We have arrived at our home in Bradenton for two weeks! The trip from Manatee Springs State Park to here was uneventful. I-75 was busy but traffic moved smoothly. We stopped for lunch at a Travel America truck stop, where we bypassed the franchised fast food (pizza hut, Popeye’s Chicken) for some of the truck stop’s warm food: Salisbury steak on rice with green beans. The food was very good, with quick service.
We are in a different spot than last year, we are not on the lake. But our campground is large and comfortable. There are many more empty spots this year, most likely from the Canadian snowbirds not wanting the hassle of crossing the US/Canada border. V: and there are usually a LOT of Canadians at this location for 1-4 months each winter.
Another difference this year is that the grass is brown. But I suspect that there will be some greening of the grass in the next week.
We were looking forward to seeing Tim and Andrea, a couple we met last year. But they weren’t able to make it to Florida this year.
The first couple of days have been relaxing. And going to Costco to buy those items we were afraid would freeze on the way down. We picked up large strip steaks from Costco and grilled them last night. Very yummy!
V: Last year we had everything arranged and put in place before we pulled out of the driveway. We also had lots of prepared foods filling the frig and cabinets. The temps weren’t brutal last year like this January AND our Winnie is towing a Mini (Cooper). I still love saying that. So, besides not wanting to stock up on food that would freeze, we can run to the store when needed. All our lovely Finger Lakes wine purchases didn’t come with us on this trip (sorry Dennis – we’ll bring the Bully wine to SML).
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