Spring Fling

Joanna and I just returned from a terrific vacation in the states which lasted almost the whole month of April.  We set out  on April 5th to Ely and a night at our daughter Cherish's place, then continued on to Minneapolis and Omaha, Nebraska all in one day.   We listened to a trilogy book on CD's by Joel Rosenburg which was so thrilling that it kept us awake and alert for the eleven hour drive to see Jonathan, Reseth and little Aaron in Omaha.  We enjoyed four fun-filled days with them taking a walk to a lovely park, visiting the fabulous Omaha zoo, eating dinner in downtown Omaha at a darling little Italian place, a quick visit to Offutt Air Force Base where Jonathan is a navigator on a jet and just hanging out together.  Everyone told me that grandparenting was absolutely wonderful and it truly is.  Jonathan and Reseth have done a tremendous job raising that precious Aaron and he is a joy to be around. 

We had planned to stay till Wednesday with Jonathan's family, but when he came home for lunch on Tuesday and pointed out a huge storm that was heading east through the middle states and on into Minnesota on Wednesday with large hail and tornado winds in Omaha and 9-12 inches of snow in Minneapolis, we made a quick decision to pack up and head out that afternoon to get back to Minneapolis.  Our daughter Cherish was to come down from Ely to Minneapolis on Wednesday as well and we were going to spend the night at a motel and fly out on Thursday together to Orlando, Florida.  I called Cherish on Tuesday and encouraged her to pack up fast and make it to Minneapolis on Tuesday night to get ahead of the storm.  She arrived in Minneapolis the same time we did at 9 pm on Tuesday night, just as a freezing rain made road conditions treacherous.  

We stayed one more night in Minneapolis and after a two hour delay at the airport to de ice our plane, we flew to Orlando, landing in 90 degree weather.  Yahooo!  What a joy to see green trees, green grass, green plants, loads of flowers, blue skies, bright sunshine....aaahhhh!  We thawed out in no time and began our exciting Florida adventure.  After spending two nights with my sister in the Orlando area, Nicki drove Cherish, Joanna, Anne ( a friend from Ely, MN) and I an hour to get to our New Smyrna Beach condo where we met up with my Dad and his personal nurse, Tammy, who drove down from North Carolina.

Dad, who is now 88 and on continuous oxygen to help him breathe, had been looking forward to this trip for months, hoping and praying he would be well enough to go.  His nurse Tammy drove them to Florida from Franklin, NC which is about a ten hour drive and all six of us women were on hand at the condo to meet his every need.  Never was a man more cared for than Dad for those seven days.  Mom passed away last August and Dad thought it would be great to gather some family together and have a stay at the beach that we have enjoyed together through the years.  He invited lots of relatives and friends over to visit while we were there and the time flew by.  We went boogie boarding in the ocean for hours each day, swimming in the pool, playing tennis, walking the beach and of course, lots of sun bathing.   The weather couldn't have been more perfect.... 80 to 90 degrees each day.  

We left New Smyrna Beach on Saturday and returned to Nicki's house in Orlando until Tuesday.  That gave us several more days to spend time with Dad, do some shopping and visit my brother Ron in Winter Park.  Cherish, Joanna and I went for a walk in Nicki's neighborhood and came across a beautiful peacock.  Apparently someone brought them into this quiet neighborhood that has lots of large oak trees.  Six female and three male peacocks roam around in the vicinity with people leaving food outside for them.  Cherish prayed that the male would open up and flout its feathers and sure enough it did.  What a sight!!

I figured by the time we arrived home the end of April, all the snow would be gone and we could get started painting cabins and working on finishing up the docks and other outdoor projects.  Wrong!!
The 325 Road had just about as much snow on it when we got home as when we left.  Not a very encouraging homecoming to say the least.  However, over the weekend of April 27th the temperature rose to the 70's and stayed there for a couple of days putting a huge dent in the snow piles and weakening the ice.  We dare say there will be open water for our fishermen when they arrive on May 18th for opening fishing.  It is good to be home.  :)