Catching Up

I can’t believe it has been over a month since I wrote a blog post. It feels like time just flew by since I wrote our annual Christmas letter post. We really haven’t been doing much but at the same time, we have been really busy. I guess we were busy not doing much of anything. Do you ever feel that way?

Our site at Orlando Thousand trails. We lucked out with a big site across from the rec center, very convenient and the sand hill cranes liked to come and visit us.

We spent the holidays at the Orlando Thousand Trails which was really nice even though it was cold for Florida. Sue and Greg had us over for Christmas Eve and we had a great meal with them. Tim’s cousin Mark and his wife, Michelle, were also there so it was a very nice family gathering. We hadn’t seen Michelle in quite a few years so it was great to spend some time together and catch up on their lives. Our friends, Gary and Jen, had us over for a very nice meal on Christmas Day. It is impressive how much food can be made and served in a fifth wheel trailer. They have a center island like us so plenty of room to set up a buffet. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with them and their daughter.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I wanted to go to Disney Springs. Tim agreed to go with me and we headed over early to be there when it opened. We thought it would not be too crowded going early. Wow, were we wrong; it was packed already. I wanted to see the Christmas trees decorated with various Disney themes. They used to have them all in one place to walk through but this year, they were scattered throughout Disney Springs. We managed to find most of them, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as past years. Just too many people were there. We wanted to get a late breakfast and every place had a long line. Luckily Starbucks wasn’t too bad so I got us some coffees and breakfast sandwiches there. We ate those while listening to a high school symphony. We enjoyed the concert but they are not quite ready for Heinz Hall. It reminded me of when Kim played violin and I always enjoyed her concerts.

i thought some of the decorations were nicer than the trees

Whitney and Ian decided to take a vacation before the baby is born and they flew into Orlando on 12/30 so we got to spend some of New Year’s Eve with them before we headed out on New Year’s Day. They went to Universal in the morning and came back to their hotel for the afternoon to rest before heading back to Universal for the New Year’s Eve celebration. We, along with Sue and Greg, met up with Ian and Whitney for lunch at their hotel and hung out for a few hours. After we headed back to the campground, Gary and Jen, invited us over for drinks to celebrate the New Year. Perfect ending to 2022.

lobby at the hyatt regency where whitney and ian stayed

On New Year’s Day, we headed up to Three Flags RV Campground in Wildwood, FL. We will be here until the end of March. The first thing we did after setting up our campsite was to head over to Inverness to visit Aunt Tish and Uncle Paul. Aunt Tish had mentioned the she liked Hershey’s chocolate bars so we picked her up one when we were in Hershey, PA in the fall. I had picked out a 1 pound bar for her but Tim found a 3 pound one so we had to get that one. She turned 90 in September so it was her birthday/Christmas gift. She loved it although it was so big it was a bit overwhelming. I think they will be enjoying the chocolate for quite a while.

For the most part, we have just settled into life here in Wildwood and haven’t been doing much touring. Just hanging out with our neighbors and friends and visiting relatives. We try to visit Aunt Tish and Uncle Paul at least once a week. Lou and Janet came back to Wildwood mid January so we had a nice visit with them as well.

we added a screen room to our site at wildwood. IT WAS A PAIN TO PUT UP; TOOK US ABOUT 2 HOURS BUT WELL WORTH IT. WE REALLY ENJOY BEING ABLE TO SIT OUTSIDE IN THE AFTERNOON AND HAVE SHADE. OUR SITE IS VERY SUNNY SO THIS REALLY HELPS. GLAD I TOOK IT BACK FROM MY BROTHER RANDY!

There are more activities this year at Three Flags which we have been participating in. We really enjoyed the wine tasting event and trivia game in January. These events have helped us to meet more of the seasonal and annual residents here in the park. Definitely a great bunch of people.

We have also met Sue and Greg a couple of times in Winter Garden on Saturday’s for their Farmer’s Market. I picked up some great Orange Blossom Honey there. I think it definitely helps my allergies here. We like the main street in Winter Garden. A great place to hang out, with lots of cute shops and restaurants, and a bike trail that goes down the middle of the street. We especially like the brewery at the end of town with lots of outdoor seating. It is a great place to eat, drink and play Euchre. We always seem to be busy when we are there so I don’t think to take pictures.

I ended up flying back to Pittsburgh at the end of January for a quick visit for Whitney’s baby shower. Even though it was cold, we didn’t get much snow during the visit which was nice. I fit in a doctor’s appointment and a haircut while in town as well as an outing with Katie and Rosie at the Children’s Museum. Kim was able to come in for the shower so it was nice to be able to visit with all of the family and spend time with little Rosie. Sort of a belated holiday gathering, although we missed Tim. He and Trent stayed in Florida.

Rosie, katie and i visited the children’s museum during my visit. she really enjoys herself there.

Tim kept pretty busy while I was gone. In case you don’t know, he has been looking for a different truck for the past year or so. He wanted to get a larger truck that has air ride seats and air suspension so he can have a more comfortable ride. Well, he finally found the perfect truck in Ocala, FL. I have to say that both of us are a bit nervous about the purchase but we have decided to move forward and buy it. I will make sure that he writes a blog post about all the stress involved with a purchase this big; especially figuring out how to insure it as well as register it. More to come on that in the next post!

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