12 Oakdale

I hesitated to get on the scale. Yes, the 5 pounds I gained on our Christmas market cruise have been joined by new friends from our 4 days of cabin camping. Too much wine, desserts, and hearty breakfasts. My only consolation is the joy I had spending time with friends. This year we (Kristine, Diane and David, Donna and Bob, Scott, and us) were joined by Deb and Rob, Paige, Scott’s daughter Katie, and visited each day by Tina and Ken, members of themUU church when Steph and Mary were in elementary school. Grant and I mostly lazier around (why I’m not shocked about my weight gain). One day, the others took the glass-bottomed boat ride. This year, no manatees. They had already left the river for summer digs. Another morning, the healthier ones rented kayaks. I’d thought about joining them when the option was just a float downstream. When they decided to take a shorter trip that involved paddling back upstream, I opted out. My shoulders just aren’t strong enough for that. next year? I did ...

I now understand why people wear pajamas: getting into a bed with cold sheets is not fun with bare legs. At home, we turn on the electric mattress pad. Here, at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala and when we were in Utah, it was pjs for me. Even with the heat on at a comfortable 66°, the sheets were chilly and took a while with body heat to warm up. One more thing I never knew in South Florida. We spent 4 days with our cabin camping crew. This is our first time at this park. The 2-bedroom cabins have huge rooms and wraparound screen porches, which would be lovely in warmer weather. Their shaded seating wasn’t for us this trip. The mornings were in the high 30’s; the days were sunny 60’s.  We took the hour and a half glass bottomed boat ride and saw 17 species of birds and some of the macaque monkeys that are descendants from a group released over a hundred years ago. A few years ago, the state tried to remove them all since they are nonnative and do much harm, but the brouhaha th...