Florida part 1

Last week we traveled to Florida for a family visit. We flew into Orlando, rented a car and stayed overnight. We spent the morning at Downtown Disney, which is the shopping and eating part of "The Mouse" (no admission fee, no rides). There was a giant Lego display for kids to play with; being big kids ourselves, we tried to build a fort with a moat. I had to pose with the Lego doggies.

Then we drove to visit my cousins in Coconut Creek (near Fort Lauderdale). We spent an evening of Chanukah with them, watching the candles, eating potato latkes and talking, talking, talking!

These cousins -- two sisters -- are in their mid-eighties. My father's father and their grandfather were brothers. We met in the late 1960s when my family had moved from New York to to Cincinnati and my mother was lonely for family. My dad remembered he had cousins in Cleveland, called them up one day and said "Hello, this is Sheldon Cohen." (At the time, Sheldon Cohen was the name of the head of the IRS. Imagine my cousins' surprise -- they thought they were being audited by the head of the IRS himself!)

I found a lovely hotel right on the beach, the Ocean Sky Resort and Hotel. We had a king bed, small fridge, balcony with partial view (meaning you had to sit sideways to see the ocean). I understand why people stay on the beach for a week. The restaurant is right by the pool, there was even a bar, and it all overlooks the ocean.

The Lauderdale area beach is narrow, especially compared with the Pacific ocean beach at Moclips. But we had a little time to walk on the sand, dip our toes into the Atlantic, and take photos of jelly fish.