Movin' on Down

We took Charlie to the airport today. She wanted to get home to attend the wedding of a fried she has known since pre-school. She will take care of the house and cats for us while we are gone. She is a junior at Fairmont State majoring in Sign Language and Psychology.

We left Fort Lauderdale today and headed for the Floriday Keys. The temperatures in the Keys are in the high 70's to mid 80 degree range with a nice prevailing breeze. The campground is on Ohio Key and is called "Sunshine Key RV Park". The entire key is a campground! It borders a bridge with a railroad bridge that has been converted for fishing, walking and biking.

We visited the weekend flea market on the next key south. This is one of my favorite locations because they have great jewelry buys, designer purse knock-offs, and tropical clothing.

Unfortunately, we learned that Aunt Kathaleen died this morning. In our visit with her she was very adamant that it was time for her to move on, she had endured enough pain and suffering. We were all very glad we had the opportunity to spend time with her on our way south.

Christmas in Florida

The temperatures in Florida are in the 70's to 80's and the sky is sunny and clear. Homes and yards are decorated festively although it is strange to see decorations on palm trees instead of pine trees.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our friends Enes and Bill DeSepio in Coral Springs and their family. We have been doing this for the past 13 years or so making this our holiday tradition. The Christmas Eve meal was a traditional Italian feast of 7 fishes prepared by the womenfolk. It was phenomenal! Christmas Day brought in extended family members and friends to share in the holiday spirit.

On the Road Again

Gene, Charlie, and I loaded up the motorcoach and left Fairmont on December 16 headed for sunny Florida. We stayed overnight in Columbia, SC. See a picture of our coach below.

The next day we headed for Williston, in central Florida to visit Gene's aunt Kathaleen. She is 92 and was recently admitted to a nursing home after a stroke. We spent the afternoon with her and enjoyed Christmas carolers who visited from her church. Aunt Kathaleen, her daughter Margie, and son-in-law Shanley are pictured to the left one year ago.

That evening we headed for Fort Lauderdale and stayed at Paradise Resort. We stayed in this campground years ago when it was much smaller. Luckily we were located close to the pool in a nice sunny spot.