January 20, 2016 - February 1, 2016. Venice, Lake Okeechobee

YThere is so much to do in Venice, even on cool rainy days. We bundled up, Florida styel (long pants and a sweater) and went to the Venice Theatre to see a performance of Sweeney Todd, The Mad Barber of Fleet Street. Our expectations were not high for this community theatre troupe but they did not disappoint. The play was excellent. With a seating capacity of 90, the small theatre provided close ups for every scene. 

When the rain stopped and the temperatures rose, we rode bikes to our favourite coffee shop, Black Gold and even added a few extra kilometres by riding to Starbucks. 

Robbie Burns Day provided another opportunity for much laughter and good food. Thanks to Brian, we  dined on vegetarian haggis, salmon and a delicious pie. As well, we used our best Scottish accents to converse throughout the entire evening. I should have taken pictures of us in our pot cover tam o' shatters and Janet in her tablecloth kilt.

Tuesday is always golf day at Venice Ranch and we didn't miss one. As well, we golfed at Bird Bay several times on our own and played 18 holes with Janet at Lake Venice, a much larger course.

                 

All good things must come to and end and when our time at Venice Ranch was over we headed towards an RV Park near Lake Okeechobee. The drive over was very pleasant with lots of cattle and orange groves in view. We arrived at the Okeechobee RV Park and were immediately disappointed. Due to all the rain, to golf course is closed. As well, sites are very close together and the daily rate is way beyond our budget. On the plus side, the people here are very friendly and the temperature today was in the mid 20's with bright sunshine and clear, blue skies.

We took advantage of today's great weather to explore a part of the Lake Okeechobee Florida Trail. A paved trail of over 100 miles encircles the lake. Today we drove about 10 miles and will tackle a few more tomorrow.