Sun & Snow

 Joe at last realized a long-time retirement dream:  going to Florida in the winter.  In this case it was only for 2 weeks, but Theresa suspected he was using the trip as a scouting mission for something much longer.  He secured a beautiful Gulf-front condo in Sarasota, Florida.  Anna stayed behind for work and school and to serve as Benny's human companion.  

Joe and Theresa had a chance to explore the greater Sarasota area as well as catch up with friends.  They enjoyed the Ringling museum (Sarasota was the winter location for the Ringling circus), the local botanical gardens, an electric bike ride around Venice (that was Theresa) and an eco-boat tour of the Sarasota Bay, complete with lots of birds and dolphins.  They also enjoyed lots of local seafood (there was some concern about the lingering fish smell in the condo from cooking fish almost every night - hopefully it aired out before the next renters arrived).  They did an overnight trip to Naples to visit Theresa's former colleague Marta, who took them on an extensive tour of the area.  Joe's friend Hal came down from Central Florida for a visit as well.  It was much quieter than anticipated, something noted by many of the locals as the significant absence of Canadians.  There were numerous midwestern cars from Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana (along with several excited Indiana football fans).  Marta noted that the Midwesterners come to the Gulf side thanks to I-75 while the New Englanders come to the Atlantic side thanks to I-95.  Temperatures for the week were in the 60s and low 70s.  

Happy Birthday Joe!
Joe and Theresa made it back just in time for the biggest winter storm in several years.  Anna battled the crowds at the grocery store to secure food prior to her parents return.  Theresa went from walks and runs on the beach to three consecutive days of shoveling snow and chipping ice.  Thanks to the sleet on top of the snow and the weeklong sub-zero temperatures, everything that wasn't shoveled immediately was frozen solid.  Anna and Theresa did take a break to head to the sledding hill one afternoon with neighbors (it was retiree day at the sled hill).  Benny was appreciating the ice as the 10 inches of snow was too deep for him to walk in (at least now he can gingerly walk on the ice).  It has been a money-making extravaganza for any local teenager that was willing to shovel snow.  The high school crew team posted on social media that they would shovel as a fundraiser.  They received 120 requests and only got to 20 drives the first day (it takes time to chip ice)!

There is no warmth in sight and now it appears Florida may get snow.  In the meantime, Joe will continue to look for his dream Florida place.  Keep hope alive.....

Welcome back to the snow









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