Welcome to
my blog for another year. I am starting
with our trip down to Florida and will post it once it is all done and we
arrive in Harbour Ilse. I hope all of
you have a great winter and we will see you in the spring. In the meantime
enjoy a little window into our southern life.
Well here
we are again on our way to Florida. This is our 7th season heading
south to avoid the northern winter with its snow and cold. Actually, it’s the
cold that drives us south. BRRR. This
year we are leaving a little later as the Canadian dollar is not the best and
leaving family behind seems harder every year.
Who knows what is in the cards for next year but for this year we plan
to have a roaring good time with our southern friends.
Our first day,
November 26th, we traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota and settled in to
a great Best Western. The weather was
good, traffic light, and we made very good time reaching our destination. On
the advice of the hotel staff we walked across the parking lot to a locally owned
restaurant. He said the food was wonderful and he was right. Homemade and
fresh, you can’t beat that. I had the
best turkey and wild rice burger with cranberry aioli. Yum!! Roger could not
resist the liver and onions and he was not disappointed.
After a
good sleep we hit the road early and headed to Champagne Illinois. In the
Wisconsin dells we stopped at our favorite cheese store. Every kind of cheese
you can image, fresh and delicious.
After sampling several kinds we purchased a good variety. We stayed at a
rather old and rustic Best Western, but it was cheap, clean and adequate. To Roger’s chagrin I watched the Hallmark Channel’s
post- thanksgiving movies all evening. Sappy, but wholesome. We laughed as the
train rattled down the tracks across the street from the hotel shaking things
up a bit. We slept well regardless and we were up and ready to roll out of town
by 7:30. Traffic was very heavy with the post -Thanksgiving travelers hurrying
to get home for Monday morning. The
temps are gradually getting warmer and we ended the day in Birmingham Alabama
with a 22 C. Rain, wind and thunder loudly rumbled into the night with tornado
warnings streaming across the TV. I guess that is the payoff for missing the
snowfall up north. We are never
disappointed in the Drury Inn and true to form it was a great stay.
After a
good night’s sleep, a shower and breakfast, we waved goodbye to Birmingham,
turned onto the interstate and proceeded towards Florida. As we drove the last miles through Alabama I
was reminded how pretty the state is with the beautiful red and golden leaves
clinging to the tall trees that spread across the landscape. Absolutely
gorgeous. Our 2 hour drive off the
interstate gave us a glance into rural Alabama, the small towns with steepled
white churches, boiled peanut stands, antique stores, and billboards with
Christian messages. There were the old redbrick homes with large yards and rundown
mobile home parks with rusty old trucks adorned with “Jesus Saves” bumper
stickers parked outside the paint stripped trailers. American flags lined the main
streets and Spanish moss hung from the trees. The sleepy towns rolled into
larger ones and gradually we once again saw the big M sign, yes, a McDonalds,
we were back to the future. Just after
we crossed the Florida border we pulled into the rest area to eat our picnic lunch.
It was a heavenly 28 C. .Also heavenly, was our little picnic of Wisconsin cheese,
apples and crackers. Back in Florida we
began to see the familiar sights and that feeling of excitement stirred inside
as we knew we were indeed back to blue skies, warmth and sunshine.
Our day
ended in Gainesville Florida, only 3 ½ hours from Fort Pierce. Another Best western was our choice after
searching the internet for a great deal. It was a large hotel with lots of amenities
and some nice perks that came with being BW members. Our room was upgraded to a suite in a quiet
area of the hotel not far from the outdoor courtyard and pool. A great little
sports bar and grill was attached to the hotel which allowed us to relax and
not have to drive anywhere. It was early
to bed for us as we knew the next day was going to be a busy one once we
reached the condo in harbor Ilse.
It was a
wonderful feeling to come over the bridge onto the island seeing the water and
boats and knowing we were back to spend the winter with our friends here. By the end of the day we were unpacked, had
our new parking pass, a few groceries, and plans with friends for supper. We
rolled into bed exhausted but happy!!! A good tired! Tomorrow is a new day and
the pool is calling. Did I mention it was 31 degrees C. J.
