new hair cut/ happy new year/Robert is Here/Peruvian Food/Good Bye

David got a new hair cut for Christmas, just in time for the New Year, from his Gammy

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!

And she really likes the new look. 

All lite up for the new year.

We had a wonderful time at the Coral Castle and would recommend for all to come see it.  After the castle we headed back to the fruit stand and purchased some more goodies 

David holding a grapefruit!! (for 2 or 3 people)

Laura with a "little" avocado. 

 Here she has a mango.  Wow they are big and I must say very tasty.  

I am going to give you a little history of the fruit stand I thought was interesting.  

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand was established by Robert in the late fall of 1959.

At that time, six-year-old Robert was set on this very corner with some of his father’s cucumber crop and told to “Sell ‘em!” Robert sat all day that Saturday and no one even stopped. That evening, Robert’s father decided that “there can’t be that many people who don’t like cucumbers; they must not see this little boy standing here on the corner.”

The next day, Robert’s father placed a sign on each side of the table proclaiming in big red letters “Robert Is Here.” By noon Robert had sold all of the cucumbers and walked home. The following weekend, a neighboring farmer added tomatoes to Robert’s display and a fruit stand was born.

  The bus would drop Robert off after school and he would work his stand until it got dark and his mother took him home for his bath and supper. By the time Robert was nine years old, he had hired a neighbor lady to work for him while he was in school. Robert bought his first ten-acres of property when he was fourteen. He planted an avocado grove on it and rented out the house.

 

As a farmer specializing in tropical fruits, Robert has been featured on NBC’s “Today Show”, “World News Tonight”, and in newspapers and magazines across the country. He’ll happily tell you how to get to the airboat rides, where to get a great meal, and what that strange plant was you saw in Everglades National Park. But don’t bet on leaving his fruit stand empty-handed; you’d have a hard time resisting the wonderful aroma of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits like Monstera Deliciosa, which looks like a giant green ear of corn but tastes like banana and pineapple; Carambola, or “Star Fruit”; Mamey; Lychee; Atemoya; Papaya; and in the summer Robert’s pride and joy – MANGOES! He’ll even cut them up for you to eat as you wander through the jars of jellies and preserves, many from his mother’s recipes. 

 Over on the other side of the stand you’ll notice lots of activity. People line up for the fresh fruit milkshakes and homemade key lime pies. For a truly delicious treat, try our key lime milkshake. While we were purchasing our fruits and veggies George, the guy waiting on us, asked if we wanted a shake.  Well yes, but the line was way out the door and around the corner and we had to be somewhere else.  So George cut in line got a number for us and we did not have to wait at all.  And it was soooo great.   It is who you know.
 

During the winter, you can also enjoy live music (our guy was playing the guitar and singing folk songs and he was good, but we had to leave) on the weekends, performed by local musicians, while you pick out big, happy sunflowers or delicate snapdragons to remind you of your visit to Robert Is Here.

I got a Groupon for 50% off a while back for a Peruvian restaurant here in town.  We went there and had a wonderful eating experience.   Our waiter was great and advised us well.  Rog and I had a sampler plate with four of the best dishes and they were wonderful.  David and I had a drink that was great.  Our waiter thought we had to wait longer than was needed to get our food to us and offered drinks on the house so I took another, but no one else wanted one.  Laura wind up drinking it.  David had a seafood symphony on Tacu Tacu (red bean and rice that was fried)  and Laura had Mancora salmon with yellow potatoes.  We had a wonderful  $100.00 meal for four for $50.00.  If we lived here I would go back to this restaurant a lot.
 
David went outside to sit and enjoy Florida and he met this bug and just had to share it with you.

David all packed and at the Fort Lauderdale Airport ready to board his plane for his flight back to California.  We had a wonderful, but too short, visit with David.  We love you so much.  Next year we will be near you and will be with you more.  Unless you want to travel sooner and meet us along the road somewhere before then. Good Bye!!