Farewell to Venice, 9-22/23-09

After being in Florida for about 6 weeks resting, grieving, writing, and having fun, it felt like time to head back north to Ohio. I delayed for a day, because my planned route was through Atlanta, which was under a deluge of rain and floodwater everywhere. And then planned a different route…
On my last day, Shirley Bascom and I visited the Audubon bird sanctuary. Few birds this time of year, but still lovely. We then headed over to the citrus farm for delicious soft ice cream cones. In the evening, Rafaella and I picked up food and headed to the Venice jetty to watch a spectacular sunset and spot dolphins. A wonderful ending to my visit.



On the 23rd, I headed north to Gainesville to meet Mary Jane (Barbee) Volkmann, who helped my husband Craig with becoming a Bahá’í in Hiram, Ohio, decades ago. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of her, but she is a wonderful artist, and you can see her and her paintings on her website, www.maryjanevolkmann.com/artist.htm. We had a lovely visit and then met another friend for dinner, Lynn Weir from Canada. I spent the night at Lynn’s home. Fun to reconnect.

I made it to Dayton by the 25th, where my stepdaughter Michelle and her family live, so smooth travel and easy drive. I asked Craig to hold an umbrella over the car on the trip north to protect me from rains, especially in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, and felt blessed to have only occasional light sprinkles. The grey skies sure made me wish for Florida sunshine though!

Enjoy the photos!

Susanne