Merry Christmas Florida Style

December 25th arrived with sunshine, a brisk, steady breeze and the beach calling. To enjoy life to the fullest, one must be prepared when opportunity presents. With the weatherman calling for a 50% chance of rain tonight with windy conditions and a dreaded cold front poised to move into our area, we opted for the beach, of course.

The quiver of kites lives in the back of the car always ready for the right air. We decided on the sugar-white beach of Siesta Key. The wind was perfect for the big box kite and the parafoil kite with the 50' tail and we were flying high in less than five minutes.

The beach was awesome with a pretty good crowd of holiday people, but not overstuffed. The breeze was cool at times but the sun felt good. Yes, there were some people in the water (55 degrees F) - must have been Canadians. We walked down and put our toes in the water, too.

You can see lots of interesting things on any given day, but because it was Christmas Day, we saw lots of people in Santa hats playing football and frisbee; heard lots of Christmas carols; and saw one family group setting up umbrellas and tables for a family dinner. And, yes, someone brought a tree to the beach - complete with decorations.

We met lots of people fascinated by the kites and let several try their hand at flying. Watching faces transfixed and transformed by the simple act of flying a kite was a wonderful Christmas present to ourselves.

Hope you and yours experienced an uplifting day as well.

Merry Christmas and peaceful dreams,

K&J

All the Pretty Christmas Lights

Ah, all the pretty Christmas lights!

These pictures are from our Tuesday night outing in search of Christmas lights. These awesome photos were taken at Grace Baptist Church on Bee Ridge Road. Their lighting program blinks, moves and twirls to a 25-minute musical extravaganza.

You have to park in the back and walk into this musical wonderland. It is huge with over 500,000 blinking lights and 480 trees. A huge drum opens up during 'The Little Drummer Boy,' the angels fly over the manger during 'O Holy Night,' the American flag unfurls during the salute to the troops, 'Jingle Bells Forever.' This program is truly magical as you run from one side to the other with new synchronized blinks calling you over for a new experience. The crowd was hushed and in awe of the display, sometimes only able to point. Oh wait, that was me doing the pointing.

Anyway, if you find yourself in Sarasota, FL during the holidays this is a MUST SEE!

Inside volunteers serve hot cocoa and cookies. The church says this is their Christmas present to the community, and so it is.

Safe travels and holiday blessings to everyone,

K&J

Tarpon Springs

FYI, two weeks ago on our very cold day off, we went to Tarpon Springs, FL. It seemed like a wonderful day trip. We drove over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge not once, but twice!!! A real accomplishment, but it is a wonderfully wide and new bridge. It does cost a buck each time you ride over it, but it's really something to see. Went North on to Tarpon Springs, which we remembered from the movies, etc. as the sponge capital, blah blah blah.

Other than being a quaint old Greek village, it's pretty run down. The day we went it was cold and very windy and pretty much deserted. Lots of shopping, but nothing spectacular. We had a nice lunch at a Greek restaurant and ate some baklava; visited a Greek bakery and marveled at all the pastries; walked down to the sponge docks but there was no activity; took some pictures; came home. Glad we didn't plan more than a day to go there. BTW, we did not buy any sponges there (too pricey!).

In the spirit of adventure, keep going til you find something wonderful!

K&J

Martini Update

Last evening's martinis were absolutely yummy. Kathy had the 'chunky monkey' martini (chocolate vodka, Bailey's, banana liqueur, chocolate syrup, a splash of cream) -- totally decadent and absolutely fabulous.

The music was a great disappointment (Kathy is being very polite), but the company was wonderful. There were about a dozen of us fun-loving Workampers having a good time.

Frosty's fiber optic light show is dark now to avoid the annoying squeaking. The weather has taken a turn for the worse with another blast of Arctic air almost upon us. Soooo windy we took in the awning (again!) but the slide topper is making a terrible racket. We are presently rocking back and forth with gusty winds out of the NW. The temperatures are expected to hit the freezing mark Monday evening into Tuesday morning. Cold temps once again on our days off.

Our wonderful across the street neighbors faithfully go to Brown's Grove every week and we are able to send by them for fresh citrus, and boy is it tasty. We think it tastes better than any from the grocery store. We are truly blessed to have kind friends and neighbors here.

Just another reminder that life is, indeed, 'very good.'

Stay warm,
K&J

Frosty Martinis

Well, the old RV is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The little tree is up, Frosty is unboxed and his revolving light is squeaking to beat the band. We have three, yes three, Christmas cards so far. Life is good.

Friends gave us giant snowflakes that we hung across the front of the coach along with the two Santa hats on the mirrors. We are in fine (if not tacky) holiday spirit. Yes, life is very good.

Tonight we are meeting some Workamper friends poolside at the bar and grill for Music and Moonlit Martinis. Ain't life great?

Here's to good friends, good drinks, great music... 'Nuff said.

Stay warm.
K&J

WhooHoo, It's Friday!

On your calendar it may look like Monday, but to us IT'S FRIDAY! The week began slowly and turned crazy on a dime. We're experiencing a windy, cold snap here on Florida's Suncoast (BBRRR!) with below normal temps. Hopefully it will warm back up into the mid-to upper-70s by Thursday.

We are planning something FUN for Tuesday (not sure what yet, but something) and will be working at the resort Christmas party on Wednesday night. It's chilly enough for us to seek out and find the hats and gloves we brought with us. Kathy's dad brought her a knitted beanie from Vermont earlier this fall. She's cutting off the tags and wearing it in Florida (who knew?????).

Here's to a fun weekend----even if it looks like a Tuesday and Wednesday to you.

Do something fun for yourself.

K&J