Forest Lake R.V. Resort

We arrived in Florida in time to watch the American election results. I'm a real Obama fan and a political junky, so I was thrilled!

We have come to a new resort this year. Alice found it and we liked the huge pool and the hot tub. The price was right too, so here we are.

It is on the outskirts of Zephyrhills only a few miles from the resort we have been at for the last two winters. I visit my friends there and go to their Swedish Weaving group. There is a Swedish Weaving group here too. Jim is playing a kind of slow pitch ball and liking it when his knee doesn't give him trouble. He has gone to some music jam sessions too. And of course, we both enjoy the pool. So we are settling in.

We sleep when we want. We eat when we want. We "do stuff" when we want and we do nothing when we want. Life is good!

We did visit the Lowery Park Zoo this week. They have a pair of new baby white tigers. We wanted to see them when they were still small - and so were the crowds. I did some "talking to the animals", especially a friendly giraffe. It was a great day!

We are driving home for Christmas with the kids and grandkids. We are leaving next Friday and will be in Ontario until the New Year. Babysitters are always needed at that time of year! :-)

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! We wish you health and happiness in the new year.

Merry Christmas !

Down the East Coast

Well, Thanksgiving is over, nights are cold, the park is closing - it's time to move to warmer climes!

Our new rig has got us in the travelling mood again, so we have decided to do the "Tourist Bit" down the East Coast. Many of you know our good friends Alice and Frank - who are full-time RVers too. They are into lighthouses, so we plan to meet them sometimes along our journey.

Our first stop was Pennsylvania, where I did a couple of days of genealogy research. The scenery is special there in the Fall.

Next we took the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, avoiding Baltimore and Washington, and went across that long bridge/ tunnel / causeway thing across the bay to Norfolk Virginia. I could do without that tunnel, but otherwise it was a great experience.

We spent a couple of nights near Cape Hatteras, where we met up with Alice and Frank and saw the famous lighthouse there. I had the BEST Lobster Bisque at Dirty Dick's!

Then Jim and I headed to Charleston - one of our very favourite cities - where we spent a few days taking the tours, visiting the market, and eating fabulous food. We love the old city with the wonderful architecture and iron work art.

Next stop, Hunting Island State Park. The park is right on the ocean with large treed sites. Great! There is a lighthouse within walking distance (for some people) so we met up with Alice and Frank again. It was a lovely relaxing few days. It is near Beaufort, South Carolina - a little gem of a town.

On to Savannah! A really beautiful city with many parks, tree-lined streets and southern architectural charm. I found the OLD cemetery fascinating - but then I'm a little weird anyway. There is a candy place there, on the Factor's Walk that makes Pralines to die for.

A great part of the trip were the "Golden Isles" of Georgia. We all stayed at a park near Brunswick and did day trips out to the coast islands in the area. If you have ever read Eugenia Price's books, they are set mostly on St. Simon's. I have read them all, so I really like that place. Jekyll Island was owned by a bunch of "Robber Barons" who had "cottages" there in the early 1900s. It is now an historic site and their "clubhouse" is a luxury Resort Hotel. Sea Island is a secluded enclave of the very rich - they had a G-8 Summit there a few years ago. We didn't make it to Cumberland Island which is mostly protected wilderness park with wild horses etc. It is also where John Kennedy Jr. was married. The area brings back the romance of the old south with plantations, old oaks draped in Spanish moss and misty marsh vistas. And you can tell - I really like it!

On to Florida!

Agawa Canyon

While my brother Stew and his wife Fran were visiting from the west, we decided to "do" the Agawa Canyon in Northern Ontario. Fran's siblings and their spouses came along too. The ten of us had a great time. We have been friends since high school days, but usually only all get together for family weddings. It was great to spend some real time with them all again.

We all met up at Joan and Don's beautiful place in Muskoka. I give 5 stars to that Bed and Breakfast! The colours were great! The weather sunny, cool and crisp. Perfect!

We car pooled to Sault St. Marie where we stayed in a nice hotel right across from the Train Station. We caught the train early the next morning. The weather on the way up was a mixture of sun, cloud and sprinkles of rain, but the colours were glorious and the scenery fabulous.

As the train arrived at the canyon, the skies opened and we had a real downpour - had to eat our box lunches on the train. That put a "damper" on things, but the canyon was still lovely.

We slept some on the trip home so we would have some energy for a great dinner and evening at the Casino next door to our hotel. A great time was had by all.

After another night at Joan and Don's, we dropped Stew and Fran off at Barry's farm. I always love the horses there and of course the weather was grand! Their lovely home is on part of the old Everson farm. Barry's son and family are in the old house where Fran was raised.

Saying good-bye to Stew and Fran is always hard. We don't see enough of each other!

Big Party

Can you believe it?

My baby turned 40 this September!

Just by a fluke my brother and his wife were visiting from B.C. too, so we had a Big Party. We also celebrated Katie"s and Georgie's birthdays at the same time.

Big family gathering in Jamie's backyard - still nice enough to use the pool.

I was having such a good time I forgot to take many pictures, but I have the memories!

Spring / Summer Up-date

Hi All,

How can a time be so busy and so relatively uneventful?

Jim and I try to spend time with family and friends in the summer because we can't in the winter, but the time goes sooo fast. We sure didn't get visiting friends very much. Sorry guys!

We did spend lots of time with the kids and grandkids. We celebrated Little Jack's 3rd birthday in May and Big Jack's 95th in July, Jim's in June, Rose's in August plus anniversaries and stuff. We were back and forth to Hanover any number of times.

We haunted Jamie and Mindy's, with them being so close. Their place is our "Internet Cafe" in the summer too. (I highly recommend the food AND the company!)

James and Mindy (I should say Katie) got a new kitten this summer. Her name is Sophie and she is a delight! So good with the kids! Nat loves her too.

As you can see we also enjoyed their pool.

Doctor appointments take up far too much of our time in the summer. They checked Jim out pretty thoroughly this year. He has a number of chronic health issues that are not going to go away, but the doctors and medications are keeping everything under control. I had more test than usual this summer too as I had had a lot of back pain. After every test known to man, they determined it was NOT cancer, but degenerative disk disease - another chronic condition to live with - but sure a lot better then the alternatives. My CLL is progressing, but just same old, same old. So we are both fine! You'll hear if there is any change.

Jim and I joined Alice and Frank for a long weekend in the Finger Lakes area of New York State. We stayed near Watkins Glen. Took a boat cruise, had some lovely meals, did a wine tour - you know the drill. Lovely and relaxing. Highly recommend!

In August we had a bad rain and wind storm during the night and our awning collapsed. To make a long story short, when they repaired the awning they found rot in the wood of our tailor structure. So, we went hunting for a new rig.

On September the 4th we took possession of our new Cedar Creek "Silverback". A 35 footer with 3 slides, a fireplace and even central vac. Life is tough! It has been very exciting!

Dear friends, as I read over this blog I realize that maybe our summer was not so "uneventful". I know it sure was busy. If we didn't see you two or three times this year, it's not because we didn't want to. Please bare with us and we'll try and do better next year. You are very important to us.

Genealogy Gathering

We barely got settled in at Pinehurst when we were off to Lancaster Pennsylvania for a gathering of Binkley Genealogy Researchers. It was a very, very special event. Thank you Lee for arranging it. Jim is very supportive of my Genealogy passion, but he really couldn't care less. It is wonderful to meet others bitten by the same "bug". There were about 30 of us. I renewed acquaintances with some dear friends / cousins I had met before and met many new colleges. That was the best part of a wonderful experience.

We had tried to arrange it for the Fall to enjoy the colours, but it is fully booked around then, sometimes years in advance. As it turned out, it was great. Quiet, no line ups or crowds. and still so very beautiful.

We had a day of wonderful seminars where members of our group (including me) presented different family lines and history. A professional researcher talked about our European roots. We had a presentation on the use of DNA in genealogy research - we have an active DNA group. People brought wonderful old artifacts and pictures, etc. etc. We packed a lot of fun and learning into one day!

For the next two days we travelled the beautiful countryside visiting family churches, cemeteries, farms, mills, and homesteads. For those bitten by the Genealogy Bug, nothing could be better! And to do it with friends and relatives who are as excited as I was made it an especially memorable experience.

For those with enough energy, we had tourist activities too - Amish Farm Tours, Musical Plays, Mini Golf etc. We usually had dinners together and I tried not to miss any evening social get-togethers. That was when we had an opportunity to really connect to the new people. By the way, we were not just a bunch of old fogies! The age range of the group was 30's to 90's. This "bug" has no concern for age!

It was sad when people started to go home. Some had to go to work. Some went on to other research centres. Some stayed for a couple of days of research in Lancaster. So a special time came to an end - till the next time!

Thank you again, Lee. I know others helped, but we all know it would never have happened without you! That week is a treasure I will always have.

Back in Florida

Well, I didn't get completely frozen. I lost my luggage on the flights home, but I didn't need those warm clothers anymore so I didn't care. My suitcase did eventually find me. I have no idea where it travelled when I left Philidelphia, but we're both back in Florida.

The rest of the winter was uneventful here. We used the pool more and more. I missed having Alice ad Frank close by, but had lots of Swedish Weaving buddies. We kept as busy as we wanted. Lovely!

We headed back north in time for Jim to do tax returns at the end of April.