Tuesday 27 January 2015

Cirque Italia and Canada Day

Saturday we headed into Lakeland with John and Judy to take in the Cirque Italia that was performing there.

 

For the price we paid ($22.00 each) it was well worth the cost. There were jugglers, high wire acts, rollers skaters doing acrobatics on a platform that was about 6 feet in diameter, clowns, Mermaids and all kinds of great acts.

The highlight were these two men that were pretty amazing.

Wow. Incredibly strong. I don't think they have snacks for happy hour every night.

Sunday was the annual Canada celebration at our park. We had live entertainment, skits, draws and a tasty chicken dinner. There were about 140 in attendance. And there was plenty to go around.

Couldn't help posting a picture of Miss Canada in the Miss Universe Contest. I guess this costume depicts what many love about Canada. Lots of comments both good and bad. I think it is pretty imaginative. Pretty sure my grandkids would approve. Right Jake and Karmen!!

Was another great week in the sunshine. Until next time travel safe.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 22 January 2015

This Week

I start my week on Saturday?? Oh well, what the hell. Saturday was a day to hit some markets. John, Judy, Rodger and Terry where our partners in crime as we headed into Winter Haven to the flea. This turned out to be a disappointment as there were only half a dozen booths set up. We can cross this one off our list. This horse was standing in a park nearby made out of tree branches. I thought it was pretty cute.

From there we headed to Auburndale to the big market that never fails to be a hit. It is a huge flea market with everything including the kitchen sink. Also a really great fresh fruit and veggie market. We finished off with lunch at Chili's which is also always a hit.
Tom's sister Pat was rapping on our door at about 5:00 pm on Monday. She had been to a memorial in Kississmee and was stopping for a quick visit on her way back down to Fort Myers. It had been pouring rain all day and she was traveling alone so we insisted that she stay for dinner and spend the night with us.

After Pat had a nice visit with us as well as with Rodger and Terry she hit the road Tues afternoon. It was nice to see her and I am sure we will get together again over the winter.

Wednesday we picked up our neighbors Duane and Marilyn and headed to The Tampa State Fair Grounds for the big RV Show. I have to thank the Internet for this file picture of the front entrance. We were there last year for the Tampa State Fair. It is a huge place but certainly equal to the show that was on for a few days this week.

It is quite a show. Thousands of people and thousands of units on display. All shapes , sizes and prices. Some of the big coaches are pretty awesome. They can range up to well over a million. Way out of our snack bracket.
Another of our Rainbow neighbors Harvey Paine is involved in the Holiday Rambler Club and was manning their booth at the show. He and his wife Mary have a 45' HR coach. It is massive and beautiful. We stopped for a visit with him as we were checking out some of these fabulous machines. We looked, drooled and kept our cheque book firmly in our pocket!!
We stopped at Costco in Brandon to pick up a few things after the show and finished off with dinner at The Outback, yummy!! Here are Marilyn and Duane enjoying the great meal.
 
Friday afternoon we went to see the movie American Snipper. Based on a true story and I highly recommend it. Clint Eastwood directed the film and I would say he did a great job of a very sensitive story. After The show we enjoyed another great dinner at Chili's.
 
Saturday we joined John and Judy at the Cypress Gardens Water Ski show in Winter Haven. This show has been going on for more than 50 years. They had young up and coming skiers perform first, followed by the pros. Very well done and something else I would recommend for anyone in the area. And it is free!! Donations gladly accepted to help the club. I tried to get some short videos. They look good but I have no idea how to attach them. I will have to go to my Blogsy Guru (John) for help. Will try to get them on soon.
This is our grandson Jake with his new braces. He was all smiles after getting his train tracks installed but his Mom told me this was after the Tylenol!! Looking awesome Ace. Love you Lots!
Will work on those videos promised soon. Until next time - safe travels.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 9 January 2015

Company Is Here

Tom's cousins Rodger and Terry are at Rainbow. They arrived last Sunday in their brand spanking new 5th wheel. They are happy to be out of the cold Ontario weather and into the Florida sunshine.

 

They plan on spending a month here before moving on to check out other areas of the state. Nice to have them here. Terry has joined in our walking classes and water aerobics. Being fun and fit.

Tom's sister Pat and husband Dick are also in Florida for a couple of months. They are staying down in the Fort Meyers area. We hope to catch up with them within the next few days.

Today was Terry's birthday. Terry and I headed into Winter Haven and Lake Wales this morning, after our walking class, to do some shopping. This evening Rodger was determined that he was going to cook dinner for us all. Here are Judy and Terry relaxing

 

While John and Rodger worked hard in the kitchen

Looked like we were having a few laughs

Dinner was great. He even baked Terry a cake!! I am still suffering with me lovely cold so it was an early night home for us. Happy Birthday Terry...you only turn 61 once. Just a pup!!

 

Until next time - safe travels.

 

Saturday 3 January 2015

Fort Pierce

This morning John and Judy picked us up for a drive over to the Fort Pierce on the Atlantic coast. Our first stop was the Manatee Observation and Education Center where we got to learn more about these magnificent animals and got to see a few in the waters.

We walked down to take a look at a flea market taking place in the downtown area. Then we headed to a park to eat our lunch. The park is right beside the Navy Seal Museum which was really interesting.

 

Tons of exhibits to look at and tons of things to read. The Navy Seals were originally trained right at that spot in Fort Pierce.

A helicopter that carried troops during the Vietnam war. A massive machine!

If you saw the movie Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks you will recognize this Life boat. This is the actual life boat that the Samoli pirates held him on. The navy seals were the ones that rescued him. They now have the life boat in their museum to show the kinds of things that they are involved in.

 

This is a piece of steel from the twin towers.

 

The training coarse is set up outside. John tried out one. No records were set on this crossing though.

Lots of exhibits outside also.

After we finished touring the museum we walked down to the beach. Beautiful 87' weather today.

We saw some Man O'War on the beach. We were careful not to get too close. Their sting can be very painful. Sure pretty though.

A great day. Tomorrow is another day! If you are on the road - safe travels.

 

Friday 2 January 2015

Ring around the moon

 
I forgot to post this last night. We were outside and looked up. There was this perfect ring around the moon. Incredible, I have never see this before. On the Internet it is called a 22' halo. It is caused by ice crystals and is formed 22' from the moon. Pretty cool!!

 

 

 

Welcome 2015

New Year's Eve Was lots of fun. We bbq'ed steaks with the Hollinger's for dinner, with home made chocolate cake and ice cream for desert. Then it was over to our community center for the dance. There was live entertainment which kept everyone on the dance floor all night. We did the count down to midnight and 2015. Here's hoping that it is a very good year for everyone!!

New Years Day was a good day to take in a movie. "Unbroken". Based on a true story directed by Angelina Jolie. I highly recommend you see this movie. It is pretty powerful.

After the movie we stopped at the Sizzling Grill for dinner. It was excellent even though I am not able to taste very much. I have managed to catch a very nasty cold. I just figure that if I get a cold on the first day of the year maybe it will get it over with until 2016.

I took chocolate cake over to two of our neighbors. Both are lovely couples that we have grown very fond of. I figure that since chocolate comes from a bean, beans grow on plants and plants grown in the ground that would make chocolate a vegetable. I like to share my veggies with the neighbors.

Happy New Year everyone. If you are on the road safe travels.