New Year's Eve

We made a big move today - from Summerfield, our December home, to Piper's Landing, our January home.

Chip and Dylan came with Chip's truck to transport the grill, and off we went to Loch Lane.  They had everything unloaded in record time, and we all had fun exploring this house.

 It's a 70s era home, with very few updates, but it's large and it has everything that we need.  We have learned that the owners were both in their nineties, and that both have passed away in the past two years.

 I guess their children are renting it out for the estate.  I was surprised at all of the personal items that are left in the home - awards, pictures and mementos of all sorts.  I would have thought that the children would have sorted through things and dispersed them among the children and grandchildren.

Anyway, here we are - it's a very lovely development - quiet and peaceful.  We have a terrific view out our back Florida room.

At Laurie's we ate Chinese take away and watched the 2 hour finale of Burn Notice.  OMG, is Michael Westin going to work for the CIA again?  Stay tuned.  ;)

So Proud of My Brother!

Saginawian of the Year Jim Kanitz doesn't let age 80 slow his volunteer work

 December 29, 2012 at 10:03 AM

"The fact that I like to help came from my family values."  Jim Kanitz

 

  Jim Kanitz is a Saginawian of the Year, and volunteers at the gift shop at Covenant Medical Center, 700 Cooper in Saginaw, each Thursday.  

  

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, MI — People who know Jim Kanitz best say they aren't surprised he was named a Saginawian of the Year for 2012.
The 80-year-old Kanitz usually works alone doing unsung volunteer work, but his labors have benefited many organizations. Those include the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History, St. Mary’s of Michigan hospital, the Saginaw Children’s Zoo and Covenant HealthCare.
The Saginaw Township resident says his passion for volunteering was inspired by his father, who regularly shoveled driveways and grew vegetables in a community garden to benefit people in his neighborhood.
“He was always interested in, when he retired, to help other people. The fact that I like to help came from my family values. I’m sure he would be proud,” Kanitz said.
At Covenant, Kanitz has volunteered in the hospital's gift shop for more than 18 years. You'll see him there on Thursdays. Tim Schultz, 47, manages the Covenant gift shops and has worked with Kanitz since 2011. Schultz said Kanitz is a great volunteer who is “dependable, loyal and very friendly to all the customers” and never misses a shift.
“He is pretty humble and gives more to the community than even I knew about; it does not surprise me at all he is the winner of the award,” Schultz said.
Kanitz was nominated for Saginawian of the Year award by his wife of more than 50 years, Emilie, who kept it a secret. In her nomination letter, she wrote that her husband “thrives on helping others.”
“He is not a person who seeks attention to himself. Sometimes, I think attention goes to people who do a lot of work but draw attention to themselves. Jim is not that kind of person at all,” his wife said.
Kanitz attended the University of Michigan before enlisting in the U. S. Army. After he was honorably discharged two years later, he received a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in 1959, but still has love for the maize and blue. Kanitz served as a swim official and helped out at the concession stand as part of The Blue and White Club at Douglas MacArthur High School in Saginaw before retiring from U.S. Graphite in 1994.
He became treasurer of The Friends of the Library at Hoyt Library, a job he thoroughly enjoyed.
“It was fun because I got to go through all the libraries at one time or another,” Kanitz said. Ken Santa, president of the Castle Museum, has worked with Kanitz for more than four years. He said Kanitz works with the gardeners and makes the grounds look fabulous.
“He is a great guy and we wish we had 25 more of him. Humble, humble, humble, salt of the earth,” Santa said.
Kanitz serves on the Membership Committee at the Museum, has been involved with Habitat for Humanity and has volunteered at St. Mary’s of Michigan Hospital as a shuttle driver for visitors.
He and his wife are members of Saginaw's First Congregational Church, maintaining the garden located on the Baum Street side of the building. Kanitz serves as an usher and is in charge of the Sunday collection, sometimes keeping an eye on the office, if needed.
“I just like trying to help people. There are certain things I can do quite well, like taking care of funds. Another one is that I was a master at putting labels on mailings,” Kanitz said.
Through the years, Kanitz has remembered his father’s legacy and has tried to practice the family values he learned many years ago.
“He has always been a helping person, if someone needs it,” his wife said.

Most Mellow Day

We began this marvelous day with a cruise on the Okeechobee Waterway on the scow schooner Lily.

Auntie Jana, Dylan and Uncle Tom grooving in the beautiful day, and the peaceful schooner cruise.

We learned a lot about the history of scows, how the rigging is set up, new vocabulary, and the interesting business plan of the owners.  Fred is the Captain, and Jamie is the first mate - literally.

Dylan and Laurie each got a chance to raise the sails, and later, Dylan had a chance to yell "Fire in the hole"  and fire the miniature cannon.  It was small, but very loud.  Speaking of loud, it was amazing to hear Fred blow on the conch shell - it was amazing how loud a sound that shell makes!

We were all enjoying this terrific ride.  It lasted for approximately an hour and forty five minutes, which seemed to be the perfect length to us.

Lunch at Mulligan's

By the time our cruise ended, Chip was home from the airport, and it was lunch time.  He joined us at Mulligans in downtown Stuart.  It was fun to be all together.  After lunch we came back to Cricket Court so Jana could pack for her early morning departure tomorrow.


 Then we were all off to the Lyric Theater in downtown Stuart to see Paula Poundstone.  If you ever get the chance to see her, definitely do it.  We were chuckling and repeating lines for the rest of the evening!

 Tom and Jana are both leaving in the morning, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye, so we all went to Bru's for a light supper and some extra face time before our farewells.

An unexpected immediate response to Tom's tweet:
 
Tom Steiger ‏@_TeDiouS_
Just saw @paulapoundstone with my whole family - aged 15 to 76. Everybody loved it!

FAVORITES
7:49 PM - 28 Dec 12 ·
10h Paula Poundstone ‏@paulapoundstone
@_TeDiouS_ Nothing could make me happier. Thank you.
 

Our Christmas Day

Life of Pi

Had fun today just being with family.  We bought some holiday pies at our Publix, and it was a zoo - lots of folks had last minute things to buy.

We had lunch at Laurie's, watched some TV, talked, and just enjoyed being together.

We all went to see Life of Pi at the Regency - we wanted to see it in 2d.  It's a marvelous, mystical story, full of human coping, allegory, and survival.  We all liked it very much.  We marked the day in red on the calendar, because Dick liked it too.

A 16 year-old Indian boy's passage to a new life in America aboard a freighter ends in a shipwreck in the Pacific. He is left to fend for himself on a life raft with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a Bengal tiger.

Santa Claus comes tonight!  Happy Christmas!  We'll have Christmas on the 26th because Chip is up in the air.

Jana is coming in the morning!  We'll all be together.

Sweet Sunday

 Overnight some one smashed into our mailbox and broke the post.  We didn't hear anything, so we had no idea.  Dick searched around for a note from the culprit, but there wasn't one.

 Jana is ill and has postponed her arrival until Christmas Day.  It works out well, because Chip is working Christmas Day, so we'll be celebrating on the 26th anyway.  We are all hoping that she feels better soon!

Laurie fixed brunch for us all this morning - and we got to see Tom for the first time since his arrival last night.  The brunch was yummy, and we had fun talking about computer games, gun control, and movies.

Dick and I came back over to Cricket Court, and the three of them went shopping.  It seems Tom didn't want to wait until the last minute to get his shopping done!

Shopping over, they came over here to hang out together.   While they were here, there was a knock at the door.  It turned out to be a sweet lady named Delsey, who is one of our neighbors.  She was the mailbox culprit!  She and her family took responsibility for the damage, and they are going to repair it themselves!  Hooray for good neighbors.

 Tom and Laurie went out shopping again, this time for just a little bit, and Dylan stayed with us.  When they got back, we all had a chance to talk to Jana - she seems slightly better today.  I'm glad she has one more day to rest up.  Later we all had dinner here, and then watched Oceans 13 on TV.  Kind of a nice, mellow day.

More Shopping and Hello Tom!

Christmas shopping is so much fun.  Today we went up to shop in St. Lucie, at Bed Bath and Beyond, and Pier 1.  Laurie bough candles.  Dick and I bought another Christmas gift, and some stocking stuffers!  The Christmas things are so beautiful, and each store has items that are unique.

Chip bought subs at Publix and chips for our lunch.  Peyton and Dylan were very busy playing all kinds of games.

C & L bought a solar blanket for their pool, because they use a heater now that the days are chilly here.  The solar blanket traps the heat in the water and saves electricity.  It was huge and unwieldy, but by the time we left, Chip had it trimmed to fit the pool perfectly!  The shape of their pool is officially called the pregnant kidney bean.

Jana was supposed to fly in this afternoon, but she's not feeling well and is going to try a flight tomorrow.  We're hoping she'll be here by around noon tomorrow.

Tom will be here this evening, if all goes well.  We'll soon have a full complement of Steigers in Palm City!

Chip is working and will be gone on Christmas Day.  We'll be having Christmas on the 26th, after our sailboat adventure!

Nice Day

Dick began this day with a 3 and 1/2 mile walk punctuated with excitement:

12/19/2012	You found =MorMor=, Welcome to Florida		Visit Log
Well this turned into quite an adventure! We are staying across Federal in Summerfield for the Holidays again this year, and this cache has been on the radar since we arrived. I decided that instead of just driving up or parking at Publix, I would target it on a morning walk. This morning, with the temp. a refreshing 55, was the day. I crossed Federal at the Summerfield light and walked south. I knew there would be a bushwack so I entered the area across an old sign. As usual I picked the wrong entry point. The area back there looks like either a homeless campsite or a place where the teens go to party. I spotted more than a couple dozen beer cans tossed around. The further I walked, the more I saw. If Florida had a deposit law a guy could easily scoop up 5 to 10 bucks worth. At first I thought about making a return trip with a garbage bag and do a CITO but upon reflection decided, if the locals don't care, why should I? After a couple of erroneous bushwacks, I found the right approach and using the hint, made the find. I have never seen this type of container leak before but the interior was filled with water. The log book, securely sealed in it's zip lock is soaked. I signed a blank wet page, dumped out the water and replaced as found. While I was busy with the cache, out on Federal, I heard a crash followed by some shouting. Soon there were sirens and by the time I got out of the bush and across Federal, there were 5 Police cars, a fire truck and an EMT ambulance on the scene. Apparently a car, south bound on Federal, stopped for the yellow light before the pickup truck following it was ready. The truck was stopped in what appeared to be an undriveable condition with hood caved in and the front wheels pointing in opposite directions. The automobile was blasted through the intersection and had made it to the side of the road a couple of hundred feet past. The result was that the pickup with two Police cars, blue lights flashing, parked behind it occupied the left lane while the fire truck, EMT ambulance and three police cars occupied the right lane and shoulder. Traffic, forced into only the center lane, was backed up past Cove Road. I continued back home, the excursion lasted 1 1/2 hours, just a little over 3 1/2 miles. Thanks for the cache, because of the adventure, it earns a favorite from me.

The day began with a bang, but after that, it was delightful. We stayed home until lunch time and then went to Palm City. Dick got a haircut first, and then we went to visit L, C & D. Dylan has exams this week, so today was a half day for him. Chip was moving dirt in the pool area, and Laurie was ready for a visit. We had a good time - Dick even put his feet in the new pool, and then we went caching in Phipps Park. We had Linner at the Galaxy Diner - yummy, and then came home. The kids who live on our side street have little electric cars that they race around in just about every afternoon, and they're at it again right this minute. They are very small and very excited drivers - lots of squeals of joy. Santa's going to have trouble topping these cars!

Happy DylanDay

We had  very quiet celebration for Dylan's birthday.  He got many, many nice gifts - especially the picture book that Laurie put together, using photos from their trip last May.  It's a beautiful book - she chose the glossy pages from MyPublisher, and it turned out wonderfully well.

We had Steiger grundy for dinner, and a great ice cream cake for dessert.  Of course we sang and had what Dylan called "the candle ceremony".

My Letter to Mary

  We are in Florida having a great time with Dylan (and his Mom and Dad).  We got here around Dec. 1 and plan to stay until Feb. 1.  Our other kids are both arriving on Dec. 22 - Jana will stay with us, and "Uncle Tom" will stay at Laurie's - he always has to be the closest to Dylan :)

 Laurie and Chip have just put in a new pool.  It's filling with water right now as I type!  It's gorgeous, and I'm sure it will be a highlight of this year's holiday.

Regarding my health,  right now I'm feeling normal, believe it or not!  My Dr. told me to establish a connection down here with a Doc who could then order blood tests, etc.  So I have a standing order with a local lab, I like the people at the clinic, and I feel really good about it.  They took my complete history and requested records, etc., and so every time we come down here, I have that good connection.  Yay!

 My feelings about recent Michigan legislative action are not fit for public consumption.  It seems that things are changing faster than we can keep up with them.  I love Michigan, born and raised here - lived in Big Rapids, Belleville, Ann Arbor and T.C. and love every one of those places.  Now, it's embarrassing to even have a conversation with people about Michigan because there's no explaining what the heck is going on in Lansing.  I just hate the whole mess, and especially the outcomes (union busting, abortion restrictions, anti-public school inroads, gun control).   This is the first time in my life that I would actually consider moving away from my beloved State.  So many things that I admire and value about Mich. are being flipped over to the completely opposite side.  Before you know it, they'll even institute the death penalty, or something else equally reprehensible.  Ugh.

The Hobbit

The scenery in this movie is spectacular!

Bilbo Baggins of Bag End

Gandalf, my favorite

Lord Elrond

Galadriel, magical Galadriel !

Chip is working.  Laurie and Dylan took us to the movies - I never tire of these Tolkien stories.  They have been part of our lives for over 40 years!

This is a spectacular film - costumes, scenery, settings - just out of this world (well, really).  I wasn't too sure that I would like this Bilbo actor, but he was very believable and charming in his own way.   He ended up becoming a new favorite.  The dwarves, not so much.  They seemed to me to be contrived and overdone, especially in hair and costume.  All of that did not take away from my overall enjoyment.

Rivendell was awesome, as usual, and Lord Elrond is again both commanding and charismatic...such an elegant character.  Galadriel was magical as always - played indeed by Cate.

My favorite parts were the scenes in Rivendell.   Dick like the "banquet" at Bag End, including cleaning up the dishes!  We all enjoyed the battle denouement, with Gandalf using the butterfly to communicate with Galadriel who summoned the eagles who rescued them from the wolves.  Wow.

I was really absorbed by this movie, and I would go again.

Only problem was, I ate too much popcorn and couldn't really enjoy the Chinese take-away later.  So old and still imprudent!

Horrible Event

"We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear." Nelson Mandela

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — A man opened fire Friday inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked as a teacher, killing 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in their classrooms and trembled helplessly to the sound of gunfire reverberating through the building.

The killer, armed with two handguns, committed suicide and another person was found dead at a second scene, bringing the toll to 28, authorities said.

By Pete Williams, Miguel Llanos and Tracy Connor, NBC News

Updated at 5:26 p.m. ET: A kindergarten teacher's son -- clad in black and carrying two 9mm pistols -- rampaged through a Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 20 small children and six adults, including his mother, in the nation’s second-worst school shooting, law enforcement officials said.

 

How Cute Is This?

These snowmen have the same view of the field that we used to have from our seats!

Lazy morning. Wrapping Christmas presents, playing WoW.

 Went for a ride east - found a cache, saw the ocean, retraced some old, familiar steps just for fun.

 Lunch at the Ocean Breeze Bistro - live piano music.

 Visited Laurie and Chip - they've been working on their tree and other Christmas decorations. The tree is beautiful! We stayed long enough for Dylan to get home from school so we could get our daily hug and hear the latest news. He has exams coming up next week. His birthday is Monday, and the exams have kind of taken away his celebratory spirit this year - he's more into exam prep.

Quiet dinner and evening at Cricket Court.

12/13/2012	You couldn't find I'm Not Obsessed !! #8		Visit Log
Out on an explore we saw this and decided to give it a try despite the fact that the hint has no meaning to us snowbirds. The cords took us to the NW corner of the intersection but we came up empty.

12/13/2012	You found Rocky Point Hammock Cache		Visit Log
For a couple of snow bird geezers from northern Michigan, this was perfect! An honest to God ammo can in the woods, just like at home. Started down the cement walkway using my new 62csx. I switched to map mode and zoomed in. When I got to the playground, the cache was due east and right above the picture of the cache it read "80 feet" so I started bushwacking. After about 100 feet, I didn't seem to be any closer and it still read "80 feet". When I switched to compass mode it indicated that I was about 200 feet away. Well, I learned that the 80 feet notation is the indicator of how far it was zoomed in. The description tells me the trail is a loop so I went back to the walk and continued on, only to discover the walkway ends at the adjacent neighborhood. After some puzzlement and head scratching, I discovered the nature trail. Duh! Now I was able to walk to within 80 feet and then bushwack. It took me a while to find because the traditional "Up North" hide would be a pile of sticks (POS) against or under an downed tree or log. We don't have the same underbrush. Signed the log, (it will be full soon) and left our card and flashlight. Thanks for the hunt and the adventure, it has definitely earned a favorite from us.

12.12.12

Flash mob in Vero Beach today at 12:12 p.m. on 12th Street!

Big group photo of 12.12.12 flash mob

Close up of flash mob

Dick is in the group picture - honestly!  He was schmoozing and mingling!


The library cache was fun - the poor receptionist at the children's desk didn't have a clue about the cache, and it was right under the desk beside her.  In fact she had placed her bag on it.  Now she knows :)  The coin we left is our 12.12.12 coin, and it wants to come back to Traverse City.

12/12/2012	You found Look it up!		Visit Log
After the 12/12/12 event we wanted a good spot to launch our latest coin. This cache has the size plus it looks like it's in a fun location and it's still active after 9 years. We came in, checked the hint and asked the clerk about a box. She gave us a blank stare and showed us an empty cardboard box. She then suggested we knock on the door and check with her supervisor. Ta Da! We met the owner and had a nice chat. We took nothing and left our card, our pen, our flashlight and our newest coin. We hope we see it again sometime.
12/12/2012	You attended 12.12.12 - Flash Mob		Visit Log
Well we had a good time at 12:12 with you all. Attending an event where the host is absent is another first for us. Maybe we should plan on getting together next year on 11/12/13.

Sur La Table

This morning Laurie drove us south to Palm Beach Gardens to do some shopping at Sur La Table. What a great store that is!

 I had a really good time looking at all of the gadgets and gizmos. Everybody bought something, so it was a successful trip.

 Appointment this afternoon with Stephanie Devaney, Physician's Assistant to establish connection with a Dr. in Florida. She was nice, everybody was nice, but the outcome was not satisfactory. The whole point was to have somebody here in Florida who could order blood tests weekly. We talked about it several times, she knew about it for sure, and yet when I got to the lab that person said that the order was just for today, and was not a standing order. She did the blood test, and said she would call the Dr.'s office to get the standing order, and let me know. I never heard more.

Burgers at Cricket Court

Chip is at work - flying to Montreal.

Dylan has tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

So Monday is a good time to have L & D over for dinner at Cricket Court, if Dylan doesn't have a lot of homework.

He didn't have much homework - yay!  He requested burgers, and so Dick grilled burgers and shrimp.  It was really good, and Dylan ate two burgers - he was happy.  Ice cream for dessert - what could be better?

We had a nice evening visiting, talking to Auntie Jana on the phone, and just grooving.

Navy Seal Museum

 Laurie and Dylan drove us up to Ft. Pierce to see the Navy Seal Museum on a gorgeous, hot Florida day.

 On the museum grounds you can explore rescue vehicles, underwater personnel delivery vessels, a helicopter, WWII landing craft, space capsules, and much more. The sidewalk is lined with bricks engraved with the names of donors - I was amazed at how many were from the WWII era. One that made an impression on me was donated by a member of the Army Nurse Corps who was on Utah Beach on D Day. Wow.

 Inside is a complete history of the frogman/seal tradition, with many, many original items and uniforms on display. It was quite fascinating. There were two videos showing what the Seals go through while they're training. It's almost incomprehensible - they have to be super human. I couldn't get over how uncomfortable some of those underwater vehicles looked. And the huge Humvee has only 4 seats- that was a surprise.

UDT - Underwater Demolition Team

SEAL - Sea Air Land

S & R - Search and Rescue

Back in Palm City we had dinner at Hurricane.  What a contrast!

Round Robin

We met Laurie over at Martin Downs Sports Resort.  Dylan was already playing when we got there.  We were really impressed with the improvement he is showing, especially in his serve.  It used to be a problem for him, but now he has overcome that, and he's really quite good!  In this Round Robin he won every match except the doubles.  Hooray!

The tennis pro is Cyrus - really interesting person.  And he went to college in Big Rapids!

  Cyrus Krefting, Head Tennis Professional

Cyrus Krefting is a Tennis Registry (PTR) certified Tennis Professional originally from Cincinnati, OH. Cyrus attended Ferris State University, majoring in Professional Tennis Management. He arrived at our club with a passion for the sport of tennis and a dedication to its players. Cyrus has a history of training sectional ranked players in the Florida, Mid-Atlantic and Southern sections of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He has been involved in several USTA programs including RalleyBall and Quickstart Tennis. While at Ferris State, Cyrus competed in the NIRSA Midwest Championships, advancing to the National Championships. He has also played In the USTA Florida State Championships at the 5.5 level. He enjoys introducing tennis as a lifetime sport to all ages.
Cyrus’ goal is to provide positive and memorable experiences for the patrons of Martin Downs Sports Resort. Previous places of employment include: Camargo Country Club, Van der Meer Tennis, the Florida Tennis Center, Georgetown Prep Tennis Club and the Lexington Tennis Club. He is excited to be a part of the team at Martin Downs Sports Resort.

Comcast

The Comcast Saga

We moved into our unit on Monday about 3 PM. Lois, the mother of the

landlord, came over to greet us and while she was here she

demonstrated the use of the TV's. We asked about WiFi and she told us

to contact his daughter Kathy, the owner. On Tuesday, Nancy called

California and explained what we wanted. Kathy said she would contact

Comcast and tell them to add our name to the account. She said that we

should then go to the local Comcast store to pay for the Internet and

pick up a modem and router so we could hook it up and be in business.

Wednesday morning when Nancy got up she discovered that the TV in her

bedroom did not work. It displayed a message saying that there was a

problem with the connection. The other two TV's still functioned. We

drove north to the store and talked to the clerk, Yaritza. We

explained the situation, that we were renting a house for a month and

wanted to add WiFi to the account. She took our information and

charged us $25 for six months of Internet and $6 for rental of the

hardware. She filled large red bag with equipment and sent us on our

way.

Back home, we checked the contents of the bag. There was a Netgear

router just like ours and a modem. In addition there were three

packages with remotes and other stuff. Why? We wondered why because we

already had them with the TV's. I got to work hooking the router and

modem up, it took a while but I was successful. That was the good

news, the bad news was that now we only had one TV working.

I called Comcast and spoke to a technician. He spoke with a heavy

accent and I had a hard time understanding him. He was asking for the

numbers on the cable boxes for the TV's which were not working. I read

them off to him including the whole "A as in Able" thing. He told me

that they would be activated but there was no immediate change.

Chip and Laurie came over with the Christmas decorations and Chip took

a look at the situation. The two TV's were still not working. He

checked all the connections. In the bag in each package with the

remote was a cable box. Chip swapped out one of the "new" boxes for

one that didn't work, no luck. The puzzling thing was that the small

TV in Jana's room was still functioning. We switched that box with the

one in Nan's room and  - - It worked! I decided to switch it to the

main TV in the living room in the morning, I'd had enough Comcast for

one day.

Thursday morning, we still had Internet but now the last TV was

defunct. Another call to Comcast. This time the respondent spoke clear

English. I went over the entire story with her and she decided we

needed a home visit from a technician. The earliest she had one

available would be Sunday morning so we set up an appointment.

On Sunday morning, the tech came and we went over the situation one

more time explaining the situation, showing him what we had done and

what we had in the red bag. He got on the phone and repeated most of

what we had told him. He then gor into the bag and removed the cable

boxes from the packages. He read the numbers off to the person on the

other end of the phone and then replaced the connected boxes with the

"new" ones. TA! DA! Success! The end of our problem except - -

The cable account is now in our name. Apparently when Kathy called

them they did not add our name to the account, they transferred the

entire account to us. The cable boxes, router and modem are our

responsibility. When we move out at the end of the month we must

remove the boxes, modem and router and return them to the Comcast

store thus leaving the home once again cable free. Further more, we

are responsible for the monthly bill. Oh well, we needed a project for

the post Christmas time. I'm sure it will go well since all of our

contacts with Comcast have been gratifying.

Dennis and Chris

This morning Laurie and Chip came over and brought us all kinds of good things.  Chip had been storing our little grill for two years, and it's now on the patio.  Laurie keeps our rental Christmas decorations - greenery, a small tree, a couple of Santas, etc.,  so now we are decorated for Christmas.  They carried in box after box of things we have ordered for gifts and shipped to their house - isn't Christmas fun?

At 1 p.m. we met Chris and Dennis for lunch at Duffy's in downtown Stuart.   We had a great two hour visit, good food, and good conversation.  We always have fun with them - it's not easy to find people who are aligned with us religiously, politically, and most other ways in this day and age.  We are really comfortable with them.

We led them back to I-95, and then headed to Laurie's house, which was very nearby.   We got a chance to see the photo book online, that she's been working on for weeks.  It's filled with beautiful pictures of Laurie and Dylan's trip to Japan last May.  It will be a real keepsake.

We hung around until Dylan got home from school - he was a little late because of after school meetings.  Then we stayed for pizza, and came home to do laundry.  We were on the road for five days before we got here, so laundry was calling me loudly.

Settling In

Our house rental is owned by Kathy and Matt, who live in San Francisco.  Matt's Mom, Lois,  is our local contact.   She stopped by this morning to pick up a Christmas present she had been storing here.  She brought information about Cacheapalooza, and events at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  She has some connection there - on the Board of Directors maybe?  Something like that.  Anyway, she's very nice, very interesting, and very helpful.

Errands today...First, lunch at Mulligan's.  Over to Comcast to resolve our internet issues (more later).   Grocery shopping at the Summerfield Publix - a really nice store.  We were tired, Dylan had tennis from 6 to 8, so we just had a light supper here and plan on seeing them tomorrow.

Cricket Court

From Valdosta to Gainesville, there was very dense fog on the freeway.  By the time we reached Gainesville, it had lifted, and we saw the blue skies and palm trees of Florida.

We got on the Florida turnpike, and stopped at the Canoe Creek Plaza for lunch.  The turnpike seems to be remodeling their plazas, and there was construction everywhere.  At Canoe Creek, when you enter the building, there's a huge sign which says "RESTROOMS OUTSIDE".  Huh?  Turns out to be restrooms in a trailer - not as bad as you might think, but still a little weird.  There seemed to be a big fire raging right across the road from the plaza.  Tons of smoke and flames billowing up above the trees - what's up with that?  No one seemed at all alarmed, and there were no fire trucks or anything there.

The food court turned out to be four sets of tables and chairs out by the parking lot.  We each bought a muffin and ate on the road.  The most unsatisfactory lunch stop ever.

But after all, the sky is blue, the fog is gone, the temp. is 80, and we're almost to Palm City!

Laurie wanted to surprise Dylan with dinner at Flanagan's, and we were the surprise.  We sat at Flanagans's and waited for them to arrive - our server was excited, too.  It really was a surprise for Dylan :)  He couldn't believe it!

Valdosta

Richard planned our trip so that we would drive through Atlanta on Sunday morning, hoping that traffic would be much lighter in our nemesis town.  Yay!  It was still stressful, but a great improvement over previous expeditions.

We were listening to the local NPR station on our way through.  The laugh of the day was that the station is partially funded by the Legal Seafood Restaurant, located across from the Atlanta Aquarium!
That's like having the Chinese Buffet next to the Humane Society!

We had the Sunday Buffet at Shoney's - it was the best ever!  Everything tasted like real home made food - it was really delicious.  Dinner in Valdosta at Olive Garden.

Geocaching

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12/02/2012	You found Ivy League Hotel		Visit Log
We are passing through on our way to spend Christmas with family in Florida. After a long day on the road, we checked in to our room and realized that there was a cache right across the street. We quickly found the beautifully camoed container Took nothing, left our flashlight. There were two bugs in the cache but we didn't think we could help either of them. A great start to our evening, unfortunately, it all went downhill from here.
12/02/2012	You found Rain Water		Visit Log
Not bad once we figured out what to look for. Cords were right on. Signed log and replaced as found.
12/02/2012	You posted a note for sam's other place		Visit Log
When we saw that this one hasn't been claimed in 9 months, we figured "Why bother?" the owner has ignored numerous calls for maintenance.
12/02/2012	You found It's Academic		Visit Log
Almost DNFed this one too. Signed log and replaced as found.
12/02/2012	You couldn't find Not Eggzackly		Visit Log
A frustrating evening after a long drive.
12/02/2012	You found Trash to Cache in a Flash		Visit Log
A find in Valdosta! After DNFing 4, it felt good to grab a smilie. Took 0, left our flashlight. TFTC
12/02/2012	You couldn't find Kimberly's Park		Visit Log
Don't know, cords put us in the middle of the road. Didn't feel comfortable searching someones front yard.
12/02/2012	You couldn't find Dinosaur Park		Visit Log
Should have known better than to search for a cache that the locals can't find. Cords took us to the middle of the path, no luck.
12/02/2012	You found Is anyone selling cold drinks out here tonight?		Visit Log
A challenge, almost gave up. Signed log and replaced as found
12/02/2012	You couldn't find Tall is Small		Visit Log
Very busy drive through. It wasn't in the obvious spot, we didn't search further