Christmas is over. The wonderful feast all eaten. The numerous presents found homes for and the dishes all washed and put away. The family have drifted off back to their own homes and the hustle and bustle has faded. But our house is a hive of activity again. Old age does a horrible thing to little details of memory, so out comes my note pad, and I start packing.
Neala goes off to the groomers. She doesn’t need a warm woolly coat where we are off too. Andy and I get hair trimmed too. It is thick with snow outside our door but into the case goes shorts, t.shirts, bikinis, we are off to the beach. We rent the same small house every year, so we know there are towels, sheets, cutlery etc. etc. but our car is still packed to the roof when we leave.
Besides our case of clothes, we take boxes of food, lounge chairs, small tables for out on the deck, my little sewing machine, Andy’s golf clubs. Oh yes! we have everything we need. It is like home from home when we get there. But mind you, we are going to be away for over two months – and I tell myself, the boxes of food will make room for all the lovely nice new things I want to bring back. And believe me – the car is packed to the roof on the way home too.
On January 31st we are up about about 4.00am. Just grab a cup of coffee, after all who wants to eat at that time. Make sure the house is left all secure, computer and camera are the last things to go into the car and by 5.00am we are ready to leave. It is still dark outside. We get on the highway and head for America. As we drive we watch the early cold winter sun rise in the sky.
We reach the border about 9am. and have our breakfast in MacDonald’s. Fast food and quick bathroom stops, when the car gets filled up with gas, will be the order of the day. It used to take us over an hour to get through customs. As a Brit I had to pay $ 6.00 US, have my finger prints taken and my eyeballs pictured every time I crossed the border. Then, just a few years ago I decided to become a Canadian Citizen. Nothing changed in me I still kept my British Passport and I keep it current all the time. But now I also have a Canadian Passport and we sail through the customs. Two minutes now, and we are on our way driving down through America. A quick lunch and on again.We want to reach Kentucky before the light starts to fade.
Sure enough around 6.30pm we reach Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is nice to know where we will rest our heads that night. Many motels still do n0t take dogs so we are glad we do not have to run around looking for a place to stay. Once we are all checked in, off for a lovely cooked meal at our favorite restaurant, The Cracker Barrel. We have a relaxing evening watching the T.V. taking note of the weather channel. This is still winter up in the northern states too so we need to dodge the snow storms as we head south. It was a long tiring day but we know now we will be in Panama City Beach the next afternoon as long as the traffic and weather don’t hold us up.
After breakfast the next morning we see the southern states start appearing on the road signs, as we head south, and that is a great feeling. We also cross a time zone in the morning too so instead of lunch at noon we settle down in McDonald’s, in Alabama, at 11 am. As the Florida state line flashes by we can now wind down the windows. The warm breeze rushes into the car and the sun is not only warmer, it is brighter, and the white fields have now been replaced by green. At around 4.30pm we drive up to the office to get our keys. We have landed.
We unload the car and as I am putting it all away Andy goes off to the supermarket across the road for bread, milk, cheese and a few other things. We have brought nearly everything else with us. Even Neala knows where she is. Tomorrow morning while Andy is out on the golf course her and I will take our first walk around the resort. It is a beautiful place. Some of the homes are worth millions, but we are happy in our little house, so pleased that they too take dogs. So thankful for all the amenities now at our disposal. Just meters away is an outdoor heated swimming pool. Always 80 degrees or more – it’s like having a bath. A secure gated community and the quiet, long, white sandy beach only 5 minutes walk from the house, with only the resort roads to cross.
Andy golfs practically every day. He brings all the bits of food we need, from the shops, as he passes on his way home. I read the flyers from start to finish and watch for the sales. They have marvelous sales in the States. From the second week in we are off shopping somewhere, in the afternoons, at least a couple of days a week, and on those days we stop at restaurants and have our supper out. We find it very reasonable to eat out in America, and as I said, with all their sales, I purchase quite a lot. The weak Canadian dollar has not really affected us at all. Yes, our accommodations rise with the falling dollar but our holiday home is so cheap we do not worry too much about it. Our home is the smallest on the resort. We have only one bedroom, a bathroom, kitchen and lounge and a deck – and a great garden for Neala. But it is all we need. Why would I want lots of space to spend my vacation cleaning all the time.
We usually arrange one trip every year. We went dolphin watching last year. The time before that, we went canoeing down a hot spring fed creek. We have rented a catamaran and gone over to Shell Island and gone snorkeling. We have driven out to Navarre to the Turtle rescue hospital. The pamphlets are full of interesting places to visit. Of Course, the major attraction is always the shop outlet discount stores. Nothing is too far away.
All too soon it seems April 1st comes around and we are packing the car, to head home. We stop once again on the way home and cross the border into Canada around 6pm on April 2nd. We have another few hours to go, and the night is creeping in but we are in Canada now and know the road very well, so we push on.
It is dark and we are tired as we unload the car at home around 9pm. But we have had two glorious months away. Andy has golfed nearly every day and I have swam in a gorgeous swimming pool or dived in and out of waves in The Gulf of Mexico. We have a nice tanned glow to our faces, without even trying, so we are all set for the sunny months ahead at home. My little book has been updated, something I forgot that I wished I had taken, has been added – something we had never used, deleted, it will not go with us next year.
We have booked our two months again and all being well we shall see, Frankly My Dear, the name of our home from home next year. Can’t wait.
