Potpourri

Tampa Florida State Fairgrounds - January 10, 2011

Since it has been approximatly 9 - 10 weeks since my last entry, I thought I would bring you all up-to-date on what we have been doing since November 4th.

At that time, we had visited San Antonio, TX, and were headed back to Florida for an RV show on Nov. 11. Nothing memorable happened during the trip to Florida. We arrived in Titusville on Sunday, Nov. 7 and relaxed for a couple of days before traveling over to Tampa for the show. The show itself was OK, but not as good as last year, prompting us to consider going west next winter to work a few shows out in California and Arizona.

We returned to Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday and stayed through Christmas. It was good to get home to see family, which is what we truly do miss when we travel. The weather cooperated, for the most part. It was cold and dry, but at least the snow and nasty New England weather held off until just before we were ready to head back to Florida. We were "blessed" with a Nor'easter on Sunday, the 26th of December, which lasted until mid-afternoon on Monday. Needless to say, I had to help out with the shoveling, even though the driveway had been plowed twice during the storm.

As I said, above, it was good to see family again. We got to see just about everyone while we were home, since Chris and Jen decided to host Christmas Eve in Hamilton. The party was a big hit, especially with the little ones, who actually got to see Santa!! I guess the highlight of our stay at home would have to be seeing our grandchildren. Aaron was such a joy to spend time with. He is so grown up at 7 years old! He is very smart, and so interesting to talk with, especially when it comes to talking about things he knows lots about, like Star Wars and Dinosaurs! We played lots of games, and we even got to play a game that Aaron designed by himself! In addition, we did get to see a lot of Ava. Mike and Lisa arrived on Thursday before Christmas and stayed until Christmas Eve, so we got lots of opportunity to spend time with "Miss Ava". She is such a doll. She loves people and attention. The way she gets about, we swore she would be walking before they left. That didn't happen, but, yesterday, Sunday, January 9th, 2011, Ava took her first steps on her own! Imagine that, 13 months and 2 days after her birth, she's walking!!! Way to go, Ava!!

We began our trip south on Tuesday, December 28th, at about 7AM. Chris, Jen and Aaron also left at the same time, as they were flying to DC to spend some time with Jen's dad, Fran and his wife, Marcy. Our travel plan was to get to Richmond, VA, by Tuesday evening. However, due to the traffic in CT, NY and NJ, we only got as far as Aberdeen, MD, leaving us a loooooong way to go! The rest of the trip was basically uneventful, and the weather really was beautiful, so we can't blame the traffic on that. Truth be told, the traffic was probably mostly due to people traveling to the various Bowl games taking place that week. Every year, we say the same thing - "Never again!", but every year, there we are, stuck in the same traffic jams as last year, and cursing, saying "Never again!", again!

We arrived in Port St. Lucie on Thursday, Dec. 30, at about noon. I spent the rest of the afternoon (after unpacking the car) at the DMV, renewing my auto registration, then at the Honda dealership having the oil changed. It was about 5PM when I got back to the park. Speaking of the park, we could not believe how devastated it looks, after the frosts and cold weather in December (coldest December on record). Many of the trees and plants were brown; some were ruined and will have to be replaced. Our main purpose in returning to PSL, other than the fact that the motorhome was parked there, was to spread new mulch in the plant/hedge beds. However, considering the condition of these beds, we decided it would be foolish to mulch. We spent Friday running errands, then had a quiet dinner in the coach, and celebrated New Years Eve quietly relaxing. On Saturday, we packed up and headed north to Titusville, where we will be spending the next three months, or so, before heading north, again.

We are now in Tampa, awaiting the start of the RV Super Show here, which runs through next Sunday. From here, we head south to Ft. Myers for another show, then we will take a week off before our first show in February, in Brooksville, FL. This will be a busy week for us. We will probably be out with friends every night while we are here, since we haven't seen some of them for some time. Also, our RVing friends, the Burchs, the Borsettis and the Desmets will probably be here at the show at some point, so we will be spending an evening with them, as well. Fun, fun, fun!! To add to the fun, we have been following the weather, and it looks like the northeast will be "blessed" with another storm Tuesday into Wednesday, dumping a foot or more of snow! And here we sit, in shorts and T's, enjoying the 70 degree days and 60 degree nights!! Rage on, winter!

Until next time, stay safe and healthy!