Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe it's already 2012 (and  I'm sure many of you are saying the same thing)!  Where does the time go, especially now that we have more time to our days?  Looking back on 2011, Tom and I have been commenting on what a year of change for the two of us:

• sold our house 
• sold most of our "stuff" and stored the rest at my dad's house and Tom's daughter's house
• moved into our 31 ft. motor home full-time
• finished our full-time jobs June 30 and July 1
• hit the road mid-July
• traded in our 31 ft. motor home for a 40 ft. "Rig"
• lost my dad

Stanley L. Boyer
February 26, 1925 - December 14, 2011

While we hope 2012 comes with a few less major changes, we believe it will come with many adventures.  I'm so sad that I will no longer be able to share these adventures with my dad but know that my desire for them comes from him and all he has done in his 86 years.  I'm also thankful for all of the adventures we've had together.  

Florida...it's a bit different than the mountainous and wooded areas we've been in but the areas we are currently staying in are not as highly crowded with strip malls as we had expected.  Not only do you need to watch out for cars but you also need to look out for the greatly used "Golf Cars" (we quickly learned they are not golf carts here).  We had to laugh when we pulled into Wal-Mart for the first time as half of the parking spots were occupied by Golf Cars instead of vehicles and these things come in every shape, size, color and design!

Hiking in Florida?  Of course!  It's a little flat but still beautiful in a different way.  We took a day trip to Ocala National Forest with a hike on The Yearling Trail (yes, this is the area which inspired the book and later the filming of the movie).

There are also many biking trails which we have been enjoying, especially with the lack of hills.  And let's not forget the wonderful citrus fruit...yummy!

But my favorite time so far...swimming with the manatees at Crystal River!  They are incredibly large and docile creatures who are inquisitive and come up to you to check you out, nudge your leg or get a belly rub.  This I could do every day (although the water is a chilly 72 degrees)!

Check out the video!

Til next time...happy trails!