DAYS 1-7: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2020 TO MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2022: ADVENTURES

I have to admit, Imhave been lazy. I'm sure I had time but I kept findingnother things to do read, craft, walk, workout...anything but sit down and work on the blog. But, now I am back. Now I have to recap wgat we have fone for the past week.

Okay, enough of that.

On Tuesday, December 29, we left Bristol to drive the Jeep to Virginia where we spent the night at a Residence Inn. Everything was clean with sanitizer everywhere and people wearing masks. The next morning, we traveled 5 miles to the AutoTrain where the attendants drove our packed car onto the train. We sat in reclining seats with masks. The train was well orgsnized with social distancing and plenty of sanitizing materials everwhere.

The train ride was amazing. On the top level we could see all the beauty of nature and small towns. We passed Quantico and areas of the Potomac we had traveled by boat. 

I have to say, the hardest thing was leaving home and all the great times we had with my sisters and brothers in law from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The walks, workouts, bike rides (yes, bike rides with twmps in the 20's dressed as if we were skiing). My parents  

 

THE POTOMAC

OUR TRAIN CAR: TOP LEVEL ALL THE WAY AFT. QUIET AND ALONE

Tom packed his special packages as presents. They traveled smoothly and arrived without incident.

MY JEEP IS SAFELY TUCKED AWAY IN THERE (RIGHT CAR)

By 9 am on Wednesday, December 31st we arrived in Sanford, Florida. We had a good night of reading, watching the scenery, and sleep. Our car rolled off at 10 am and we were on our way to Deerfield Beach, to Claudia and Burts, our friends whose home we were in when the tropical storm passed through the keys in November. 

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY MY CLASSMATE ED CYR WROTE. TOM AND I READ THE BOOK ON THE TRAIN

EXCELLENT

At Claudia's we enjoyed a delicious New Year's Dinner on her patio by the pool. We had a fondue of a variety of meats and vegetables not to mention wine , salads, and German desserts. 

At midnight , Burt set off fireworks. 

MIDNIGHT DISPLAY

THEY STARTED SLOW BUT WERE PRETTY

CLAUDIAS CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Throughout the day we managed to text and Facetime with Michelle, Chan, Todd, and family. We miss them so much and wish we could visit. The virus is keeping us from truly doing all we want, but we are grateful for what we can do and we are doing what we can to keep everyone safe. 

During family dinner at my sister Jane's we did a Facetime also. Mom and dad were there. We are so close but so far. Leaving Rhode Island was the hardest ever. I felt like I was still there being stretched away. We wanted to head south but leaving the family fun in RI was hard. The routines with family was fun. More adventures do await us in Florida, though.

New Year's Day, Claudia made an amazing breakfast. We did sleep until 11 after going to bed a 4:00 am, not my usual time. Ugh!

I can't remember ever getting to bed that late or early depending which way you look at it, or which day you think about. 

At 12:30, Claudia, her grandson, Aidan, and I went for a walk through some beautiful neighborhoods in Deerfield Beach.

I CHALLENGED AIDAN TO CLIMB THE TREE THEN, OF COURSE NEEDED A PHOTO WITH GRANDMA

After a diffucult good bye and plans for them to visit us in Long Key, we headed to the Keys.

SUNSET IN CARD SOUND- A SPOT I LOVE

I am going to publish this then work  on days: Saturday- Monday. The internet is so weak, I hope it will send.

Part 2 coming soon.

DAY 1: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020 : ON THE ROAD AGAIN HEADING TO HERSHEY PA TODAY 6:

It is a brisk 48 degrees as we begin our journey from Bristol . Check Check Check.... House, car, then Rv. All is as ready as they will ever be so let us get going.  As I was typing "on the road again", Tom began singing it! Ha! Really? He does have a good singing voice

Hard to believe we have been home since June. Besides the crazy Pandemic, we have had an incredible time with family and friends following social  distancing and wearing masks. We were determined not to let the virus cause us to "not live" our lives. . We celebrated many milestone birthdays such elebrating Dad's 93rd birthday, Morgan's 15th, Maddy's 18th and Mom and Dad's 70th Wedding Anniversary Wednesday family dinners at Judy's with Mom and Dad helped me improve my culinary skills. Judy already had those skills. Thank you Ava Garner. We all looked forwarded to being together fo hours of talking and eating. )

MOM' S BIRTHDAY


THEIR 70 th ANNIVERSARY

DAD'S 93rd BIRTHDAY

 I can't figure out what happened to that last sentence. The Ipad demon has taken over and won't let me fix it. So, " we all looked forward to being together for hours of chatting and eating. (Some debating).lol

MADDY'S BIRTHDAY

A fun memory popped up on my phone. We loved having the girls on TOMFOOLERY. There was never a dull moment!

BIRTHDAY DINNER

Contact with the Sullivans and Muriel overnight was always fun. Spending time at the beach, painting, playing games, planting, hunting for crabs at Byc, and creating things from nothing with enthusiatic Muriel is always a treat. We read books together as she read Bedtime Stories via Facetime with Leo and Stella, such happy adorable faces! 

MURIEL, LEO, AND STELLA PREPARE FOR HALLOWEEN NEXT WEEKEND


THE CUTEST PIRATE EVER AARAUGH 

THE MOST HANDSOME SCUBA DIVER AND MOST ADORABLE UNICORN

Weekly Mah Jahn with the Shirley and Carol followed by dinners with the boys has helped all of us keep sane and connected. The  game was the catalyst - thanks to Cathie for teaching us. The memories are forever. We all enjoyed cooking or supporting restaurants with Take Out. We even branched out and began playing the game with quarters as it was intended to be played: lots of laughs, a bit of luck, and much strategic planning. With so many rules, some of which we don't like, we had to use our minds! lol- sometimes , though, our conversation and laughing distracted us! Perfect!

 Dinners with Sharon, Stephanie and the boys sharing travel stories by land and sea,   on BIG BLUE, GLEAM, and TOMFOOLERY , kept travel on our minds inspite of the fact that Covid 19 erased or altered the plans of many. We are so fortunate to be able to share experiences with each other. As of moments ago, we texted each other for updates and are planning to visit each other in Florida. BIG BLUE  is hoping to visit us in November in Fl. We look forward to seeing everyone. After January we hope to see GLEAM. 

Friday morning walks and  Monday night walks with my "3 sisters" followed by dinners with the boys always presented a variety of topics of interest. Our Town Walkabout usually found us bringing home  treasures from local shops. Great walks and supporting local small businesses was fun. We met many interesting people. A walk didn't go by without someone bringing attention to the fact that " you must ALL be sisters". Our daily 5 AM Quad workouts together with a walk before or after helped us stay fit inspite of all those great dinners. I truly miss that time together when we are away.

THE SOUL SISTERS DAILY MORNING WORKOUT

Because we never seem to get enough exercise (lol) , Judy and I pulled out our bikes on Saturday and Sunday mornings after going to the gym, of course,  to explore different areas of Bristol and Warren. And, again, of course,  a meal was involved either at Chez Clancy or Chez Perrotto where the boys would be waiting to see what we would create for breakfast. Many Friday nights  we would explore on foot, with the pitter patter on Jameson's little feet leading the way, different areas of Bristol traveling the neighborhoods noting things and places we had never seen. Need I say it, dinner followed . 

WE HAVE BIKED ALL OVER BRISTOL AND TOUISSET

MANY OF THOSE PLACES WERE ON MY BUCKET LIST

Zoom calls, texts, and phone calls with Geri, Joan, and Debra helped us stay connected to those we could not see because of Covid 19.  We do hope to see each other in Florida since we are all 20 minutes apart but that depends on the state of this awful virus.

Our trips to Buffalo and our 10 camping trip with Leo and Stella were amazing. The kids are growing so quickly. They love everything so we shared many experiences: swimming, painting, race car driving, biking, roller blading, and making an incredible variety of shaped  pancakes and flavored  Jellos.

We sailed aboard  MANDATE one day and hoped to do more but summer ended.  Although it surely was a different summer, we had fun and made the best of an unusual situation (to say the least)   

I had not expected to recap the passed few months, but there you have it! I know I left out so many things. Forgive me, lol! It is only 8:30 am.  

Our disappointment was not being to get to Texas to see all there. We havent seen tgem in so long! We are watching them grow through photos for now. Damn virus!

THE OSTIGUYS WE MISSED SEEING

Our plan now is to head to Texas in the spring. We pray the virus doesn' t impede our journey once again. We should  have been celebrating Thanksgiving with them.  So disappointing. Everyone is growing so quickly. 

MIKE AND POLINA ARE NOW ENGAGED

Mike shared the good news. Great to hear this  for sure!

We arrived at Jonestown Hershey KOA at 2:08 pm. The weather was exa tly the way it was here on our last visit this spring: Cold, damp, rainy= Too freaking cold! The heat and fireplace are both on. I do not want a repeat of the last visit, though. We spent a lot of time running, well, driving around to find a tire repair service. Do not need that again. Believing/ trusting our instruments is important.

OUR SPOT AT THE KOA

Today we left Bristol at 6:17 am and arrived in Hershey KOA at 2:06 pm after traveling 352.2 statute miles ( no more nautical miles, lol).