Chillin' in Cedar Key

We've been chillin' in Cedar Key this past month.  Our days have been filled with fun things like walking, biking, playing cards, and hanging out with friends.  We've been very disciplined and walk most every morning before breakfast and coffee (I take Sunday off!).  There's a small group of us that head out for a jaunt around the park each day. It's been tempting to skip these past two days as the temps took a little bit of a dive and it's been chilly enough to put on long pants and wear a jacket (ugh!).  Although we bike throughout the day, we also try to do a couple of rounds around the park after dinner.   A few nights a week, a group of us play cards (or dice) up at the clubhouse.  We've had a few dinners together as well....tacos and all the fixings one night and breakfast for dinner another night.  Yum!!

Then we've had the mundane things to do like weed and ant patrol and rig maintenance and upkeep.  We went to the CK Seafood Festival last weekend and Dan saw a sign that said "I fought the lawn and the lawn won".  He has turned this into a song and sings it quite frequently.  He is determined to decrease the amount of sand spurs we have.  ;-)

We're getting ready to the head to the Keys for a month.  By the luck of the draw, we were able to finagle reservations at two state parks for a month!! ;-)  We're meeting some friends there and are looking forward to many, many days (and nights!) filled with laughter and good times.  I know we will get in plenty of bike rides, kayak trips and, if history repeats itself, a little bit of mischief!  ;-)

Last night, we went down to the pier in Cedar Key to watch the sunset.   It was so tranquil as we watched the birds fly, boats pass by, and fishermen (and women!) throwing their lines.      

We walked around town after the sunset.  It was a beautiful night to be outside.  

Visiting more family!

In late September, we left our NC "home" spot north of Raleigh and headed to the coast. My Mom knew that we were coming but we were going to surprise my Dad.  And surprise we did!  He was very excited to see us and even more excited when I gave him a big batch of Muddy Buddies.

We were also there to help my Mom with a flower garden she was making where they used to have an above ground pool.  She was the brains; we were the brawn!  :-)   We had to get busy quickly as we were only there for a day and a half.

Making the border

Spreading the dirt

Spreading dirt and rock

Ready for planting!

My son and DIL are going to be helping with the planting in a few weeks.  I think Mom really likes her new garden area!  We left Mom and Dad's and headed just outside of Charleston, SC to visit with my sister Cathy and BIL Bruce.  We even got to see my niece, Ciara.  It was a weekend filled with laughter, fun, bike rides, boat rides, hikes, and just chilling!

Hanging out at the campground

Beautiful sunrise

We only caught one shrimp!  Utoh!  

Cathy, Capt Dan and Ciara

Four amigos!

I didn't take my camera with me but we had a wonderful bike ride - all 22 miles of it!  We went to Patriot's Point, Shem Creek, and pedaled thru I'on in Mt Pleasant.  It was a gorgeous day.  All too soon, our time ended and we had to say bye.  We had a great time visiting but it was time to head further south.

We have been in Cedar Key for about 2 weeks now and have been catching up with Cliff and Connie, Dave and Tina, Maggie and Vel and Rod and Tammy.  We've met a few new people as well.  We've put on tons of miles on our bikes and gotten into the groove of walking almost every morning.  It's good to be back here in our Florida "home base".

Merry Christmas!! and, a Happy Birthday!!

No, I haven't gone crazy!!  We celebrated Christmas a tad bit early this year.....September 21st!  We won't be in NC for the holidays so decided to celebrate it when we were!  We had a great time....I decorated the rig a bit and made a traditional Christmas dinner.  We opened presents and played Bananagrams.

What is that smile for?  2 lbs of Chocolate Covered Blueberries from Maine!

Mittens with a twist for Amanda

Distressed night stand for Ashleigh

Clever way to disguise a Home Depot Gift Card?  Ninja Turtle pencils on the front; gift card on the back!

Hand knitted scarves for Amanda

Ashleigh showing off her homemade afghan (or Ashghan as I call it!) with her brother.

Me and "the kids"

We also celebrated Dan's birthday with Kork, her parents, and Brandon.  Dan wanted a low key birthday and that's what he got!  We enjoyed a nice home cooked meal at Don and Sara's (Kork's parents) house.

Kork and Dan

Birthday pie!

Kork, Don, Sara, me, and Dan

Brandon, Me, and the birthday guy