Last Posting

Sadly this will be our last posting- at least for awhile.  As you, our readers, may know is that our postings have been few and far between since we have been sitting here in Florida.  Our grandchildren have become our major focus, we have been doing more babysitting than sight seeing!

 

We had forgotten how much work there is in caring for little ones, but the joy and love they give in return makes it all worthwhile.
John and I are certainly now in a new chapter of our lives.  We have not regretted the traveling we have done, for we have gained a lot in new sights and experiences.  Proudly we can admit that we have embraced it all- hopefully you can tell that from our postings.

 We have even found some unusual happenings here in Florida, as at the Dunedin Celtic Festival where we heard a rock and roll band with bagpipes.  That is what the musician on the far right is playing.    I did like the jazzed up version of "Danny Boy".   Dunedin is quite proud of its Scottish heritage,  and at the festival it was not unusual to find many of its residents dressed in kilts.

Also in the picture above is an inflatable sofa, which one family used for their five children to sit on during the concert- something which I have never seen before!
Since we have spent a good deal of time in Florida the past three years it seems appropriate to write about our impression of the state.  No, it is better just to narrow it down to parks- where we spend most of our time.  We have explored many of them in the Tampa Bay area, just because that is a place to go with our 2 year-old grandson.  The parks, especially those with playgrounds, are wonderful.  They are designed with safety in mind and the play equipment is quite different from park to park. The parks are also interesting because they are well used by people from all walks of life.  They reflect the diversity of the corresponding neighborhood.  Children from mansions play in the same park with children from small cottages.  New subdivisions are constantly being constructed, and it seems that what is most important is that one's home be located  near some body of water.  Consequently a subdivision of homes priced over $500,000.00 may be found next to an impoverished neighborhood.   There seems to be no problem with diversity in the Tampa Bay area!  I do like that about Florida. 
It remains to be seen yet where John and I will eventually settle down.  Yes, we are now considering that likelihood, but it may still be a year or so- for myself I am hoping it is sooner than later.  We are planning another trip up north to St.Louis in the spring, and maybe a trip west during the summer months.  Bottom line for me is that I do not wish to be away from our two grandchildren for any long stretch of time.!