Days 39 – 55 First weeks in Florida, Christmas & New Years
We arrived to Sunny Florida … only, it was cloudy and when we got to our spot it started to rain, like down pour rain. So much for that sunshine state thing! We were pleased when we got to this spot – 5 weeks in a corner spot that is right on a little lake. Perfect. Dan’s been able to spend some time fishing (again), catching multiple blue gill from the lake beside us. Still hoping for that monster bass! Of course, the host got us in and we started to get things situated and I realized he had us pretty much in the middle of our concrete pad when the stairs came out, taking up much of the space. I asked Dan, can we move it maybe a foot or so? He looks at me incredulously, but gives in. Multiple attempts eventually got us where I was pleased with the space.
I was 100% certain we were level, so we got all unhooked from the truck, started to unpack, put the slides out and … hm. We are slanted it seems. In fact, our slide is tilted enough the level says it’s all the way unlevel. Turns out, actually, we have a slight issue with said slide and get to spend our last day here at the shop to try and get it fixed. Ah well, life on the road.Our first couple of weeks here have been a whirlwind to say the least. Our first full day, we got to golf (another cold round) and that night we went to watch Wes and Mike at their bowling league, which ended in a night at a cigar bar that lasted entirely too long. We golfed again that weekend, and hosted a chili bar and campfire one night, which was a blast. Sunday we were able to go to Calvary Reach Jacksonville, where Pastor Eric Souza is actually great friends with our home Pastor Ed, which was great.
The next week was Christmas – and on Christmas Eve we enjoyed a beautiful day in the 60’s on the golf course. Christmas day … well, it was the coldest Florida has seen in a while. There’s that weather we keep bringing wherever we go LOL. We spent our first Christmas in the trailer, opening gifts together and got to Facetime with Chanse and Dane while they opened their gifts from us. That evening, we were thankful to be able to go over to Mike’s to enjoy a prime rib dinner – and the dogs got to enjoy a big backyard! That weekend, Sunday evening, part of my gift to Dan was a private carriage ride around downtown St. Augustine. They have “Night of Lights” going on right now, so we got to see the lights and also got some fun historical facts while enjoying a romantic ride for 2.
One of the best rounds of golf was played the Monday after Christmas, when we played the King & Bear, the only golf course designed by both Jack Niklaus and Arnold Palmer. That was a lot of fun and a great course (I got a birdie!) That was the only course and place so far that we finally saw an alligator! We played it low key that week, working and taking it easy in preparation for NYE. We got to golf again on NYE, playing a fun tournament style game with 6 others – where I placed 2nd with my partner … Dan was partners with Mike, his game wasn’t quite as good that day.
We celebrated NYE at Mike’s place with Mike, Wes and Anke. They whipped up some great food, and we all enjoyed some laughs and drinks while waiting for the ball to drop. It was a long night, so the next day was low key as Dan and I got ready to take the weekend and head to Tampa Bay! More to come…
Duncan Travels 