Just back. Tom Sawyer's Island was well populated, which was - though bittersweet- also fun. Parts of it are in sad shape, but people were roaming the island and really appeared to be enjoying the island for what it is. Like there were people sitting at the checkers table. In the past, that was a regular thing. People would sit in the middle of MK playing checkers.
It rained a little while I was sitting on the deck at Aunt Polly's sipping a cup of ice water, and that was kinda cozy. The sun came back out, and a family was laughing as they crossed the barrel bridge, with a dad encouraging his sons to cross the bridge. He assured them they would not fall into the water, and they squealed with joy when they made it across.
The island and fort were full of families taking time to explore and discover all the little nooks. Two young ladies were walking past the whitewashed fence, and one of them said, "Oh, this is the part of the book I most remember, when Tom convinced all his friends to paint the fence! Instead of a chore, they all had fun!"
In the middle of the island, I got great photos of the flowers and a number of anoles. Each was perched atop a fence post or tree trunk, and several were displaying their red dewlaps. Sigh. They are about to lose their little territories. There were a number of butterflies flitting about. There are also a number of beautiful trees on the island, covered in little ferns and such.
Later, after dark, I made a point of walking along the docks to enjoy one of my favorite sections of MK. It is just beautiful along the water at night, with all the lantern-style lights. The paddleboat looked beautiful and majestic, docked for the night.
A solo visitor was taking photos of her. Then the young man stopped, paused for a silent moment, gave the boat a long salute, and discreetly wiped away a tear. It was a touching sight.
Sigh. Such a loss!
