We slept in a bit today enjoying being under warm covers as we listened to the winds whistling around the house. I didn't think to look at the temperature until after 9:00 when the sun had already been shining for a while and warming things up but at that time it was 42 degrees. Not sure what the wind chill temp was but I'm sure it was lower than 42 cause it was really moving and it felt bitter outside. Tonight it is suppose to fall to 32 so I'll be covering up plants. Totally unfair for Anders for sure!!!!
I had told Janet we have had a very warm winter so she only needed to send one pair of pants and a light jacket. WRONG!!! His one "warm" outfit went through the washer and dryer early this morning so he could wear it today and I'm sure it will be back in tonight so it is ready for tomorrow. Meanwhile we hunted around for a sweatshirt with a hood that he could wear over his light jacket to help keep him warmer when we were outside.
Hot cocoa was on the menu this morning along with hot tea for us. And while I was getting breakfast ready, Anders was already sitting at the table playing the new solitare I taught him while we were riding in the car on Monday. I think he is addicted to it :-)
Once breakfast was cleaned up, Anders and I played another round of King's Corners while waiting for his clothes to finish drying. Then once he could dress in the nice warm pants and long sleeve shirt, he slipped into his jacket and we covered that with a hooded sweatshirt so I could take him for a quick trip. I thought he'd enjoy seeing where I get all my fresh goods - less than 2 miles from here.
So we were off to JRs Fam Market with the huge strawberry field behind it. And yes, they were out picking strawberries when we arrived so we knew we'd be buying some real fresh ones. He helped me pick out 2 quarts of huge red ones, and then we walked around so he could see all the choices of food along with the plants including orange and grapefruit trees. We even took this picture so he could show his family how they plant the fields here with strawberry onions growing at the end of each row. When you ask why, the typical answer is "to keep the elephants out."
We returned to the house driving at our 11 mile speed limit down the street so he could continue to read license plates and see where people are from. He has concluded that there are loads of Canadians here cause it was Ontario, Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Ontario, oh New York, Ontario, Michigan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island etc etc etc.
When we returned, I washed one of the quarts of strawberries and we settled down to playing somemore cards.
We drove over to the storage area just a short distance down to go into the motorhome and get all the rest of the games I had stored in there. He helped hold the flashlight so we could see while I crawled over the bed to get at the closet back there.
Then we were off the other direction out of our park going about a half mile to the shopping area at the end to see if we could find the syrup at the Dollar Tree. He said he'd never been in one of those stores and couldn't believe it when I told him everything was one dollar (plus tax of course) So we took the time just to wander and see all the things that can be bought there. One of the first things that caught his eye was a drinking cup he wanted to take a picture of to show his sister - I suggested he just buy it and take it to her. So then we looked around for a present for his little brother. And he looked for Pokeman cards. I took a very happy boy to the cash register with all the items, paid the bill and we walked out with stuff he wanted but no syrup. Darn!!! We ended up having to drive to Winn Dixie for the syrup while he told me about a book called Winn Dixie. I'd never heard of it.
By the time we got back, it was time to get in the car and head to Lake Panasoffkee which was about an hour away and the place where we would ride on an airboat. While we road, we played Go Fish along with some more solitare. I also showed him how to do a Sudoko puzzle. He ended up solving it beautifully.
When we arrived a whole group was gathered on the lawn taking an opportunity to hold a small alligator. We tried to convince Anders to do it but he wouldn't but I did. It was so smooth on the bottom - almost silky feeling. But we did get this picture of him with me.
Then we were off for an hour and a half ride first going very fast out into the lake. Man was it ever cold with that wind flying into our faces. We sure were glad for all the warm gear we had on and the pockets for our hands. We were wearing ear protection too and that helped keep the hats on our heads.
He told us stories of things he had observed over the past few years while doing these tours including of a dominant male trying to chase his boat away getting quite aggressive in the process. We looked for snakes but it was just too cold for them to be out. And there were no river otter, turtles, or other animals about either. It would be so very quiet when we'd stop except for the sounds of the birds calling to each other including owls.
He also showed us a couple of the fresh water spring sources where you could see the water bubbling up. The water was very very clear so we could also see the fish including lots of wide mouth bass which is the typical catch for fishermen on the lake.
What a great trip!!!
We have friends who wanted to meet Anders so we arranged to meet them at our favorite pizza place, Sergios, as soon as we were back in town from the boat trip. So he has now met some of our closer friends: the Foulkes, Wilsons, and Beers. Plus he has enjoyed a Sergio pizza - the very best. We ordered a medium for the three of us and his eyes got huge when he saw the size of it and the size of the pieces. It is large with very large sized pieces - he only made it through 2 slices and that was a struggle!!!
On our way back to Hillcrest we stopped for ice cream at Winn Dixies and he regaled us with a story about a book he likes with a dog in it called Winn Dixie. I'd never heard of the book and didn't realize that store was also in Texas.
Anyway, when we got home, we played another round of King's Corners (he won) and then I taught him a new game called Tri-Ominos. It is a bit challenging but it didn't take him long to catch on and true to his beginner's luck. He won!!! In fact, he was at one point leading by over 200 points till I finally got a great play and picked up lots of points. Our final score was 413-459.
By this time he begged to watch the DVD that we got at the Aquarium on Sunday - Dolphin Tale. I struggled to get it to play on my computer but apparently this is another problem with Windows 10, you can no longer do that. So we got out Ken's computer with Windows 7 and played it on that while he enjoyed a chocolate sundae. (we don't have a DVD player) While we were waiting for Ken to set up the computer, he helped me get the outdoor plants bedded down with sheets over all of them to protect them from the 32 degree temps we were predicted to have tonight. And we brought in the potted plants. He got quite a kick out of my having to put sheets over the plants.
Before crawling into bed after watching the movie, Ken read to him from the book that he's now reading (actually he's been reading at least a chapter a night) - a Percy Jackson story. I think Ken is enjoying it as much as Anders is.
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