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Wintertime in Florida

11/27/2017

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We've been at Paradise Oaks in Florida now for nearly a month and have enjoyed it immensely.  Paradise Oaks has more than doubled in size in the last year and we're having fun watching all the changes and improvements going on.

The campground itself is just beautiful.  Filled with Palm trees and other vegetation, it's fun to drive around and see what other campsites have up for decorations.  And the kids love to ride around as well and say hi to all the other dogs.

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We've met a lot of people and made new friends.  Paradise Oaks has a lot of activities going on every day.  One could easily stay at the campground every day and have something fun to do.  A local distributor sells fresh seafood on Mondays.  Tuesdays is fresh produce.  Fridays is the pet groomer.  And that doesn't include all the social activities that range from holiday dinners to entertainment to horse races and tours.  It's easy to become complacent and never leave.

We have made a couple of trips to the Villages, once to Lowe's and once to Petsmart.  Both times we staopped at Steak n Shake for dinner and are now addicted.

Christmas is just around the corner and the residents are decorating for the season.  Paradise Oaks had a craft sale last Saturday, filled with all kinds of decorating and gift ideas.  In December, we'll have a Christmas parade with decorated golf carts and other seasonal activities.

Other than a few days here and there, the weather has been perfect.  Between 70 and 80n during the day, allowing us to leave the windows open and stay outside for most days.  Knock on wood, it's been mostly bug free.

As much time as we spend outside, we decided to splurge a little and upgrade our patio area.  A new rug, new chairs, a water fountain and some plants and new fancy lights have done wonders to make our patio a little sanctuary.  How I love to hear the water fountain gurgle.  It's nice to know that no matter where we end up, we'll always have a beautiful outside living area.  The dogs love it as much as we do.  Sage never wants to come inside anymore.

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We have two cranes that reside here and it's great fun listening to them and watching them walk around the campground, even of they do stop traffic sometimes.
The sunsets are incredibly beautiful.  Every night is different with lots of color and interesting cloud formations.
We spent yesterday putting up all our Chirstmas Decorations, which I'll post as soon as I get some good pictures.
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A month at home

11/2/2017

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Well, Tennessee will be in our rear view mirror tomorrow as we head to our winter home for this year.
It’s been a crazy and hectic month, visiting with family and friends, celebrating my birthday with old friends and new.  We also sweated out a year’s worth of doctor appointments and found out that this lifestyle is definitely good for our health.  Now, that wasn’t a surprise.

Kate, our granddaughter has grown so much since we left.  She turned three in August and her vocabulary is incredible.  She is smart as a whip and has the memory of an elephant.  Her favorite new thing is riding in the golf cart with her Grampy. 

My first visit (of three) to my Cades Cove was with Kate’s other grandmother and my dear friend, Sue.  It was so wonderful to see my favorite place again and have great conversation, as well.  Sue was kind enough to invite us for dinner, twice, so we had wonderful food and great company with the kids and grandkid.  It was wonderful, catching up with the family.

My second visit to the Cove was with Janey and Jim, who came up from Florida to see our neck of the woods.  We had a great week with them, showing them our favorite haunts and our history here in Blount County.  While showing them around, I relived some wonderful memories.


My dear friend Peggy, introduced me to my new favorite drink, called the Sylvia.  Once again, we solved the world’s problems with one conversation, and I was also able to support her at a political function.


My third visit was with old friends, Trish and Roy, after a wonderful lunch at PawPaws Cajun Kitchen.  I’ll never hear the words “Here BAR” again without laughing.  Roy and Trish spent a couple of nights out here in their new motorhome.  Looking forward to their retirement and doing some traveling together.  Of course, we also had our obligatory German dinner together.


The time I got to spend with my mom was invaluable.  We were able to take care of several legal issues and spent some great conversations together.  I’ll miss her when we leave, but I hope to bring her down to Florida during the cold winter months.


​My Birthday turned out to be a perfect one.  All I wanted was a campfire with friends and family to celebrate with me and that’s what I got.  Trish and Roy, and the fur-divas Mariann and Ginger: Sue and Kate: Janey and Jim: Peggy: and Rinda and family.  It was a wonderful evening catching up and spending time with friends that I love.

That was our month in a nutshell.  After this weekend of cold and rainy weather, we’re all ready to head for warmer climes.

Paradise Oaks has almost completed their major expansion and we’re looking forward to many fun activities and meeting new friends.  We’ll return to Tennessee in April next year instead of October and after that, who knows?
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