A New Year - A New You! *People Notes*

Jimmy Buffett had it right all this time. The New Yorkers have it figured out. Now I am seriously wondering why EVERYBODY doesn't spend winter in Florida!!! Wow! It is nice here! Really nice. So sorry for all of you who are freezing in the cold, sleet, snow, ice, blizzards and sub-zero January weather north of the Mason-Dixon line. Oh well, there is a cold front coming this week so it will only be in the high 60's as opposed to the high 70's...bummer! Might need a t-shirt on the beach!!

Yea - we made it. Probably a month or two later that we would have preferred, but we are here now and loving it. For those of you who haven't been in the communication loop, we are in Florida. Specifically in Hudson, FL. It is a small town (far north suburb, really) about 45 miles north of the Tampa/St. Pete area on the Gulf side (west side) of the state, west of Orlando and Mickey Mouse, south of the panhandle, west of the Atlantic Ocean, north of Miami and waaaaay north of Key West which is where I would prefer to be but know I would never, ever return. Never. Ever. If you still can't picture it, imagine if your thumb is Florida (right thumb - pointed down)...then we are about at the middle joint near the freckle on the inside crease. From our condo it is a 5 minute scooter ride to the gulf and to Hurricane Hanks, Sam's and Sully's - all unique beachside (bar and grill) dining establishments. All with very cold beer, fresh grouper sandwiches, live entertainment and conch fritters. How much better could this get??? Seriously?!

Oh yea, and Paul is working! Full time. That means three day a week so we only have four days a week to hang at the beach. The hospital is too close for a scooter ride so it is about a 7 minute walk to the front door of Regional Medical Center/Bayonet Point where he works on the telemetry unit. Odie and I will be doing volunteer work there as soon as we pass though all the red-tape to become established as their first pet therapy team. Hopefully we can start in a week or two or five.

Our back yard is pretty cool - but I am not sure if alligators live there or not. Oh, and when I mentioned that we live in a 'condo', well it is. But in a 55+ community. ONE of us had to be 55 or over to qualify....Odie???!!! It is a very, very quiet complex! Except for the occasional squeaky-squeak of walker wheels. Our neighbors all seem to be very nice - and while they love Odie, they are a bit confounded at the "motorcycles" (aka - scooters) parked out front! (That is our condo in the picture - really!)

We are happy to be here, thawing out, enjoying the sunshine and will keep you all posted as we get out exploring the area. Happy Trails!