Heading Home

Time to write the final blog entry for the 2008 trip. We leave Destin in the morning to travel to Tampa where we will stay at Lazydays for two nights. That is always our final stop before arriving home in Ft. Myers. We take the time to clean up the coach and get Pearl ready for her six months’ winter nap.

DESTIN BEACH AT SUNSET

While staying here at Topsail Hill in Destin, we ran into some acquaintances we met two years ago while in Asheville, NC. Howie and Barbara from Stuart, FL were here! Howie just happened to be walking their dog, Baxter, when Frank recognized the man and the dog! We got together the next two nights to eat, drink, and catch up on the last two years. Also joining our little group were new friends, John and Becky, from Tellico Village in East Tennessee. You just never know who you will run into while traveling!

BARBARA, HOWIE, JOHN, FRANK, AND BECKY...HERE'S TO YA!!

Mary and Tim…my sister and her husband…also paid us a visit while we were here. They came down for a “fall break” vacation. However, the weather hasn’t really cooperated with the “sun seekers”…it’s been rainy and cloudy for days.

GO VOLS!!!

We have spent the morning (a cloudy morning or else we would be sitting on the beach) packing up the coach so that we can get an early morning start tomorrow. It’s always a sad time when we know we only have a few more nights to spend with Pearl. We have spent six months on the road traveling from Florida to Wisconsin, the UP, and spending two months in Traverse City, Michigan. We have visited with old friends, made new friends, and also spent time with family along the way. Now, it’s time to get back to our home and friends in Sabal Springs.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW!

Until next April 2009, Frank, Pami, and Pearl say goodbye to the road. We have had another fantastic journey!

BYE BYE!! HAPPY TRAILS...UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!!

Birmingham and Tuscaloosa

We have been in Destin now for one week, so I thought it time to write about the trip down from Tennessee. Speaking of TN…what a lousy football season so far! Come on VOLS…ya gotta do better!!

Leaving Defeated Creek on September 25, we made a quick stop in Murfreesboro to pick up my sister, Sissy. She wanted to ride down to Birmingham with us and go visit her daughter, Sara Grace in Tuscaloosa. SG is a freshman at The University of Alabama…at least they are having a good football season! We also planned to spend Friday inTuscaloosa to pay her a visit ourselves. So picking up Sis was no problem…we welcomed the company.

We always stop in Birmingham to visit our friends Ray and Suzanne. If you recall, when we left Destin heading north last May, we stopped in Birmingham. That was when Suzanne hooked me on Sips and Strokes, and I painted my first canvas! Well, we went back and painted another one!

We spent the evening laughing, sipping our wine, and painting our masterpieces “Funky Wine Bottles”! We had the best time, and I really liked painting this one more than the flower canvas we painted last May. Even though mine came out more like condiment bottles or soda pop bottles, I like the colors in this one, and the painting just might go on the wall in my kitchen!!

ARTISTS AT WORK AND PLAY

ZEE WORKS OF ART...VOILA!

After my evening of painting, Frank and I met up with Sis and Sara Grace in Tuscaloosa the next morning. Not only did we get to see SG’s dorm room (I had forgotten how small they were), but we were also given a tour of the campus and her sorority house…she pledged Alpha Delta Pi. We all had lunch together before Sara Grace had to go off to class; we said our goodbyes until Thanksgiving.

SARA GRACE WITH ROOMMATE, ASHLEY

CAMPUS LANDMARKS AND LEGENDS

LIBRARY AND PRESIDENT'S HOME

That evening back in Birmingham, we met up again with Suzanne, Ray, and Julie, Sissy’s aunt-in-law, for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. Great pizza and a good time getting to visit with everyone!

RAY, SUZANNE, SISSY, AND JULIE

Before saying bye, Suzanne surprised me with huge jars of the Sours that I use to make Christmas pickles! She got me into making these years ago. I didn’t make them last year because I had no Sours! Guess what! Pickles this year, Everyone!!!

Saturday morning…September 27th… we headed to Destin. We will stay here for two weeks enjoying the beach and winding down from our summer travels before we head home to Ft. Myers. We have almost come full circle.