Mary Bethune House

Around noon, we made our way to the Mary Bethune Home, which isn't terribly far from the condo, but also a pretty interesting visit.  Although it said it was open online, when we arrived we met a filming crew there and the President of the school there - it seems as if things were closed for the day, despite the incorrect hours posted online.

But as we were looking at the gravesite of Mrs. Bethune, the woman organizing the filming came out to see us and told us that she'd open the doors for just us, and another two families that came by as well.  We got our own private tour, and quite a bit of favor there!  She humbly reminded us a few times that she was by no means a tour guide, but we all think she did an admirable job leading us through the two-story house, from room to room.

One odd thing:  we weren't allowed to take pictures.  That isn't allowed on regular tours either.  It has something to do with security, I think.  I'm not sure, but we didn't take any photos inside.  I wish we could though, because it was an enjoyable tour through the house.

At one point, we saw a bed in a guest room where Eleanor Roosevelt had spent the night, also Jackie Robinson too.  But the truth is that Mary Bethune left just as great an impact on this earth as either of those others, and surprisingly is not as mentioned.  She did so much with the life she was given, and was highly blessed and favored.

The house was in the same condition it was back in the 1950's, all of the furniture and appliances exactly as they looked back then.  In other words, it was a marvelous step back in time.  And again, the place was supposed to be closed, so we were all very blessed to be there.

Afterwards, the weather was so nice outside that we went for a little walk along the shoreline, this time southward.  The temperature was just perfect, and even the water lapping up on our toes wasn't too cold.  Off in the distance, the shrimper boat went by slowly, along with a sail boat that Madison thought looked like a boat from "Moana."  The running joke about the ice cream van is that it goes by right after we return to the condo, and that's been the case all week:  no matter though, because we made a trip to Cow Lick's again, and had some really great ice cream again.  Madison had cotton candy flavor, and Daddy and Mommy shared this cappuccino flavored sundae that was called a "Coffee Lover's Delight."  It was really good!

They have this arcade there, and Madison tried out a pinball game called, "Monster Bash," a mix between classic monsters and rock and roll.  We all tried it out, but didn't do that well this time.  But it was still fun trying it out!

We got back and after a bit of time reading on the balcony, we did some swimming in the pool downstairs.  The water is warm there, and the pool rather quiet this time of year.  We usually have the whole thing to ourselves, in fact.  It was nice though, and Madison can still swim well, making it easily from one side to the other without touching the bottom.  I remember so well when we were working hard to get to that goal, and here we are.  She's by no means an expert swimmer, but she is competent.  And we have a good time splashing about and playing games.

Reading:  we've been reading "X-Men" comics this week, following Psylocke's backstory a bit.  Andy Kubert's artwork is always great to see - it's been marvelous seeing these old comic books come to life again.  This week, we're also meeting Lord Ombra for the first time.  He's a villainous thing from "Peter and the Shadow Thieves."  He doesn't talk.  He groans everything.  So when Daddy reads this aloud, he does his best... !

Dinner tonight was nice, a roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy (although Madison stuck to tacos - every day is Taco Tuesday for her).  The tradition of watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune continued, and tonight Daddy would have done pretty well on the former.  Madison, however, is pretty quick with "Wheel of Fortune."  She's been getting a few answers before the rest of us lately!

We watched a few episodes related to "The Penultimate Peril," and things are starting to wrap up there with Count Olaf and the Baudelaires.  It's been a good series, one we'll no doubt be revisiting soon enough.  We said our prayers tonight, and actually went to bed a bit earlier, quite happy to think about the idea of not having to get up too early tomorrow.  It's been a nice little trip down here!