Day 2 - Florida!

Julie (the mom) informed us shortly after we made it to Hawkinsville that we'd be leaving the next morning to visit Mike (the dad) down in Florida. Sweet! Okay! It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive down to Lake City, FL where there was a hotel waiting for us. And a swimming pool, which I was (as usual) not equipped to enjoy, having told myself that there would be plenty of time to settle in to the new life before needing to look for a suit. Oops. Anywho, the family wanted to go boating, and I needed to make my Sunday, so I stayed behind. By the pool, jealously taking in the youngsters at play in the cool, cool water; I expect no sympathy. I hear you all saying "Um, suck it up. You're in Florida. We won't be swimming for another 2 months." Just tellin' my story....

About 4:30, I left for 6 o'clock Mass in Ocala. Welcome to Baptist country! There is not a Catholic Church around every corner anymore or even in most towns. But, I found a Low Mass at Queen of Peace in Ocala; the church was beautiful. A very open, cool, whitewashed, missionary feel. Enjoy.

The 4 Evangelists in the rafters of the Sanctuary.

Pipes!

Marble built-in altar rail. Lovely.

Side altar

In every corner of the church there were these beautiful HUGE paintings depicting great figures throughout Scripture.

Yep. Pretty huge.

Close up of the lil ol' rooster hanging out with the trumpeting angels.

The rows of pews moved out from the sanctuary to form a cross. There was soooo much space! And the super high ceilings made it feel never-ending and very airy, despite the heat. I'm really glad I made the trip.

Julie decided to stay Memorial Day too, which meant a shopping trip for a new outfit. Darn. :) Good thing too, because I definitely underestimated the power of heat in my Minnesota packing. I mean, it can't be that different, right? I won't die if I just roll up my pants a little and drink alot of water! Obviously, I'm still here; but T-shirt fabric has never felt so heavy. Oh and I found a retro-y polka-dotted (duh) swimsuit! Smiley day.