Stuart Florida Back In 1977

I am not sure if I took the photograph on the left or not, but the file name says that it was taken in 1977, and so it must be true.  It shows, from left to right, my Uncle Bill (my mother's brother), my Aunt Elsie, my mother Mary, and father Nelson, standing in front of my uncle and aunt's condo, which was located on the 2nd fairway at Monterey Yacht and Country Club in Stuart, Florida. Uncle Bill and Aunt Elsie retired there back in the early 1970s, and my parents bought a unit there too a few years later. Our families used to vacation together up in Canada every year, and my father and uncle would play golf together for two weeks, while the rest of us would occupy our time as we saw fit. Moving down there was like being on permanent vacation for them, and they loved living there.

The older photograph on the right shows the usual suspects during the early 1960s on the first fairway at Torpitt Lodge, a resort located on Sparrow Lake in Ontario.  During the 1950s, the families vacationed at Britannia, a very nice resort located on the Lake of Bays near Huntsville, Ontario. When the owner passed away, the son took over and raised rates so high that they were forced to find cheaper accommodations, such as Lumina (which still  exits) and Torpitt. I am very happy they were all able to retire down in Stuart and enjoy their lives together year-round.  However, my Uncle Bill soon developed Alzheimers, and passed away not too long after. My father was able to spend 7 years there before passing away, while my mother and aunt stayed on and enjoyed the good life down in Stuart for many years.  There were never any yachts - or for that matter dinghies - at the Monterey Yacht and Country Club, but they did have a yacht club, which was more than enough. My sister Susan and I still own our parent's condo, but have to rent it out to keep it in the family, at least for now.  It brings back many happy memories just thinking about it.