Thanksgiving in Florida

We had some airline credits from an earlier flight last year so we decided to spend Thanksgiving in Florida.  It's a pretty quick flight and though we had some headaches getting home this time, it was certainly worth it for a week of sun and sand and excellent company. 

My (meaning Carolyn's) parents live in Sarasota and we haven't had Thanksgiving with them in a few years so that was our main plan for the trip.  But we have some really good friends who live in Orlando and we couldn't make a trip to Florida and not visit them as well, so we split the time between Sarasota and Orlando.

I grew up with Alissa and we are still really close friends.  Luckily, Stewart and Matt get along well, too, and we love hanging out with their 5 kids.  We enjoyed late nights, belly-aching laughs, and reminiscing about the old days.  Here we are playing Qwirkle, on our first night in town.  

 

 And Abbie started teaching me how to play the piano.  I've never had lessons but we did ok, with me playing one hand and her playing the other, very slowly. 

 Next we had a few days in Sarasota, right near the beach.  Stewart and I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving morning.  It started on the mainland and we ran over a bridge onto one of the islands just off the coast, and then back.  This was probably the best start to a Thanksgiving that I've ever had.  Throw in my mom's turkey and a couple of pies and it was a a great day.   But the fun didn't stop there.  That weekend, we went with my parents to a game preserve a little way off.  We took a boat out on a lake and got to see a lot of alligators and birds and we did some hiking. This is photo of me and my parents at the top of a tower they had along one of the nature paths. 

And no trip to the beach would be complete without the two of us trying to throw each other in the ocean.  

Saturday morning, before we took off for Orlando again, the four of us went sea kayaking in the bay.  It was amazing but, wow, did my arms hurt afterward.  That is hard work!  But, again, it was so pretty.  

 

We spent Saturday night and Sunday in Orlando again, with Matt and Alissa.  After church on Sunday, pretty much everyone wanted a nap so I took the four older kids out for a walk on the bike trail just behind their house.  I can't express how much I love Matt & Alissa and their kids.  I'm so glad that it is so easy to visit so we can have more contact than what we get through the internet.  This one is by far my favorite photo from our afternoon walk.  

It's memories like these that make the New York winters a little easier to bear.  I'm incredibly grateful for the excuse we have to visit the sun and sand every now and again.  

A Weekend Back East

Stewart had spring break (his last one ever!) this week so we celebrated by taking off for the Albany area last weekend.  His mom had recently had knee surgery and we wanted to check in on her in person to give her some tlc.  We got in late Friday night and stayed with some friends in Saratoga.  We did some catching up with them before settling in for the night.  They all had to leave early Saturday morning to watch one of their sons compete in a competition for school so I went for a 6 mile jog with one of their German Shepherds while Stewart studied with the other puppy. 

Since we weren't expected at Stewart's mom's house until lunchtime, we made a quick stop in Lake George where we were able to venture out on the frozen lake because the ice is still thick enough.  There were a bunch of people ice fishing, even though they said that they weren't catching much, and even a guy parasailing on the ice. 

Then it was time to get warmed up and visit Stewart's mom.  She seems to be recovering really well from the surgery and I like to think that we brightened her day some.  We made her dinner and just spent the day chatting and letting her rest.  Hopefully she'll be back to swimming and doing all the things she loves before long. 

We spent Saturday night and Sunday visiting friends from when we living just outside Albany.  This was where we've spent most of our married lives, and where we owned our first home so it will always be special to us.  It's a great feeling to attend church and have so many people know us even though we've been gone for almost 3 years already.  One family who didn't even know we were coming to town invited us over for lunch after church without any notice at all.  I hope my home is that welcoming and always ready for visitors some day.

We stayed Sunday night with other friends and stayed up way too late catching up but since this is so rare I'm ok with it.  I ran another 4 miles Monday morning before we headed on our way home with just a quick stop for some pizza on our way.  It was great to get a away for the weekend and see so many of the people we love, but it's always nice to get home.