In Lakeland, Fl - #41-05

January 12, 2004 (Mon) - We said a tearful good-bye to Bom and Frannie and were on the road headed north by 10:30. It was an uneventful trip except for the last 30 miles or so. That was when we fired up the computer so that "The Voice", as Joy calls it, could direct us to Ed and Kathy's house. We've been here before so we knew where we were going, but Mark wanted to test "The Voice" some more. It was a near perfect performance except when we turned off I-75 onto I-4. It told us to bear right "now", when we were already on the exit ramp. If we'd waited to be told, we'd have missed the exit. Actually it had already told us about the exit a mile back.

We got to Ed and Kathy's about 12:30. Bob and Pat got here at about 3:30. A rousing good time followed.

January 13, 2004 (Tue) - We've been having trouble with our mail forwarding. We filled out the proper forms and gave them to our mail carrier before we left. A week later mail was still being delivered to our home. (Thanks, Joanne, for being there and collecting it for us.) Mark found a way to request forwarding on line and did it. This morning, nearly three weeks after leaving home, our daughter called and told us that our mail had finally begun to arrive. We'll be stopping at the post office when we get home to see what we did wrong and how we can effect more timely service next time.

This has been a day of great fun. Ed and Kathy took us and Bob and Pat on a tour of Lakeland, all six of us crammed into their new Tracker. Later, another couple we all knew from our time with Marriage Encounter came by for dinner. It was good to see Ralph and Linda again.

January 14, 2004 (Wed) - Our email today contained a note from our next door neighbor informing us that mail was delivered to our house again yesterday. And to make matters worse, there was a newspaper in our yard this morning. We don't get a newspaper delivered even when we're home! I think our trip to the Post Office is going to cover more than just what we did wrong. We've had all kinds of trouble with newspaper delivery while we were traveling, it's the reason we don't get home delivery any more, but the mail has never been a problem.

We had lunch at a buffet with old friends from NJ. Fun - and fattening. Our evening was spent in three hot games of dominoes!

January 15, 2004 (Thu) - Row after row of motor homes, fifth wheels, pop-up campers, converted vans, and vendors selling camping accessories and services. Miles of walking to to get a look at the wide range of camping equipment from the lowly trainer to some of the most expensive private motor vehicles manufactured in the world. The Tampa RV show is considered to be the largest RV show in the East, if not the country. We went with Ed and Kathy after Bob and Pat left. We were primarily interested in seeing the latest in small motor homes (making Q very nervous, to say the least) but the big ones were fascinating too. The most expensive, build on the Prevost bus chassis, had sticker prices approaching $2 million dollars. The dealers expected so few "real" customers that they were shown buy appointment only. Others had the requirement to remove shoes before entering. We were curious to see these mansions on wheels but we weren't able to (or willing to take off our shoes). We but from what we could see from the outside we knew we wouldn't want one even if we could afford it. Q was happy to learn that we saw nothing else that tickled our fancy either. It was an exhausting day and we were ready for a nap when we got home!

We watched the NY news tonight, and although we are glad to be here where the weather is comfortable, it is worrisome to be away when the temps are SO cold at home.

Q056814 Lakeland, FL - Ed and Kathy's yard