… it was 79 degrees and sunny here yesterday, and we’re looking for 80 today! ☀️

The annual Geminid meteor shower took place overnight, something which it is always too cold to view in Connecticut. Louise was outside at 2am this morning in a lawn chair with a light blanket and, despite the cloud cover moving in, managed to see 6 shooting stars in about 20 minutes. The sky was so clear and dark here earlier in the week, so last night’s clouds were a poorly-timed bummer!

We’ve been busier than ants at a picnic here in southern Florida! We’ve only been here 3 full days, but already have visited friends Jeri and Jerry Jaminet, Andree and Pierre Morin, and Lynette and Glenn Braunhardt. Still on tap is a visit with Gail Therrien. So great to see these folks! Interesting how we never used to know anyone who lived in Florida, and now there are more people that we can count!

Riverside RV Park in Arcadia, FL is very nice.  All the amenities and very nice people, most of whom seem to be seasonal guests who have been coming here for years.  They were welcoming us to our site before we had even disconnected the car! Last night there was a band and dancing in the big activity hall, so we went dancing for the first time in God knows how long. (We REALLY need to get back to it! We keep saying that!!)

There are little ponds scattered around the RV park which attract cranes and herons, and apparently alligators as well! I mentioned to Jeri Jaminet that there are signs posted at each of the ponds and she said, “if there is fresh water, there will be an alligator … don’t ever forget that in Florida.”  Yikes!!!

We saw a few gators from afar yesterday as we drove down Alligator Alley after our visit with Lynette & Glenn in Ft. Lauderdale. They were sunning themselves on the water’s edge in the Everglades. There are also apparently manatees in the Peace River, on which the RV Park is located. Tessa and I look for signs of them on our walks, but I don’t think they are easily seen from the docks. As I write this, I’m hearing a Great Horned Owl in a nearby tree.

We’ve also managed to fit in a drive to Salomon’s Castle in Ona  (https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2059)

and a quick visit to an off-leash dog beach in Venice. As you can imagine, Tessa loved running like a maniac in the sand with all the other dogs. She didn’t know what to make of the waves!

Even though we’ve never considered ourselves Florida people, and never had Florida on our retirement radar, we have to admit that the gulf coast has an awful lot going for it!