How many men does it take - - - -

Sunday, April 29th

                              How many men does it take to pack a Van?

 Brian, Arlyn and Guy were down in the garage 1st thing this AM to pack the Van...

 Brian was thinking "outside the box" when he asked "Why don't you place the carrier across the back seats, rather than lengthwise?"  DAH!!! it worked and now we'll actually be able to see out the back windows for a change.

(Note: we figure we would save $$ on mileage if we could put the carrier inside Van rather than on top of roof rack)

Cleaned out the refrigerator and brought leftovers to Marie who graciously took them off our hands....Our meals now have consisted of combinations like PB and Meatballs...I had leftover salad for breakfast and we shared 3 shrimp spring rolls and 1/2 dozen shrimp for dinner....(you gotta do what you gotta do!)  but...made up for it by going out for a Hot Fudge Sundae later in the evening.

Went for a 4 mile bike ride with M & A this afternoon, then put on our bathing suits and spend a couple of hours at the pool.

Rick called this evening and gleefully reported that temps were going to go down to 20 degrees tonight....Guess we'll have to repack our travel bag and dig out our jeans and sweatshirts for the ride home....yuk!

Carol and Sid arrive

Carol and Sid arrived late afternoon, with a great Lasagna and fixins for dinner.....lovin' it...no cookin'

They usually stop on their way home every year from their winter home in No. Ft. Myers to their summer residence in Lisbon Falls, Maine.  We look forward to their visit every year......

Winter Park on Friday the 13th

Carol and I went to Water Aerobics, dried off , jumped in the car and we all took off for a day at Winter Park!  Took the boat tour....and then walked into town and had lunch at a fantastic place "Le Bistro on Park Avenue".  I had the best Reuben I've ever had....we walked around "window shopping" and I picked up some special seasoning salts....It was a great day...

One leaves and another arrives!

Carol and Sid left at 8AM, heading back to their Summer Home in Maine.  Safe travels and we'll see you in Lisbon Falls soon....

Jim and Pat arrived a couple of hours later.....we hadn't seen them since we left in December, so there were lots of hugs and greetings....We drove down to the Port and watched a few of the Cruise Ships leave, then had a quick Crab and Corn Chowder dinner and headed to the Club for the Pool Party.  Due to the heavy winds and threatening rain, the venue was moved from the pool area to the inside club....of course, once that decision was made, the winds stopped and it turned out to be a beautiful balm evening...Go figure!!!

 a few of the Hula dancers ....

It was a fun evening and nobody got wet (which would probably been the case had we been at the pool!)

Sunday, April 15th

It was a good day...started out by having a big breakfast of Birds Nest Eggs and Fruit.

Drove down to Melbourne to the Flea Market where Guy bought himself a neat Coast Guard camouflage hat (next time you see him, ask him about the bullet hole in his hat) and I bought a few kitchen supplies we needed....

Stopped at Patrick AFB for lunch at the Bowling Alley and then stopped

on our way home to go to the Open House at Bayport.....It was a really nice Condo...huge kitchen, which is always important to me.

Dinner was just snacks as we had been filling our faces all day with a big breakfast and lunch....

Didn't really do a lot today, but it was fun....

Monday, April 16th

Pat and I went shopping this morning while Guy and Jim went to the "1500 Club" which was held at 1300!  Jim was a temporary member for the day!  He may be invited back, I understand, because of the information he furnished about a certain Club Member....

Pat and I retreated to the Pool after lunch for some relaxation after the exhausting shopping trip we had to endure!

Steak and Veggies on the grill for dinner and we were all off to bed early....

Discovery leaves Space Center

We got up at 6:30 and went to the beach to watch Discovery fly over on its way to the Smithsonian.  It was such an impression sight and sad to see another indication of the closing of KSC.  After we took our walk on the beach...it was a perfect time to walk along the water's edge.....couldn't help but take this last picture....why would you bother to go down to the beach and then cover up with a towel?  stay in bed! why bother?

 Vacations are for relaxing...right?  Well, Jim is doing just that....

 We have connections:) and "they" got us a day pass to spend the day next door at Ron Jon's Water Park....we trudged over there with all our gear, found a great place under and umbrella for the ones that didn't want to be in the sun and beach chairs for Pat and I to sun ourselves.....We were like a couple of kids on our tubes going down the "Lazy River" .....

 Had lunch at the Tiki Bar and then more swimming and relaxing....

It was such a fun day and we thank our "connection" for a super day....(you know who you are!)

The Villa!

Wednesday, April 18th

We have been looking at property down here for most of the Winter.  Even though we would prefer to buy here at Solana, there's no guarantee there will be a unit available when we are ready to put down the cash for one!  So, we've checked out Open Houses etc. (it's fun to do) and today we went to check out the Condos at Bayport, which is about 1 mile from here.  From there we went across to see a Villa (part of that association)....well, I fell in love (and so did Guy)...it was priced right (although a little out of our price range) ....

This is what we saw when we opened the front door!  It was a courtyard with a beautiful swimming pool and Hot Tub....both small, but pretty darn nice!
I was oohhhing and ahhhing while Guy was calculating how much work it would be to maintain and how much it would cost.....Oh well, it's fun dream!

Jim and Pat had gone down to Patrick Air Force Base to do errands, I'm sorry they couldn't come with us to share.....

 The Thomson's treated us to a great meal at "Red Lobster".......

When their Grandchildren saw this picture on FB, they wanted to know what Grammy was drinking!  It was a milkshake, Charlotte and Eddie:)

Movie Day

Thursday, Aprtil 19th

Perfect day to see a movie....temps warm but overcast with threatening rain so what better time to go see a movie!  Then of course, the big discussion...which one?  No question on what the guys wanted to see..."Act of Valor"....not a lot of choices for Pat and I....we decided on "American Reunion"....BAD CHOICE...we thought it was a chick flick (note to self: read reviews before seeing movie!)  It turned out to be a raunchy film.....we were embarassed to even be seen leaving the theater.....we should have gone to see the 3 Stooges!
soooo we walked around Mall for 2 hours, and I don't think either one of us even bought a thing.....oh, except for the Cold Stone Ice Cream....(we deserved that)...

When we all got together and left the theatre, we looked up and saw what we thought was a dark funnel cloud....the skies were eerie, so we headed home....a couple minutes of heavy rains, the skies cleared and it was a beautiful evening.  I still have a hard time getting used to the weather down here....if the forecast calls for 70% rain, you pretty much know it won't rain.....and if it should, it will be a tremendous downpour for 10 minutes and then its over!

Arlyn and Marie joined us at Hot Tub after dinner....perfect way to end the day!

Flu Bug made a visit

Friday, April 20th

After breakfast, I began to feel a little queasy....we all just hung around the condo, reading and enjoying the warm weather on the balcony....By afternoon, I dragged myself off the couch and into the bed....I knew what I was in for.....

Our plans were to have an early dinner at Fishlips....needless to say, they went without me!  (and at that point, that was fine with me!)....They had a good meal and watched the Cruise ships leave the Port.

Good-bye and last Beach Cleanup

Saturday April 21st...
We got up early to see Jim & Pat before we left to join our Beach Cleanup Crew for the last pickup for this season.  Sadly, Jim and Judy had already left for Nebraska and Kay and Dick were visiting their Daughter in Alabama....but we made the rounds, had breakfast at The Galley and all felt better for having done a little to help the community.

When we returned home, the Thomson's had left to spend a week at their Timeshare in Cocoa Beach. 

We picked up a bit and spent most of the day gathering boxes and totes to begin the dreaded job of packing! YUK!

Ended the day by joining our Friends, Arlyn and Marie at the Hot Tub....

Afternoon at Lake Mary Jane

Christine and Bill (our neighbors from the past 2 years) invited us to join them at their Lake Camp on Sunday.  It's a beautiful spot on Lake Mary Jane.  As we were driving over to Orlando, we rain into a shower and then the skies broke into a beautiful, warm sunny afternoon.

 Their "camp" was so friendly and cozy..just the place to have the Southern
Hospitality we were invited to share with them.

 Bill took us on a boat ride all around the lake...you can see by the expression on his face, he's a big boat lover and even though you can't see Guy's expression behind the camera, his smile was just as big and genuine as Bill's.

 Chatting before "lunch" on the screened in porch overlooking the lake.

 Bill out did himself with his cooking in the charcoal smoker!  (darn..pics did not come out clear)...He fixed chicken, pulled pork and my very favorite...PORK RIBS...they were super!  In fact he gave me a big leftover package to bring home...(which I ate for breakfast, yes breakfast! and lunch the next day.....super yummy)....

Christine cutting the "cupcake" I brought for dessert.  We had a wonderful visit and truly enjoyed "Southern Hospitality" at its finest.

Pat & Joe stopped by......

Monday, April 23rd....Spent day packing (again)....will be so glad when we won't have to do this anymore.  Boxes marked "Florida" to be stored in our rented garage down stairs and those marked "Maine" to somehow be packed in the van and brought back home (again).  We've consolidated quite a bit, but the pile marked "Maine" still seems to be growing and growing....

Joe, Pat and her visiting friend, Marie came up to share someappetizers  and a glass (or two) of wine.

Day of Pampering

Today was a day that I got pampered!  At 9, I went to my Hairdressers for a much needed cut and color (did I say that?) and from there went to the Cocoa Beach Spa Center where I totally enjoyed a 90 minute Theraputic Massage given by a Sweedish Lady with the biggest hands I've ever seen on a woman!
Granddaughter Meghan gave me a Gift Certificate for Christmas and I've been waiting for the perfect time to turn it in!  With all the packing and lifting etc. I've been doing, the ol' back needed some tender lovin' care, and that's just what it got!  I felt like a wet dish rag when I left and guess that meant she did her job:)

Later on that afternoon, we met the Finnerty's at Fishlips for Happy Hour and a few adult beverages.

I'd say I had quite a good day:)

A day at Disney World

 Spent a delightful day at Disney World...Arrived at Hollywood Studios and spent several hours walking around enjoying some of the shows...this one was a Back lot Tour explaining how different special effects were done.

 This green army guy was marching all over the place, stopping to salute and sign autographs from little boys who were following him....He's a character neither of us are familiar with.....Does anyone know who he is?

 After lunch we drove over to our favorite park, Epcot......

 my very favorite scene of all...everytime I go, I take a bunch of pictures of this same scene.....go figure....

temps were perfect for spending the day walking around, but we still got thirsty so stopped in Germany to pickup a stein of nice cold brew!  It sure hit the spot.  We usually stay for the fireworks and have dinner in Japan, but decided to come back and eat at the Port, as we had a gift certificate for Grill's that was burning a hole in our pocket! 

We had a super day and were exhausted, but happy we got to go to Disney before leaving Florida....