I have neglected you Dear Blog, and so I will sit myself down and try and get you caught up, a little bit at a time, and we will start today and go backward….and forward…and backward again.

It is always amazing to me when people say, “What do the two of you DO ALL DAY on that Re-started Path thing you talk about?” Well I am here to tell you, there are not a whole lot of dull or empty moments in our lives. Right this very minute I am sitting outside, just steps from the Peace River in the middle of Florida in the late afternoon of Christmas Eve. The air is extremely still and the spanish moss hangs from all the oak trees around me, draped like a shawl on a fancy dress. It’s off-grey color combined with the gentle sounds of the acorns dropping from the trees I find very soothing. The sun is just setting and the sky is filled with the vibrant pinks and blues that seem to only be present when it is a calm clear night.

Today we had an adventure of sorts, if you include alligators and bike riding an adventure, AND I DO. We rode the mile or so over to Pioneer Park, not that far from where we are camped, in search of the elusive Sandhill Crane that is on my list of “Must Photograph”, this trip to Florida. Didn’t find any cranes, but we did have a nice ride filled with Ibis, ALLIGATOR (only 1), and a magnificent, but shy, Blue Heron.

This area of the Great State of Florida is where a lot of “My People” still live today. We are extremely fortunate to have a family historian, thank you Sara K., that has managed to compile through DNA and an immense amount of research, an extremely thorough history of our family. It seems that the majority of relatives on my Mom’s side were some of the very FIRST settlers in the state of Florida. When we told Sara we were going to be in Peace River area she told us “if you get in any trouble, just throw a dart, bet you will hit a cousin because I show at least 50 in the general area.” hmmmmmm…..

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we are on our way to Bok Tower. That little piece of land holds many fond memories for me. As a child, we would try and visit the tower on the return from a week at Daytona Beach after our summer vacation. My brother and I would wander up and down the fauna and flora filled paths, chasing squirrels and throwing them the peanuts that they dispensed in the little machines, for I think a nickel - at that time. My Mom and Dad would wander off by themselves and we would catch up to them every once and awhile and check in. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized the significance this little piece of earth held for my Mom. What I would give to sit on a bench with her once again and listen to the birds and her gentle soothing voice as she told me the tales of the 1940’s when her father worked the land around the tower and she would drink in it’s beauty. But that’s for tomorrow…….

Merry Christmas Eve to all our family and friends! If you are reading this, then you signed up for our emails, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT! We love to keep connected with you this way, and hope that this next year brings you so much joy and happiness, a little bit of travel…OR A LOT IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED, and a few giggles along the way. Love to you all, Sue & Bob.