Old and new friends

As you can see from these photos the weather has warmed up a bit. Yesterday, we met some friends from Indiana at Pine Island. There are actually about ten Pine Islands in the US; four of which are located in Florida. We chose the one near Hernado Beach which is about half way between where they are staying and where we are staying for the winter.

We met for a picnic lunch and a leisurely three hour chat on the beach. About four o'clock the wind started to pick up making it necessary for us to leave the beach and head for some refreshments at the nearest Hooters. That location prompted cheers from the men.

I have mentioned Dave and Jean before in this blog. They are our friends from Elkhart who recently started full timing. They brought their friends and Indiana neighbors, Sunny and Steve. They are a charming couple who traveled extensively with their business and are very interesting to talk with. They purchased their first motor home at the suggestion of Dave and Jean and made a trip to South Dakota last summer. We discussed some of our favorite sightseeing places from South Dakota.

Now, I have been debating about sharing this next piece of information with you for some time. But here goes, if you are wanting to become a full time traveler, make sure you and your travel companion are good friends. Bill and I have discovered that when in a motor home, one can not slam doors, rant, or rave while living in close proximity to anyone. Even if you want to get out of your spouse's hair by going into the other room...you are in the other room. You live in a 300 sq. feet home (If that much.) So, make sure your traveling companion is your best friend. Rainy days can wear on your "togetherness".

Our campground is made up of snowbirds from many different states and countries, mainly Canada. Last night we had our first movie night. They showed the movie "Canadian Bacon" with John Candy. The Canadians sat on one side and the Americans sat on the other side of the room. We all wore shirts or emblems sporting our nationality.

The lady who planned this event worried so much about it, but she came up with some wonderful ideas. During the movie she paused the movie and we had a snowball fight (balloons). We waved our respective flags. We were taught some of each country's slang words, and at the end of the night declared our friendship with each other.

It was a well received time with about 50 people attending. In two weeks they will show the movie "Mama Mia". I anticipate a dance contest.

Well, I'm just killing time while Bill is out fishing. I need to start his lunch, so God bless you all. Don't forget to let your friends know how much they mean to you. Until next time...

Cold and Freeze

Ok, here is a picture of our flower garden BEFORE the cold and the freeze or should I say the freezes. Our neighbor covered them while we were gone, and we covered them once we got back home but, unfortunately, the weather won out. They say this is the coldest it has been since 2003. I know that doesn't sound like a long time, only six years, but 20 degrees in Florida just doesn't compute. This weekend when it warms up I will trim back the "frozen" leaves and hopefully some of the plants will survive.

Do you know what they do about the strawberry crop? When the temperature goes below 32 degrees they spray water on the plants, the water freezes, encasing the plants which keeps the strawberries from being damaged. It seems to work. Later this month there will be a strawberry festival in Plant City. It is a huge event down here. Last year we missed it but maybe this year we can go.

That is one nice thing about traveling fulltime. We had free, fresh citrus from November through March in our campground, strawberries in February, and when we were in Oregon last year, we had fresh peaches in September. We have already had fresh grown sweet corn down here. We try to buy from local farmers when possible. The price is usually better.

We have kept warm by buying a heavier blanket, using our space heater, going shopping, and line dancing. Bill is the star of the class. Everyone loves it when he has to shimmy his behind. There have been two other gentlemen in the class, but not since Bill started dancing. Maybe they are afraid of the competition.

Bill has signed up to officiate softball in Florida and so we needed to purchase a pair of light gray trousers, which is part of his regulation uniform. We went to Sears, Pennys, K-Mart, Bells, Bells Outlet, but have not had any luck so far. We are going to have to order from a catalogue.

Tonight is Texas Hold Em night. I have my Bingo nights and Bill has his poker nights. While Kenny was here he was in a Texas Hold Em tourney and won. He was thrilled. He didn't even feel bad about taking money from complete strangers.

Heard from Mike, our youngest son, yesterday. It was snowing again in Indianapolis to the tune of four inches in three hours. He has purchased his ticket to fly down here later this month. Can't wait to see him. He has asked his dad to save at least four days so they can go fishing. Bill didn't turn that down.

Our neighbor had surgery Monday. He had rods put in his back. Can you believe that he was released from the hospital today? He seems to be doing quite nicely. God is good!

Well, we will just have to see what is in store for us tomorrow. God bless you all.