After a delicious cup of coffee and some conversation we said goodbye to Joanne and the Villages and headed south to Lake Placid. First through Horse Country and then the roads were lined with Orange Groves. There were sightings of many open trucks filled to the brim with Oranges.
Our reason for stopping in Lake Placid was to visit Marsha's cousin Alan and his wife Linda. Linda showed me their home and we chatted while Harry and Alan worked on a computer problem. We knew nothing about Lake Placid which is located in the center of the state and has 27 lakes. We were pleasantly surprised to be told that Lake Placid is also the "City of Murals". A significant number of the buildings in Lake Placid have over 40 large murals adorning the sides of downtown buildings. Most of the murals depict scenes from the History of the Town or area. Cattle ranching, turpentine manufacturing, the cultivation of Caladiums (Lake Placid is the Caladium capital), the Local Clown schools, and the flora and fauna of the town. Alan drove us around to see the murals (walking was hampered by the intermittent rain) expertly maneuvering his pickup truck so that we could easily photograph the murals. We ate at a local cafe and then returned briefly to their home before heading to Sarasota. It was nice to see them both and the conversation was easy and enjoyable. Relatives and nice people.
Driving west we saw more and more orange groves and trucks laden with Oranges and then passed the orange processing plant.
We arrived at Alex and Kathy's new home in Sarasota in the late afternoon. Greeted by open arms we settled in for our few days here and had dinner while catching up on family news and our and their travels.