We are in the Everglades

We are camped in Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park. We met up with Rick and Jan Bolling and are exploring with them. This morning we are going on a guided canoe trip. Pictures will follow when I get a better Wi-Fi connection.
The weather is good as it warms up to seventy each day, and fifties at night. No snow!
Hope everyone is well.

Sunny Florida!

We made it to Ocala, Florida, on Monday and had nice weather for the first two days. Then on Tuesday night we got a big rain and the temperatures started dropping. Yesterday and today were in the fifties and quite cool (but no snow).
Yesterday we moved south from Silver Springs in Ocala to Disney at Orlando. We set up camp at Fort Wilderness and started exploring the area. I never realized Disney's complex covered so much area. This morning we drove to the east coast and picked Mike. Amy and the girls up from their cruise at Port Canaveral. We spent the day with them and delivered them to their hotel at Disney's Boardwalk resort. Tomorrow we will see Epcot with them.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days...

We spent the day on Tuesday exploring Silver Springs. There is a system of aquifers that surface in the Ocala area create the crystal clear springs that draw visitors from far and wide.

The glass bottom boats tour this area and offer a view of the crystal clear waters that run at 72 degrees year round.

The Pioneer Hall at Fort Wilderness campground at Disney.

Downtown Disney was very entertaining on Wednesday night.

The Lego store at downtown Disney was awesome. They had every Lego kit imaginable plus bulk legos for those that wanted to create their own.

Live entertainment was great along the boardwalk at Downtown Disney

Nancy found a friend to hang out with.

The girls at Fort Wilderness campground.

The Boardwalk Resort where Mike and Amy were staying.

The gang at the Boardwalk's boardwalk.

I couldn't resist a picture of our Hurricane Hannah.

I didn't want to say it was cold here, but these are the lifeguards at the pool at one of Epcot's resorts. 

We took Natalie and Hannah to the Hoop de Doo Review while Mike and Amy got a little bit of free time on Thursday.

South of Macon, Georgia

We broke the fifty degree barrier yesterday just past Corbin, Kentucky. Most of the day was sunny and in the high fifties. We wound up just south of Macon after driving through the mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee. Today we are heading for Ocala Florida and will spend two nights getting the camper un-winterized and everything put in place. Temperature there forecast for seventy!

Saturday in Dayton, Ohio

We are on our way to the sun shine. We left Maple City yesterday and drove on decent roads to Houghton Lake where we met Bev and Gary and spent the night with them. The ice on the lake here is so thick that there are cars and trucks parked next to the fishing shanties! We were treated to a good Chinese dinner last night and this morning Bev fixed a great breakfast to send us off.
We drove on slushy roads (in the rain), to I-75 and the freeway was good until we were north of West Branch. Suddenly it turned to ice and I almost thought we were done for the day. I slowed down on to the shoulder and shifted into four wheel drive. That gave us enough stability to keep going on. After about twenty miles the temperature started to warm a few degrees and the rain lightened up and we were out of the ice.
The rest of the drive through Michigan was in light rain, but no more ice. The temperatures fluctuated between 33 and 39 degrees all day. Ohio's roads were dry, and we had a good drive to our hotel. We are now between Dayton and Cincinnati, and are staying at a Hampton Inn for the night. The weatherman is promising sunshine for tomorrow, and we are planning to drive to a campground south of Atlanta for Sunday night.
We never got to forty degrees, but we are now south of any snow. We are looking forward to warmer temperatures and sunshine tomorrow on our drive through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. I'll keep you posted on our progress.
Hope everyone is well.

Getting ready to head south

It looks like the winter storms are finally giving us a break and are wreaking havoc with southern Michigan now. We have had much less snow since Christmas, but have received over 100 inches of the fluffy white stuff so far.
Today was a balmy 18 degrees and we took a hike down to Good Harbor beach. There was no one swimming, but we did see a couple of young ladies on snowshoes.
We are planning to pull up stakes and start our winter get away at the end of this week. Looking at Friday or Saturday for our departure. It looks like a good chance for decent traveling as long as the forecast does not change.

Good Harbor Beach on January 5, 2014. No one was swimming.

 Along Good Harbor Trail sown to the water's edge.

Hiking in the 18 degree weather.

The Holiday Season

We enjoyed Christmas with most of the family together for several days. We spent the past couple weeks decorating, shopping, and cooking in preparation for the holidays and everyone had a good time. We have had lots of snow the past few weeks and have been getting lots of use of the snow blower. We finally got a break for Christmas and Friday and Saturday were beautiful sun shiny days.
Christmas morning started with all the kids opening their gifts and then a big brunch. We spent the afternoon visiting and enjoying the day, then had a wonderful roast beef dinner.
On Friday we took Ben to the Homestead resort for a snowboarding lesson and watched him learn how to snowboard on the bunny hill, then eventually on to the chairlift and down the ski run. He caught on fast and now will be looking forward to the next time he can go boarding. Saturday the temperature hit 42 degrees and we had clear blue skies. The kids built a snowman and an igloo and were sledding and playing outdoors most of the day. We ended the day with a hike to Pyramid Point and looked out over Lake Michigan. The sun was setting as we hiked back to the trucks.
Sunday Jenny left for home and then Amy and Mike, and the kds. Later Tom and Evey and us went to Leland and had a nice dinner with the Goodfallows. We also watched the Lions end their season in traditional style, a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
We are driving down to Southeast Michigan for New Years and are looking forward to spending a few more days with the famly before heading to Florida later in January.
Happy New Year to all and we wish you all well in the coming year.

Snow on the deck on Wednesday morning.

The kids on Christmas Eve getting ready for bed.

Christmas morning under the tree!

The opening of the gifts

Christmas is also Ben's biirtday. Nine years old!

 

Here is Ben (in blue), on the bunny hill riding the "Magic carpet" to the top.

Snowboarding down the big hill later in the morning

At the top of Pyramid Point. Nancy, Kate and Natalie

Tom and Evey

Kate, Natalie and Evey, the snow angels

Mike and Amy

Winter Wonderland!!

I know it's been a long dry spell between updates, but I have had some issues with the blog lately and have not been able to add new posts. Finally today the problem is resolved.

We have been busy the past month with a visit to the Irish Hills area to visit with Rick and Jan Bolling and compare notes on winter travelling. We will meet with them in Florida at Everglades National Park for a couple of weeks. We also went to Manistee for a Christmas festival that they sponsor each year. It was c-c-c-cold standing outside and watching the parade in the 15 degree weather, but the street was very crowded and the mood was jovial. A nice parade with horses, bands, and Santa. We also picked up a Christmas tree and are getting everything decorated for the holiday.
We are expecting all of the Michigan kids and grandkids to be here for Christmas, but David and Elizabeth will not be able to make it.

The weather is much cooler than last year and we have not been much above twenty degrees since late November. The snow falls a little each day and we have had snow on the ground since before Thanksgiving. Right now we have close to 12 inches of accumulation.

Nancy and I both continue to work a few days here and there, but nowhere near as much as during the summer tourist season.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the countdown to the Christmas holiday and the new year!

Early season snow. We have a foot on the ground now.

Manistee lighthouse on Saturday. We visited Manistee for the Christmas Festival.

Downtown before the parade.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Leland River in winter.

The sidewalks roll up early in town.