New Year's Day 2020 - Back on the road, and to begin, we wish all of our friends and family a Happy New Year, with hope that this new decade will see your days full of good times and contentment. Speaking of 'hope', let's hope that strides are made around the world toward addressing the issue of climate change. That's a big hope....but maybe the young people will lead us there. Let's hope that Donald Trump is put under the bus. Let's hope that Hong Kong finds some answers so that the demonstrations can end. Let's hope that Australia doesn't burn up, but instead sees the end of the terrible fires. Let's hope that our own politicians find ways to work together to solve some of our most pressing problems, too numerous to mention here. Let's continue to hope for better things in this new decade.

We got under way on the 29th, hoping (there's that word again) to avoid some nasty weather that was forecast for later in the day...ice and rain and snow and sleet and so on. We hit heavy rain near Syracuse, but not snow, which is so often what one encounters in that area. Just as we were working through a traffic snarl, Gail received a phone call from Florida from our close friend Kathy O'Driscoll Ward. She had found husband Steve still in bed just hours before, without life, having suffered an apparent heart attack in his sleep. She was terribly upset, as you can only imagine, as were we. We had to get off the road as soon as possible, just to process this terrible news. Fortunately, Kathy and Steve have great neighbours in Florida, and they were providing Kathy all of the support one could hope for once they learned what had happened.

After serious consideration, and some consulting with friend Dave MacKay in Picton, we decided that we would proceed south, and try to get to Orlando to see if we could be of assistance to Kathy. We knew that there would be a lot to be decided, so thought we might be able to help. Long story short, thank goodness her brothers were able to make arrangements to fly down, and arrived yesterday morning. By then we were in North Carolina, having driven for 11 hours on Monday, but still not able to get there until today. We talked to Kathy at length yesterday, and she was working through things as well as one could have hoped, with the support of her brothers and neighbours. She urged us to carry on with our plans to stay in Georgia for a few days, as she would be so busy making various arrangements, she really wouldn't have much time for anything else. Reluctantly, we agreed.

This being New Year's, with Americans flocking to parks and r.v. resorts, we had trouble finding a site last night, having decided that two nights in motels was enough. We ended up here in Savannah Oaks in an overflow site, not far from the city. We'll move on today to one of our favorite parks, Skidaway Island, and will be there for three days. I'm thinking that depending on when Kathy and her brothers are able to fly back to Canada, we might drive over to Champions Gate, and give her a hug or two, then get out of her hair so she can do what must be done. That will depend on how quickly arrangements for Steve's return to Canada can be made, this being a holiday time, which has slowed things down considerably. Flights to Canada may also be hard to find on this holiday-ending week-end.

Kathy's personal strength and practical nature is holding her together, despite suffering through this tragedy with a bad cold and laryngitis. She is looking at what has to be done, and will come through this with positive resolve to make the best of life without Steve. This has happened just when they have achieved their dreams after much hard work: a beautiful home on the bay, and a place in Florida where they could enjoy their golf with many new friends. Like my friend Joel Ellis always used to say, "Nobody says Life has to be fair".

We have a bright sunny morning here in Georgia. The temp will reach the 60s today. Once we get to Skidaway, we'll do some long walks, some long bike rides, and be thankful for what we have. We'll carry many good memories of Steve with us as we wander.