UPDATAED DEC 29th 6:24 AM

CHRISTMAS VACATION 2009

Saturday, December 19^th and Sunday December 20^th, 2009

Well, here we are again, the plan was to leave and hit the road at 3 a.m. after getting a few shut eyes… however, ….. 

as most of you know with Ricky  were sitting around finishing up our late dinner, Ricky piped up and said lets head out now….so about 10 o’ clock   we decided to hit the road…. Laura and I dashed around frantically to get the one and only beast of the truck loaded for our trip …. Our Destination was Daytona, Florida.  We had rented Ricky’s buddy, Dave’s house in Daytona for the week…… it was a chance to get away and just put our feet up and relax …. ….We’re pretty organized when it comes to long distance hauls as we do them so frequently …. And we’re pretty organized when it comes to Ricky’s thinking, well, most of the time …..  he was set and ready to drive, I knew I wouldn’t be good to drive as I was up late the night before until the wee hours getting at my house,getting my things sorted for Christmas and for the trip…… he was positive that he could do the drive and had slept all day getting geared up for the long trip that laid ahead of us…. so away we went… We had no idea what actually did lie ahead of us ….we had no problem what so ever crossing the boarder… I guess it’s a hit and miss with who you get… they liked the Harley dog and thought Ricky’s truck was a wanna be “Ford Harley” edition, cause he knew Toyota never made a Harley edition, and I think  he felt sorry for us… when he told us he drove Dodge Ram, we felt sorry for him, ahahha…. But we pretended that was a great truck and wooed him and proceeded……. We never expected the terrible weather we encountered, as we hit one of the worst major snow storms since 1993 along our course….. cars were stranded in ditches….. people just leaving them and walking away….. there was tons of snow piled miles high, but even worse the highways were iced up ……a couple of times we hit black ice patches and even though I don’t have a problem night driving, there was no chance I would of even considered driving under those conditions….. It was just dreadful…… thank goodness Ricky knows his winter driving, a few times my heart was in my throat, and thankfully that Toyota beast has VSC – VECHILE STABALITING CONTROL  - in my words a self adjusting stabilizing control mechanism…. But Ricky driving the Tunder whaled through passing cars along the way … it didn’t even appear that there was any reason of concern …..  I’m sure as he passed cars one by one, they must of thought we were a bunch of fools, but we Canucks do know our winter driving, and most importantly, Ricky knows how to handle a vechile terrifically on ice (those days of ice racing paid off!!)  …… stopping a few places along the way, we packed descent meals for us… potato salads, macaroni salad, ham, roast beef sandwiches……I can’t sleep  in moving vehicles, so I didn’t get too much shut eyes… I tried to keep awake and keep Ricky company… Laura and Harley in the back stretched out as if she were in her King size bed at home, comfortable, she wasn’t bothered at all….  As the wee day light hours approached Ricky was now fighting keeping his eyes opened all you could see was two slits, barley opened… he was pushing and trying to make up time that he knew Laura and I would lose … I still knew I couldn’t handle the driving as I was up and tired…. Laura took over as soon daylight broke, and let me tell you, getting the best gas mileage out of the three of us!!!!……  when she took over, I tried to get some shut eyes so I could then drive…….  As the snow and icy road conditions started to fritter away and the weather temperature started to escalate, we knew we were getting closer…. But still 8 hours was a long haul left….. I took over, but I couldn’t complete last 10 minute heave into Daytona … my eyes were just getting too profound and weighted and it’s definitely not worth the fight…. So Ricky brought us in… we arrived at his buddies Dave Hoare’s house about 6:30 pm Sunday…. We made it in 20 hours stopping along the way, under the conditions we drove through, we made excellent timing… the house is absolutely gorgeous and pictures do not do it justice…..  a two bedroom bungalow home with two baths….family room, living room….. kitchen….  We all have our own space…..  I can’t say enough about the house… it’s just unbelievable and it’s our home for the next 7 days……  the trip was well worth it… now, the weather, it hasn’t been extraordinary hot, but we know Florida’s weather is very unpredictable this time of year…..  it’ sandal weather during the day and a light jacket at night….. we unloaded the truck, made a batch of Ricky’s favourite gourmet meal,  KD (Kraft Dinner), showered and all got in our jammies and relaxed…..well actually, we all passed out, got our spots in the family room, and just comfortable , sat back watching TV and basically exhausted from the drive and all fell asleep watching tv

Monday, December 21rst, 2009

Laura, early to rise as usual (4:45 am) had the coffee going, and I soon followed……. and thereafter Ricky……  we had our coffee’s by the pool and got ourselves ready to check out the area….we had no phone, had problems getting Ricky’s US phone restored and well, need I say anything more, Ricky without a phone, it was heartbreaking enough he didn’t have internet access…. We wanted to check out the area and where everything was – we went to pick up a few groceries and Ricky wanted to check out prices for new tires for the beast, but no deals down here for that…. Time you calculated the exchange it’s pretty much the same price as home…… we headed over to the largest Harley dealership, probably in the US – got a few things there and headed back to the pad….  Dave’s buddy who lives across the street came over to welcome us and we just pretty much relaxed by the pool and enjoyed our day  - we just can’t say enough for the beautiful home we’re staying in and it’s in a great neighbourhood – it’s just so much more convenient then staying in a hotel…. You have access and the ability to cook when you want, stay up when you want, just about do anything and have your space…. It’s definitely the way to go…. It’s without doubt an idea for Ricky and any of his buddies that want to consider to head down for bike week….the location is enormously ideal and very versatile…..  Harley is having a blast, he’s finally settled in to his surroundings and loving it…..

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Laura and I woke early, today was our shopping day!!!!!…. And of course Ricky wasn’t coming, not that he wasn’t invited, everyone knows, he’s not a shopper……. His plan was to help Dave’s buddy Tom, do some mechanical work on his Toyota, so it was the perfect chance for us to get away and shop…. Shop… shop…..… he expected we would be gone most of the day…… but after hitting, Wal-Mart, The Big K, Target, JC Penny, the grocery store and liquor store …  I pretty much had it and was just fatigued and plain worn out as Laura was as well……  so back we went….. 

The neighbours came over for a few drinks and we toured the neighbour hood to see the beautiful light display on the homes here…..  we barbequed burgers and home fries and again, ate by the pool…..  after watching a little TV, Laura head to bed, me, I fell asleep on the lazy boy and Ricky woke me and I headed off to my bed……  Rick was able to get internet connection either by getting in the back of his truck or one area by the pool, hey what ever works!

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Another early day…..okay…. so Laura and I woke had our coffee’s and did a little bit of cleaning…. We said we wouldn’t clean until we left for home, but did some vacuuming and washed the floors and she did the windows……so, today looks by far  that it’s going to be the nicest day… temperatures are expected to reach the high 70’s, maybe, just maybe Laura and I will jump in the gorgeous pool today…..  the plan is to take a trip right down to the ocean and get our feet at least wet……we’re having the neighbour’s over today for a barbecue of chicken, baked potatoes and salad…….. Ricky right now is walking the back yard to get his internet service and has found a “hot spot” … so he’s

Very happy….we’re off to the beach….. will be back shortly

Okay we’re back from the beach… beautiful gorgeous day – the wind was just blowing and the waves were crashing in – we wore our Santa hats and Harley was dressed in his Santa gear… he got so much attention…. Cost Ricky 16 bucks to get us all an ice cream  - the guy threw in a cup of ice cream for the Santa dog…….  Laura and I went shopping for our dinner tonight…. Company’s coming around 7ish…..  gotta run again get dinner ready….

click here for a short 3 minute 35 meg video.

What beautiful, considerate and caring new friends we have met down here… they are so attentive and helpful to us…. We had a late dinner tonight, ate by candle light by the pool, the pool lighting just illuminated it’s perfective glow and reflection from the pool was all the lighting we needed…….  It was complete … a gorgeous night, (no snow), a great dinner and wonderful friends…. What more could you ask for…..  We stayed up until the wee hours, but not too late, as a day in bed is a wasted day and we didn’t want to miss what lay ahead, tomorrow was by far predicted the hottest day, hitting whopping temperatures in the high 70’s

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Today, I awoke pretty much the same time as usual, around 7…. Laura was already up and outside catching the rays…. It was indeed a stunning morning…. Not a cloud to be had in the blue sky above….. I was daring this morning and decided if there is any day that I was going to get dunked, today was the day…..  I jumped in the pool today…. Wohoo…..  It was extremely breath taking…. Imagine sitting in the sun and basically someone pouring a bucket of ice cold water over your head…… yes, it took my breath away, but very refreshing … for the most of today, we just laid back and enjoyed the beauty of the day….. Laura and I managed to pull ourselves away for a half hour to run over to the store just to pick up the final essentials we needed for our Xmas dinner…. Stores down here pretty much stay open later than back home, I guess they need to bring in every possible sale they can for those last minute shoppers, but parking was not a concern for us, we whooshed in and out in no time….. Tom and Kathleen popped over for a few afternoon drinks with us, Kathleen carrying in hand a gifted box set of enormous chocolate assortments for us……they wanted to join us for our Xmas Eve dinner at our favourite, restaurant, Olive Garden, why they got rid of that restaurant back home, it’s a happening spot, the meals are good and affordable…….again Kathleen and Tom treated us to our Xmas dinner meal……. What a lovely, surprise!!!  T hey are truly a blessing and very unique generous people….. Dave is so very lucky to have them as neighbours to look after his home for him and now us a new found friends…….Tom and Kathleen parted as they were heading to her family festivities and us, Laura and I got settled into our jammies and pretty much were nodding away before the midnight hours….

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25^TH, 2009

SANTA CAME, SANTA CAME, Santa found us here in Florida!!!!  What a beautiful site to wake up to the palm trees blowing in the fresh wind and the gorgeous blue skies above…..  but where ever there is love in your heart, Christmas will find you and most importantly, it should feel like Christmas all the time……on behalf of myself, Ricky, Laura and the Harley dog too, we wish you all a beautiful Christmas day and we wish you the very very best for the coming year…….

We have several hours of light thunder storms happening right now, but no snow here……. nothing to stop us, Ricky’s outside with his Mac, online and he’s checking into his live cam in the driveway, and by the looks of things, you do have a white Christmas after all……..

No turkey or ham for us today, we’ll be outside BBQ – Ricky picked our menu for today…..  Filet mignon along with double baked potatoes, green beans/yellow beans, carrots and a snazzling healthily salad……..

Laura is preparing our morning breakfast to eat by the pool – temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70’s again today……. It’s a lovely day…. Even though it’s raining…..

We had a well deserved laid back day today…didn’t do to much of anything other than R&R and watched classic Christmas movies …. We ate our fabulous dinner by the pool with our Santa hats on and took another tour around the neighbour hood to check out the festive lights ….  We had our deserts, apple crumble pie topped with vanaillia ice cream and soon  Laura asleep in her chair, and me in mine,, we were soon awoken by Ricky to get to our beds …. All is good, we’re having a fantastic time, and Christmas if away from home and family, there was no better place to be than right here…

We hope everyone had a happy joyous Christmas day……. 

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Today everything finally caught up to our Ricky…. That drive, those late hours of work, he was still sleeping long after Laura and I awoke…..  we again, sat outside by the pool, watching the morning news…. A light jacket was definitely called for today…. A little on the chilly side this morning, but never the less, there is no snow and you can still wear summer wear if choose too …..  the temperature was about 63, so it was still nice…….  After enjoying our breakfast of fresh pineapple, steak and eggs, toast, Laura and I decided to hit some of the close by malls, sounded great while Ricky was sleeping and we could shop…..  went into some of the stores that we didn’t get into prior to Xmas and stopped into a couple of malls along the way and picked up a few articles….. Incredibly the stores and malls were not in the least bit packed as we could imagine back home…. There were bargains to be had as far as we were concerned, but the local residents really want a great reduced price before they will even consider purchasing anything….  before we knew it was pushing 3:30 and you can only shop so much in one day and we still have a few more days before we head back home, I’m sure we’ll be at it again….  Tonight, Ricky’s favourite for dinner, pasta….  we will enjoy the peace and non fast pace of our hectic lives and just sit back and relax ourselves…. Probably sounds pretty boring to most, but trust me, we are enjoying it terribly!!!

So we made our fantastic pasta and enjoyed it by the tv watching some movies... we truly are right at home and relaxing ... we all agree we could get use to this life style....

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Early to rise this morning... we were off to church service with our friends Tom and Kathleen to a place of worship where the go called the CALVARY.... the place was packed and what a very, very moving service, we've never experienced a service of this sort, other than what we've watched on tv... it was jump up and sing and shout and very moving and touching and truly when you are there you do fall into the grace of the lord ....  the service was quite lengthly, but not slow and not boring.....then we were off to the flea market, we shopped around for the remainder of the afternoon and hit a few stores again on our way back home.....  we all worked so hard today and it called for a much needed after noon nap!!!  What a life ...  We awoke, all hung by the pool for a few drinks and then we bbq our pork chops, which had no taste what so ever, so it is true, Ontario Pork is the best taste, can't beat it...again we settled in, Ricky fired off a few of his fireworks and we pretty much called it a night....

Monday, December 28, 2009

Today was cleaning day....  yuk, but Dave was expected in tonight aroud 11:30 p.m. and we wanted the house spotless and nice for him.....  Laura was in charge of the laundry, and because the pictures of the house layout don't do it justice, it's a pretty comfortable size bungalow, so I looked after cleaning the outside, and my half of the house, which included my bedroom, washroom, the den, where we spent most of the time,... and Laura did their bedroom, and the living and dinning room.....  and the kitchen area we did together ....... all in all we shared the cleaning duties and it worked out great.....  cleaning a bit.... relaxing a bit trying to enjoy the suns rays, which wouldn't be seen by us for awhile......  the sun was beautfil today, the air was brisk but warm....  it was a lovely day........Ricky needed tires and again we searched and he found a place that he could get Fulken tires for a fraction of the cost .... two new tires cost him what one tire alone would cost back home... so they are available if you shop around.......   the house looks and smells terrific...  after our quick left overs for dinner we patiently awaited Dave's arrival, but his intent was to get to bed and see us in the morning, he slept over at Kathleen's and Tom's place tonight...  the flight was exubriating for him, the security restrictions were unbelieveable.....  he had been at the airport since 2:30 p.m....  and because he flies into Daytona, he cannot fly direct, so he had a stop over in Atlanta, which didn't bring him in until 11:30....  so off to bed he went .... and off to bed we went...  we have a long drive back home which none of us look forward to and because Tony's pasta fazoulli is calling us home and we look so forward to seeing our family and friends for the New Year.....  our vacation was certainly the best by far, we were all so relaxed, the house is fantastic, the neighbours are great and it's definately booked for next year..... anyone want to join us???