They don't call it Winter down here in Florida. It's knows as "The Season" as in, "when The Season begins....", or "I can't wait for The Season to end so all those snowbirds will go home".
We came down in the first week of November and have been staying put until this March, the 22nd, when we start heading west for our next country-wide journey. Here's our tentative map with stops along the way. We've got it booked through end of May so far.
We'll probably end up in the Keys (Marathon) for the month of October and then come back here for "The Season" when we might/might not start looking for a real home.
Here's a sampling of what we've been up to for the past 4-5 months...with captions.
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| I built these entrance and exit ramps to make it safer for us to walk in and out. |
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| These make it so much easier to enter and exit, especially with groceries...nice and stable. |
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| I built a few Kleenex boxes for the coach...took a few tries to get them right. |
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| My first birdhouse! |
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| Another Kleenex box. |
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| ...and one for the bathroom area. |
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| Bottom of Kleenex box with it's distinctive markings. |
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| Then Kim and I glued up a new panel for where our bedroom TV used to be. |
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| Thanksgiving BEFORE. |
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| AFTER |
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| ...and way AFTER |
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| At the Mote Aquarium in Sarasota |
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| Some rays gliding through the water. You are allowed to reach in and touch them. Velvety. |
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| The goofball in the ray's mouth. |
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| Dog Day at the RV Park. This one won for Best Costume. |
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| I took up line dancing. Every Thursday night they had it so I went since November. Here I am looking at my tablet at youtube learning the Pontoon dance. |
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| Every now and then I need to empty the van and clean it up. I eventually gave away my golf equipment...just wasn't playing at all. |
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| We bought a shower curtain to get some privacy where we sit under our awning so we found one that blended in well with the surrounding forest...except it blew in the wind like crazy! |
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| LOTS of bikes around here, especially at the swimming pool area. |
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| We bought ourselves a tandem. It's a big hit around the park as we drive it. People have never seen two people on one bike. |
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| Line dancing at the Wood Shop Dance where Kim and I helped set it up and run it. |
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| Valentine's Day. I surprised Kim because she thought we agreed not to do anything. Check out that HUGE box of chocolates. |
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| February is Kim's birthday so my tradition is to buy here lots of cards...some mushy, some humorous. |
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| Kim's birthday dinner at Fin's restaurant. Cocktails before eating. |
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| Goofing around on our "patio"...got a bit cold during January...well, cold for Florida...all the way down to 56 degrees ! |
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| Of course, lots of beach for us. Not, that's not us in the chairs. |
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| The one with a long beak is a Black Skimmer |
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| Gorgeous sunsets at the North Jetty, Venice, FL |
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| It kept getting better. |
Anyway, that's a bit of what we've been doing for The Season.
Now, we've been packing and getting ready for our upcoming journey across the states. Keep watching for our entries...should be fun.
Steve and Kim
