Atlanta, Georgia

This is a trip that I have dreamed about for years and we both are interested in the history of the south. And, having visited Savannah on the way down to Florida, this gave us a chance to learn more about the realities of those days not all that long ago. And, while we could have searched at length for Rett and Scarlett, we did attend the Cyclorama where the history of the campaigns leading to the fall of Atlanta are depicted through story-telling - my favourite method for learning.

We spent a 1/2 day at the Georgia Aquarium. The facility opened in 2005 and is the largest in the world being the size of a football field. I can't describe how innovative the creators were to build such a wonderful scene for so many of us to visit and enjoy. Here are two pics that say it all to me:





And if that wasn't enough to get into one day, we headed back to Stone Mountain Campground located in Stone Mountain Park. We stopped off at the tram station and took the 800 feet trip to the top. Heights are not Johnnie's fav thing but we had a good time and saw Atlanta from a true vantage point. You can also hike to the top - apparently, it only takes 22 minutes. John was happy I found this out only when we were already at the top! It was a picture perfect day and we could see the terrain and skyline perfectly. After our history lessons from earlier in the day, you could just imagine General Sherman's troops coming over those hills in the northwest back in 1864.

Next stop is Richmond, Va where we will visit with Jeannie and Coleman Grandstaff. Jeannie is Jimmy Grant's Mom-in-law and Amanda's Mom. We have been to Richmond and the area before on any number of occasions when Jimmy (John's son) and Amanda (Jimmy's wife) lived in this area. It'll be fun to be with Jeannie and Coleman with Jimmy and Amanda in the BVIs!

Catch up with you in a week - when we plan to be chez nous.

Homosassa Springs, Florida

Not sure if many of you know about this location. It's about 60 miles north of Clearwater.

About 20 years ago, the Carter brothers, Gary and Jeff, and their wives, Marion and Claire, left the Ottawa area to seek out new adventures and moved to this location. They left their families and higher taxes behind and what they found was a great local business known as the world famous Manatee Campground, Marina and Pub, the best educational system in Fla for their kids and super weather. Their campground sits on the Crystal River and the water is fresh until you get out near the Gulf. Boating and fishing is ever-present - mostly pontoon boats and smaller walk-around fish 20 footers. The manatees are a special treat - an incredibly-sized and gentle mammal that chooses this area because the fresh water springs are continually 72 degrees in temp. The outboard motor props are very dangerous and scar the manatees often so idling around is as fast as anyone is permitted on the river.



So how are the Grants and Carters connected? Well... 35 years ago, the Carter brothers had a business in Ottawa next door to where John and his brother Stuart had their HVAC business - similar ageas and interests in river life - hence, a long-time relationship. After the Carters moved to Homosassa, Stuart and John started to stop in for a visit on their trips to Fla and they would hang out at the campground and the pub for a week or weeks at a time. This pattern continued for many years. Cheryl joined Stuart on occasion as I did with John a few years ago. Most of the visits though, were Stuart and John together in one of Stuart's two RVs.

So this time, the visit was about getting together, remembering Stuart, and moving forward on a different path. I believe we accomplished this. We thank Gary in particular for sharing a full, beautiful day with us on the river - doing the 6-bar tour! Sunday's fish fry (fresh grouper) was yummy and laid-back so thanx again for convincing us to stay over another day. It was great and we look forward to the next opportunity!

Homosassa is also the birthplace of every Pro Line boat built - including our very own 21' "Justa Whalen". The tour was very informative and, in fact, a VERY small facility employing about 200 and producing about 1500 boats a year. It was great meeting the people there and quite by chance that we happened upon the only place in the US that produces these boats - called the 'cadillac' of boats by those in the area. It made us excited to get back to the St. Lawrence and get our Pro Line back in the water!

Tampa, Largo, Clearwater and the Gulf Beaches

Redington, Treasure Island, Madeira, St. Pete’s,

From Lake Placid, we drove west and then north past Sarasota and across the Tampa Bay bridge to our new campground in Largo. We quickly got set up and then drove to Tampa to scoop up John’s daughter, Bonnie, from the airport. Bonnie was with us for the past week and we spent lots of time at the beach, at the park’s pool, went to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, went to Caddy’s on the beach at the south end of Treasure Island, ate the best seafood ever at Crabby Bill’s, did a wee bit of shopping and

grabbed a mega-shake at Steak and Shake.











Our friends, Steve and Linda Borovoy from Ottawa, co-own a place about a mile from the RV park in a ‘manufactured home community for over 55”. They call their place “The Palace”. We hung out with Steve and Linda and her sister Carol and brother-in-law Mike for at least a couple of hours each day. We went to the beach at Indian Rocks, shopped at John’s Pass located at the south end of Madeira Beach, toured the Flea Market, did a wee bit of shoe shopping, had a (second) great seafood dinner at Crabby Bill’s and a real Mexican lunch at Carmelita’s. In the middle of all this, we had one FULL day of rain and I mean an entire day.

I must say that Largo is a terrific location – 20 minutes to Tampa, around the corner to St. Petersburg, 20 minutes to the string of Gulf Beaches and a short hop to Clearwater. The beach sand is like powder. Bonnie described the sand as white and velvety and said the water in the Gulf was "unlimited". This is a VERY nice part of Florida. Mega thanx to Steve and Linda for referring us to this campground and for letting us hang out with them for the week - it was great!

On to Homosassa Springs later today – yes, it’s farther north (but only about 60 miles) and heading north means starting to head to Atlanta, to Richmond and then home.

Five Days with 5 Charlebois' - Lake Placid

After leaving the Keys, we drove north past Miami and Lauderdale towards south central Florida to Lake Placid where Dalton Charlebois, John’s long-time friend, lives during the winter months. However, we were not the only visitors Dalton had that weekend – turns out a number of us all had the same week in mind! And so, Dalton’s brother Larry and his wife Denise and his sister Linda and her husband Peter were visiting at the same time. Each of us had our own RV space in the park where Dalton lives. Happily, we gathered together at some point each day together in Dalton’s new (large) lanai. And luckily, Dalton’s 7 or so other brothers and sisters (and nephews and nieces) were not able to visit that same week!

What did we do in Lake Placid? Well, we drank any number of pitchers of Mojitos, laughed a lot and created new memories: we attended the Elk’s Lodge Friday night dinner where we learned to play table-top shuffleboard; we went to the Thirsty Camel for lunch located at the Royal Palms 10-pin Bowling Center; and we had brunch at the Golden Corral where we all enjoyed the senior discount!

And, best of all, John, Dalton and I took a day in the Jeep and drove to Fort Myers about 1.5 hours away on the Gulf Coast. What’s important about Fort Myers? This is one of the places where Johnnie lived and worked for awhile in the mid-60s as a teenager. We strolled along the beach front at the pier and John floated memories past Dalton and me. We asked an older security guard if he remembered where The Breezy Freeze used to be located and the old guy was quick to say “Oh! 40 years ago, that became Pete’s Time Out!” So, we zoomed over to Pete’s and took a look around inside the restaurant to see what was still familiar to Johnnie.

And there on the wall, was a black and white photo of The Breezy Freeze taken in the 60’s before Pete took over. John’s memory instantly became a reality for both of us! What a great thing to experience together!

Our Last Sunset in the Keys