Oct 16-17, 2013, we drive to Miami and go back home

The last day in Florida, we pick up oranges and tangerines on the groves, fill up boxes, which will be flying to europe as luggage.

MaryAnn and Bill wave us good bye as we drive to Miami

 Lots of big cars on the road, impressive trucks overtaking us southbound

 As we get close to Miami, lots of strange dead (dying?) trees on the side of the road

 3 trucks on a race down the highway, despite the sign showing "No trucks or trailers on the left lane"...
we refill our rental car as we arrive in Miami. The customer before me did not have very much cash in his pocket, or did not plan to drive very far on his 5 $ = 1.5 gallon purchase

 We meet Alicia for lunch in Miami, and soon we are on our way back to europe.

Annelies picks me up at the Geneva airport and we drive straight to Stephanie's home to be introduced to Antoine, my second grand child which was born as I was traveling in the USA

And that's it. OVER

Oct 15, 2013, time to settle the bill and work on the groves

Today is the day for the "Dolorosa", we need to deliver a few $$$ to the Bartow Flight Service.

While we wait in the lobby, Jennifer works on our fuel bills and prepares the invoice. Lots of fuel en route was purchased, and she needs to check them all

 Then it is finally time to go to the groves and work a little...

 A few days earlier, a driver trying to escape a police chase drove into one of Bill's grove and ran over a few trees, damaging them severely, and destroying lots of oranges.
We have not seen the car (a SUV), but it must be in bad shape.
The police finally caught the fugitive as he tried to escape running after having left the car. He is in prison awaiting trial

we do some fertilizing and anti weed spraying on those small trees which have been planted recently

and we pick a few oranges, not yet fully ripe, as we are early in the season, and take them home a for a fresh orange juice tasting session in the garden. The agreement among the tasting panel is that the juice is VERY good

In the afternoon, back to the groves, to visit our very private trees, which Werner and myself planted a couple of years ago. Werner's tree in the background is a little taller than mine (probably Bill fertilized it a little more...), but my tree already has the first oranges, ripe in January 2014.

We then inspect the only grapefruit tree left on the grove, a tree which has been named LOUIS many years ago. It is very old, and according to the expert input from Bill, should only last another couple of years till it will eventually die. In the meantime, it will deliver some fruit, but we are too early in the season to be able to pick some ripe grapefruit.

Orange pickers from Mexico are already at work in some groves who have early varieties of fruit.

 And in some groves, there are funny aluminum based trees growing among the orange trees.
For dinner, MaryAnn and Bill take us to a "K"Country "K"Club for dinner

we can sit outdoors, and there are no mosquitos, what a pleasure. In the lake around the restaurant, you can see aligators living freely, just don't get to close

 Dinner is served

 The dessert is special, it was supposed to be a Key Lime Pie, but.....

 Sun set over the lake

This is our last full day in USA on this trip. Tomorrow, Wednesday Oct 16, we will pick some oranges to take home, pack our suitcase, drive the rental car to Miami (about 4 hours drive) and fly back to Zurich. 

All good things have an end, but the swiss say there is an exception to this rule, the sausage has 2 ends!