Diane recently read my last blog entry. I asked if she liked it. She responded by saying it was written well, but did not tell the whole story. She said that the whole story should be told. 

She is right, but I can't do that, not just now, but I will.  

In the meantime,  I thought I could tell a happier story. It is a picture story, about what we have done,  and where we have been, the first half of this past year. I have heard that pictures are worth a lot more than words.

Take a look, if you please:

DECEMBER

COLONIAL VIRGINIANS CHRISTMAS RALLY

Diane, our friends Gary and Janis (you must know who they are!) and my self hosted this rally. The Theme was a Charlie Brown Christmas. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun too! We watched "Its Christmas Charlie Brown".  We had a Charlie Brown tree on every table that was there to be lovingly decorated by those sitting across from it. We also the had our traditional Mean Santa gift exchange. That activity always reveals who is naughty and who is nice. 

 THE YANKEE CANDLE FACTORY STORE

This was a great Christmas Eve excursion with our daughter Jeri, husband Tom, and our two grandboys, Dylan and Gavin. 

A COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG CHRISTMAS!

We enjoyed a balmy seventy five degree Christmas day on Duke of Gloucester Street  with lots of history and fun. 

JANUARY

ST. AUGUSTINE

A couple of weeks after News Years  day we arrived  in St. Augustine. We had some very relaxing days, and boy did we need them!

FEBRUARY

MELBOURNE, BOOKSVILLE, AND TARPON SPRINGS

Diane and I just about froze while cheering Jeri on as she competed in the Florida Half Marathon. We visited Ron Jon's in Coco Beach.  From there we moved over to Brooksville, Florida, were we hit the famous flea markets. We also visited another one of our favorite places, Tarpon Springs. We had great Greek Food and did some shopping, a combination that any good Greek Girl like Diane loves. I love it too.

DISNEY SPRINGS (originally known as Downtown Disney)

I turn into a big kid at Disney World. I am a big Goofy fan, seems to be appropriate. (Did you find the hidden Goofy?) We stayed at the Clerbrook Golf and RV Resort in Clermont. The Sunsets over the golf course were beautiful. While there we traveled to Leesburg, and officially became Florida Residents. The process wasn't easy but we did it!

MARCH

THE BOYS, TAMPA, TARPON SPRINGS-2, YBOR CITY

We moved from Clerbrook to Weston. There we spent a week with Jeri, Tom and the boys. It was an all too quick trip, and then we were off across Alligator Alley to North Tampa Bay. This allowed us to visit Tarpon Springs again, and Ybor City. The Columbia Restaurant was great. We each had the Cuban sandwhich of course. We found a shop that sold the best roasted coffee ever. Tampa has an Ikea! It was my first visit to that store. We bought a bunch of things there including a new chair for the coach. 

The Tampa area was quite pleasant. Some very nice malls close by, a good dog park close by. While there  we went to a theater not far away to see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" on opening day.  One day, some of our RV resort neighbors had a bit of a bee problem. We left for our next campground stop before we found out what happened to them, the bees and our neighbors. 

Approximately 50,000 bees (according to my brother the bee keeper)

APRIL

THE OUTPOST RV RESORT WINTER HAVEN

Great little place to stay with really good folks, including Disney staff.  We saw  some terrific sunsets over Lake Marion, right outside our front window. Jeri, and Tom came to visit with their travel trailer. We had some fun around the campground and we went to LEGOLAND!

LEGOLAND!

A wonderful, fun place to take your grandkids. There are very few height ride restrictions including the Bouncing Beetle.

 It would have been better for us if the rain had not washed out most of our trip there. We still had a good time and plan to return. 

A couple of days after our visit to Legoland and saying goodbuy to Jeri and Family , Diane and I packed up the coach and headed back north to Williamsburg. We planned to return to close on the sale of our house and we wanted to see Brookie's ballet recital. We also wanted to attend Christine's digital media competition at Christopher Newport University. 

BROOKIE'S RECITAL

They were all so cute. The day after the recital, April 10, was Diane's Birthday. I took her to her favorite Williamsburg place to eat, The Trellis. I also bought her a huge Birthday Sticky Bun from the Black Bird Bakery. 

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG April 10, 2016

We would close on on the sale of our house in two weeks, travel down to Elizabeth City, visit Gary and Janis for a few days, go to church with them, which I enjoyed very much, and then head to our home in the mountains for the Summer. 

LATE APRIL

Late April found us back at Deer Creek Motor Coach Resort, our mountain home. We had some feathered friends show up right away. The red one woke us up our first morning there, tapping on the rear view mirror of our coach.  A few days after our arrival I attended my dad's "It is a New Day" party. This was a surprise party, lovingly arranged by my Sister Penni, to celebrate my Dad winning his brave fight against cancer. He will be the first to tell you he could not have done it without the support of his family and his church friends. Speaking of friends I had a reunion with a couple we had not seen for a long time. It was nice to see Larry and Pam again!

MAY

IMPROVEMENTS

We made improvements to our coach, to our lot, and to our dog. It wasn't all work, we went to a Greek Fest in Winston Salem with friends. I purchased a Mah Jongg set for Diane's Mother's Day present (it was really a late birthday present), because she loves to play the game with her DC friends. 

THE MUSIC CENTER TRAIL

My brother Rod, and his wife Sharon came to visit us. They parked their travel trailer next door to Deer Creek at Cool Breeze Campground.  We hiked together,  shopped a lot, and shared meals together, including a visit to The Twisted Fork, in Galax. 

PARKER FAMILY REUNION

The Parker Family Reunion takes place every Memorial Day Sunday at the Brushy Mountain Community Center. I have not been able to get there for all of them, but this past year I had nothing to stop me from being there. My dad and his siblings are all closer to ninety than eighty years old , so I want to enjoy their company while I still can. I also enjoy seeing my cousins! Besides, I was appointed to take the group pictures even the ones I was in (I am the guy wearing the hat! ) 

VISITING UNCLE JONAH

Our Uncle Jonah has an apple farm and store up in the Brushy Mountains. On the last day of May, we visited him, made a stop at a Beekeeper's supply store, and then finished our trip at West Jefferson. 

Half a year gone....It is amazing how time flies, even when you are retired with "nothing" to do!