Christmas 2018

Judy. As we were leaving Nassau, the captain of Rhapsody of the Seas announced that a storm had formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and the waves were topping 25 feet, so instead of docking in Tampa, we were rerouted to Port Canaveral, on the other side of Florida. Buses were brought to take us back to the port in Tampa. There were some grumbles on the ship, but, considering the whitecaps we encountered on our way to Port Canaveral, we were pretty happy to avoid worse.

We docked early in the morning, and by 7:45 were safely ensconced on a bus, arriving in Tampa at about the same time we would have if the ship had docked there. As with other delays or changes in our travel, it was really no big deal.

Once we got our rental car we headed to Venice, FL, to visit Francesca, whom we met in Oaxaca where she was vacationing with her sister Kitty. It was great to hug her and meet her husband David, and once she showed us the damage the storm did to her

Francesca

beautiful garden, we were happier than ever that we were detoured. The two of them plied us with questions about our lifestyle over a lunch of soup and veggies—seems like they’re thinking of doing the same thing! It was great to reconnect.

Being with Francesca and David was fun, but we were anxious to get to Ft. Myers, where we met our family to buy groceries for the coming week on Captiva Island. Traveling is wonderful, and I love our way of life, but hugging my kids and grandkids is absolutely priceless. We loaded up and headed to our rental home, a five-bedroom place one minute from the beach and one minute from the bay. AND, it had a swimming pool. Big splurge, but the best money we could spend. It’s the longest time we’ve been able to spend with everyone.

There was no Christmas tree, but we managed a beautiful Christmas day, with gifts and a fantastic Stone Crab claws and Porter House steak meal provided by Leslie and Daniel, topped with tons of love and time on the beach.

Caed takes on the waves

Parker and Ollie nap

The three boys

Over the next week we kayaked, swam, baked on the beach, walked, played games, laughed, talked, hugged each other, and ATE!  People took turns cooking, so Ted and I never lifted a finger. 

George

Ted and Leslie took a day and drove to Ft. Lauderdale to visit a college buddy of Ted's who's been fighting three forms of cancer. George appears to be winning the battle, and his positive spirit inspires all of us.

So much good food and so much love. Captiva is our favorite place in Florida, and Stefan and Sarah had visited it on their honeymoon and loved it.  We were so happy to share it with the whole family. We had a family portrait taken by photographer Milissa to capture the week. It was hard to say goodbye.

They whole gang

We headed to Vero Beach, to the home of our dear friends Anne and Bill. We seem to have made it a regular December/January visit—Anne says one more year and it’ll be a tradition! This year, though, three of our friends from high school joined us: Linda, Kathy, and Anne T. We spent some time all together, and sent Ted and Bill off sometimes while we caught up. 

High school buddies

One last meal with Anne & Bill

A visit to the Vero Beach chiropractor, breakfast with Anne and Bill, and we were off to Tampa for the flight to Buenos Aires. And that’s another post.