December 31, 2017 - Happy New Year

Everybody except Sarah-Jean arrived yesterday with coughs and colds.  David spent most of today in bed.  And everybody else got off to a slow start.

In the afternoon we went shopping for a few clothes.  

Then the kids spent some time playing beach volleyball.  That's the pool "volcano" in the background.

And chasing an errant ball.

Or using the playground equipment.

As I write this, the three kids are enjoying the pool before it closes at 11 p.m.  I doubt that there will be any bodies making noise in our house at midnight.  So there isn't a lot to report for New Year's Eve.  

Since it's been a slow news day, let's delve a bit into politics.

I suppose that you have heard that the British government has asked Prince Harry NOT to invite his friend Barack Obama to his wedding, because it would upset Donald Trump and lead to worsening U.K./U.S. relations.

These are the same guys who praise their citizens for keeping a "stiff upper lip" when faced with terrorist slaughters.  Then, when they face The Donald, they collapse in a smelly pile of dung.  Unbelievable!  Winston Churchill is writhing in his grave!

I too think that Obama should come off the guest list, but instead be put in the wedding party, maybe as Best Man.  Wouldn't that make their little balls tremble!  Can't wait to see this episode of The Crown!

OK, back to the real world.  So we'll close with a Happy 71st Birthday to my daughter Barbara (December 31st) and a Happy 46th to Mardi's son Greg (January 1) and best wishes to all for a Happy New Year.

Day Five - Saturday, December 30, 2017 - The lull before the storm.

We fulfilled our commitment by attending the sales presentation and were on our way by 10 a.m.  Weather was still bleak and blustery so we gave up on the beach and headed for Orlando.

I had promised Mardi part of her Christmas gift would be golf attire from her favourite store, Golf Passion.  So we headed there first.  Good choice Mardi!

Checked into Cypress Pointe Resort at 2:30 p.m. and checked out the pool area.

A "volcano" no less!

And the miniature golf course.

I'll have to see if I can beat Mardi on this course!

David, Sue and the kids arrived just before 8 p.m. so they didn't have much chance to check the facilities.  That will come tomorrow.

All in all, an uneventful day.  I'm sure they'll stir up some excitement tomorrow though.

Day Four - December 29, 2017 - Making Lemonade

Our crummy weather continues.  Sitting in our room looking out at a rainy day isn't much more satisfying than looking out at snow.  A shame to spend two days here and not even walk on the beach.  Although two folks next door decided to sit by the pool anyway...with winter coats.

Nevertheless, there is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.  We got a call today from the resort we were supposed to go to, informing us that they are refunding our payment for the two days - if we will attend a sales presentation tomorrow morning.  Since tomorrow's weather forecast calls for 11C in the morning we readily agreed.....so our two day stay will cost us the $14 room tax we paid here at the Best Western and we will recover $168.15 (our refund - for an hour or so of saying "NO").  If you're dealt lemons, try to make some lemonade.

We escaped from our room and headed for Fridays to watch the Canadian Junior hockey team play the U.S.  Picked up $3.40 in change at an intersection - a bit battered by cars running over the coins, but more lemonade for our day.  Unfortunately, the U.S. won.

The high tomorrow will be 16C and sunny at Daytona Beach, so we will take our walk on the beach after the presentation.  We then head to Orlando where the high will be 20C.  David, Sue, Malcolm, Sarah-Jean and Ewen will join us for the next week.

Unfortunately, the weather after the weekend in Orlando doesn't look good either, with highs in the low teens and a couple of nights below freezing.  Hope they have the pool heater set on "High".

Day Three - December 28, 2017 - Life is interesting!

We arose to a 5C, drizzly and blustery day.  It became quickly obvious that a walk on the beach would not be in the cards.  So we decided to explore Jekyll Island instead.

A beautiful bridge leads you to the area.

The first owner of Jekyll Island built "tabby" coated Horton House in 1742, the shell of which still stands.

Tabby is a mixture of oyster shells, lime and water which was applied over brick walls.

A few years later the property was purchased by a French family who owned it until 1886 when it was sold to wealthy businessmen who formed the Jekyll Island Club.  It remained in their hands until the U.S. government ordered it evacuated at the start of the Second World War.  In 1947 it was purchased by the State of Georgia.

A turtle sanctuary/hospital/rehab has been set up on the island. 

The hospital includes a radiology section and operating room as well as several rehab tanks.  Injured and sick turtles hopefully recover enough to be reintroduced into the wild.

The one above had a head injury from a meeting with a boat propeller.  It has trouble balancing, so weights were added to one side of its shell to help it rehab.

We had a very nice lunch at the Jekyll Island Golf Club.  Current golf rate: $69 U.S. Amazingly, there were a few golfers on the course, complete with winter coats and toques.   No thanks!

We drove through the rain to Florida and arrived at our destination, Grand Seas Resort, to find an empty parking lot except for two dumpsters.

Grand Seas Resort was hit by a hurricane in October 2016.  When we stayed there at the end of December last year, they had just finished pumping the sand out of the pool and were renovating some of the ruined timeshare units.

Apparently, on September 11th of this year, Hurricane Irma hit and destroyed all of the rooms from the third floor up.  The resort is completely closed while they renovate once again.  Should be back in business by May.

Unfortunately, none of the guests who had booked were advised.  After an hour or so of listening to this tale of woe, we were redirected to the Best Western, two kilometres to the north.

This is our view.

Altogether, just an interesting adventure............I guess there's no need to ask for sympathy from those of you who are still shovelling snow!

We're here for two nights.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring!  Stay tuned.  

Day Two - Wednesday, December 27

Correction:  Our editor has noticed that the picture titled "Before" in yesterday's post was actually taken hours after, and two states past, the snow.  We apologize for any inconvenience this "fake news" may have caused.

Today's Quiz:  Which of the vehicles shown in the following picture drove through Pennsylvania yesterday?

By the way, Erie has had over 5 feet of snow in the last week and it's still falling!

In our plans, we had decided that today would take its course, i.e. no plans.  We had a leisurely breakfast at the Drury Inn and hit the road at 10 a.m.  Headed south on I-77 to Columbia, South Carolina where we switched to I-26 East.  About 10 miles from I-95 we hit the annual Snowbird parking lot and overhead signs said that the traffic snarl would persist through South Carolina.   The problem is that I-95 and I-26 each have two lanes full of Snowbirds merging into the two lanes of I-95.  The problem isn't resolved until you get to Georgia, where I-95 broadens to 3 lanes, and even then the traffic is problematic.

So, we exited the Interstate and headed through the South Carolina backwoods, through towns such as Bowman, Branchville, Smoaks and Ruffin.  Exciting places!

Eventually, the road wound its way back to I-95 and, looking down the ramp, the highway appeared to be moving well, so we took it.  Big mistake!!!  A mile down the road we hit the parking lot wall.  And, for the rest of South Carolina we probably averaged about 5 kilometres an hour.  Total time lost, about 2 hours.  Last time we take this route to Florida during the Snowbird migration!

As we extricated ourselves from this disaster, it started raining and this continued until we decided to stop for the night at Brunswick, Georgia.

There are only two good takeaways from this narrative:

1. We didn't have to drive through, or shovel, snow.
2. We got a free night at the Comfort Suites with our Choice Hotels points.

There was a steak house just a par 3 away from the hotel (that's walking distance folks).  Drinks were just $2.97 each (sounds good, but brother Roger can buy a whole bottle of "pink shit" wine from Walmarts for the same price).

Roger has commented "Look forward to the blog to help me escape the winter doldrums."  So the following picture is for him (he always includes food in his blog and facebook posts).

And, the following picture is for my friends Sven and Helga (a.k.a. Gary and Jill Parker - it's a "23 and me" thing folks).  Norwegian Salmon Salad!

A third good thing happened today.  The rain washed away Pennsylvania from the van!

Tomorrow, Daytona Beach.

Snowbirding 2018

I have never bothered to document our winter getaways before, but this year we plan a couple of different ideas (which will be reported on in good time!) and so, here goes.

We spent yesterday morning enjoying (some of our) grandkids opening presents.  Then, we invited them (A.J.'s family and David's) for a lunch graze - a nice relaxing get-together before we headed south.  Some frenzied packing then ensued.

Up at 3:30 a.m. to pack the food, including half a turkey, and on the road by 4:30 a.m.  Stopped by at David's to drop off the bike rack for his trip and then on to Amex Duty Free for breakfast at Tim's and booze for the trip.

An interesting discussion at the border.  "The names are different - are you married?"  "Yes".  "Rings?"  "No - really good friends."  And then a few more of the usual questions and we were on our way - we passed, so I guess he's not an Evangelical!

Weather was great until we were about 10 miles from the end of the New York section of I-90. 

Before:

Then the lake effect snow hit - heavy blizzard and intermittent whiteouts.  Interesting time - particularly since that was during Mardi's turn at driving.

After:

Saw several cars buried in snowbanks and an 18 wheeler in the median.  Just heard on the news that they got about 16 inches of snow!  We were in it for the 10 miles in New York, and from the Pennsylvania border to Erie, and for just a few minutes heading south.  Glad we had our winter tires on.  They'll be useless for the next three months, but they probably earned their keep today.  After that it was dry and clear.

We lost more time with traffic delays - too many stupid people travel the day after Christmas!  But we still arrived at the Drury Inn in Charlotte, North Carolina by 6:30 p.m., in time for their "Kickback" after 14 hours on the road.  Soup, salad, hot dishes and two free drinks (or one double that looked like it had about 4 ounces of liquor).  What a civilized hotel.  Saved the price of dinner and drinks.  Able to stay in the hotel instead of searching out a restaurant.  And, last but not least, lets you avoid a DUI.

Tomorrow is a take it easy time.  No plans, no particular destination, no stress.

The Summer Palace and The Great Wall

Our day started with a visit to a pearl factory.  The local guide did some persistent shilling for the government store.

Sorry, no sale.

And then it was on to the Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace dates back to 1153.  It covers almost three square kilometres and is almost entirely man-made.  The earth removed to create the lake... 

was used to enlarge Longevity Hill.  It's amazing what you can accomplish when you've got hundreds of thousands of workers at your beck and call!

This 700 metre long walkway has paintings along its whole length.

And it carries on into the distance...

During the Opium Wars, the Summer Palace was burned and severely damaged by the French and the British.  The Empress chose to use funds destined for the navy to refurbish the Summer Palace instead.

Next up was another state factory store, this one making Cloisonne.

And finally, on to the Great Wall.

I assume that "brain disease" would be a stroke rather than my current level of insanity.  In any event, I quit at tower #3 - Steve made it to tower #12, quite a climb!

Another highlight for the four of us.

Heading back to our hotel, the bus driver took us past the Olympic complex.

The Water Cube.

And The Birdcage.

And the Dragon Buildings.

An awesome city.  An awesome country.  An awesome trip.

Postscript:  Our flight out of Beijing was delayed by an hour and a half since a passenger didn't show up for the flight and their checked luggage had to be found and removed.  It still left us an hour and a half to transfer at Detroit, but new security measures chewed up most of that time.  In any event, we arrived home at the end of a 28 hour day.  As I complete this blog 10 days later, Mardi and I are still battling our throat infections.  I've lost 7 pounds, she won't discuss weight.  Nevertheless, the trip was incredible.

We leave in the morning for a week of golf R & R in North Carolina.