Welcome Back, great to be warm again!

That's our poor, Florida rental being covered in snow, so cruel What a welcome to NY.

There is nothing like leaving the warmth of Florida where it's in the 80's and arriving back home just in time for a snow storm! Our ancient snowblower which is at least 25 years old had not been started for three years and sat with three year old 10% ethanol gasoline all this time. I thought the odds of getting it started were rather slim. The snow was heavy with moisture and about five inches thick, a little too heavy to shovel, at least for me. However, the old Briggs and Stratton engine finally sputtered to life after a liberal spray of WD-40 to loosen the carburetor internal workings. After that experience I was more than ever convinced I did not want to stay in New York for the winter!

Our third grandkid for the trip south, he quickly got into shorts and a tee shirt

This year we have our third grandson with us for the trip south from Titusville to Key West. Finn is 10 years old and looking forward to this "coming of age" trip in our family.There is truly nothing like this for getting to know your grandkids. We have a complete study plan from his school and he has to write a nightly blog on his daily activities and impressions which I will include in italics. It's refreshing to get a kid's view of cruising on a boat.

Hi my name is Finn and I will be on the boat for 1 month. Today we spent most of our time in the car driving to Titusville..I had a very tasty sub sandwich for lunch. We ordered a pizza for dinner. I almost locked grandpa out of the harbor. Luckily I remembered I still had the card in my pocket! We met new neighbors that where really nice. That's really all that happened today bye!!!

It's a two day trip from Finn's home in Pennsylvanian to Titusville and as we headed south the weather grew progressively warmer. We are now in golf shirts and shorts! We have a full four days planned with trips to the Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County Zoo, and the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. All this is along with changing the oil and cleaning the boat. The birds have been very busy enjoying blackberries and lounging around on our rigging. Our deck is a mess!

For Thursday it's a day of provisioning for the trip south to Key West. It takes 10 traveling days for us to get there plus days off for weather. We are planning on arriving 1/28 so we should have plenty of time. (why do I always have a sense of foreboding when I say things like that...)