Sixth Day

This day was my birthday! I woke to greetings from Shirley and family, a welcome cup of tea and wandered to the pool to soak up the early morning sun. I even went into the water and splashed around as if I could swim. I remember it was a wonderful feeling as I rested in the sun and listened to the wind in the palm trees behind me.

In the afternoon, Shirley drove me inland to an area behind St. Augustine. This is where she was born and grew up. She even showed me the church where she was married. Not far away is the St. John River. She was raised in a house behind some trees on one bank.

We visited the area. No house – no surprise because it burnt down when she was about three years old. The dangers of oil heating and for lighting! We went to a bridge near to the house area and I took some photos of Shirley in her ‘Heimat’.

We returned to St. Augustine and later left to pick up Modesta. She is a teacher at a school where Shirley helps each Wednesday. She recently had a back operation so Shirley acts as her teaching assistant. Like Judy, she comes originally from New York. The accent is still there!

She is a very lively, extrovert person with lots of personality. Just the things you need to be an art  teacher to children. She bought me a very good bottle of Chardonnay as a birthday present. I decided to keep it until my last evening when we would all meet up and open the bottle.

We went to a nice restaurant known for its good, fresh fish dishes and that is what we ate. We drank a light Italian wine with the fish. It was the perfect way to end my birthday in St. Augustine.