Happy Birthday Wishes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRYSTAL

We send lots of love with our Birthday Wishes and hope you have a wonderful time as you celebrate your special day!.  Dennis better be doing something very special for you today!! 

Crystal and the family joined Rich and I at Black Lake this year and I especially enjoyed the time we got to spend together just talking, playing games with the kids, and cooking out!   Wish she didn't live so far away, so we could do this more often!  

Lake Placid Annual Caladium Festival

Every year Lake Placid holds it's Caladium Festival.   This is our first year here in Lake Placid, and I thought it was going to be in August.  When I returned from visiting my friend Linda on Friday I was detoured around Stuart Park in downtown Lake Placid on my way home.  It was then I realized that the festival was under way.  Checking it out, we learned that it would be going on from July 25th through July 27th, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm Friday and Saturday, and closing at 3:00 pm on Sunday.

I told Rich that there was a booth that would be selling Funnel Cakes - so I had no problem getting him to go with me on Saturday.  We left about 11:00 am, found a place to park (about 3 blocks away) and made our way to the festival area.    This event brings people from all surrounding areas every year.  We could not believe the amount of people in downtown Lake Placid.  A good portion of Interlake Blvd was blocked off to traffic from about Oak Street to Main Street.   There was even an area where buses were parked, and a short while after arriving we ran into some people from The Villages, up near Ocala, who had come by bus. Interlake and Pine Street were lined with vendor booths as was all of Stuart Park.

The variety of booths set up was amazing;  everything from Caladiums (of course), plants, herbs, gifts of all sorts,  And places like  Billie Swamp Safari, Henscratch Winery, Seminole Casino Immokalee, just to name a few........were set up for business.  There were artists, painter and even face painters from Toby's Clown Museum here in Lake Placid.  And the picture (top center) below is our friend and neighbor John  - The Man Of Trunks.  John makes these by hand next door in his garage, and they are just beautiful.

 
It was a blistering hot day!  We finally found some shade in Stuart Park, where the ongoing entertainment was set up, as were the majority of the food and beverage vendors.   There was most anything you could think of to eat, from ice cream, strawberry shortcake, burgers, fish fry, dinners.....  Rich had is funnel cake and a couple of bites of my bratwurst with sauerkraut and we shared a glass of Bud Light!  I''m not a beer drinker - but it was cold and it tasted good!

A couple of hours later we headed for home.  It was a long walk back to the car in the heat and the air conditioner felt wonderful!   We were lazy the rest of the day, watching some TV  and heating up some fixin's for fajitas.   We were thinking of going out and doing a little fishing - but the weather could not make up it's mind.  Lots of thunder and lightening - but only a sprinkle.........

If you're in the area - The Annual Lake Placid Caladium Festival is worth going to.  We had a great time despite the heat!

A Wonderful Visit with My Friend Linda...........

It was just about four month's ago that our very good friend Don Bass passed away.  Don and his

lovely wife Linda stayed in our home for almost three years, while Rich and I were off RV'ing pretty much full time.  Our friendship began on a beautiful day in July of 1999 when Rich and I were checking out the progress on our home that was being built in Wesley Chapel.  Our home was directly across the street from  Don and Linda.    Don and his canine companion Cheyenne were doing their daily walk down Forest Glen Drive.   Don and Linda would be our neighbors  and very very good friends from that point on.   We shared many many good times together; they were our extended family, and we spent so many holidays together.   We would often take care of Cheyenne, and later Dakota, their two beautiful Sheltys and they in turn always took care of our Beagle - Beau.  

On Thursday morning I headed out early, about 7:15 am and headed for Wesley Chapel, to spend some time with Linda.  She has family and many friends that keep in touch with her.  I know this is a difficult time for her - but I wanted to take her out, do something she would enjoy........and just spend some time with a good friend.

It didn't take as long as I had anticipated to get there and before 10:00 am I was turning off Bruce B Downs onto County Line Road - familiar territory!  Below is County Line Drive, a quick turn into Deer Run where we used to live to check out our old house!  Still looks great.

Just a hop, skip and a jump up the road and I entered into Lynnhaven Village where Linda lives.  She and Dakota were waiting for me in the driveway - and then she welcomed me into her home.  She has a lovely villa - beautifully decorated and very welcoming.

We had a cold drink (iced tea !) and chatted for a little while.  Took Dakota out for a quick potty stop and then headed into Tampa for some touring and shopping and eating!

Our first stop was at the University of South Florida Botanical Gardens............And unfortunately, it was a quick stop.  We paid our entry fee as the clouds were forming and it was not long after that it began to rain.  We started down the trail with our umbrellas in hand and stopped  at the Orchid Display.  This was under cover - so we stayed, and hoped that it would not rain for long.

 Since it was not raining very hard we decided to open the umbrella's and continue on......
We made it down the first path where the landscaping was beautiful, and those sun flowers were supurb!

Walking on a little further we found the Medicinal Garden.  We had not spent too much time here, when it started to rain a little harder - and the shower that we thought was going to pass quickly looked like it might be hanging around for a while.  I noticed that despite the umbrella - Linda's shirt was getting quite wet.  So we decided to call it a day - and come back another day.

The lady refunded our admission fee, which we thought was most thoughtful  These gardens cover over  seven acres and include wildlife around the lake and a butterfly garden - among other sites that were were not able to see.  I really do want to come back!

This really did put a damper on our plans - but we decided we'd do lunch and spend the day shopping.  

Linda suggested Panera Bread for lunch.  Have not been there in many many years - so it sounded good.  Linda ordered the Frontaga Chicken Panini, and I ordered the Chipotle Chicken Panini.  It was OK ..............I just can not believe I spent almost $6.00 on a HALF of a sandwich and a glass of water!!   Truthfully?  I'd prefer the $1 Mc Chicken from McDonalds.

We shopped at Joann Fabrics, Michaels, Bed Bath and Beyond and a new store I had never been to -   Home Goods -  I really liked that store!  In between all of the shopping we stopped at Stone Cold Creamery for a dish of ice cream.  

At one of the stores - I saw this owl that I really liked and before I knew it, Linda bought if for me as a "housewarming gift".  In Joann Fabrics, I  found some material  (bottom right in the picture below)that I'm considering to reupholster our kitchen  chairs and bar stools.  And Michaels was having a 70% off sale on many of their items, so I picked up two artificial floral arrangements for the front porch.

It was after 4:00 when we got back to her house, so we poured another glass of iced tea and just sat and chatted for a while.  For dinner, Linda wanted to go over to Wiregrass Mall to the Red Robin for dinner.  I had never been there before so I was in for a treat.  Nice restaurant, with the atmosphere of a sports bar almost.  The menu is primarily burgers of ALL KIND!  Linda ordered us a small onion ring tower......Great Rings!  And we both just had the cheeseburger.   Good Food, and Good Service.  I would definitely go again.

Back at the house we just relaxed for the evening.  Linda opened a bottle of Riunite Lambrusco and we had a couple of glasses enjoying a couple of our favorite TV shows.  We called it a day just after 10:00 pm.  I was back on the road home by 8:30 the next morning after a cup of coffee and a bagel.

The time went by so quickly, but we both had a very good time.  We promised to get together again.  And our next adventure will be a day at Busch Gardens/Tampa.

Caladium Capital of the World - Town of Murals

I  had to take a short trip into town today...........Tomorrow I am going to visit with a good friend up in Wesley Chapel, Fl - where we used to live.  Linda lost her husband just a few months ago.  I'm going up to spend the day with her - make her have  a little fun  and spend the night.    So, since I am leaving my hubby alone for a day or so, I needed to make sure he had what he needed - beer, coffee, goodies and food for dinner.    So I took a quick trip to the grocery store.

As I passed through downtown Lake Placid  and drove by Stuart Park, I  was so taken by how clean and beautiful this little town really is.   This is the time of year when the caladiums are in full bloom and decorate the streets of Lake Placid.   I just happened to have my camera in my pocketbook......................

Lake Placid, Fl is known as the Caladium Capital of the World. It has been written that  "When God finished creating flowers: he turned a flower into a leaf".  He must have been referring to Caladiums. ......  Here are a few pictures that I took of the Caladiums in downtown Lake Placid's Stuart Park.

It's amazing, when you live in a town, you often don't even realize the beauty that you pass along the street every day..........

Lake Placid is also known as the Town of Murals.............  They decorate many a building as you drive the streets of this quiet country town. Here are a few of my favorites from the 44 that are displayed in the town.   Not only are they beautiful, the depict the history of the town and the people who lived here.

This was is along the side of one of the buildings, but too long to get in one picture. 

This next one ( actually the next TWO photos) is displayed along the side wall of the food market in town.   They actually are all in  a row on ONE wall.  With this display there is also music!

And this last one.........the top photo is the Clown Museum in town, and the bottom photo is displayed on the outside wall of our doctor's office.

Can't believe we've lived here almost 10 month's and this is the first time I've shown the murals and the caladiums.   This really is a quaint little town.

A day with friends........

For the five weeks we were vacationing, Nick and Tonyia babysat our house plants.   ( Nick did the transporting, and Tonyia provided the  the tender care!)

We had made plans earlier in the week for them to visit on Saturday and return the plants.  

Back where they belong.  They dress up the sun room nicely!




As a thank you  we picked up a couple of small gifts for them while at Alexandria Bay in  New York.

The Scales and Tales cap for Nick and a T-Shirt for Tonyia.

Tonyia's Birthday was the 14th of July, so it only made sense to celebrate.  Since they were already coming to the house, I asked what she wanted for her birthday dinner.  Why I asked, I don't know, because she ALWAYS says "goulash".


 So after a couple of games of Mexican Train, we had our dinner:  goulash, Caesar salad and Italian bread.   And then we finished off the day with a Cookies and Cream Cake with Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.  

Happy Birthday Tonyia!

The Mystery of the Missing Pineapple~

Remember - I wrote that when we got home last Monday we noticed that the pineapple we were looking forward to eating was gone from the back yard?   Well on Wednesday evening Cindy Molzer, the lovely lady who takes care of our yard, knocked at the front door.

When Rich opened the door - there she stood with our pineapple in her hands!  While mowing the lawn, she could smell the aroma of the pineapple, and afraid that the racoons would soon make dinner of it, she took it with her - to make sure we got it when we returned from our vacation.     Thank You Cindy!

Home Sweet Home

We left Brunswick, GA at 7:10 am for the last 5 1/2 hours of our trip.  We were at the FL/GA line at 7:40.  We actually drove for 43 minutes ( I record, I think) before Rich complained about the other drivers on the road..   It was about 9:15 when we merged on to I-4 when I realized we were getting close to home.

We made our usual stop for breakfast at Bob Evans in Haines City where we exited I-4 on to 27S that would take us straight to Lake Placid.   And when we turned onto Heartland Road we could see Lake June ahead of us.   Then we passed the public boat ramp and then the Tobler Park/Boat Ramp and the canal we take to get on the Lake..........We were almost home!

At 12:42 we were pulling into the driveway.  We'd made it home safely!  After 5 weeks, the house looked good!   Now it was unpacking the car, getting everything put away inside, taking the patio furniture and plants back outside.........and then a little grocery shopping to get some food in the fridge!

And outside the yard looked great and Cindy (the lady who does our lawn) had trimmed the palm trees while we were gone.  The Caladiums were looking good, the bushes out back, from all the rain are in need of some serious trimming.  The boat, except where some squirrel had been cracking nuts in the front, looked good.  Bad news:  someone stole our pineapple!  We talked on the way home about picking that when we got home.  It was a big one - and ready for eating.   And the people who own the house next door, and who have been having a hard time selling.............I guess have decided to quit mowing the lawn!  It has to be 3 ft high!

We were both tired after the drive and getting things put away.  It was Chinese Take-Out for dinner and early to bed!  We could not even stay awake to watch the finale of 24!  Things will be back to normal in the morning.  

We had a wonderful trip.  It was so nice to be able to visit with old friends and meet new ones and especially to share our experience of re-visiting and creating new memories of  Black Lake with our son and his family!   Amazing how quickly 5 weeks pass by.   God willing - we will do this again next year. 

Harrisonburg, VA to Brunswick, GA

Sunday morning we were on the road early again. It was 7:52 am.   We had 610.59 miles to travel today and according to Map Quest it should take us 9 hours and 9 minutes.   This would be the longest leg of our trip back home.  There was a continental breakfast at the hotel, but it was too early to eat, so we filled our thermos and our 2 coffee mugs and headed out.

Today, while a long drive, was also very uneventful.    Continuing on in VA I snapped a few shots, again of the mountains and farmhouses.  As we continued along I spotted a couple of times these signs that said  "Runaway Truck Ramp".    The roads here through the mountains of VA were indeed quite steep at times, so I would imagine that in the winter they could be quite treacherous!

The ramps started to appear, in the mountainous regions back in the mid 1960's.  According to Car and Driver :  trucks rely on the additional friction created by gravel or sand and, usually, the gravitational slow-down effect of an incline to stop runaway, vehicles.



We stopped for breakfast at McDonald about 10:00 and filled the gas tank.  Gas in VA in GA is the lowest so we filled up here at 3.23/gallon.   We continued on into NC and by 1:25 we were in Columbia, SC.   Again, not a lot of pictures, but the view of Lake Davidson in NC and the color of the trees in NC and SC were beautiful. The vibrant colors were a sure sign of summer rain and summer sunshine.

Other than a little rain the rest of the trip to Brunswick, GA was boring.  We filled up with gas again in GA - This time finding it at $3.12/gallon.  Sure not going to find these prices in FL.   We arrived at the Comfort Inn in Brunswick about 5:08.  We stopped at a Subway shop about 1/4 mile from the hotel and picked up a couple of subs, a bag of chips and a couple of peanut butter cookies.   We completed this leg in 9 hours and 16 minutes, including stops!  Driving sure does make you tired.  We were both sleeping very very early.

Tomorrow - BACK HOME!

The Long Trip Back HomeW

Unlike our trip northbound, where we stopped for a couple days, a couple of times to visit with friends, the trip from Black Lake, NY back to Florida, was just long days of driving, a little sleep and then back on the road.  Next time we will make different plans for our return.

We were up early on Saturday morning, finished packing and on the road at 7:50 am.  You'll see that I take less and less pictures as we continue our journey home.  I took as many pictures as I could of the beautiful scenery in NY - the hills and valleys.  I knew once we got here that I'd missed all of this, and
now I hated to leave it.

We were making good time: into Syracuse at 9:25, lunch at Denny's around 10:30.  Breakfast is usually pretty good at Denny's, but the service is always so slow.  Today we enjoyed the Senior Omelet, which was delicious and the service today was actually very good.   We had our meal and we were back on the road about 35 minutes later.





The trip through PA was uneventful.  Again, this was still familiar territory from our days in NY State, so the scenery, the beauty of the hills and rock ledges still had my attention.

About 6 hours in our travel time for the day, the traffic in PA was heavy, lots of trucks on the road and we ran into light rain right on into Maryland.   But the sun was shining when we crossed the state line into West Virginia. at 3:17pm.    Not for long!!!

 About 3:30 traffic on I-81, not far from the Virginia state line, came almost to a complete stop.  We were pretty sure that the way traffic was moving and backing up that there must be an accident ahead. We were close to Exit 12, so decided to stop for gas, grab an ice cream at Burger King and hope that the traffic would clear up quickly.

Another couple who had also pulled off at this exit checked their I Phones and found that there was indeed a bad accident and that traffic was being detoured both north bound and south bound.  So we got directions to get on 11 South that ran parallel to I-81 and we'd work our way south.  Some pretty unique houses along this road, (picture above)   An hour and 45 minutes later we were back on I-81 S.  About 22 miles north of Harrisonburg, VA, which is where we would be staying the night we ran into what Rich described as a Monsoon!  The rain was soooooo bad and the wind very strong and you literally could not see the car in front of you.  It was VERY frightening!  Rich managed to get to get to the right hand land.....where we could see that most cars
had already pulled over.  We found a spot and pulled to the shoulder of the road where we waited out the storm for close to 15 minutes.  What was supposed to be an 8 hour and 20 minute travel day ended up being close to 11 hours when we pulled into the hotel parking lot at 6:44 pm. Whew!

We stayed at the Econo Lodge in Harrisonburg, VA.  The hotel had recently been renovated and we were extremely impressed with the accommodations, especially for the price!

Just across the street was a Chili's Restaurant where we enjoyed a Mexican Dinner.

 It was their special 2 for $8.  Rich had 2 beef enchiladas.  I had the chicken quesadilla and the chicken enchilada.  They were Excellent!    Rich enjoyed a Bud Light while I had a Marguarita!  They were excellent too!

We could hear the rain and the thunder outside as we drifted off to sleep.  Another long day tomorrow.
  

Ou Last Day at Black Lake

Friday was our last day. Tomorrow we'd be heading home.  It was a beautiful day, one of the warmest in a while.  I spent a good part of the day making sure the cabin was clean,  cleaning windows and mopping the floors. No - I would not have done all that had we only stayed a week, but given that we were there a month - I felt it should be in the condition we found it - or better.

In the afternoon we took the remainder of our bait, and headed out fishing for the last time.  We had a couple of minnows, some worms and of course our tackle box with our jigs, spinner bait, artificial worms etc.  But no matter how hard we tried or how long we stayed out - we just did not have any luck at all.   Not ONE fish - well unless you want to count the tiny perch I "snagged" with the jig.  So as it ended, we had just 2 days that we were not able to fish because of the weather.  Rich had 2 days and I had 1 where we caught absolutely nothing.  And the total fish count was 114.  Rich - 69 and Me 45.  Plus what Dennis and the kids caught the week they were with us.


And so, with the grill cleaned, the house cleaned and the fishing done we were tired so we just ordered dinner from Ned's - the general store in town.

Rich had the Stromboli and onion rings and I
just ordered a turkey sub.

Nothing great - but it was better than cooking!

The neighbors had started a campfire, so we decided to go over and join them for our last night.  By the time we got there it was well after nine and really too dark to get any good pictures with my camera.  But I did get one of the moon and the reflection on the lake and one of the campfire.  We met so many nice people while we were here.  Most of them were from New York State or Pennsylvania.  The couple there tonight was from the Buffalo area.  And earlier we had met a family that was from Spencer, NY, a neighboring town to VanEtten where Rich has/had relatives and spent many a day rabbit or deer hunting.   Small world!

It was after 11:00 by the time we called it a day despite having to get up early in the morning.  Neither of us was ready for our time here to come to an end.  The time went by way too fast.    

Now this is a BIG Catch!

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day.  Temperature in the low 70's and lots of sunshine.   I usually look forward to doing a "countdown", but counting the days until we leave is not fun!  The countdown is not at 2........

So, in addition to having fun - that means making sure we leave our cabin in the condition we found it.  So this morning while Rich was  doing his thing on the Stock Market, I began some packing and defrosted the fridge.  As you can see we are down to very very little food left in the fridge.......

With the phone working again I made a few calls making sure that our TV, Internet and Phone services were scheduled to be turned on when we got home and made a couple of hotel reservations for our stops on the way home in VA, and GA.  About 9 hours a day the first two days, then a short 5 hour drive on day 3.   We miss seeing our friends at home, but we really are not ready to leave.  We've enjoyed our stay here and met some really nice people.

Our friend Bill headed out around 8:00 this morning and was back before 11:00 with his limit of crappie.

AND he also hooked on to a real nice catfish!

Didn't measure, but it looks like well over 30 inches, and Bill guesses that it's about 4 1/2 lbs.

Whatever the stats......its a real nice catch!  Nice Job. Bill!

We were on the lake fishing by 4:15  and we fished for about 4 1/2 hours.  Rich caught 12 fish ( 1 Shell Cracker, 2 Crappie and 9 Perch).  Some of the perch were pretty small and he actually used one of them as bait before we left.  The rest were keepers, especially the nice size perch - but since we're leaving in another day we didn't keep any.  I caught 5.........4 Crappie and 1 Perch.   That brings our total to 113, with Rich in the lead with 69 and me with 44.

The weather was perfect for fishing and we anchored behind Tin Island until the last 35-40 minutes when there was enough of a breeze to drift. While behind the island, Rich directed my attention to the Moon, So..........below are the moon, sunset shots from the lake.   The top two are of the moon behind us.  At the same time I took those, I turned around and got the sun through the trees on the island........and the sunset as we headed back to the camp......and the last is a shot of the moon from the dock.   Amazing ...........a day ago it was the wrath of Mother Nature and today is the Beauty.

 It was almost 9:00 when we tied up the boat and got back to the cabin.  Ground Beef was thawed - and Rich wanted Hamburger Helper (UGH!)..  I did a tossed salad with lots of veggies and cut up the one chicken thigh that was leftover in the fridge.  We watched the new series that started on TV at 10:00  EXTANT -  looks like it might be OK.

Tomorrow is our last day........more packing more fishing.....

Lake is Still Choppy - Almost caught a Seagull

Wow - Wednesday already and Mother Nature insists on keeping the winds just strong enough to keep us from enjoying the Lake.  The temperature did reach the low 70's though after a rather cool morning, and with the sunshine it was actually a comfortable day.

We still had some minnows left, so in the afternoon, Rich headed down to the dock to try  fishing off the dock.  I went down and sat in the boat and watched............enjoyed the view and the sunshine.  And I had my camera.

Because the area in front of the docks is rather weedy, Rich decided to use the minnow with a bobber - keeping the minnow from getting caught in the weeds.    After a while  this seagull showed up and you could tell he was checking out the bobber.    After several minutes he took a dive.....and then another and then he actually grabbed the bobber, took it in the area, tangled the line and the minnow around the bobber and then dropped it.   Amazing!   Well, Rich didn't think so - I think if he'd had a gun he'd have shot the bird.   You see - Rich has a history with seagulls.....I'm thinking of the time at Clearwater Beach in Florida when one came down and literally took the ice cream off his cone!

After that - the fishing was done for the day.  

By the time the lake was OK for boating, it was getting a little to late to head out.  It was close to 7:00 when we decided to have some dinner.

Since we're leaving on Saturday, I'm trying to use up as much of the food in the fridge as I can.  So tonight we had a couple of drumsticks and a couple of chicken thighs and we threw them on the grill.  We've  actually cooked out a lot on this little charcoal grill - and except that it takes a little longer, we actually like cooking over the charcoal.  Believe it or not - we've been here almost four weeks and we only went out for dinner ONE time!    I don't know if that's EVER happened before!

Tonight it's supposed to get down in the mid 50's, but the forecast for tomorrow promises to be better.  Maybe we'll hit our goal of 100 fish tomorrow??

Cold, Windy and Bad Storms!

I know I'm not in Florida, because the temperature is way too cold......but this rainy weather and bad storms is not what we want for our last week at the lake.   We were ready to head out fishing on Monday, but we woke to an early rain and the lake was very very choppy.  Might try it if we had a bigger boat, but this little 14 ft. row boat likes a little less ripples!    Some of people at the camp tried fishing from the dock, and a few of the bigger boats headed out - but were back sooner than they liked when the winds got too gusty.  The only time that Rich spent in the boat was bailing out the water  !!!  And then it clouded up and rained again in the evening.  No fishing today!

The sun came out for a while on Monday and Tuesday.  Bill and Linda stopped by to visit.  Linda would be heading back to Rochester on Wednesday.  She needed to take a trip into Ogdensburg on Monday so I rode along with her.  A quick stop at Walmart, Joann's Fabric and Aldi's  to make sure Bill had everything he needed until she returned in a couple of weeks.   While it rained on Monday night she knitted me a set of pot holders.  Love them.  We will continue to enjoy Bill's company for the rest of the week, but I'll miss seeing Linda.  Really nice folks; it's nice to know they'll be here next year if we come back. 

 On Tuesday I made one last trip into Alexandria Bay.  The weather, again was windy so I knew Rich would  be spending time on the stock market so I headed to the Bay to check out some of the shops.   I stopped in Hammond at the Presbyterian Church to check out the Labyrinth of Peace.  It was really very beautifully done.

We checked the weather forecast when I got back and the wind was suppose to subside.  Storms were in the forecast but not until after 7:00 pm.  So we headed up the road to pick up some minnows for fishing and we headed out about 3:30.  It was overcast with barely a breeze so we anchored and fished for a little better than an hour.  The breeze increased just a little and we could the clouds starting to form in the south.  In less than 10 minutes the breeze changed to a strong wind and there were white caps on the water.   We made it back to camp, but the winds were so strong that a couple of the guys came down to help us get the boat to the dock.

And the picture below tells the rest of the story.  It got dark fast..........and the islands that we can normally see from the cabin were lost in the rain and mist over the lake.  You could barely see the boats at the dock - but you could hear them rocking.  The yard was full of water and the waterfall that had dried up over the past week, looked like a small creek!    Needless to say  - One  hour of fishing today.  BUT we did manage to add 2 Fish to our total.  Total now is at 96!

A bit of a cold front came in over night and the weather today.......Wednesday.  The temperature is in the mid 60's and Rich is in long pants and a jacket!!!  The winds are supposed to be anywhere from 13-17 miles/hour today - so the chances of getting out today don't look too good!