The rest of Florida

We would have loved to spend more time at Big Cypress National Preserve but we just plain ran out of time. We spent one night and were the only ones at the campsite so it was nice and quiet. Truthfully, things have been a little tough. I recently found out that I am not returning to Alaska for work this winter. It is not by my choice, there are reasons I am still not clear of but the bottom line is my schedule won't work this winter. It put a bit of a damper on the trip because we thought we had everything figured out, probably too well. Such is life. I have applied to observing jobs in Hawaii, Florida and in Alaska with different companies. All seem promising but if worse comes to worst, I can spend the winter in sunny Florida hanging with my friends and family. Just breathe.

We did really enjoy the last part of our trip. We drove back up north to St. Petersburg to visit my family. We had a great little family reunion with my aunt and uncle, cousin and his wife and their amazing little girl. Florida weather is just awesome this time of year. We also scooted over to Bradenton to visit Brian's grandmother. Brian and Mary Lou got a round of golf in before the cold weather barged in. We also visited Siesta Key to see the sand sculptures.

Before flying out of Tampa, we brought the camper to Camping World and left the truck in longterm parking at the airport. We'll be back in Mass for the next couple weeks bouncing around. My sister and her fiancee are flying in from San Diego this weekend. We're looking forward to spending time with everyone and getting our fix of cold weather.

It was a great first leg and we can't wait to get back to it next spring. To be continued..