Friday, March 19, 2010

Thurs, Mar18, 2010: Playing catch-up again....

THURS……..

Sun….clouds….Sun….clouds…..Sun….clouds! Yep…..you got it….that is the way the entire day went by……one minute there would be some gorgeous sun….and suddenly the clouds were overhead and it was gray and almost ugly. ALL DAY, it was!!!!! This Florida Panhandle area will never clear up and get warmer…will it???? Upper 50’s, lower 60’s….that was today…and yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that…..and on and on and on before that. We have been in Florida 11 days now…and nothing has changed!!!!

We were up fairly early as we were leaving the rv park around 9:30 this morning to go to the Marina in Panama City to board the ships that Columbus had used ….or, at least the replicas….to travel back and forth from Spain to the New World….the islands east and south of Florida. After coffee……we picked up Charlie and Katherine who are still here with us, just a few steps away from our RV.

Driving over to PC, we parked on the pier and then bought our senior citizen tickets ($6)….and then we were soon touring the very small Nina. WOW….this ship was sooooooo much smaller than I had ever realized/visualized. Only 80 feet long, it had to have been packed with all of the things that it took to get them across the Atlantic, as well as make a footprint in the Americas. Just can’t believe how small it is!!!!

From there, we boarded the Pinta, which was larger, but not much larger. On each ship which was moored to the pier, we talked with the crew members who were giving small talks and leading discussions about these ships. Very knowledgeable they were…..and I learned quite a bit that I have never known before about just how Columbus traveled here to the Americas!!! This was well worth the small admission fee….and we spent almost two hours on the boats…
Walking on down to the Marina Shop, we bought some coffee and once again browsed through the little shop that has soooo many nautical items and then, of course, the touristy crap. However, this shop did have tons of quality items for sale…..all having to do with the sea, shipping, fishing.

After a quick stop at the Post Office, we returned to PC Beach….made a brief stop at Publix…..a wonderful supermarket with such a clean and fresh look to it! Loved just wandering up and down the aisles…..however, it is much more expensive than any other grocery store we have been in since leaving Misery the 1st of January.

At the RV Park, we kicked back for about an hour in TheHowserHouse…..and then went over to Charlie/Katherine’s RV……”The Runnalls’ Roost”. Played dominos until it was time for dinner, which Katherine fixed for all of us. WOW……WHAT A GREAT CHEF SHE IS!!!!!!!!!! A wonderful meal with a delicious dessert….her famous Peach Pie!!!! Afterwards, we played Euchre….and, as always….Katherine and the 1st Lady won the game!!!

And sooooo, in the morning we must say our Farewells to them. It will be sad to see them go…..we four have such great times together! However, they are off to central Florida for a few days…..and then back up to Ontario, Canada until next winter.

Sooooo, even with the cranky weather, just as always…….

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!…..And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

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