Vacation Vignette #2: Tropical Paradise

Finally-as promised, here it is. The 2nd Vacation Vignette. I told you I would do it tonight, and I did. I just wanted to remind you I'm good at my word. So without further ado, here it is.

Coming from the Midwest, we are used to seeing lots and lots of green. Green trees, green grass, green pastures, green plants. Green. We're also used to seeing normal everyday animals, such as robins, chickens, cows, crows, squirrels, cats, dogs, deer, occasional mice, etc. You get the picture.
On vacation, those 'normal everyday' plants, trees, animals weren't there. Of course, the first thing out-of-towners notice when visiting Florida, is the palm trees. EVERYWHERE. I didn't take a picture of the palms trees, because well...everybody has seen them. But nonetheless, they are everywhere there. I didn't see one single oak or maple or birch tree while we were there. I kind of liked the change in tree scenery.

The second thing I noticed were the lizards. Lizards, you ask? Oh yes. Lizards. And not just one here or there. They're everywhere. I eyed the first one after just pulling up to our condo and crossing the sidewalk. Initially, I thought it was a little birdie scurrying across the pavement. But then I took another look, and saw this guy:
Gross. Then I saw his brother, and his dad, and his mom, and cousins, and aunts & uncles, and grandparents. They scurried across the pavement surrounding our pool, and the sidewalks lining the roads. I was a little afraid to walk through the grass, for fear of accidentally stepping on one. Yikes! Here's the last picture I have of those creepy little slimy things. I wasn't brave enough to take more than that.
Yeah-I don't like them either. Sorry to subject you to the sliminess of these little creatures. But my vignette about the 'tropics' wouldn't be complete without it.

The third thing that caught my eye were all the gorgeous, unique, never before seen by my eye flowers and plants. And they were everywhere. In abundance. Just looking at them made me smile. There was one day where it stormed really hard, and right after it stopped, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. These are the shots I took. And I apologize-I wish I knew the names of these beautiful creations, but I don't.




There were many many many more beautiful flowers and plants there. But these were my favorite. God is so amazing to put a touch of His beauty on His creation. It's simply breathtaking, isn't it?