Ave Maria! (The Town)

We dropped Trip off at Ave Maria University for two weeks of college fun geared towards high school students. It was sunny and hot--typical summer in Florida! The town is lovely, and though it is only partially built, we could see that it has potential to grow into a lovely community.

We were anxious to get out of the car after a 21 hour drive.

We arrived just in time for Mass (in the Extraordinary Form) at the Oratory.



We helped T to move into his dorm room.



Then, the skies changed...(this is the view from his room--looks a bit like a low security prison).

It poured and flooded the streets. The good folks at Ave Maria town assured us that this was an unusually hard, long rain. The Oratory disappeared in the heavy downpour. Can you still see it?



Making the best of it, we drove around and looked at houses and building sites. We saw notices warning us about the local wildlife...

and other signs assuring us that some land was reserved for endangered species.

As we drove in to the town, a falcon dove right in front of our car and grabbed something out of the run-off ditch. It was great! And the birds there were amazing. We saw so many different types--grackles, mockingbirds, cattle egrets, herons, vultures, ibis, cormorants, terns, osprey, and more.

After that, we drove up to my dad's house, and had a visit. I had not seen my dad in about 5 years, so it was a real treat, especially the dinner at a restaurant. His cats and dogs and cars and tv/stereo systems are still his hobbies. He sent us home with massive speakers and a receiver that weighs about 70 lbs. It could be worse...he could have tossed in a cat (as he has done before). Thanks, dad! ;)