Christmas in Sunny Florida

This is certainly a different way of celebrating Christmas for us. We're spending a month at the Sun 'n Fun RV Park in Sarasota, FL, and are having so much fun that we're extending for another month. This is a huge park, with as many permanent (9 months of the year) residents in small modular units as there are RVs, some of whom stay for months and who return every year.

The beach in Sarasota is phenomenal. White powder sand. And packed on a warm day just before Christmas! We've been so "busy" we haven't had enough time yet to go to the beach except for one part of an afternoon.

So, while our Christmas was not normal, it was very enjoyable -- tennis, ping pong, shuffleboard (they play with a bowling ball on the court so it adds challenge), swimming and hot tub, a ham dinner at their restaurant, naps, reading, games... all in 70 degree sunny weather.

It did feel more like Christmas going to a Candlelight Christmas Eve service at St. Andrew UCC -- a church we've attended 3 times. The sanctuary was beautiful. The minister, Phil Garrison, (photo with his wife) is someone we are enjoying very much. The choir and director who plays piano and organ are also very good. As much as I am enjoying the leadership and worship services of other ministers, we realized last night we missed being a part of our "own" church community, especially on such a special night. But, the Christmas message is real, whether in familiar settings or far away. If only the message of peace, hope, love, joy could become realities in our world. So let's help make it become so everyday! Let's live the Christmas message.

Sun 'n Fun in Sarasota, FL

We are thoroughly enjoying our month's stay at the Sun 'n Fun RV Park in Sarasota, FL. It is rated the #1 mega RV Park for 2007-2008. We can see why! It is a huge resort-like park, with as many permanent residents in small modular units as there are RVers. And many of the RVers are long-term. We're "short term" and maybe once-in-a-lifetime whereas many here stay for months at a time and return every year. There's plenty of open space, lakes, tropical vegetation as well as pine trees and palm trees. We're riding our bikes everywhere, since we don't have a golf cart, like many who stay here.

There are activities day and night -- we're drawn to the pool and hot tub almost every day. So many things we've only begun to sample: ping pong, tennis, (we even bought new tennis rackets, since our Rummage Sale variety were a bit out-dated), shuffle board, lawn bowling, beach volleyball, bocci ball, exercise room, woodworking shop, stained glass workshop, horseshoes, miniature golf (but plenty of golf courses nearby if we played golf!), plus daily scheduled crafts, cards, music, dance, ... it goes on and on. There's a restaurant and bar at the pool with reasonably-priced food, so we wouldn't even have to cook, if we didn't want to! Every evening there are special events: wine and cheese tasting, karoke, bingo, live music/dance... So why wouldn't we want to be full-timers? We could get used to this!

There are beautiful white sandy beaches nearby -- we're planning a picnic at the beach today!

We finally connected with John's grandson, Devin, who lives and goes to school in Orlando. We may be able to spend Christmas with him.

Animal Kingdom, Disney World

My son, Jason, just returned from a trip to South Africa and Tanzania. Among the many adventurous things he did (largest bungee jump in world, climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro, great white shark diving, for example) was to go on a safari. Well, John and I were not to be outdone! We went on a safari also -- at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando! Not quite like the real thing, obviously, but they did a fair job of making it seem real as we bounced along in their safari jeep, seeing tigers, elephants, zebras, wildebeasts, flamingos, rhinos.
We didn't take days to climb a mountain like Jason did, but we did go on the "Mt Everest Express" rollercoaster. We saw the signs warning about being in good health before going. We noticed there were no other senior citizens in line either, but we'd already braved the River Rapids where we'd gotten drenched, and figured we were up for it. But oh boy! It was a little more adventurous than we had planned -- much of it going backwards in a dark tunnel. We heard a description afterward that it is like a runaway train going backwards at breakneck speeds! We had to take a few minutes to sit down and catch our breath after that ride! (We read recently that a 44 year old man just died on that ride from a heart attack!) We're happy to report we're fine!
We weren't expecting much from their "Jingle Parade" through the park, but it was quite good with their many floats, costumed participants, dancers, etc. We also enjoyed other performers -- like the Ecuadorian wind pipe ensemble, and the African acrobatic dancers.
All in all, a fun day. (We're saving Epcot Center for our next trip through Orlando.)

Christmas is coming?

We know it's December. We know Christmas is coming. We hear the Christmas carol music. We see the decorations. But when it's 70 and 80 degrees outside, with palm trees and swimming pools, it's hard to imagine it here in Florida!

One of the funniest ways of celebrating the season we've seen was the "Christmas Golf Cart Parade" at the RV park we were staying in recently. Lots of carts, all decorated for the season, formed a parade! Many of the more permanent homes in the park had gone all out with lights and decorations. Somehow we haven't quite gotten there yet! But Christmas is coming, we hear!

Kennedy Space Center

For the last several months, we have been immersed in history all along the East Coast. We've seen monuments of early explorers and founders, gone through historic buildings, been on re-constructed ships like the ones who carried the first English and European settlers to this new land, with all of the risks that they encountered in route. We've marvelled at their adventuresome spirit, and the work and ingenuity it took to actually settle in this new land.

But for these last couple days, we've had a completely different experience. We've marvelled at the adventuresome spirit of those who risked their lives in space exploration. And the ingenuity of the thousands and thousands of people who made it happen! The Kennedy Space Center was very fascinating. (Photo from postcard) We're glad we could take two days to go through it, and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Great presentations on the past, present, and current missions was very impressive. And then trying to get our minds around our own galaxy, much less the billions of galaxies in the universe, is overwhelming.

We had hoped to see the space shuttle Atlantis lift off, but it was postponed until January and the astronauts sent home. (Photo of it sitting on the launch pad.) We did get to see the unmanned Atlas rocket lift off, though, with its classified payload. (See small white dot on photo.)

We saw many of the original capsules and rockets and space suits. Walking through the Rocket Garden brought back lots of memories for John, because he had worked on many unclassified Agena capsules when he worked at Lockheed in the 60's. (One of the photos is of the Agena capsule.) Some of the things he worked on were also connected to the Gemini program, which were used with the lunar launches for rendezvous operations.

The 3-D IMAX shows were terrific, giving us a real feel for landing on the moon, or working on the space station. One of the live presentations we enjoyed was of astronaut (Bill) Fabian who piloted a couple earlier missions, who share some of his experiences.

We actually know one of the astronauts -- Loren Acton. He was a member of St. Andrew's UMC in Palo Alto. He went up in the Challenger/SkyLab (the last one before it exploded) as a solar physicist, so it was extra thrilling for us to see his name posted, and to purchase a SpaceLab II patch with his name on it. (photo) We left the Kennedy Space Center proud of our country, and now the international cooperation for future space exploration.

Rugby in Orlando

My nephew, Andy Pickrell, who lives in Fresno and plays rugby on a local team, had been selected to be on the Pacific Grizzly Rugby Team, which was to play in a national tournament near Orlando Dec 7-9. So of course we changed our itinerary just slightly so we could be there! Rugby is a brutal game; we don't really understand the rules; it was a bit warm in the sun. But, Andy is family, and we would have done anything to be there to support him! Although he didn't actually get to play much (he was second string behind the fellow who was voted MVP for the whole weekend!), his team won the All-Star National Men's Championship Rugby Tournament. We were there as they were presented with the silver cup, and each got a medal. It was an exciting moment!

Beaches & More History (North Carolina and Georgia)

John had spent a week at Myrtle Beach, N. Carolina, with Ann and her family on vacation several years ago, so he was anxious to enjoy the miles and miles of sandy beaches again. We couldn't believe how built up it was. Not only were there miles of wonderful beach, there were miles and miles of high-rise hotels all along the beach, and tons of amusements and restaurants and tourist shops as well. There must have been 20 "World's Largest Visitor Center" places with gimmicks to get you in their shop. This is their slow season, so many things were closed for the season. But we sat out on the beach, even if it was a bit overcast and windy. In fact, we were the only ones actually sitting on the beach! But that's what we were there for, so we didn't let a little less than desireable weather stop us! I enjoyed walking in the sand, watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, and pondering what I wanted to write for my father's memorial service, since we would not be going back to California for the service. I remembered that the last time he visited us in Santa Rosa, I had taken him to watch the waves at Bodega Bay, then we went to the Crab Shack and had the best ever crab sandwich. He devoured it, actually! So that evening in Myrtle Beach, we went to a Crab Buffet Dinner -- and ate way toooo much!

Then it was on to Savannah, Georgia. There is so much more to Georgia than we could get in on this trip south -- we hope to return later. The one day in Savannah was very enjoyable. We took one of the trolley tours so we could get on and off. Such an interesting city, laid out way back in the 1600's by founder Oglethorpe. Every several blocks there is a city park with a statue in the middle. We enjoyed walking along the River with their riverboats all decorated for Christmas. We most enjoyed going through one of their historic buildings, the Davenport House, built by an early builder! Yeah, Davenports!

Williamsburg & Friends

We had a pleasant several-day trip from Michigan to Williamsburg. On the way we went on a covered bridge search again in Pennsylvania. We also found Gravity Hill. There were three spots on that tiny rural road where you were supposed to be able to put the car in neutral and roll up a hill. Well, it didn’t work on the first two marked spots, so we thought we’d gone on a wild goose chase. But on the last one, it’s happened. We rolled up a hill! Couldn’t believe it – not sure if it is because of a “gravity gap” in the universe, as some claim, or an optical illusion!

We enjoyed an overnight visit with John’s cousin, Prue Kestner, in Knoxville, Maryland. She lives in a 2-story home built in 1824. She has put lots of work into it, and has furnished it with many family antiques and photos. Great fun! We went out to dinner that evening in neighboring Frederick (lots of Revolutionary War and Civil War history in that area) and thoroughly enjoyed an E. Indian meal. Prue teaches Yoga, has been to India many times, teaches Sanskrit and mediation – an interesting evening, for sure.

We enjoyed stopping by the Wellspring Retreat Center outside Washington DC -- originally part of the Church of the Savior--where we have attended retreats. It is holy ground. We had a nice visit with Janet Hudson who is still part of that mission group.

We had been looking forward to our 3-day stay at a B&B in Williamsburg since last June, when our church gave us a gift certificate for the Boxwood Inn. We stayed in the deluxe “Jefferson Room” with its luxurious king-size bed, spacious bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and a shower big enough for four people! The breakfasts were scrumptious!

Our first evening we went to the Governor's Palace for a candlelight classical music concert, with costumed players of various instruments. We spent just one day going through the colonial Williamsburg with their 1700’s reconstructed houses, gardens, shops, taverns, and live craftspeople. The “actors” portrayed the political confusion of the time, about whether to support the King or to rebel for independence. We had a wonderful dinner in a tavern with roving musicians and great prime rib. We didn’t see everything, but decided to spend the next day at the historic Jamestown area, learning about the first English settlers who landed there in 1607. There is also a reconstructed fort, an American Indian village, reconstructed ships--all quite interesting. The museum was very detailed and informative.

We were thrilled to be able to connect with Rebecca and Dave Hartt and family, and had a wonderful dinner in their beautiful 2-story brick home. (Rebecca was the choir director at Christ Church before moving to Williamsburg.) As is the custom in many homes here, they had a wreath and candle in every window in the front – I counted 13, I believe!

The phone call that interrupted our wonderful time in Williamsburg was of the news that my father, Vern Pickrell, age 96, had died. He had been in a nursing home for the last several years, with little quality of life, so it was not a surprise, but still came as a jolt. But we can also rejoice that he has finally been welcomed into God's eternal realm of peace -- he was more than ready.

We rejoined our trailer where it was stored in North Carolina. It was a bit hard to go back to a tiny bathroom, and to have to cook for ourselves again. But, hey, it’s home, and it’s always good to be home!