Happy New Year to you! December is in the books and January is well underway; where does the time go? As Tom would quickly point out, it flies when you’re having fun. 😊 We traveled fewer miles in December but continued the fantastic and full theme for sure!
- 160 miles traveled in the RV
- 1,000-ish air miles traveled as Tom went to spend a week helping our youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who had shoulder surgery. All went well and they had time for fun, too. 😊
- 10 family members visited! Spending Christmas with Tom’s sis and her fam, including mom (Jeanne, 95 years young) was wonderful. We also had lunch with our nephew, McKenzie, and a quick campus tour of Florida Gulf Coast University where he is a sophomore. And we celebrated with another nephew, Logan, who just graduated from the University of Central Florida!
- 3 State Parks visited on Christmas Day. We wanted to bring some cheer and thank the staff and volunteers for working on the holidays so the rest of us can enjoy the parks! We remember well the many holidays Tom worked. 😊
- A 2-week stay in another Army Corps of Engineers Park, WP Franklin in Fort Myers (these sites are highly sought after, and we know why—they are clean with well-kept facilities and landscaping and always border a body of water. Tom wisely booked reservations six months ago!)
- 1 spirited neighborhood golf cart parade. Tom counted 39 carts, all decorated to the max with music blasting and spirits and treats free flowing! So Fun!
- Several great holiday meals with family and friends. Tom’s mom often tells us about growing up on Leberknödel suppe (liver dumpling soup, a German staple, and favorite), so we found a local German restaurant that serves it (not all do) and got some for takeout to surprise her. We also got assorted schnitzel and spaetzle and strudel, ja. 😉
- A 1-week stay in Easterlin Park in Fort Lauderdale. This county park is a tropical oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle! We’ve stayed there many times and always love it.
- 16 friends visited and some new friends were made! We had a special mini reunion with several Stranahan High School friends, some we hadn’t seen for almost 20 years! And we celebrated New Year’s Eve with dear friends, great food, much toasting and an evening boat ride to see holiday lights and fireworks from the Intracoastal. Very special memories were made! 😊
- 3 churches worshipped in (one pastored by our friend and former college ministry pastor at our church in Tallahassee!)
- Watched our FSU Seminoles get crushed in the Orange Bowl. ☹ The team we fielded was not the same team who just won 12 games plus an ACC Championship. Our second and third stringers couldn’t play to Georgia’s elite level. It was what it was, we remain loyal fans!
- 45 miles walked/biked (better than last month but still gotta move more!) 😉
- A few RV projects completed, all DIY (the list is still pretty long but most are small upgrades and modifications to make our home on wheels just right for us!)
- No RV crises or failures this month, yay!
We’re now continuing north to stay with our BFFs in Gainesville, then on to St. Augustine to see our oldest daughter, Meredith and grands, Kendall and Thomas, and then ending the month back in Fernandina Beach! We’ll stay in NE Florida until March and then begin our slow roll north, then west to Alaska! Thanks for following and please stay tuned. 😊
