Good Bye Orlando!

I haven't done much writing lately as we just finished a fun-filled week with our oldest Daughter and her family in Orlando and what a great time we had!

As previously noted we arrived in the Orlando area a couple days before they arrived and then on Sunday Nov. 10th we checked into our two Condos.

After being on the road for almost 2.5 months the condo felt really big compared to our living space in the motor home. Each condo had two bedrooms, two full bathrooms a nice kitchen, living area and balcony. We were even able to get our Condos side by side.

We even had a washer and dryer to catch up on laundry which can be important when travelling around in a motor home!

That evening Natalie, Neal and our two Grand-babies Asher and Finn arrived. They had flown in from Calgary and rented a SUV at the airport. They were in much better shape than we had imagined they would be after flying all day long with two little ones.

Back row left to right - Neal, Natalie, Finnley and Asher.

The week was spent going to places like downtown Disney and the swimming pools. A few times Barb and I would look after the boys while Natalie and Neal got some time alone to enjoy their holiday and a break from life's routines. They were able to get to some of the sights and enjoy themselves as a couple.

We were quite surprised by how much the kids had grown!

Asher was talking much more than when we had left and even using real words much of the time which was very enjoyable. His personality is developing quickly and what a joy it is! As much fun as we have with him now It will be such fun as he grows and gets older and can do more.

Asher - Our little man!

Finn as you may recall just had heart surgery in the spring. He is doing very well. He is growing and still smiling every chance he gets. I have never seen a baby smile as much as he does, he is so happy!

He isn't walking yet but he will be soon I am sure. He now pulls himself up around tables using them to balance himself as he wanders around on his two feet with a new world available to him at table height. His crawl is at the speed of an Olympian and its so much fun to watch. He is just starting with words and the one I noticed most was "Daddy." I spent a week trying to teach him to say Grampa!

Finn - He is just so happy all the time!

Spending time with our grand-babies is one of our favorite pass-times and having this time together with them all was so priceless!

Now we just need to convince our other two children to come down in the winter for some warm visits!

After the week was over we packed up on Sunday (Nov. 17th) and checked out, a time that I was dreading. We wrapped it all off with a nice lunch at one of the restaurants at our resort.

It was hard to say good bye and I must admit a few tears were shed as we parted ways. I love this lifestyle of wintering down south but one thing we really miss is having our children (grandchildren included) with us. I wish we could bring them all along.

We had stored our motor home at the resort so once we were loaded up we headed south once again towing our Honda behind. Driving south and watching all the motor homes and RV's headed north past us reminded me that once again I was so close to going to another big NASCAR race but it was not to be. The Homestead race was the final race of the 2013 season.

We ended up staying at a Casino about 18 miles north of the town of Homestead which is where the big race was the day before. This is all just outside of Miami.

While at the Casino we met a very nice couple from Australia!
As we started talking, I asked them where home was and he said everywhere and anywhere. They also have a 50' Sailboat that they sail the world in. It is currently in dock in Turkey!

Once I heard that, I had to get Barb over as Turkey was one of our favorite countries in our travels and add to that we had seriously considered buying a boat at one time before we settled on the motor home lifestyle.

We spent the evening visiting with our new friends and wow what a story they had! So interesting!

They had been coming over to America in the winters and have a motor home (and car) that they bought in the USA that they store in Las Vegas. In fact their current motor home is nearly identical to ours just a year older. They have been to Calgary (our hometown) and even one of our favorite cities; Victoria, BC!

We really enjoyed our time visiting with them and swapping stories about on the road and back at our homes. Our stories paled compared to their adventures however. They have been all through Asia and all over in their sail boat. Having retired early, (similar to us) they had covered a lot of ground and a lot of water! We may cross paths with them again before our trip is over as we will be both heading the same general direction before winter is over (the desert!).

One of my favorite topics of this lifestyle is the people one gets to meet.
It is so interesting and you gain friends with similar interests from all over the world!

FLORIDA KEYS ARE CALLING!
On the morning of Monday (Nov. 18th) we continued our trek south to the Keys. The rest I will save for our next post but I will end with saying this, it is simply spectacular down on the Keys!