Bradenton & Lake Kissimmee State Park

Last weekend we went over to Bradenton to visit with Mike and Denise Bailey, who were down here from Ohio for a couple of weeks. Denise's dad left her and her brothers and sisters a place down here and it is real nice. We went to the Little Red Barn flea market and spent quite a bit of time walking thru there. Denise hit the jackpot with all the stuff she found. She was having a good time. I bought a big beach bag to use for our cruise. We then drove around the Bradenton and Sarasota area by the water. It was beautiful. We had a real good time visiting with them and getting caught up with each other's lives. Please pray for there grandson Blake. He was rushed to the hospital Sunday night and he is now wearing a heart monitor for 30 days. This is their dog Ashley. She posed for me to take her picture. They will be leaving this Friday to head back home. It was so good to see them. We used to camp at the same place back home and Mike just retired as Chief of the Mansfield Fire Dept. So Rick and Mike have a lot in common. Rick and I have been trying to get over our colds. We are feeling much better but still have some stuffiness left. Yesterday, we went to Lake Kissimmee State Park just east of Lake Wales. It was a bit of a disappointment because we could not get real close to the water. We did watch a boat go out the canal to the lake. We took this shot from the observation tower. I counted 52 steps up to the top. See if you can find Mickey Mouse in this picture. You will have to look at the entire picture to find it. On the way to the observation tower, we saw these trees.  This one had a bunch of plants growing up in the middle of it. They have some of the weirdest looking trees in Florida. I don't know if they grow this way looking for water or if they are supposed to be that way. These are the steps up to the tower. We walked around for a bit and then we drove thru the campground. They had some really nice sites with lots of room between each site. They only have 30amp service though. But there were quite a few big rigs in there. We may head out early in the morning to see the space shuttle take off. It all depends on if it goes up and how we feel. I will report later.