January 31 - February 9, 2023

On the 31st for dinner we went for Fish and Chips with neighbor, Ralph, to the Sun n Lake Restaurant in Sebring. He had been there before and said the food was quite good. Plus, they had Margaritas for $4.00. The Sun n Lake development consists of hundreds of homes and two 18-hole golf courses surrounding a lake. It is an "upscale" community. I'm glad Ralph made reservations because the restaurant was packed. Ralph didn't steer us wrong. The food was quite good. 

On February 1st we took a two-hour ride to St. Petersburg where we had been wintering the last seven years. While there we made a Costco run for supplies and looked around.  We ended up going back to the area the next day to take care of some business. While there we visited our Michigan friends - Chris and Marj, David and Jean, and Terry and Julie, in Roberts RV Park. We had a great visit but received bad news. Chris and Marj are selling their trailer and are not coming back to Florida for the winter. Marj and Jean are sisters. David and Jean leave their trailer at the RV park and fly down for the season. When in the RV park they use Chris and Marj's car. With Chris and Marj not coming back David and Jean may not be able to come back since they won't have a vehicle to use to grocery shop, etc. We really hope they can find a reasonable car rental for next season so they can come back. We have a selfish interest in their situation because it is our intent to get back to the St. Petersburg area next year and hang out with them and others. 

Friday evening our neighbor to the rear, Ralph, invited us and his next-door neighbors, Scott and Beth, over for drinks. The original plan was to sit outside but a rain forced us inside. We had a great time and ended up staying for three and a half hours. Since Kelly has her Canadian citizenship, I was the only "solely American" in the group.

Saturday morning there was an "Artisan Show" in the clubhouse. Kelly and I walked around but not much interested us. Kelly did buy two hand-knitted potholders at a bargain price. Overnight it cooled down and Saturday afternoon the wind really picked up. Everyone pulled in their awnings to avoid damage. Several gusts throughout the morning rocked the RV.  

Sunday and Monday were lazy days at the RV. My hair had gotten quite long and unruly so on Monday the 6th I went to the barber and got a major haircut. Tuesday was laundry day and I got it done early.

Wednesday was the "D Street Block Party", which is on the second Wednesday of the month. The weather was fantastic and we had a lot of good conversation, laughs, and food. 

Thursday was the Valentine Day Dance here in the park. We sat with friends we met here this year, David and Linda, from Taylorville, Illinois.

They are RVers like us and are members of an Illinois RV club which is dwindling in numbers like our Carri-Yals RV club. We are going to explore combining the two clubs to keep numbers up for future campouts throughout Missouri and Illinois.

The music group for the dance was outstanding and people were up dancing all night long. Here is a picture.

David took a picture of us enjoying the evening.

The dance was over at 10:00 p.m. Just as we arrived back at the RV, neighbor Paul, came by on his golf cart and said there was a gathering at his place and invited us to attend. We made a fresh drink and grabbed our chairs. In addition to Paul and his wife, Marietta, there were three Canadian couples. We didn't know any of these folks but within minutes we were laughing and having great conversations with all of them. 

It was a great evening.