Enjoying Central Florida and Family time

I know that I haven’t written a blog post in awhile, mostly because we didn’t have much new to share.. After I returned to Florida, Tim and I settled into a daily routine and didn’t tour around much. It gets that way when you stay in one place for a longer period of time. When we are moving every few days or weeks, we get excited about being in new places and spend more time touring and being in that vacation mindset. When we are at an extended stay, we tend to lose that “on vacation” feeling and spend more time at the campground.

Rosie is now 3 months old. What a cutie!

Today, I spent some time going through the pictures that I have taken recently and you can probably guess, most of the pictures are of our granddaughter. She changes daily and our daughter, Katie, keeps us updated with video chats and pictures. Rosie is growing like a weed and is absolutely adorable. While most of the pictures were of our little Rosie, I did find pictures from some places we have gone and realized we did have some news to share in a blog.

Beautiful view from one of the parks along the lake in Mount Dora.

We tend to get together with Sue and Greg most weekends. Sometimes they come here to the campground and we enjoy a meal together and play cards. Other weekends, we meet them out for a festival or to visit a different town. One town that we enjoy going to is Mount Dora. We met them there last year and really like the vibe of this town. When there is a festival happening, the town gets very packed with tourists so this year we picked a day to visit Mount Dora when there wasn’t anything happening.

I thought this tree still growing along the ground was pretty cool.

Mount Dora was fairly empty when we arrived in the morning but as the day went on, even without an event, the town got crowded. Mount Dora is a pretty town, located on a lake with a quaint downtown, filled with cute shops and lots of restaurants and bars. There are also parks with outdoor seating with some shade. We spent the day eating, shopping and relaxing in the shade where we played cards. When the place we wanted to go for a late lunch was packed with a long wait, we walked up the street and found a little niche that wasn't too crowded. It was a indoor spot that was sort of like a mall food court but with better food choices. There were 5 eateries and a local brewery inside. We found a table where we could order food from the various establishments and sample the local beer. Definitely a good way to end our day in Mount Dora.

Another town we enjoy visiting is Winter Garden. We met Sue and Greg there last Saturday for lunch and it was very crowded when we arrived. They have a Farmer’s Market every Saturday that is quite popular. Luckily, Sue and Greg already had a table at the restaurant so once we found parking, we didn’t have to wait to be seated. By the time we had lunch, the Farmer’s Market was ending so the crowd thinned out a bit. Again we enjoyed shopping in the various local shops and then found a shady place to play cards. Can you tell we have been playing a lot of cards lately? Tim, Greg and Sue got into playing Euchre while I was away and have been teaching me how to play since I got back. It is a fun game and I think I am starting to get the hang of it.

I love the main street in Winter Garden; it is so pretty and a beautiful spot to just sit and watch the crowd.

One reason we spend the winter in this area of Florida is so we can spend time with family. Besides Sue and Greg, we try to visit Aunt Tish and Uncle Paul each week as well as get together with Janet and Lou. That was a bit harder this year since I was gone for so long, but we did get in a few visits since I got back. We plan to spend some more time with them before we leave.

The best family event was our daughter Kim’s wedding. She was married on 3/12/22 in Cincinnati, OH. We decided to drive to the wedding so we were gone for about a week. For this trip, we left the rig in Florida and just took the truck north. It was a long couple days of travel, but well worth it. We stayed at a hotel in Covington, KY which is just across the river from Cincinnati. I spent some time walking the dog through the neighborhood near the hotel and really liked the location. The Main Strausse area was just a couple blocks walk from the hotel and was an older neighborhood filled with large homes and lots of local restaurants and pubs. Definitely a nice place to stay.

My morning walk took me down Main Strausse

Even though it was cold and snowy on Friday for rehearsal, the weather cleared for a sunny but cold day on Saturday for the wedding. It was a wonderful wedding; absolutely beautiful. Of course, as the Mom, I am biased but I think Kim was the most beautiful bride and the church and venue for the wedding reception were absolutely stunning. The reception was at Drees Pavilion in Covington, KY which sits on a hill above the hotel and provides a spectacular view of Cincinnati across the river. It was a wonderful weekend with family celebrating Kim and Greg. Definitely worth the long drive there and back.

We are now back in Florida until April 1 when we start our travels north for the spring and summer. Even with the high cost of fuel, we are planning to travel through New England this summer. Once we start traveling, I will get back to writing blog posts every week or two. Don’t forget to sign up to receive an email notification of new blog posts. I will continue to post links on social media as well for those who follow Exploring Tomorrows on Facebook and Instagram.

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Enjoying Central Florida and Family time

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