And NOW the LONG ride back home from South Florida

 Well, the 10th day has started and we both decided to have breakfast early and hit the road.

It would be a long ride ahead but still with perfect weather!

Yep, 937 km or 582 mi and I did them in 8 hours and 16 minutes.

Of course we opted for the Turnpike = Toll Road and it was such a smooth ride all the way.

This was one of the two times that I stopped for gas...

There are convenient Service Plazas along the Turnpike which are accessible from both sides as they're in the center.

Pieter was wearing his comfy ribcord Zegna jeans from Last Call Neiman Marcus from a previous trip.

On my 1:46 minute Relive video you can see where this got taken, shortly after our 2nd gas stop.

We also stopped at a Rest Area for enjoying our lunch from Whole Foods Market in Davie with some fresh fruits and a little rest.

Birthday in Davie, South Florida

 So here we are, our 3 nights at the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale/Plantation in South Florida.

The weather was perfect all our days in Florida!

We once stayed here before, during the weekend of April 16-18 in 2011.

Starting out with this picture from the front entrance of the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale/Plantation in South Florida.

Do you see the 'skinny' palm tree trunk between the 2nd and 3rd palm tree?

That was right in front of our room on the 6th floor...

There was a hole in the broken off palm tree... we suspected a Woodpecker had taken up residence.

But look who was the palm tree resident: A cute squirrel.

He/she later hopped onto the green palm leaves of the other trees.

Quite daring at such a height!

So that's why I captured that top photo afterwards to see from where it looked out.

This photo shows said stump palm tree more clearly.

Approaching the Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass Mills Circle in Sunrise, Florida... 

Just wanted it to show on my Relive video.

It was our goodbye, as they appeared to be nearly abandoned... some of the upscale stores had closed down, as was my favorite place of Escada.

Bye bye Last Call by Neiman Marcus...

It was very easy for finding a parking space the day before.

Our entire economy is looking rather bleak; let's hope, we will live to see better years to come!

My Birthday supper at Whole Foods Market in Davie, FL

Fish (small piece as I'm only allowed very little protein intake for my CKD stage 4), some rice and veggies.

Pieter's selection of some Indian curry, fish and chicken...

Regardless of being also diabetes type 2, I did have my Birthday dessert!

A heavenly chocolate dessert, called Midnight in Miami...

It was SO GOOD!

Yes, I'm a lifelong chocoholic but most times I restrain myself, except our daily piece of dark chocolate with tea.

Wearing my set of pearls with antique silver pieces, artfully done by a dear friend that made jewelry.

Pieter enjoyed his yummy dessert, called Cappuccino...

He is lucky for never having been diabetes type 2 as he sure has a sweet tooth! 😏

Enjoy this short 1:08 min Relive video:

Spring Started at the End of February

 Yes, Spring did ARRIVE...

On February 20 I made my rounds to capture the Spring Beauty around our Home.

Pieter had planted these lovely snapdragon plants.

Some of them ended up residing on the steps to our front door...

Some Japanese Magnolia blooms were fully open before we left on our 10-day trip to Florida.

Despite the cold–spell with some frost, they continued to bloom.

Only a few brown ones from frost damage, seen bottom left...

We love our patio with pot plants!

They are quite a show, every spring!

Golden Pansies have been planted by Pieter, inside our Fiberglass Window Boxes.

This shows the bay window area of our kitchen, where we enjoyed breakfast in the sun just before I captured these photos.

Closeup of the golden pansies in the Fiberglass Window Box on our bay window with the gazebo visible in the back.

Our Camellia Sinensis or Tea Plant

We can just see those from our bay window.

With 'half' of the other Japanese Magnolia tree above...

Once a big tree fell into it and ripped off the other half.

Now with more light, big oak tree limbs that hung overhead being cut off, it might recover even more.

View back towards the house

Forgot to capture this planter with violets, residing on the huge oak tree stump.

Have you planted some spring plants already?

Related links:

{Our Camellia Sinensis | Tea Plant} | previous post

{MORE BLOSSOMS IN OUR BOTANICAL GARDEN} | previous post