Time to get caught up! The end of our Florida winter stay is almost here and we will be heading north in mid April. Another nice season here with a few short trips sprinkled in and Siesta Bay feels like home.

At the end of November, we ventured south to the Florida Keys for a 10 day stay at Fiesta Key RV Resort on Long Key situated between Islamorada and Marathon. Fiesta Key is a resort style park with all the amenities and nice water views. It offers RV spots as well as small cottages and welcomes long stays for snowbirds. Quite pricey due to the location, it was a nice place to visit, but not a long term option for us.

Our spot backed up to a canal leading out to the Gulf of Mexico. You can’t deny the beauty of the Keys, especially the water color and sunsets. We checked out Long Key State Park, spent a day in Key West, and even tried a snorkeling trip.

Taking a boat ride out to a reef just off the Atlantic side we quickly learned that this wasn’t the best option for our first snorkeling adventure. We enjoyed the boat ride and the stop at the sand bar, but trying to snorkel in 13 feet of water with the ocean swells, proved too much for us. Probably a site in shallow water closer to shore would have been better; live and learn!

Our Christmas trip to Michigan was extra special this year with the whole family able to gather at Dan & Christie’s house. My wish of baking Christmas cookies with all 5 granddaughters came true and we enjoyed much needed family time together.

To top it off, we were able to have some family pictures taken. Thanks to Dan & Christie for a home that will accommodate all of us, including the newly finished basement – fabulous!

On January 16th, we had quite a surprise as we were getting our day started. Our phone alerts went off a little after 8:00 AM for a tornado warning. As we were trying to figure out where it was, Jim looked out our front window and could see the tornado to our north with debris swirling up in the air. We could tell it was moving away from us, but a very close call. We learned later that it was a F2 tornado (118mph winds) that destroyed or damaged more than 100 mobile homes just down the road from us. We lost power for a short time; otherwise we were fine. The next day when we walked to the area you could clearly see the path from the uprooted and snapped trees as well as other debris.

At the end of January we drove up to the Tampa area to spend a few days at Hawaiian Isles RV Park. This is where Jim’s brother Ken and wife Violet are spending their first winter after retiring. So much fun having them close by. I got to celebrate my birthday with them.

This trip to the Tampa area included our Discovery Owners Association rally held in Seffner. A great group of people sharing technical knowledge on the Discovery RVs as well as lifestyle tips. We enjoyed the social gatherings as well. All done by volunteers, Jim took a turn at facilitating a session on the late model Discoveries. Many resources available with this group. Great tip on a cell phone holder by the bed.

During our stay in the area, we were able to catch up with some long lost cousins. Julie Naylor and husband Kerry, hosted us, Ken & Violet, Guy Mannlein and Lori Mannlein Clair. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in many years, so it was an afternoon of non stop talk and laughter.

Back at Siesta Bay, we settled into our routine of taking morning walks, work time as tax season kicked in, and Jim doing RV maintenance projects. We also take time to appreciate the great weather and enjoyed some entertainment – tribute band concerts included Bob Seagar, Linda Ronstadt and Country Legends. Recently Siesta Bay put on a “Siesta Fiesta” – free food, drinks and entertainment draws a crowd!

In February we flew to Michigan to attend a gathering in honor of our grandniece Molly who is battling leukemia. What a brave 15 year old young lady! Constant prayers for her and family (Emilie, Aaron and Xander).

In early March we took a quick overnight trip to the east side of the State – Port St. Lucie. My nephew Eric and family (wife Hope and son Jake) have lived there for many years and my brother Milt and wife Linda were there visiting. Eric has a perfect spot for us to pull the RV into his side yard and we had a great visit with all of them.

Tax season work has kept me quite busy again this year. Everything working pretty good, however, we recently bought a 5G hot spot to try to improve the internet speed. I was finding that at certain times of the day the internet got pretty slow. With our 4G LTE hot spot over 4 years old, we thought it was worth upgrading. So far it seems to be an improvement; guess we have to keep up with technology the best we can.

One big improvement we made this winter was to our loveseat recliners. Even though we had purchased a replacement a couple years ago, we found it was not the right fit for me, causing neck pain if I sat there too long. Since it’s our main seating, we splurged a little and purchased a set that has electric recline, heat and message, as well as adjustable headrests. Most important it fits and what a difference in reducing the neck pain! Jim did a great job fitting and bolting the pieces down so they are secure for travel. The seating accommodates seat belts if we ever need them for passengers.

What will the rest of the year bring? Our usual stops in North Carolina and Maryland on our way north to Michigan. Beyond that may depend on what happens with diesel prices. We have plans to take another trip west in the late summer/early fall; hoping fuel prices stabilize soon.

We’ll mark our 5 year full time RVing anniversary in August this year. Loving it more than ever; hoping for many more years.