Tuesday, December 19 - Above you will find two of our pets, cozily inhabiting the area right behind our r.v. in Lake Worth. These guys were very relaxed within our site, occupying the shrubs and trees at water's edge without a worry. The neat thing we didn't know in previous encounters with these guys is that they have great ability to go up and down trees. When they climb, it can be slowly or quickly, depending on their mood or circumstance. When they come down, quite often it's with a leap and a crash. They are perfectly harmless, being herbiverous and rather mild of disposition. So it was fun to have them around, along with our pair of Muscovy ducks, Ike and Tina.

We continued to do our two rides a day, finally accumulating 205 kms by the end of the sixth day. It's a great ride around Lake Osborne, as every time out we saw something different...roseate spoonbill, baby opossum, and always a lot of birds of all shore varieties. We also got slightly familiar with some of the homeless guys who hang around the park, to the point that they would wave or murmur a  greeting as we rode past.

One of the neat things we discovered about the park is the Petanque club that is located there. Better known by the Italians as bochi, there is an area containing a dozen or so courts, with a club of more than 100 members. We happened by one day when they had a tournament going on, with considerable prize money at stake. One of the organizers came over to us and explained the fundamentals of the game, which was kind of him. Talk about taking competition seriously!! They were right into it. The participants were made up of quite a few Quebeckers, and the rest Americans. Lots of French to be heard, as was the case around our r.v. park, where there are many from La Belle Province.staying for the winter. The game is very popular in Quebec, which is recognized in our r.v. park, where there are also petanque/ bochi courts. Have to look into it as a game to learn, as I have a fine set of bochi equipment that Gail gave me years ago, which I've never used. We have it with us, so will have to try it out one day along the way.

We are now visiting Joyce Brant in her lovely home here in Palm City. We drove north yesterday, poking along route 1 and 1A1 through West Palm Beach. We got sidetracked at one point in WPB, trying to find a beach access, and winding up on the peninsula on the other side of the inland waterway, from which there is no northern exit. So we found ourselves in narrow little streets, lined with the most magnificent hedges imaginable, hedges that are constantly being trimmed to provide privacy, reaching as high as 20 feet with quite imaginative shaping in many case. Behind lurk massive homes, mansions, villas, the top 1% the inhabitants, no doubt. Everywhere there were teams of landscape people working on the properties, a major industry for the area. Getting out of the area, jammed into very narrow passages, reminded us of similar experiences in our campervan in Europe. But we managed without taking down any palm trees or hedges.

Joyce is doing very well, we are pleased to report. She's comfortable being back in her lovely home, and in surroundings that were part of her life for many years. The fine weather doesn't hurt either, as it does raise one's spirits to see sunshine and feel warm air. Joyce put me to work today, changing light bulbs, getting her bike tires up to scratch, and powerwashing the stone walkway along the side of the house, as well as part of the driveway. We were both a mess when we got finished, but it made a big differences to the cement work around the house.

We'll spend another couple of days here, as Gail wants to get a massage on her aching neck, so is scheduled for Thursday morning, thanks to Joyce. Then it's on towards Orlando for a couple of days before we check in with Steve and Kathy and Casey for Christmas.

Should it happen we run out of wifi later this week, Gail and I hope all faithful readers have a great holiday season...Merry Christmas to all. We also send big birthday greetings to our wonderful grand-daughter Clare in New Zealand, who has now escaped the teen years as she reaches her 20th.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.