A couple of pics

It's difficult to get a good picture of the place; you just don't get a good sense of space but the one on the right is taken looking in from the entrance and the other is from the dining room back. Door in that one goes to the queen suite and in the other pic, just beyond Mike, is the larger one.
There is a balcony which goes out behind Mike. Pics are only so good.

Things and stuff

Well this place is set up. Things I found that I needed/liked/hated/couldn't believe...you can figure out which is which:

...lots of those ugly dry flower thing-y-s that are everywhere in Florida (I have been moving/hiding them this morning), including a pretend tree which is now in a closet.

...a needle and thread

...super glue

...baskets of all kinds and sizes

...fluffy white towels of all sizes

...a calculator

...seven operating air fresheners

...every utensil known to man, including a lime juicer (being on the key limes for a pie)

...an iPod docking station, a DVD player and a great tv

...walk-in closets that are as big as our bathroom

...a desk for the computer whici is two meters long

...phones to receive calls and make local calls (863 420 6754)

...everything you could want in a kitchen, including a dishwasher and garburator

...and the hits just keep on coming. Watching Regis and Kelly at 9am...I usually miss it here in Fla because I forget it's on so early.
Have a good one; more later.

First morning

It looks grey this morning but you can't tell with Florida weather. It changes like it does in NS except that the swings are faster. This could be a banner day but it could be something a bit less. On the up side, there is no snow anywhere. Later I am going to check the web cams and see what the roads look like at home. Has there been any snow since we left...it will be hard to tell!

I just made tea (King Cole that came along with us) and Mike is still in bed reading. He is tired but I think today will help both of us to get back to normal. He has a terrible cough which I suspect is from the pollen from the thousands of trees which are in bloom. I am hoping to get a main-pedi today somewhere. It's very quiet here, like in the country. However, if we drive for five minutes we are in the midst of it again...the traffic and the little shopping centers and the residential areas.

Speaking of which...this complex is enormous. I saw cars from MA and NY and Iowa and several from Ontario. Lots of Jags..the nice old ones that were so fashionable. Where do all of these people work? Last night driving home from Chris and Laura's, the traffic was amazing. As far as the eye could see, red lights in one direction and white lights from the other. Where were they all going??!! It takes us almost a half hour to get to C and L's from here in all of that, but it's at high speed and it takes almost that to get to Pictou Lodge when we are at home so the time is really relative.

I find food expensive in the grocery stores. Yesterday we went to Publix and whereas one time you expected to find food bargains in FL, I don't see it. It's pretty well dollar for dollar with NS on the things I bought but perhaps these basics are the same anywhere. Plus, I was buying the smaller sizes which are always more expensive. I have seen four Boars Head sauces I am going to bring home and I need all of the Emeril's Essesnces except for the turkey rub. I get that in Maine when I can just cram in one more bag.

Got all of this weeks 40% and 50% coupons off from Joann's. Most apply for one item only but I now have to find a Joann's. They are around and I listed some off the internet last night.

Well this is starting to ramble. Glad you took a look today. I know everyone is busy. Home day for Brian which is always a red letter day on his calendar. You can try out the new car! Aaron I see you are busy too with school and Graduation. Wish Rika a Happy Birthday from us. We are going to see about downloading Skype on this computer but Dad is less interested in it that I am. Also have to see today about getting my photos downloaded to this computer. ... by the way, I looked seriously at the iPads a few days ago. The new ones are coming out very soon so they are discounting the previous/older ones. I may wait...I may not buy...fun to look. Enjoy your day wherever you are!! Till later!!

Catching up

While we were staying in hotels is was very convenient and easy to get caught upon the travel and things done but when we left Charlotte and headed south, things started to change a bit. I am giving the short version this morning and will catch up this evening when we are back in this unbelievable condo. More on that later!!

We left Charlotte and decided to push through to Chris' place and arrive there around six thirty on Wednesday evening. Chris was working late so we visited with Laura and Jocelyn and after an hour or so, headed to the Holiday Inn for the night. In the morning we drove through and checked out these digs from the outside and then on to see Roger and Maureen in Largo for a bit. Then on to WEsley Chapel for two nights with Bonnie and Peter. They are the most remarkable hosts and we loved being with them which was our experience last year as well when they were in Perry Georgia. We played some bridge and ate well and had a generally fantastic visit. They are leaving for NS in a month. On Saturday we met with Chris and Laura and Jocelyn along with Laura's parents at the strawberry festival in Plant City. Thousands and thousands of people. When we were worn out, we dashed off to Largo again for Roger and Maureen and stayed with them overnight, left from there and now we are in our place.

Well we are speechless. You ought to see this place. My description would not do it justice but I will say it has so exceeded our expectations that we cannot believe it. I am unpacked and we will be going off to Publix to fill the larder in a bit. Really it is fabulous and we will be back. Although I hate to leave, we will be going to Chris' later today and will have dinner with them and when baby and parents are off to bed, we will be too. We don't plan to do anything tomorrow. WE have been on the road in one fashion or other now for seven days and it is tiring. Tomorrow we are going to hang around here. I will get caught up on details; hope Aaron and Brian are checking this blog now and then. I know Carol is visiting and thanks for doing that!! Wilma too, maybe. Anyway, if you are reading this, I am glad you stopped by and from now on I will be back on a regular schedule of updates. The next major thing is finding out if we are getting a boy or a girl in July!! Stay tuned!!

The good, the bad and the ugly

WEll making hotel choices isn't my strong suit. In fact, between us, Mike and I can make the worst menu and hotel choices. If we are tired, we take the first thing we see and say 'this will do' and then regret it but tired is a factor in decision making. The last two days in Charlotte we definitely had the good. Lovely room. Lovely. Big. Clean. New. And get this...when you registered, you got a card for three free drinks EACH at the managers reception and were invited to drop by for snacks. WEll we did that, with a certain skepticism only to find salad, spring rolls, popcorn chicken and baked potatoes, along with salsa and taco chips and regular chips and dip. ... and the six drinks...wine, beer or spirits. PLUS there was a free hot breakfast. WEll that was the good. $100/a night. We stayed two nights. Worth it.

The bad is tonight's choice. TIRED was the factor and we ended up at a HOliday Inn Express that is as tired as we were. On the plus side, the room is a suite with three rooms and two flat screen tv's, the whitest and biggest fluffiest towels and beautiful new drapes and sheers. There is a full kitchen which we don't need as well as a large dressing room between the bedroom and the living room. No breakfast. $100 a night.

The ugly was a Best WEstern somewhere in New England. Old. Looked good on the outside...the shell..but old. I could practically touch the ceiling. Cheaper than the others but still tired, old and sad. We decided we had seen the last of the Best WEsterns. Haven't been happy with any we stayed in. On the way home last year we stayed in one somewhere in NE and I stayed awake half of the night, thinking someone was going to charge through the door and pummell us to death. Huge room; but worn out. Would have been quite grand in it's day, which had long past.

So going home we will stay in Hampton Inns which we like. At one time, there was a slogan that went "At the Holiday Inn, the best surprise is no surprise". Well I hope they have retired that slogan because this was a surprise. In the halls it looks like a women's prison. The doors have dings. and the sad thing....just around the corner: three newer hotels which were on the right side of the street for easy access. We often decide on a hotel if it's on the right side of the street and don't have to make u-turns to get in the driveway!! Yes I know...it's all our own faults!!

Off to see Bonnie and Peter tomorrow. We visited with Jocelyn and Laura tonight as Chris was working late. What an adorable little girl. Can't wait to see her again on the weekend. Thanks for dropping in. Pretty soon we will be in our own digs and I can't wait to see if it's good, bad or ugly!!

The electronics tour

So we are on the road and just how much electronics should two people be taking in the car to Florida???

1. my camera, battery charger and its cables
2. his camera and its cables and whatever else is in that camera bag
3. my GPS because I find his too complicated, and the cable for that, and the mounting gear
4. his GPS because he thinks mine is too simple and he likes complicated...and the cables
5. Sirius satellite radio, moved from his car to mine...and the cables
6. my phone and the charger
7. his phone and its charger
8. his computer which neither of us seems able to do without
9. A PRINTER STILL IN THE BOX (don't even ask me!!!!)
10. my iPod, cable and ear phones

This seems like a lot to me......

NASCAR Hall of Fame

Well we decided to stay two days in Charlotte because this is the seat of all things racing. Too much to see in one day; too much to see in two but that was all we were willing to devote to this pursuit. We did the reading last night and headed out this morning to Hendrick Motorsport. Hendricks is the team for which Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson all race. Hendrick has a 100 acre 'campus' in Concord NC which is about a ten minute drive out of Charlotte, close to the Speedway (which looked unbelievable from the outside....HUGE!!!!). We visited the museum first and then the team buildings. This is the place where the cars come and is actually the base for these four racers. In addition, any racer can have an engine built here. Of course you don't get to go into the areas where the engines are being built or where the industrial secrets are being executed but what you do see is pretty impressive. We also watched the pit crews practice which in itself was quite something. One person glues the lug nuts onto the rims of the tires so when the tire guy removes the wheel, the lug nuts are already on the replacement. They replace 4 tires in thirteen seconds. After a couple of hours there we headed into the heart of Charlotte for the Hall of Fame.

Charlotte is a very old city and it's laid out in a circle.. very convenient for navigation!!!! The streets are numbered or they have n, s, e or w after their name. It is a freaking nightmare to drive around Charlotte because you are driving AROUND. Mike said he was driving in circles for two days and he was!!! In the end, we stopped the car, I got out a little tourist map of Charlotte and after locating ourselves, gave him the directions right to the parking. Not that difficult really but we had been struggling with the GPS for a bit and finally gave into good old fashioned reading and pointing!!

Once inside, the HoF was amazing. I took lots of pictures for my own personal memory book and it was a great day but there was too much to see in a day. TOO MUCH. It's like an art gallery that you would go to a few times to really enjoy. There is quite a history to this sport (I know lots of people don't believe it's a sport) and the personalities are huge. The people who follow racing are die hards who love the people and love this checkered history. After all, it all began when moonshiners were trying to out race the revernuers and their competition lead to races, the fore-runners of those we love today. In Daytona, originally the races were on the beach and on the streets. It's come a long way in it's career.

Anyway that was Charlotte. The daffodils are all out; beautiful blooms on trees. It looks like spring here. We were in shorts today and it's all good.

Thanks for stopping by. Gloria...I wasn't successful with your list at the Gift Shop at the Hall. Only managed to get a hat for Gerald. The ones you suggested for the kids just weren't there but I will keep my eyes open at other NASCAR stores along the way. Got Gerald's Hall of Fame hat but they didn't have one for 2010. Hope he likes what I got.