Catching Up

I was complaining to Hillary because she hasn't posted new pictures of Mira and Grandma Betty taken yesterday and I haven't posted ANYTHING since December 3.

It's been an uneventful month travel wise, but an eventful month overall. The first week of December found me in Florida doing a Mock Survey. I had been to Orlando once, long ago, when Hillary's high school band went to the Citrus Bowl. There were way too many people at Disney in December and generally I decided I really wasn't fond of Florida. That impression remains, even though I was in Boca Raton and Delray Beach this time. It is very pretty, but way to many people cluttering up the highways. It is obviously a retirement area. A wheelchair with a 'For Sale' sign was sitting in front of the little diner where we went for breakfast one morning.

I was there with another consultant. We decided we needed to see the ocean since we were there, so one evening we left the facility around 5 so we would have daylight. We were just west of I-95, so very close to the ocean, but I couldn't believe how much trouble we had finding it. All the streets lead to houses, hotels, apartments, condo, etc. lining the coast and you can't see beyond. We finally found a street to cross over to the outer strip of land and by then it was pretty dusky. We peaked between foliage and were able to see the ocean, but never did find a beach. Probably need to try that again when we have more time and more daylight.

Travel was limited last week by the ice storm on Tuesday. I was without electricity for about 12 hours and no cable for 36 but had trouble getting sympathy from the rest of my family who were without for days on end. Ann and Bob finally got electricity back on Saturday. Todd and Missy weren't back in the modern world until Sunday afternoon. A little bad weather didn't stop Hillary and I. The streets were not really slick, just wet, on Tuesday as the temperature never dipped below 32. We went to the mall and finished Christmas shopping.

This week I am back on the road. I hope the weather holds, as I will be in a car much of the week. I drove from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids this morning and the scenery was beautiful. The trees were frosted with snow over the ice and looked like they had been sprayed with the snow we used to spray on the Christmas tree. But the sun has come out and melted it all away until the next time.