Monday, November 24, 2008

What in the World . . .?

From the window of the Silver Meteor, across the Florida plains . . . Miles and miles of citrus groves in the "real Florida"
Cattle country as far as the eye can see

Granddaddy says goodbye to Ashley, Jason, and Savannah

Savannah plays horsey at the pizza place in Davie

Granddaddy disembarks in Ft. Lauderdale. What a wonderful way to travel!

What in the world are Grandmama and Granddaddy Frodge doing on the train in the middle of nowhere?? This afternoon, we are heading down to S. Florida again – tomorrow, Danny is doing some engineering for the folks at son Jason’s work. So this gives us the opportunity to visit with Jason, Ashley, and Savannah.
Update: The above was written on the way down to Ft. Lauderdale. Now we are pleasantly returning to home in central FL on the Amtrak. We love this experience. My thoughtful husband reserved a little roomette for us, knowing how much it raises my blood pressure to ride in the coach – not that I think it is beneath me. No, I have ridden many times in the coach and have been grateful for the blessing. These days, though, untoward conversations at a high decibel level; uncontrolled children and parents who think screaming is the only way to discipline; eye-daggars aimed at anyone who asks that a noise machine’s volume be lowered -- all contribute to an unpleasant journey. Thank you, Lord, for the ability to travel pleasantly.

The visit with Jason’s family was very sweet. Savannah is becoming more and more familiar with her grandparents. It was such a joy to sing little songs to her that the other grandchildren and I have sung. And she is becoming such a little conversationalist – even though quite a bit of it still needs a translator. This visit, she was continually fascinated with the choo-choo trains on the tickets Danny kept in his pocket. Ashley says she is beginning to ask questions about the real meaning of Christmas.

Well, the train has just picked up speed from the stop at the Okeechobee station -- won't be long before we are home! The scenery is beginning to be familiar. If people took the train from Disney to S. Florida, they would see that there is so much of Florida that is real, wild, and very, very rural. It is always good to travel this way. Coming from S. FL, there is wild scrub, then the edges of the sugar cane fields, then dairy country, then cattle and citrus land, where we live. We love it. God may call us someday to another region of the country, but we do love where we live. Hey, come see the real Florida!

2 comments:

The Stricklen Family said...

Oh, Florida is beautiful, isn't it? What a wonderful post! Sounds like such a pleasant trip. I can just see you and Daddy in your cozy roomette and eating in the Dining car. You could probably have pretended to go back in time if you could block out everything around you. Remember the "Snow" scene in the Dining car in White Christmas?
The update on Savannah was precious! It is great that she is able to keep up her relationship with you all.
Thanks for sharing about your quick trip on the "Silver Meteor"!!

The Miller Family said...

What beautiful pictures of good ole Florida. I LOVE the drive (or train ride) from Alturas to Okeechobee. It has to be what most of Florida was like back 100 years or so.

It looks like y'all had a nice visit with the "South Florida Frodges", although I didn't see any pictures of you! That would have been nice as well!

Love,
Katie