April 30th and May 1st

Friday was a busy morning, what with getting the last of our things packed in the car and getting checked out of the condo. We sure managed to accumulate a few "extra" things on this trip, but I was able to finally get the trunk and both back doors closed.

Sheila turned wrong moving her small suitcase and apparently pinched a nerve in her back. She was almost down for the count. We were washing sheets and towels but it was taking forever for things to dry. We had to be out of the condo and on the road by 10:00 AM, but finally managed to get things dried, folded, and out the door. Sheila was feeling better, but not much.

We were finally on our way to see more old friends up near Ocala, FL. We hadn't seen Fred and Holly for several years. They had moved to Citrus Hills about 6 years ago after Fred retired. Fred and I had worked together at Raytheon since about 1972. He retired about 6 months before I retired.
Fred and Holly have a beautiful home, complete with a lanai and swimming pool. Fred also has a Corvette and after going for a ride in it, I can't wait to get home and get our Vette out of storage. We're going to bring our Vette down here instead of the Mercedes next year.

Fred and I went for a ride in his Vette and he showed me around Citrus Hills. What a beautiful community it is. We met the girls later for a drink or three, and then took another drive in the Vette to see a nearby beach. White sand and no surf - Quite a difference from the beach in Maine. The girls had gone off in another direction to do (what else?) a little shopping. (Who'd a thunk it?)

We met the girls at their country club for dinner (after Fred and I got caught in the rain with the top down). The girls were a "little" late, so Fred and I had a "couple" Manhattans while we were waiting for them. I think I will wait until next year when we see them again before I have another Manhattan. They sure went down easy though.

We spent the night at Fred and Holly's and had a wonderful time. Have already made plans for them to come down to Estero next year to spend time with us. So good to see them both and so many laughs. Didn't seem like it had been so long since we had seen them last.

After seeing Fred and Holly's home and Dick and Sharon's home, we can understand why people love it down here in Florida. Can't wait to get back here.

Left Fred and Holly's home about 9:30 or so heading for Interstate 75. Fred had us follow him to a shortcut to the interstate and they were even able to tell us where to find a Dunkin Donuts so we could get our iced coffee fixes before we hit the interstate. You were right Holly, Dunkies is next to the Cat and Dog sign in Ocala.

We made it all the way to Pensacola and checked into a Comfort Inn for the night. Plan to drive to New Orleans tomorrow. Only about 200 miles from Pensacola, so it will be an easy day's . K

Feeling so much better. Don't know what I did, one minute I was fine, the next minute, I had terrific pain in my neck and it was radiating down my left arm, and my left leg felt odd. I laid down for awhile. Started feeling better, by the time we took off, but my neck was really painful. We got iced coffees and headed down the road. After driving about an hour, the anti inflammatory med had kicked in, the coffee had made me feel human again, and I decided I was much better and was going to make it

So nice to see Fred and Holly again. As Ken says their home is lovely. They showed us around their area, Ted Williams home is in their area. Went to a lovely spot by the river for a drink then to their club for dinner.

Now in Pensacola, much cooler, and foggy. If weather permits will go to the navy base tomorrow, I've been before but Ken hasn't. Think he'll enjoy the museum and seeing the vintage planes.

We've gained an hour in time. Great if I could use the extra time to shop, however, Ken says anything more than a tic tac is too much as car loaded to max, due to previous great shopping bargains, oh well. S