Today is a very special day — my Grandpa Gus turns 86 years old! Grandpa and his friend Jane faithfully read my blog every morning in Florida. I am thrilled to take a quick breather from recapping Australia for this birthday shout-out!
Last year for my Grandpa’s 85th birthday, my uncle coordinated a huge surprise — the night before the big day, my sister Bethany and I arrive in Ft. Myers, unannounced, to surprise him.
Grandpa Gus and Jane emerge from the elevator expecting to see our uncle, but are shocked to see us standing there too! They thought Beth and I were 3,000 miles away in California!
We enjoy dinner in the dining hall.
Special table indeed.
Grandpa and Jane enjoy a lovely rapport with the staff and other guests. They greet everyone by name and share lots of inside jokes. It’s heartwarming to see how at home they are here.
Cheers to our uncle for planning and coordinating such a perfect surprise!
After dinner we move up to Grandpa’s room to hang out until evening.
Our uncle takes Beth and I out for a quick, late bite nearby.
The next morning we return with a surprise — Beth and I go to town in the holiday section of the local Target and show up at Grandpa’s with enough decorations to last through the next two major holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Grandpa gamely tries on this turkey hat we found him.
Side note: Beth and I secretly purchased three extra hats to surprise our uncle for the Turkey Trot in Denver… as seen in this post!
Back to FL… Grandpa and Jane try on the holiday goods.
We enjoy a special birthday luncheon to celebrate Grandpa’s big day.
My uncle is so dapper!
There’s a special birthday cake for dessert…
The chantilly strawberry cake is a hit.
Grandpa is excited to go out for a drive in his car. It’s raining but still fun to cruise around for a bit.
We return to his apartment for gift time and try on the Halloween costumes once more…
All in all, a very successful trip!
We say good-bye over drinks and then turn in to catch a sunrise flight back to LA the next morning.
We all treasure the memories from that birthday weekend. Hard to believe that a full year has passed since then. Grandpa, I wish I could be in Florida to celebrate with you today!
Wishing you a very happy birthday Grandpa!! XOXO!!
Beautiful post E! So much fun and terrific for both you and Beth to take the “red-eye” in each direction so we could pull it off!
XOXO,
UD.
Thank YOU for planning such a memorable weekend!! Just looking over the photos brings a smile to my face — I’d forgotten how much fun we had with the Halloween / turkey “costumes”! A very special trip indeed!
UD has told me a lot about your Grandpa and this special celebration, but now I have faces and images to attach. Thank you for sharing!!
Lisa xo
Thanks Lisa! It was quite a memorabe trip! XO!
Hi Ca,
What a lovely blog tribute to Grandpa Gus on his 86th birthday! I am sure he was thrilled to see it. It was wonderful of UD to have arranged for that special time together last year. I am so happy at you could all share the experience and have those memories to treasure.
The turkey hats made me smile:). They are a preview of a very special Thanksgiving for you, Bethany and UD this year. How exciting to be heading not only to Israel, but to Turkey as well. “Thanksgiving in Turkey” makes me smile too. How apropos! I am so glad that you are following your heart. Your happiness means everything to me!
Love,
Momma
Thanks Momma! It was a memorable weekend for sure. And I can’t wait for this year’s Thanksgiving; it will be a very fun adventure. I love you so much!! XO!!