Awake: 7:32am Temp 67 sleep 7+00 sunny overnight @ Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Kathy does (3) loads of laundry & some ironing; during the idle moments of doing laundry, she was looking up Newell people who live on the Atlantic side of Florida & found Bob & Susan, living only (7) min from our campground. I have great admiration for Bob as he has designed (3) different & creative floor plans & also changed some of the electrical systems around in those (3) coaches that the Newell Company built for him. Each time we've toured those coaches, we were amazed & impressed @ his ingenuity & talent.
I call Bob & confess that we completely forgot about him living in Florida; he invites us for a short visit but warns us that they are getting Valentine company mid afternoon. "We'll leave the gate open for you" says Bob.
We hustled for the opportunity to visit & sure enough, the drive took a mere (8) min. Bob & Susan sold their other FL house & moved into their current house on (3.5) acres about (3) yrs ago; Bob admits that they have been working like dogs ever since buying the property....outside & inside.
Susan & Bob gave us a detailed outdoor tour: identifying many different species of trees (banana, mango, coffee, etc), plants (bamboo, orchids, etc), thicket growth, etc.
They pointed out the renovated water system & new standby Kubota generator unit. When removing the thick growth, they uncovered a concrete patio slab & found a shuffle board in fine condition. They rewired the outdoor kitchen & grill units, rebuilt a gazebo with air conditioning & ceiling fans, etc. Susan told us there was so much overgrown jungle thicket, they didn't even know there was a fence between them & their neighbor.
Inside the house, Bob changed window placement, closed walls & opened rooms with wall removal & different door placement; changed a porch into a TV & lounge area complete with a rotating BIG flat screen TV, redid the entire floor with cherry wood, etc, etc. These kids are amazing! I've always wanted to tour Bob's workshop but we didn't have enough time; the shop is located about (15) min away & I didn't want to press our luck & run out of time. It was great seeing them again & we thanked them profusely for being so flexible & giving us their time & tour under such short notice.
Back in our coach, I upload (1) of my memory sticks onto our hard drive.
I call my Sister Corinne in Lilly, PA; she was not home so I left a message.
K & I attend the 5:30pm vigil Mass @ Saint Jerome Catholic Church; afterwards, we say our goodbyes to Monsignor Kenneth Schwanger who remembered us & gave us a blessing for safe travel. After some light grocery shopping @ the Winn Dixie store, return to the campground, stopping in the office to say our goodbyes to Tammy + turn in our gate key.
Dinner: pork tenderloin medallions with Marsala sauce & pasta & a fresh strawberry-spinach salad with balsamic drizzle.
Call my Sister Mary Jo in Lodi, Ca; she was not home so I left a message.
Evening movie: "Enchanted April" with Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Pollly Walker, Alfred Molina, etc. Utterly charming film about (2) repressed, married women who seize an impulse & rent an Italian villa for a month, taking on (2) very different women as housemates for this daring adventure. Ideally cast & nicely realized + very romantic. 1991. Interesting character study, without a doubt.
Lights out: 12:37am
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