Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne Florida is a charming little town. We have been here three days. We try to make it a habit when we are in new places to try non-chain food establishments. So far, Melbourne has offered us some real treats. Norm and Charla arrived several hours ahead of Chase and I on Monday, so they found a great little pizza parlor called "Sweet Tomatoes." Not to be confused with the big salad/soup bar chain. It was just a little restaurant with good home made pizza. Chase and I arrived in time to have a slice too. Tuesday we went to a restuarant called the Harbour Diner which boasts in having the best burger in town. Well the claim was true! I consider myself a conosuer in burgers, this was hands down one of the best burgers I have ever had, and it was definately the biggest burger I have ever had. It was 12oz, yes, that is 3/4lbs of beef! It was cooked evenly all the way through too. I like a medium steak, but I like a well done burger. I was skeptical when I saw others coming out of the kitchen and saw how big they were, I feared it would be uncooked in the center, but much to my amazement, it was cooked completely. It was awesome. I ate the whole thing...there went the diet...but it was worth it!
Last night we met up with some friends that we haven't seen in 8 years. They have had three children since we last saw them and we have had Chase since they moved from Charlotte. It was great linking back up with Kevin and Vicki. It was as though we hadn't been away for more than a month or two, we fell right back into comfortable banter. No awkward moments of unfamiliarity that you sometime have when hooking back up with old friends. Far too often you lose what ever it was that made you friends in the first place, and find you really have nothing in common any longer. I really enjoyed our visit, and was thrilled to meet their new family members.
Today was my cold connections class with the Melbourne Gem and Mineral Club. They have a very active club with over 100 memebers. Our class was from 9-5 and we had 18 students in attendance. This was a great group of people. Some large groups that I teach are easier than others. This was an easy group, and very friendly. Everything went smoothly, and we all shared tools like good boys and girls. Everyone left with very good finished or close to finished projects. Each was unique and appealing. I look forward to working with this group again someday.
Tomorrow we are heading out for Tampa. We have a 3 day show there with The Down The Street Bead Show. I'm hoping to get to hit some thrift stores and hardware stores on the way. I'll let you know if I find anything good.
Happy Trails!
Kim