BROTHER NELSON VISITS US AT TT PEACE RIVER IN WAUCHULA, FL

Sun, Apr 26 - My brother Nelson, up in The Villages, drove 110 miles this morning just to spend the day with his sister!!  We had a great time together.  Took a short hike along the Peace River.  Didn't see any alligators!!

Afterwards, we sat around a sipped some wonderful Blueberry wine that he had brought to us on a previous trip.  We ended the day with dinner at Paul's.

Thanks so much for coming to visit, Nelson.  Really enjoyed seeing you!!

A DAY WITH OUR FIRST RV BUDDIES!!

Tue, Apr 21 - We spent the day today with our good friends Jim and Evie (Evelyn to us) who live in Sarasota.

(Sorry about the brightness of the sunlight!)

We were on our first RV trip in 1998-99 and just happened to meet up with Evelyn and Jim at Christmas time at Thousand Trails Medina Lake in Texas.  RVing was all new to us and we had more fun with this couple who had been RVing for years.  We spent two weeks with them at Medina Lake partying, playing card games and Mexican Train, and of course EATING!!

When our time was over, we decided to go to Big Bend National Park with some other people from the campground while Evelyn and Jim went north.  But, before parting, we made arrangements to meet up with them again in a few weeks.  We traveled all the way up the west coast together -- meeting up and separating; meeting again and separating.  We really learned a lot from our first RV buddies.

When we got together today, we spent hours looking at pictures of our times together in Evelyn's picture albums, and drinking wine.  Evidence is there on the table in front of us!

Then we played a few games of Euchre and reminisced some more.  After having delicious Chicken Alfredo and salad it was time for us to leave.

What a fun day!!  Thanks Evelyn and Jim.  It was so good seeing you again.

CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES DAYS WITH VICKIE AND STEVE!

Sat, Apr 18 - We drove down to Pembroke Pines, about 180 miles, for the weekend to visit with Ken's daughter Vickie and husband Steve.  We chose this weekend because it was the
annual City of Pembroke Pines Festival.

Part of the festival was live music and fireworks on Saturday.  The four of us enjoyed a couple of south Florida bands:

Rough Shots who played Country Music -

 And Loose Change who played Mo-Town and Rock.

Here we are enjoying the show!

I met and chatted with Lady Pines!!  Cute as a button!!  But when you see my expression you can understand why I insist on taking two shots with the camera!!

Fireworks began promptly at 9 PM.

I had never seen a fireworks that looked like the red and green one below.  Bottom two pictures are the Grand Finale!!

Thanks Vickie and Steve for a great weekend!

MILES - A NEW HORSE FOR THOMAS!

Apr 6 - My grandson Thomas in Raleigh has become quite the Equestrian!!  In fact, his skills are such that he needed a new horse who could scale the higher jumps.  So earlier this month, Thomas and his mother took a trip to Ocala, FL where they saw, tested, and bought Miles.

Miles is a beautiful gray Irish Sport Horse.  He is six years old and stands 16' 2" tall.

I had never heard of an Irish Sport Horse but found out that this breed is the result of a cross between the Irish Draught and a Thoroughbred.  Team Windchase describes the Irish Sport Horse as follows:

The Irish Sport Horse has a tremendous gallop with plenty of speed, exceptional jumping talent, and has been bred for centuries to run and jump and go across the countryside.  They have the heart and keen intelligence of a Thoroughbred, coupled with a calm and sensible temperament from their Irish Draught blood. They are known for their great durability, soundness and stamina.

Miles sounds like the perfect horse for the perfect Grandson!!!

Happy Trails, Thomas!!