Our season has ended here in Bradenton; tomorrow we head north to the Florida Panhandle, and from there we will slowly make our way to Michigan arriving just before Memorial Day.
The month of February started off with a visit from our Virginia Beach friends Leon and Laura. We met them at Bruce and Audra's RV site at Myakka River State Park, where they are camp hosts. Bruce picked up passes for us to hike the five mile round trip to the Deep Hole. There we saw over 180 alligators, many over 12 feet long. We then came back to the campground and had a great cook out. Leon, Bruce and I taught together in Virginia Beach and have been friends for 40 years.
Two months later, near the end of our stay Bruce and Audra hosted us for another cookout and this time we were joined by our long time Virginia Beach friends Steve and Diane.
The month of February started off with a visit from our Virginia Beach friends Leon and Laura. We met them at Bruce and Audra's RV site at Myakka River State Park, where they are camp hosts. Bruce picked up passes for us to hike the five mile round trip to the Deep Hole. There we saw over 180 alligators, many over 12 feet long. We then came back to the campground and had a great cook out. Leon, Bruce and I taught together in Virginia Beach and have been friends for 40 years.
Two months later, near the end of our stay Bruce and Audra hosted us for another cookout and this time we were joined by our long time Virginia Beach friends Steve and Diane.
On February 13 and March 13 Josie and I got our first and second Covid shots at a Publix Supermarket Pharmacy. Florida prioritized seniors over 65 first in line for the shots. This was nice for us but you have to remember Florida has the highest percent of seniors of any state in the union, so competition for the shots was steep. We were able to sign up on line the first time we tried.
Our friend, Gloria, who we believe has been to every museum in the US. (Ha Ha), told us we could not miss the Ringling Museum and art gallery in Sarasota, so we purchased on line timed admission tickets. It took us five hours to see all Circus artifacts, a 42000, piece miniature circus, the beautiful Ringling House and the large art gallery.
Cathy and Scott came over form Boca for a visit in early March. We had a great time, that included a few boat drinks.
We drove down to Ft Meyers one day where I was able to visit with another high school friend, Ted and his wife Norma. We had not seen each other in over 55 years.
Our Virginia Beach friend Linda came down to Florida and we visited with her at her brother Bobby's and his friend Marty's beautiful home. Marty prepared a fantastic meal which was followed by a piano recital from Bobby.
I was able to see my old Navy buddy Tommy one more time, as we attended a Pirates Spring Training Game. He is doing very well recovering from his broken hip.
Another day, we drove up to visit Pat in Dunedin and caught up with her over lunch at an outdoor café.
For the first time in a while I was able to get to a Sprint Car race, when the World Of Outlaws put on quite a show at East Bay Speedway in Tampa.
Our friend, Gloria, who we believe has been to every museum in the US. (Ha Ha), told us we could not miss the Ringling Museum and art gallery in Sarasota, so we purchased on line timed admission tickets. It took us five hours to see all Circus artifacts, a 42000, piece miniature circus, the beautiful Ringling House and the large art gallery.
Cathy and Scott came over form Boca for a visit in early March. We had a great time, that included a few boat drinks.
We drove down to Ft Meyers one day where I was able to visit with another high school friend, Ted and his wife Norma. We had not seen each other in over 55 years.
Our Virginia Beach friend Linda came down to Florida and we visited with her at her brother Bobby's and his friend Marty's beautiful home. Marty prepared a fantastic meal which was followed by a piano recital from Bobby.
I was able to see my old Navy buddy Tommy one more time, as we attended a Pirates Spring Training Game. He is doing very well recovering from his broken hip.
Another day, we drove up to visit Pat in Dunedin and caught up with her over lunch at an outdoor café.
For the first time in a while I was able to get to a Sprint Car race, when the World Of Outlaws put on quite a show at East Bay Speedway in Tampa.
I tried to get out every Monday and see what birds were around. I found a few banded birds along the way and reported them to US Fish and Wildlife. The one Piping Plover was banded by researchers from Virginia Tech on Long Island, New York in 2018.