After Christmas Trip to Florida

As soon as Christmas was over our family split to the four-winds. Chad & Jen headed for Mexico and Guatemala, Kristy & Brian for western Carolina and then home to Tennessee, and Kirk flew back to cold country (and his dear kitty "Roxy") in Wisconsin. So -- Connie and I headed for Florida. Here is Chad and Jen at some ruins in Mexico.

Actually, we headed for a planned vacation (time left over from 2008) at Maranatha Village in Sebring, Florida. Maranatha Village is a beautiful retirement community in south-central Florida, about 75 miles southwest of Orlando. The drive into the village introduces visitors to a picturesque lake and the well maintained grounds.

We had visited there briefly in 2005, but we wanted to come back with our trailer for a relaxing vacation. Well, we enjoyed ten days of "staying put" in the great RV Park. Our camping spot looked out on the golf course and provided a fun place to live for awhile.

We had a great time visiting Minnesota friends who now live at Maranatha Village. (See http://pillsburymemories.blogspot.com/.) Our days included bike riding, investigation of the area for future reference, and sanctified partying with our friends. We really liked the Village and found that the residents were very friendly -- human and otherwise.

We also had the opportunity to connect with friends from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Larry and Reta Shoup are full-time RVers who are working for the winter at a KOA located about 50 miles south of Sebring. The Shoups were our helpful tour guides on a day trip to Sanibel Island near Ft. Myers.

We also had the opportunity to visit a place where Connie's folks took us 25 years ago. This time we road our bikes to Highlands Hammock State Park, which is just a few miles west of Sebring.

Highlands Hammock is a nature preserve that exhibits the historic "hammock forest" of early Florida. The vegetation is thick and semi-tropical, with huge oaks and a cypress swamp. Back in the 80's, Connie's dad wanted our family to see what an early Florida forest looks like. It was a special thrill to go back after many years to ride through this historic state park.

We are back to the cold north now -- North Carolina that is. Next month we are off to a convention again on Galveston Island in Texas. We hope to visit the NASA Johnson Space Center outside of Houston after our convention is completed.