To be honest, I really think we’re doing it right! So, what adventures, what fun, did this past week bring us? Of course we continue to make our daily trip to the gym, which enables us to continue to eat and drink our way through January, and our days were also filled with fun, friends, and new experiences.
Tuesday afternoon we ventured up to Sun City Center, where two couples that we worked with in Michigan live. It’s a 55 and over community with more activities than you can believe. We stayed with Carol and Jim Krieger and were also able to see Linda and Galm. We received the royal treatment and a golf-cart-guided tour of the area and then enjoyed Taco Tuesday at River’s Edge Bar and Grill, located in Gibsonton on the Alafia River – a fun spot “where land-lovers and sea-goers come to play.”
Wednesday morning we traveled to the RV Supershow in Tampa, which is always fun. One of the largest RV shows in the country, it becomes almost overwhelming but really interesting as the rigs range from the tiniest trailer imaginable to the multi-million motor homes that you can only view by appointment or by peering into the front window! As Bill and I continue to discuss our future and the possibility of downsizing, we looked at several small travel trailers, only to decide that we’re not quite sure we can do that. We have a beautiful coach and consider ourselves spoiled! We had a great day and then grabbed an early dinner at the Winghouse with Jim and Carol and two other couples we workcamped with in Michigan – Ellen and Dave Hallett and Georgia and Don Wriedt. It was great catching up on everyone’s lives and adventures!
Friday, January 17, is a day we will remember for a long time. I mentioned in my last post that we had witnessed horses in the Palma Sola Bay and we subsequently scheduled a guided swim with the horses for Friday morning with a company called C Ponies Beach Horse Tours. Now Bill and I have completed trail rides in Glacier National Park – directly up a majestic mountain – and also in the desert of Arizona, riding from Cottonwood to Sedona, but this experience was totally different – an equestrian aquatic adventure!
What is so cool about this experience is that the horses – Drum or Gypsy horses – are all rescues, so we also got to learn the background of our horses. My horse, ten-year-old Splash, was rescued from a farm in Georgia, where she had been overbred and then neglected. When C Ponies got her she was 400 pounds underweight – and look at her now! Bill’s horse – Flounder, a 5-year-old and the only male at the moment – had frustrated its owner as he grew very quickly and was quite unruly. The woman who owned him didn’t know how to handle him so he was rescued from a Florida farm.
So, imagine this feeling…we began by walking out into the bay from the beach and the water kept getting higher and higher. When instructed to by Mercedes, our guide, we loosened the reins, gave our horses a little kick and off they went. All of a sudden they all began making what I would interpret as a harsh, angry sound, but as they began to actually swim, we learned this was a sound of pure enjoyment – and enjoy we did!!
After three rounds of swimming, we headed back to the beach, where the horses were rewarded with a full feedbag! They certainly deserved this plus the carrots that riders offered as well. What an awesome opportunity!
Friday night we dined with Joyce and Bill Clark, friends from Rhode Island who winter at Sun-N-Fun, where we workcamped for four winters. We met at The Lazy Lobster for a delicious dinner and great conversation. I know I have mentioned this before, but one of the best benefits of traveling and working as we do is the ability to meet so many wonderful people, and it’s amazing how our paths continue to cross!
Saturday we squeezed in a round of golf and then walked St. Armand’s Circle, a beautiful part of Sarasota filled with restaurants and shops and host to many events throughout the year. We visited a friend – Debbie Repici – who has a shop in the Circle and then had to stop for an early dinner at Columbia, a Spanish restaurant – one of their 1905 salads and a pitcher of sangria – both made tableside – was all we needed – absolutely the best!
Finally, on Sunday morning, we met Bruce and Colleen Menz, friends from our hometown who also winter at Sun-N-Fun, along with Joyce and Bill (got to see them twice!) at Tara Golf and Country Club for a wonderful brunch – you name it; they had it. Again, we were able to catch up with friends and enjoy a delicious meal. I captured the omelet chef and the offered ingredients, but inadvertently deleted the picture our server took of all of us at the table!
The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing and watching football as the season winds down. Another busy week coming up as we still have two weeks remaining in the sunny state of Florida! We truly are having fun!
Stay Calm and Travel On…
thervdreamlife 