Lake Wales, FL

What a weekend. This is going to be a long post since there is so much to write about -- airboating, clay pigeon shooting, hog hunting, quad riding, star gazing, fire building, eating Molly's amazing meals, meeting so many friendly and truly great people.....

On Friday morning, Bill and I met Dave and Molly in Ft. Lauderdale. They invited us up to Lake Wales (in Central Florida) for the weekend to their friend Todd's home. We made the +/- three hour drive and were in heaven by early afternoon. Todd and his two sons Carson and Dillon very generously opened their beautiful home (the picture above is the view from the house!) on the Tiger Lake to us and boy did we have a blast.


Dave and Molly keep their camper, airboat, and quads at Todd's house, so there were plenty of toys to play with all weekend. Friday Dave took Bill and me for an airboat ride, which I had never done before. Capt' Dave showed us around the creeks. We saw an alligator (my first!) and tons of birds including bald eagles. Airboating is cool! After we went for a night quad ride and stopped to experience true peace and absolute quiet. Friday night Molly was at it again and cooked everyone a delicious dinner.

Saturday the guys got up early and went to state land to go hog hunting while Molly and I picked up a few things at Walmart. Later in the afternoon everyone had fun clay pigeon shooting and then we all went back and did some more hog hunting on the buggy. Saturday night we had an incredible fire, the neighbors came by, we ate like kings and queens and enjoyed the clear starry night.

Sunday we enjoyed the sunshine and Todd's amazing property. His home overlooks the Tiger Lake and it is truly majestic. There is a pond with lots of fish, a private dock, and a spectacular view of the river. Bill and I went for an afternoon quad ride and did some exploring, came back to the house and Dave took us for another airboat ride. We saw lots of cows, deer, and bald eagles. Todd, Carson, and Dillon had to return to Ft. Lauderdale for work / school on Monday. After they headed south, Dave, Molly, Bill and I enjoyed Molly's roast beef and twice baked potatoes while watching the Super Bowl. We woke up today (Monday) and drove back to Lauderdale.

Todd's neighbors have a beautiful chocolate lab named Hershey (the same name as the Constantino family dog growing up!) who we all enjoyed. What a great place for a dog! Lots of land, all those ponds to swim in, and neighbors to throw the ball over and over (and supply the occasional treat!)

To be honest, when I think of Florida cows, beautiful big oaks with Spanish moss ("enchanted forests" as Molly calls them), deer, curving creeks with dozens of birds, acres and acres of untouched land are not the first things that come to mind. I can't express to anyone reading this how wonderfully amazing our weekend was. Hunting hogs, clay pigeon shooting, airboating, and wearing camouflage (Bill had a hard time taking off Capt' Dave's boots) are certainly not things that Bill and I do on a regular basis -- and man, what an experience. One thing that stood out to me was how quiet and -- well peaceful -- everything was. We were able to appreciate and stare at more stars than we have in a very, very long time. Oh -- and I am convinced that a fire pit is one of the most calming, spell binding things on the planet.

We met many incredible and truly genuine people at Todd's house. It is a different way of life. All of the neighbors and family who stopped by to say hello and hang out for a bit welcomed Bill and me as if we were old friends. Everyone driving by on their tractors or quads waved and said hello.


And the toys.... the airboat, the quads, the guns, the camper. As Dave said, it really brings out the kid in you!

It is also hard to express our gratitude to Todd and his family (who we had never met before this weekend!) and to our amazing friends Dave and Molly. How do you ever 'pay someone back' for sharing and opening up a whole other world to Bill and me? Can you ever really truly express sincere gratitude?

For a gazillion more pictures, click here.