Thursday March 16 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAIL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....

Our last night in Homosassa! Sadly! We've enjoyed it a lot here, as it's really Old Florida, laid back, low-key, rural, not at all like the major centres, with their major traffic, shopping malls, and related madness of modern urban Florida. We've had a very relaxing time, so are somewhat sorry to have to head back. However, duty calls.

Tuesday, we drove back to Inverness, and tackled another section of the Withlacoochie Trail. Gail will never forgive me, and I'll never hear the end of it, as we did 20 kms out, then had to do the 20 back. Going out was good but coming back, there was a headwind, so it was quite a lot tougher. By the time we got back, Gail was done. It was a rather tedious ride, although it  was pleasant enough, through woods and countryside; but the wind made it tough for my partner.

The rest of the week has been spent dealing with the very cool weather. It's been down to near zero, with frost warnings, very unusual for Florida, and up into the 50s during the day. Once the rain ended the sun came out, and provided some relief. We could find a place out of the wind in the sun, in the afternoon, and enjoyed the warmth with a book. I did some biking each day, but you know who said 'no way' except to ride over to The Shed for our usual. Next week it'll be back up into the 70s, so if friends Ron and Marilyn Harris come this way, they'll be happy with the weather.

Today was Gail's birthday, so she enjoyed a late brunch here, then spent the afternoon in the sun while I did my bike ride. Then we rode over to the Shed, had a beer and their excellent fries, then went to the Freezer for chowder, then back to the Shed to enjoy more music. A neat guy named Fred George was doing his thing...good guitarist and fun entertainer. Some songs were definitely not PG rated.

We just had a great conversation with the kids, who are enjoying a St. Patrick's dinner tonight. We also found out today that grand-daughter Clare has been accepted to go for her third year of university in Wellington, New Zealand. Very exciting news for her, and a wonderful adventure awaiting. We will likely start planning a trip there, as we've wanted to return to see the rest of the country that we didn't see when we were there before. Hope our friends Ron and Joanna have decided to return to NZ, their winter retreat for the last number of years, as it would be great to see them in their local digs as well.

Tomorrow night we'll be in Statesboro, Georgia, where we'll stay for two nights. Then on to Rock Hill, SC, where we stayed on the way down. And we've also arranged with an r.v. service shop near the park where we'll be staying to winterize the r.v. before we go further north. Temps look pretty cold in Pennsylvania and New York State, so best to be safe rather than take a chance.

That's it. We should be home by next Wednesday, and look forward to seeing everyone. Hope the snow is all gone by the time we get back.

More later. Stay tuned.