Thursday, December 22, 2022

Stuart, Secrets Royal Beach.

We have been back in Stuart since October 1st and finding plenty to keep us busy. There is always a lot to do here in our new hometown. We have a weekly Lexington Lakes happy hour with friends from our community. We also have a couple projects in the condo that have required much planning. Stories about those later.
Stuart has several building murals. I have been trying to get a picture without cars or people and it finally happened. This depicts the House of Refuge on Hutchinson Island.
Every Sunday is Rockin Riverwalk with great local bands. There are often boats nearby listening to the music, but this guy and his dog took it to a new level.
At the end of October we flew to Dominican Republic to celebrate our anniversary at Secrets Royal Beach. As you can see, even though people are back to traveling. there was always a nice quiet spot by in the pool.
There is entertainment every evening. This show was songs by Madonna. 
The entertainment team has activities all day. Nanc was doing morning yoga on the beach.
There are several restaurants offering Mexican, Italian, Japanese. There is a buffet, seafood and steak places also. 
This is the fourth time we have been to Secrets Royal Beach and one of the things that keeps bringing us back is the people. They are all fantastic at doing their best to make our stay wonderful. Here is Edwauny, one of our favorite bartenders.
Another evening, more music.
A unique drink of the day, a margarita served in a beer bottle. Very tasty.
Nanc doing bicycle aerobics.
Jose the sushi chef serving up a great sample platter.
Victorina always greeted us with a friendly smile.
The beach here is very nice.....
....but I really prefer the pool.
Here we are celebrating our anniversary having "Sex on the Beach".
On our flight home we flew over Nassau with cruise ships docked in the harbor. 
We got back to Stuart in time to encounter our second hurricane this year. Our home is between Lake Okeechobee and Nicole.
We battened down for the storm that came ashore just north of us in the middle of the night. We had no damage and actually slept through the whole thing.
Never know what you will see right outside our front door. The hawk was enjoying a meal it had picked up in the yard. I'm not sure what it was eating, but we have not seen any bunnies lately. 
When we bought here the realtor told us we were too far north to have iguanas. Not true any longer. Looks like global warming is a real thing in Florida. As Florida is expecting very cold temperatures this weekend we will be on the lookout for iguanas falling out of trees.
Nanc and I both celebrated birthdays in November. John and Patrice (no pics) invited us to stay with them for a couple days at a condo in Pompano Beach. 
On my birthday we all went to the Pitt-Miami game and the Panthers got a big win. We also drove to Miami's South Beach and up A1A to see the South Florida beaches. 
Back in Stuart we took in a few music events. At Crawdaddys in Jensen Beach we heard Dottie Kelley and her band ,one of our favorite local Blues groups. 
Another evening we saw Eric Gale at the Lyric Theater. It's a great old venue that offers a lot of different music.
Eric and his wife Lady G. Their music is very entertaining and brings a strong message about life and equality. If you get a chance Eric is a wonderful show.
A beach day. Looks like the recent shark attack is keeping people away. It was a beautiful December day at the beach even if the catching was very bad.
More great local music, Burnt Biscuit at Conchy Joes. This band plays good old time rock n roll, or as I call it the music of my life.
Check it out! George even scored a Burnt Biscuit t-shirt.

As I'm writing this all the local news stations are talking about Christmas weekend being the coldest in Florida in over 30 years. Not to worry, we have a plan to escape. We are leaving Miami on the 23rd for an eleven day Caribbean cruise to celebrate Christmas and ring in 2023.
HERE'S WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND A VERY HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!