March 23 - 27, 2014

Warm in Bonita Springs, company great, food excellent but Denyse had a bit of an accident and broke 2 ribs. She is in quite a bit of pain and not able to do a lot. We relaxed, watched golf tournament, chatted, read and ate well. We left on Monday and had a "lovely drive" north in the rain. A little side trip to the Ellenton Outlet Mall for a break and then onto Sharman and Roy's for the night. Great to see them and get caught up with all the news and of course Sharman cooked a fantastic dinner and fed us well. On Tuesday we checked into Far Horizons for our stay until April 30th - good to be here and listen to the waves 24/7. Unpacked somewhat, picked up a few groceries, and then met Bob and Karen for supper at the Salt Rock restaurant overlooking the Inner Coastal Waterway. Weather has been cloudy, cool, a bit of sun, rain showers - depends on what time of day it is. Wednesday we pick up my rental car and then went to a Toronto - New York Yankees spring league ballgame with Bob and Karen. Great game - Toronto down 6-1 after the second and came around and won the game 10-6. We were all dressed in long pants and sweaters at the start but the sun did come out and warm up the day a bit.

Rounded out the day at Crabby Bill's for a beer and appetizers of crab, nachos, and chicken wings. The Maritimes are being hit by another blizzard today and we did talk to all the kids and everyone safely tucked in at home. 30-50 cm of snow and high winds of over 100kms .  Katja's birthday so maybe we will call it  "Katja Juan".  Today Bernie left for Daytona for a nine day golf trip with the Amherst guys - he took side roads across the State and arrived safe and sound.  I spent the day roaming around JoAnn's, Barnes and Noble, the grocery store and puttering in our unit. The weather is still cool, cloudy and showers. Bob and Karen dropped off their extra groceries as they are heading home tomorrow. Looks like rainy weather for a couple of more days.  Happy 30th birthday Greg ! 

Mar 19 - Mar 22, 2014

We are in Florida and it is getting warmer each minute. On our way out of St Augastine we stopped at a Wed morning market beside the beach. So love these little markets with their artisans, bakers and creative people - salsa, dressings, pottery, scarves, salad dressings, jams and pickles. Early afternoon we arrived in the Villages for 2 days to visit with the Stacks and Devars - nice warm weatheer !! As usual the hospitality was super and a lot of good food, lots of laughs and a cool drink now and then. Jane and Garry are having work done on their new Florida room so the carrying of shelves and  the cable girl entertaining us with her hunt for the cable in the attic kept us busy. Bernie and I roamed the downtown Square, popped into stores, had a cool one, a driving tour with Dianne and Ivan, Olive Garden dinner, and caught up on all the news.  Now we are at the Dow's for a few days with Burt and Karen - news, hot tub, music, barbecue, laughs - just a great night

Bernie, Steve, Bert

Mar 17 - 18, 2014

St Augustine

Still cold and miserable. Headed to Savannah, Georgia to take in the St. Paddy day celebration - missed the parade (the 3rd largest in the US) but found a hotel room right downtown in the middle of the festivities. Lots of people, lots of green, weird and wonderful costumes, a bit of beer flowing, food, music but not lots of Irish music. We found one spot with Irish music, met people from the northern States, a toast and song to a newly engaged couple, and lots of uniformed firemen and police (they had taken part in the parade). A feast of shepherd's pie and a glass of wine rounded out the night - it was a rainy, cold night but we were warm inside :-). Tuesday we cancelled our thoughts of doing a Trolly tour of Savannah as it is too cold and wet - 5 degrees. Off down the road to Amelia Island, walked the beach (still cold), kept to the A1A along the coast, crossed on a ferry and ended up in St. Augustine, Florida. Still cold - 10 degrees. Walked the town with it's old bricked streets and architecture and ended up at Harry's restaurant where we had a delicious meal of crab cakes and scallops sitting on the outdoor patio with giant propane heaters keeping us warm. Am now sitting on the motel deck, wrapped in a blanket and watching the water, sailboats and palm trees. Tomorrow we are putting on sandals and shorts no matter how cold it is - this is Florida :-)

Mar 14 - Mar 16, 2014

We are off to the sunny south. Left on Friday morning and headed to an overnight with Grammie. What a drive - the roads were snow packed all the way to Fredericton and one lane bare from there to Bath. Snow everywhere - some poor people in Fredericton cannot see out their first floor windows because the snow is so high. Good visit in Bath and then on the road Saturday (snowing again) for a 1000 km run to the Lockhart's in Midland Park, NJ. Great hospitality, and a delicious Italian dinner and wine at a small local restaurant ( even though Bernie ate Steve's dinner and Steve ate Bernie's. I think the conversation went " Bernie are you eating chicken ? Ya, I think. But didn't you order veal? Ya. I thought. Steve are you eating chicken ? No I'm eating veal." And then a great chuckle. Bernie had all the mushrooms that he doesn't like and Steve was so looking forward to mushrooms ) Sunday down the 287, 78, 81, 17 and then the 95 to Rocky Mount, NC. Cold, and a grey day but there is hope. I saw 6 daffodils and green grass in one spot along the way coming into NC. Watching the weather later we saw that Washington and surrounding states received snow, more snow coming and freezing rain. Made thru it in time.

4th March, 2014

10 more sleeps and we are on our way south (weather permitting) for a bit of R and R .