Almost Time To Go

 We enjoyed a really nice visit from A.J., Michelle and Reggie today.  And they presented Mardi with a beautiful set of diamond earrings that they had intended to give her in Jamaica for Christmas.

This picture doesn't quite capture it, but the light angles make them  just glisten - and reminded me of the Swarovski crystals that Mardi gave her granddaughters each Christmas.  Beautiful!  She will wear them with pride.

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Took out my camera this morning and turned it on.  Surprisingly, after at least a year gathering dust, the camera still had battery life.  It is better for zoom shots of animals and birds, plus I won't have to turn my phone on for use as a camera in Florida.

Tomorrow we plan to leave, with Sean and Jamie, from the greenhouse at about noon.  That will get us to Florida in daylight Saturday.  We'll spend the day walking the beach at Daytona, watch fireworks in the evening, and (maybe) stay up long enough to bring in the New Year.

Then on Sunday, after another walk on the beach, we'll head for Orange Lake and settle in for our eight week stay.

I won't be transmitting tomorrow - next time will be Saturday evening.

My phone will be silent while we're away, but if anyone needs to get in touch, Mardi's will be active.  905-928-4943.

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And now it's back to the Blue Bloods reruns😕.

Stay well my friends.

Excitement

 Took Mardi to the Winterberry Health Clinic this morning for a nose swab to determine if the cough she has is related to RSV (the vaccine trial we are in).  Then a short shopping trip for a few items we're running short of due to our extended stay home.

That was all that was on our calendar for the day.  Thought briefly about taking my new grandson, Al, for a drive to Dogs Nest, Ontario (you can look it up).  I remember driving through Dogs Nest on our way to Port Dover and always enjoyed seeing the name place sign.  Unfortunately, so many were stolen that they stopped replacing them so it wouldn't be as much fun today.

So, ultimately, we decided that the excitement we had shopping this morning was all we could handle and it would be all we can handle to stay at home and continue to watch Blue Bloods reruns.

An exhilarating day for we elderly grandparents!

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Tomorrow promises to be much of the same.  But Friday we can rest in the van for a day or so on our way south.  Can't wait!

Stay well.

Chloe

We're down to our last grandchild trip - I wish there were more, but apparently it's too late for that!  

This was Grandma and Chloe's trip to France and Italy.  Some of the dialogue is in Mardi's words and I will put that in quotations so it can be acknowledged.

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"Wow, I have only been home from a trip of a lifetime with Reggie, Sarah-Jean and Bud to the Western US states for 8 days.  Now I am busy doing laundry, packing and checking to make sure I have not forgotten anything for my trip with Chloe.  Only 5 more sleeps. Who would not be excited to spend a couple of weeks with this gorgeous athlete?"

"On our way to our apartment we were both amazed at the architecture and beauty of the old buildings in the old Paris.

We have the cutest little apartment through Airbnb.  The view is amazing and our host left a huge bottle of water to share and a split of wine FOR ME!"

 Gramma splurged for a ride to the Metro. 

Turns out that all of our grandkids like having fun.  Hamming it up with the swans at the Lido......

.....and nose to nose with art work.

The Eiffel Tower was a highlight for Chloe, which she reached by Segway.  Grandma doesn't like bicycles, but seems perfectly comfortable on a Segway.

Chloe posed for the following picture for her dad's benefit.

After a few days in France, they headed for Italy.  

Chloe was perfectly legal to ride a Segway in France, but in Rome the duo got busted - must be 16.  Chloe was afraid that Grandma was headed for jail.

In Florence, they saw the guy with the big hands.....

.....after which a Gelato was required for recovery.

Next up was the Vatican.......

Where Chloe met up with a Swiss guard.

There were lots more pictures in Mardi's album but we'll close with this one.

"Happy to be home Chloe?  It sure looks like it.  Mom was sure glad to see you safe and sound and Ethan wanted to hear all about your trip"

"It was a super time with a beautiful young lady and I would not trade one moment of this trip.  

Thanks for being gracious and sweet for the entire trip Chloe.  It was a pleasure for me."

And so ended our grandchild adventures.  

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Stay well.

The Ladies

It's interesting.  When you clear your calendar because you think you're going to Jamaica, and the trip gets cancelled, life is really boring!  We're watching old Blue Bloods shows in between eating and drinking.  Exciting stuff.

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 Our next grandchild adventure was with Sarah-Jean and Reggie.  Sarah-Jean missed her age 12 trip because at that time she couldn't decide what she wanted to do.  It was actually Reggie's turn when Sarah-Jean said that she wanted to see the stars in the sidewalk in Hollywood and Reggie excitedly agreed.

So we flew to Las Vegas where they found an exciting ride......

...........and where we rented a car and headed out.  Next stop, Hoover Dam..........

The girls found their own way of enjoying the tour.

We spent the 4th of July in Vegas.

Then on to the Eagle rock feature at the Grand Canyon.....

.....and flying with the birds.

Then the Verde Valley train excursion.

Short time-outs for misbehaving.

After a promise of good behaviour, a trail ride in Jerome.

Swimming along a famous route.

The girls and I chose to do the Skywalk, while Mardi preferred to be the photographer.

An oasis in the desert near Palm Springs.

And date shakes.  Yummm!

At Coronado Beach near San Diego - is it OK if we just get our feet wet?

Sure!

After we bought towels and dried off it was on to the San Diego zoo........

...................for a nice family photo!

Then to L.A. for the piece de resistance.

Grandma joined in for a swim at the Santa Monica beach.

Hollywood - some movie sets are pretty realistic.

On to the Hearst estate.  Thought we were back in Africa!

Reggie appeared to be growing a new branch.

On to the Monterey Peninsula.......

For every adventure, I tried to include an inspirational message.  This was taken in an ancient Redwood forest south of San Francisco.

It's sort of my motto too.

Next, San Francisco itself.

Did I mention that since both of them are a bit crazy they got along just fine!

A ride on a cable car was a must.

On to Oakland for a Blue Jays game.

A final swim.

And finally, back to Vegas.

At the airport, the ladies found ways to fill in the time........

.............one more risky than the others.

And finally, the CN tower came into view.

Grandma and Grandpa managed to keep up with the girls.

A fun trip for all of us.  

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Stay well.