieties are different here also. We've seen a lot of birds with long legs and long necks, like Sandhill Cranes and Ibis's. Hawks and turkey vultures also seem to like this area.

Sandhill Cranes on the golf course behind our house.

Ibis

We've also noticed the drivers. Oh, the drivers. (Insert loud sigh here) People from all over the U.S. flock to Florida during the winter months, so you'll see a great variety of license plates. You'll mostly find two types of drivers among them, though- those who drive suuuuuuuper slow, and those who weave in and out of traffic at lightening speed. This brings me to the top two things you should know when driving to/through Florida.
1. Bring change for the many, many tolls or buy a SunPass. Do this before you even leave the airport.
2. Keep your wits about you and pay attention to those driving around you. Trust me.

Other than those things, we've started planning our visit to the Keys. If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them!

- Jen