A winter filled with music and friends old and new

We had a flock of sandhill cranes in the field by where we took our walks!

This little one was so curious!
He came right up to the side of my kayak!

So many manatees and fish at Blue Spring State Park

We saw these storks at the Homosassa Wildlife park

       We had another great winter in Florida. We were back at the same campground that we have loved,  but now that it is under new ownership, it seems like a different place. The facilities haven't changed, but the sense of community has all but disappeared. It is now just a comfortable, familiar place to park our camper. We didn't let this spoil our fun, we just ventured out to find activites and a job.

We enjoyed our new campsite, it even had a cement pad, and was next to the pool!


Music with friends old and new


Did you know that wild orange trees have thorns?
 They also like to grow way up high!


The oranges were sweet and bountiful this year!

Our friend April

       

      The first thing we found was a wonderful group of line dancers at a community center just 3 miles from the campground! Twice a week we went and learned new dances and shared some of our favorites!  We even had two friends from our line dancing group at TPR campground come join us for a few classes when they were available! The class filled the room with 25 to 35 people of all dancing abilities! Mark danced in the middle of the room and the front when he taught,  but I was a back row girl, and tried not to get into too much trouble!  We also found a partner dancing class where we worked on the Texas 2-step,  west coast swinging,  the triplestep and more. Lots of fun and two great groups of people!

         My next quest was to find a Tai Chi class, and then I added in Chi Gong. Both classes were taught at a city park in Inverness, by teachers who volunteered their time to share their unique talents and knowledge! I also enjoyed some great yoga classes at a local studio!
         We have a favorite casual restaurant in the Villages called Island Fin Poke. They make Hawaiian style poke bowls to order. I half jokingly told Mark that it might be fun to work there. He said that he had been thinking the same thing.  When we walked by there was a help wanted sign in the window. We were hired on the spot (the owner was desperate, and she must have thought we looked dependable). The job ended up being alot of work, but we met many nice people, and we still enjoy the food!

   

     The "megatop" with all the yummy ingredients

      

       We got good at making cups of Dole Whip

       One of the best things about our job was that it was at Brownwood Paddock Square, one of the Villlages' four outdoor venues for free live music and dancing every evening, 365 days a year weather permitting. When we worked the lunch shift, we would usually have a poke bowl for dinner,  then stay for the live music at the Square.  We had so much fun dancing and watching the crowds! We were able to see around 25 different bands this winter. Yes, we had our favorite, and followed them around to the different squares like groupies! Our biggest surprise was when our friend Debbie and her family met us to see Scooter the DJ. I thought "it's just a DJ, not a band," so we had never bothered to go see him before.  It turns out that he is quite the phenomenon! He leads the crowd in some crazy, silly line dances, and some traditional line dances that we know. The wild part is the crowd! He fills the whole square with people being silly, moving their bodies,  and having lots of fun for 4 hours!! He doesn't take any breaks, but we did sit down a few times!

A night of music and dancing at Brownwood Paddock Square

            

Visiting with my friend Sue

      We are so fortunate to have some wonderful friends that are still in the area not far from the campground! We enjoyed dinners, kayaking and hanging out with friends! One of my highlights was getting to try spinning wool! My friend, Pam, is an amazing spinner and knitter, and she shared her knowledge with me. I made a drop spindle and then she let me try out her spinning wheel. It was harder than I imagined, but lots of fun!

        Dinner at Island Fin Poke with Pam, Don and Pepe

     I spun this alpaca wool                           

   (with  bit of help from Pam)

Kayaking with friends on Rainbow River

We went to an optometric continuing education meeting in Sarasota. We were surprised to find two of our friends from optometry school at the meeting! It made it a fun day! It was also a great excuse to go to the ocean.  We went to Siesta Key, where we got engaged, 35 years ago! It is still a beautiful area!

        On the drive back north after the meeting, we stopped to visit our former campground neighbors, David and Chas.  They bought a cute place down in Gulfport!

     We made another stop outside of Tampa to visit my Girl Scout co-leader and her husband.  It was great to catch up with Lisa and Jeff, and see their beautiful home! She cooked us an amazing Cuban meal!         

     On our way back up to Ohio, I needed a bit more beach time, so we stopped at Jekyll Island, Georgia! We were there with my parents, our kids and our first exchange student, Feri, back in 2000! Then we were on to Santee State Park for a bit of exploring. Continuing north, a visit with Ben and Anthony in North Carolina wrappped up another great "winter," which we really call "second summer!"  

     

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Now we are in Ohio, visiting family, and getting organized for our next trip!