The is a 1960’s song by Harry Nilsson called ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ that I have always loved, especially the chorus. These lines have evoked a calling in me since I was a boy, to travel, to sail, to go where the weather suits my summer clothes. Florida has given us summer in February, so this year we will get two summers!
“I’m goin where the sun keeps shining, through the pouring rain;
goin where the weather suits my clothes;
banking off a north-east wind, sailing on a summer breeze;
skipping over the ocean like a stone.”
When we got to central Florida we met close friends from home, John and Jessica Langille and their boys Wesley and Calvin, in Clermont for breakfast on Feb.2. They were here for a vacation with John’s family and it was a real treat to see them. Then we drove to Zephyrhills for our 2 week stay at Rainbow Village where our friend Bernadette (from our church in Sutherland’s River) lives for 6 months a year. She was great, introducing us to her friends for the SuperBowl party (where I was in the minority as a Patriots fan), driving us around to see the local sights, lending us her van, giving us all kinds of gifts, keeping Glenda busy, etc, etc.
We met up with our friends Brad and Judy MacNeil who also live in Zephyrhills for 6 months a year. They invited us for supper and card games, took us to a beautiful St. Pete’s area beach on the Gulf and a classic car market and made us feel at home. The weather here is exceptional, sunny most every day and temps in the high 70’s to high 80’s, just like a perfect summer at home.
We’ve been on the look out for alligators but haven’t seen any yet, although Glenda bought some gator jerky. Brad and Judy took us to a state park where gators are often spotted in and along the river. Judy (who is afraid of spiders but apparently not gators) marched us through the river trail and I was a bit nervous, especially after hearing that a gator can outrun a horse for a short distance. I mentioned it to Brad and he said we were ok because the women were up front. Judy told Glenda that they just needed to be able to outrun the guys, and Brad is recovering from recent knee surgery.
We have had a great time here and are heading to Lakeland tomorrow to visit with Ed and Linda Henderson, our pastor and wife who married us 37 years ago. Then we plan to spend the next 3 weeks on Florida’s east coast, where the sun keeps shining!
Let's Do The 180! 