🎄Fa la la la la🎄

It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since we crossed our wake from our Great Loop Adventure! Our lives have been a whirlwind of adventures since we packed up our car in California in February of 2018 and left that part of our lives behind, with love, of course, to begin what was to be, the very best time of my life!

When I get to share with people about our Loop Adventures, I’m amazed how vibrant and alive I become. The journey was so incredible, and I love reliving it! It makes me so happy! And who doesn’t like being happy!
As we settle in to our new home, The Christmas season is upon us. Again. Last year we were still on the boat, and our Christmas tree was a poinsettia. This year, we have a little tree and our home looks very festive. Christmas in Florida is lovely. It’s a balmy 74 degrees, with a slight tropical breeze. Life is good!

Jim is still enjoying driving for Uber and keeps his 5 star rating intact! We are both enjoying our little volunteer job at Spanish Point, where we give small boat tours to visitors of the park. Captain Jim is in his glory and I am getting better at my docent gig. The CEO of Spanish Point, John, allowed us to enter the boat in the Venice Christmas Boat Parade. We decorated the boat with a bunch of lights and a lit wreath along with a Santa on the roof. Jim and I were excited for this little adventure. On the day of the event, we traveled to Venice and got ourselves in the lineup. The parade of lights started at 6:00 pm and at 6:05, the little boat gave up! She overheated! LOL! We pulled out of the lineup, threw an anchor overboard and Jim knew we were done. We had to be towed back to the dock. 😂 We were disappointed to say the least, but grateful that we made it back to the dock with no problem. Thank you Sea Tow!

Venice Christmas Boat Parade on the Magic

Sea Tow to the rescue!

We took a trip back to Los Angeles a few weeks ago to attend the 2nd Annual Opioid Conference that Social Model Recovery Service held in Anaheim. If you recall, we attended last year as well, when we left our boat in Alton, Illinois and flew in. The Opioid epidemic is still taking the lives of thousands of people every day. It’s such a horrible thing. One of our friends, here in Florida, lost her grandson this past year to a Fentanyl overdose. He was 18 years old. We will continue to support the efforts os our legislators and the medical community to help put an end to this epidemic. We can’t change it all, but as recovering people, we will continue to reach out our hands to those who ask for help with their addictions. There is hope.
I was blessed to see 3 of my children, Veronica, Michael and Aimee while I was in Los Angeles. It was such a short trip, we were only in town for two days, but I did get to share a few meals with them. Veronica, Audrey, my granddaughter, and I had a few hours to enjoy some sushi. It was delicious!

Grandma and Audrey

Aimee and I had Coffee and a nice visit. Her kids were all in school, so I didn’t get to give them a hug.

Mom and Daughter ❤️

No picture, unfortunately, but I did get to have dinner with my son Michael, his wife Millie and 2 of his 3 daughters, Arianna and Aliessa. I can’t believe we forgot to get a photo! It was nice to see my kids, if even for a short time. It’s so different living so far from my children and grandchildren. Life has changed so much. I love them all dearly, and I pray for their happiness, health, and safety every day of my life. Being a far away mom hurts my heart, but I am happy where my journey has taken me.

We will spend the 23rd of December, in Miami, visiting with Peter and Giselle and baby Sebastian. I know Jim is looking forward to seeing the baby. He just turned one year old. Jim is a proud grandpa and has replaced my picture on his phone with Sebastian’s. Oh well, that’s what grandpas do!

I am looking forward to my sister Cameron coming to our home for a holiday visit. She will arrive on the 28th of December and stay through the New Year. I have some fun ideas of places to show her around our area and we will spend New Years Day with our Auntie Sharon in Apollo Beach. I know we will have a great time catching up with each other. She also lives in California, so I haven’t seen her for a whole year! Can’t wait!

We also have a few RV trips coming up. In February we are going to spend 5 days with Marshall and Judy up in Tampa, and in June, my Son Robert is getting married in Maine, so we will take a long road trip up the coast to go to the wedding. I’m hoping we will be able to go to Niagara Falls! Won’t that be great! I’ve never been, but it certainly is a place I’d love to see!

Both Jim and I hope you all are happy and well. Wherever you are, Merry Christmas! As you can see, we are doing just fine and are so grateful for the life we are living! The only problem I see in any of this, is that we have “Stuff” again. What I do know though, is that I’m really good at getting rid of it, if needed!

Peace and our love❤️