April 28, 2010, Wednesday

After 3 nights on the road we crossed the border into Canada. Spent the night in Bath and arrived home at 5pm on Wednesday. 10,000 kms under our belt, lots of good times and memories. Glad to be home !

April 24, 2010, Saturday

Saturday - rise and shine and pack. It is a bit dreary outside which makes it easier to leave. Looking forward to going home but will miss the great weather. On the road by 9am to head up Park Blvd to pick up the RV, unload the car and then back down to Clearwater to drop off the rental car. We made good time, traffic not too heavy on the 75, 301 and then the 95. Bernie drove and I quilted. Around 5pm we left the 95 and headed east about 16 miles to Jekyll Island, Georgia where we found a spot at the campground. Have stayed here before and really liked the area. Quiet, good sized lots and lots of trees and best of all - no traffic noise. After setting up, we went for a nice long walk to the pier.Bernie put a campfire on while I threw together some supper. Had a great evening with supper outside and sat around the campfire for a couple of hours. Peaceful way to end the day.

April 23, 2010, Friday

Our last day at Redington Beach for another year. We have had a great time and a real rest - good for the mind and body. This morning we cruised down to Pass a Grill at the end of the Island to see if any tents and exhibits have been set up for the weekend "Music on the Beach" festival. We were too early but did take a look around at the area. Back to the condo for lunch and then hit the beach. Usual thing, swim, rest, read, wander down the beach to Grand Shores to see what is happening. Ended up with Beth and Pete and friends for the afternoon on the beach and then "waddled" down to Wahoo's for a delicious fish dinner on the deck on the canal side. Lots of laughs. Great way to end the 2 weeks.

April 21-22, 2010, Wed-Thurs

Wednesday was sunny and warm again. No wonder nobody talks about the weather down here-it is usually nice. Bernie played golf at the Bardmor Course with Eugene, Chris and Dick and had a pretty good round. I went and had my "quilt fix" at Rainbow's End in Dunedin. Luckily enough, I talked to Les on Skype before I went so I could give her the good news about my adventure ( her old quilt store she used to visit when she lived in Florida ). She and Dennis are pretty confident they will be able to fly home from Paris on Friday (the volcanic ash seems to have cleared over Europe). They have enjoyed their visit with Sophie in France. Spent the afternoon on the beach and then "had" to go out to dinner with Jeannie, Mark and Mary Anne to Cheddars. Jeannie just bought a used Austin Mini Cooper and had to show it to us all. It is so cute.

Thursday - sunny again. Drove down to Indian Rocks. parked the car and walked along the Inland Waterway for our morning walk. A few boats on the water and a couple of dolphins following in their wake. Afternoon on the beach, swim, read, people watch. Didn't see Beth and Pete today as they rented a tricycle (3 wheeled motorbike) for the day and took off towards Anne Marie Island.
Dianne and Ivan Duvar called to invite us to go to dinner at Spoto's Grill 131 (corner of 131st St and Park Blvd) and of course we said yes. It was so good and definitely the best meal we have had in Florida. Another fun day.

April 19-20, 2010, Mon-Tues

Monday woke up to a dreary day. Went for a walk along the beach and we were not 10 minutes into our journey and it started to rain - a nice warm rain so we kept on trucking. By the time we had our coffee, breakfast and cleanup the sun was out and the sky was blue. Paul, Judy, Barry, Wendy, Donnie and Karen arrived around 11:30 to have lunch and some time on the beach before Paul and Judy caught the big white bird to fly home. Doubletree Condos have a nice patio on the beach so we headed there for lunch and a cold one. Were not disappointed. The crew caught some rays and then hit the road to fight the traffic to the airport (Bernie and I returned to the beach :-)), Supper we barbecued chicken and sat on our deck and watched the sun go down. There was a huge black object in the water and we couldn't tell what it was. Out with the binoculars and decided it was a huge tire tube or the likes bobbing in the water. People along the beach couldn't tell either so as soon as they saw the binoculars they would come ask . We met a lot of people that evening as well some Newfs next door who were barbecuing. Between Dancing with the Stars and a hockey game, we had a quiet evening.

Tuesday, another nice day. Walk, breakfast, trip to John's Pass for coffee, Winn Dixie shopping, used book store splurge (I'm out of books) and then it was lunch time. Friends from Amherst, Jeannie Milner and Maryanne Price came to spend the afternoon on the beach so Bernie took the opportunity to go have his "Hardware Store Fix" by himself. He checked on the RV and had a wonderful time browsing. And of course he found a couple of things. Beth and Pete came for supper and we barbecued shrimp, scallops and peppers with wild rice and asparagus. Have to say it was delicious. Bernie "made" his coconut cream pie (just like he "made" the Key Lime pie when we went to their place) for dessert. No sunset tonight as the clouds have moved in.

April 16-17 2010, Fri-Sat

Friday another gorgeous, sunny day. Up and had our walk on the beach and collected our coffee at the cafe. Lots of people out walking, fishing, gathering shells (the beach is covered with little shells and white sand), pelicans, seagulls, and boats. By the time we read the paper on line, wash the dishes and have our coffee it is beach time. Finally barbecued those steaks we bought a few days ago - social life disrupts home cooking a lot of nights ! After supper we wandered up the beach to Beth and Pete's to have a sociable and say goodbye to Marlene and Joe.

Saturday - Happy birthday Aaron - 2 years old today and is singing happy birthday to himself. I bet his Mom taught him how to sing that. This morning we took off to the big Craft and Artist Fair in St. Petersburg on the water. A lot of fantastic things. Bought a map of the Abacos for the cottage. Spent the afternoon on the beach again . Am on my 4th book since we arrived. Sharman and Roy called so we went to dinner with them. See, another social night, no home cooking.

April 18, 2010, Sun

Sunday woke up to rain and more rain. No beach day today. We and the Estabrooks headed to Punta Gorda to the Muscle Car Museum where we spent 3 hours looking at corvettes (the owner has a least one from every year they were made, including 2010), lunch, car store and talking to the owner. There were at least 200 cars - all GM and some very old ones. Great way to spend a rainy day. Back to watch golf, leftovers from the fridge and watch the American Counrty Music Awards. Relaxing day .

April 14-15, 2010, Wed-Thurs

Wednesday was a day of relaxation. Walk on the beach, swim, read, snooze. We went to bike night at the Quaker State restaurant with Pete, Beth, Joe, Marlene, Kurt and Ashley. Hundreds of bikes in all shapes and sizes (as well as the owners) and it was a sight to see. Some of the get ups they wore, tattoos, bikes dressed up - it was a show all its own. We had very good burgers for supper while listening to the band and people watching. One poor guy had his bike blown over by the wind and did a lot of damage to the custom paint job.

Thursday Bernie played golf with Roy, Eugene, & Chris and I went shopping. Spent the afternoon on the beach and had a visit from Sharman and Roy. At the last minute we decided to go to the show under the big top. It was called Cavalia (www.cavalia.com) and it was described as an equestrian arts event with 40 horses per show, horse whisperer, visual effects, live music, dance, acrobatics and a Cirque du Soleil atmosphere. The Liberty segment was the most powerful with 9 white horses coming onto the stage area one at a time, loose with no person with them. They played and frolicked with each other for several minutes and then a female trainer came out and had them go thru some fantastic maneuvers by just touch, hand movements and a sound now and then. The whole time they played and nipped at each other. Just like a group of little kids but they were in control the whole time. It was magical to watch. There were stunt riders, dressage, and a lot of the time the horses were loose on the stage with no riders or ropes and acrobats flipping all around them and the music playing. Quite something.

April 11-13, 2010, Sun-Tues

Sunday we packed up the car with our goodies for 2 wks at the condo. We looked like hillbillies with all our bags and food. Left the RV at Roy and Sharman's office parking lot overnight and checked in at Far Horizons by 2pm and on the beach by 2:15. Soooooooo nice to feel that white sand and salt water. Not to over do it, we watched the exciting last round of the Masters, munched on little bits of this and that for supper (have to get to a grocery store) and enjoyed listening to the waves falling asleep.

Monday we took the RV to the storage bldg (StorHouse on 49th), played golf with Sharman and Roy at the Biltmore Golf Course,had supper at a burger joint called The Five Guys. Good old fashion burger and homemade fries which was delicious but you only do that once on your holiday. Missed our swim today but did get in a beautiful sunset. We wandered up the beach and found Pete and Beth, and Joe and Marlene (also their son Kurt and girlfriend Ashley). Time for a sociable or two !

Tuesday it was walk time on the beach, BadAss Cafe coffee, Bernie had a haircut at the women's boutique/hairdresser, visit to the grocery store, afternoon on the beach, Skype with Leslie and Jeff, Jack and Aaron,phone calls to the Moms, spaghetti supper at Pete and Beth's , a few sociables and lots of laughs with them and Joe and Marlene. Late night for us - midnight.

April 7-10, 2010, Wed-Sat

Another 4 gorgeous days - sunny and hot. Wed I spent with the girls shopping at the outlet stores and did have fun buying a few things for the "kids". We then hit the beach for a little R & R as we had a very busy day ! So busy, we even went out for supper to the Beachhouse restaurant. Bernie and boys rented a 62' catamaran and spent the afternoon off the shores of Daytona.

On Thursday all the wives and husbands met in Orlando for a joyous reunion and then we hit Universal Studios for some entertainment of rides, music, plays, food, people watching, eating, etc. Can now tick Universal Studios off our list. Bernie and I stayed at the KOA Kissimmiee while the rest stayed at a motel.

Friday Bernie and I went across country to Cortez (Bradenton) and set up the RV at Holiday Cove RV Resort which is just a mile from the Cortez bridge to Bradenton Beach. The MacLeods. MacEacherns and Cormiers have a condo just on the other side of the bridge. We had a nice quiet afternoon - swam in the pool while our laundry was being done, barbecued hamburgs, talked to Greg and Jeff, went for a drive down Longboat Key and ended up at Lido Beach to watch the sunset.

Saturday, Bernie played golf with the guys and the girls did the beach thing - read, swim, sleep, people watch. Great afternoon. In the evening we went to the Seafood Company Restaurant. A dumpy little place right on the dock, with picnic tables and the smell of fish. Just the kind of place Dad would have had the Health Dept in to shut down ! Waited an hour for our food out of a card board box. Pretty good crab cakes, fish, etc but it was all about the atmosphere. Been on the road for a month and things are great

April 5-6, 2010, Mon -Tues

Monday - Steve left at 5am for a flight to North Carolina to play golf with a bunch of guys. Denyse and I were up at 6am to see the shuttle launch, marvelled at the sight and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Lazy morning, packed, and headed out to do a bit of window shopping, lunch and then dropped Denyse off at the airport to pick up her vechile. I hit the 75 and headed to Anna Maria Island - great trip, traffic not too bad and landed at Wendy's by 5:30. Judy and Karen arrived from home by 7pm and we all settled in for a few days of sun and relaxation while the guys are golfing.

Tuesday another day of sun and heat - 80. Beach time, walk, swim, lunch, scenic drive, grocery shopping, barbecue, chat and relaxation. Talked to Jeff and Aaron on Skype - it was so great to see them both. Jack was at a friend's house. Chatted with Bernie and they are having a great time. They are chartering a boat tomorrow .Another great day in the sunny south.

April 3-4, 2010, Sat-Sun

Saturday - another beautiful day. We packed again and headed out to Miami but first we had to drop "Rocket" at the doggie spa and kennel. Steve and Denyse's first dog and first away trip without him. Big time stuff ! Across Alligator Alley to Miami was smooth sailing - traffic was light and the company good, We stopped to visit Denyse's sister, Paulette, in North Miami on the beach. Nice spot and great beach with the huge waves rolling in. We continued down to South Beach to have lunch and experience the atmosphere of that part of Miami. Found our hotel which overlooked a race track and casino and could see the Sunlife Stadium down the road. The pizza man making a delivery to the hotel gave us a drive to the stadium (for $'s of course) as the shuttle line was huge. Into the Paul McCartney concert we went along with 40,000 of our "closest friends".Some of them were having great tailgate parties. It is an open air stadium and we had seats on the floor relatively close to the stage. It was a great 2 1/2 hr show of singing with no intermission - lighting, video shows, a drummer who was a show in himself, the crowd, the atmosphere. It was great. A few songs, the bass so a bit loud and our old bodies could feel the vibrations. Could have done without those but he put on a great show - lots of old songs, new songs, other artists songs. No costume changes, just guitar and piano changes. When we got out the line for taxis was huge and not moving so we walked the 2 miles. Felt safe the whole time as there were policemen every 1/4 mile. And the limos, every shape, length and colour.It was 12:30 by the time we hit the sack.

Happy Easter. Sunday up early as my Blackberry switched over to "daylight savings time" but I figured out pretty quickly that it was too dark outside for 8am. Checked my phone and TV and they were both saying 7am. Back to bed for another hour. When I got up, they were doing a morning run on the horse track. Pretty neat to stand on the balcony and watch them train. We were back in Bonita Springs by 11am to pick up Rocket from his sleepover but I don't think he slept much last night as that is all he has been doing today. Arrived at the Dow's to discover the Easter Bunny had visited. Just what we all need - chocolate. Relaxing afternoon and then headed out to dinner with Denyse and Steve's friends Gerry and Christian. Delicious dinner (peppered steak) and great company. tried to watch the movie Foot Locker but we all fell asleep.

April 1-2, 2010. Thurs-Fri

April Fool's Day. Thursday Bernie was off to Daytona for a week golfing with 11 other "golfers". He was excited (well, as excited as Bernie gets) and on the road by 8:45. Along the way he stopped to wash the RV, got hung up in a traffic snarl around Orlando and arrived safely in Daytona around 2:30 to check into the Daytona Beach Hotel and Convention Center right on the beach. Sharman and I went for a walk around their park, hit some golf balls with Roy and then hit the beach for some Vitamin D and a swim. The water is slowly warming up and the beach was very busy as it is Easter weekend and the end of school break. Sharman and I did a bit of shopping and then had a delicious dinner at the Olive Garden. Ran into Dianne and Ivan and her son, Nathanial.

Friday Sharman and I went to an aqua fitness class early in the morning. It felt great. I left around noon and headed south to Bonita Springs to Denyse and Steve's abode to visit for a couple of days. Trip was fine along the 95 and old TomTom directed me right to their door. Arrived in time to unpack, change clothes and head to the beach with them and another couple (Steve and Cheryl from Minnesota) to sit on the beach, drink a cool one, order pizza and watch the sunset. Almost perfect evening. (Bernie would have made it perfect). The days have been hot and sunny with a cooling off in the evening.

March29 - 31st, 2010, Mon-Wed

Monday morning (after a night of heavy rain and a wet bed because I left the window open a bit) we walked around the little town of Cedar Key and then headed for Wildwood. It is finally looking like spring, the trees are all out in leaf and lots of blossoms. So great to see. Near Ocala we tried to get into the subdivision that Steve Maltby bought a home but the security at the gate wasn't obliging us and said no. The area and houses look really great. Will have to come back when he and Kathy are in residence. Met Marilyn and Brent Allison at their security gate and we parked the RV. Spent a lovely evening with them at their home and out for dinner at the Villages- caught up on all their news.

Tuesday dawned sunny and warm. We left the Allison's and headed south to Tampa. Our first stop was an IH tractor museum very near Wildwood where Bernie had a great chat and tour with the owner. This gentleman had restored 100 old tractors and build a beautiful building for them. All shined up and looking like new. Also had another building filled with memorabilia, stage, video system, limo and other items that IH make. Fascinating place and person. We planned on going to Busch Gardens for the afternoon but after spending 1 1/2 hours getting into the parking lot and line up for tickets, the $130 a person to get into the park and the Safari was too much for our blood. Had no idea the tickets were that much especially when the Safari was what we wanted to see. Had a picnic lunch in the RV and chalked it up to experience. We camped at Rally Park near Lazy Days RV and had a night of steak barbecue, laundry, walk and socializing with neighbours.

Up early today and had the RV at Longview RV to have the slide outs checked as they are a bit jumpy when moving. They did a bit of adjustment on the tracks and then tried to talk us in to upgrading to the next model. We looked and liked but did not bite. By noon we were on our way to visit Sharman and Roy Smith in Largo. They fed us lunch, took us to pick up our rental vechile, and then prepared a delicious barbecue. Some other friends from Amherst joined us - Ginny and Eugene, Frank and Roy's brother and his wife.