Back in Florida

   From Hilton Head, S.C., we drove north to visit family in Hanover, Pa., for most of April. Then we meandered south, visiting our daughter in northern Virginia and then our sons in Raleigh. Two weeks ago we unloaded our car in Spruce Creek Country Club, where we spent last summer and fall, and settled in for the rest of the year.

   For our first travel date we drove an hour north to Gainesville to visit Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and to find a good, local coffee roaster.
   The gardens were delightful. There are two circuits, one winds past a a small water garden and loops through a butterfly garden, the other passes through the largest public bamboo forest in the Southeast and features an herb garden that smelled great and was very informative.
Speaking of delightful aromas ... we stumbled across Sweetwater Organic Coffee Roaster and, although we suspected that it was wholesale only, we knocked on the door. Inside we discovered that, yes, it is primarily a wholesale operation, but they were happy to sell me some coffee. We looked over the whiteboard where they listed the country, level of roast and even the coop from which they purchased the beans. While they were bagging some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and some Nicaraguan Matagalpa beans I peeked into the roasting room. They caught me and invited us in for a tour. Jim, the roaster, showed us the 60-kilo roaster, the supplies of green beans, the tubs of that days roasts, and walked us through the process.
   We capped the day with a visit to Sweet Mel's Bar and Grill in downtown Gainesville. We found this college bar last summer and popped in twice last year. The bartender remembered us and, it being a slow afternoon, sat down to tell us about a new burger combination he is inventing.