Christmas In Naples

Not exactly your average holiday picture! As I mentioned in a previous post, we were spending Christmas down in Naples, Florida where my son Kevin (the golf pro) is positioned for the season. His club here in Chicago is closed for the winter as they frown very much on golfing in the snow. He was sooo excited we were coming to him. So the girls were able to leave leave their boyfriends behind (oh, young love) and I was able to leave my winter wonderland, which wasn't so much of a wonderland the day we left. A blizzard caused a 3 hour delay of our flight but Blondie managed as she can sleep just about anywhere. In fact, I fell asleep on The Husbands shoulder sitting at our gate and when he got up to go for a walk I slumped over on to the shoulder of the man sitting next to me. My kids watched in absolute embarrassment as the man gently nudged me off him and quickly abandoned his seat.

This is the place we stayed, The Vanderbilt Beach Resort, right on the beach. We had a beautiful suite with 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a living room, dining room and big eat-in kitchen. The balcony off the living room faced east and The Husband and I had coffee every morning just as the sun came up. In the evening we sat on the balcony facing west and watched the sky turn all shades of pink and blue.

This is the happy golfer and doesn't he look happy, still in uniform but relaxing with his family. That just goes to show you, home is where your heart is.

Blondie on the balcony with her favorite guys! This was Christmas day. I simplified things by making two turkey breasts. We had to use store bought gravy and rolls, but I made homemade dressing and Emily made her famous cream cheese and sour cream mashed potatoes. For dessert we had pumpkin pie (traditional) and key lime pie (regional)!

Abby and Jeff looking out at the ocean beyond the trees...

Four smiling kids minus three french hens...

A trip through the everglades. It's amazing that these funky looking roots are alive and well and have bright green leaves way up high over the swamps.

A luncheon feast at a seaside fish shanty complete with crab cakes, blue crab tails and fried gator chunks, all washed down with cold Corona's. Heaven!

Pelicans everywhere. They flew so close to our balcony I think they would have whizzed by close enough to touch if we hadn't had screens. The first time I saw pelicans flying in Mexico I asked the consierge what sort of dinasours they were (a very blonde moment). However son Kevin topped that when his siblings were recounting the animals they saw on a trip to the zoo Christmas Eve. Jeff said "We fed the zebras" to which Kevin replied "So what". Then Jeff said "And we fed the unicorns" to which Kevin replied "Big deal". OH YEAH!! I might add Kevin is also blonde. Score two. Three if you count me sleeping on stangers shoulder in airport.

The Husband and Blondie on the beach.

Time to say goodbye. We walked on sand instead of snow but we brought back memories of a very special Christmas together as a family. My wish to you, my new and dear friends, that you had Christmas in your hearts wherever you were and wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we could keep a bit of it in our hearts everday?