Wintering in Florida 2019

Who doesn't love Santa Rosa, Florida?  Sunny weather, emerald ocean waters, and white sand beaches.  But what makes this area so fun is the coastal 30A highway lined with fun, colorful, quaint costal towns - perfect for bike riding.

We absolutely loved bike riding through the towns, stopping to eat and browsing through the sea-side stores.  Although the highlight of the trip included a day at the beach to celebrate Keith's birthday (Jan 16th).   While he enjoyed fishing in the ocean, (with all new ocean savvy fishing rig), I much preferred relaxing by the waves.

After several weeks in Santa Rosa we moved on to Cocoa Beach for a relaxing three month stay - and to hibernate for the long winter months.

Cocoa Beach is the East Coast surfing capital with world champion surfers, competitions, and of course home to the original Ron Jon surf shop.

We loved dining out on the pier and watching - what had to be close to a hundred surfers -  take to the waves.  You also have Cape Canaveral just minutes down the road and we were lucky enough to experience three launches, which was a first for us.

Without a doubt the best part of our stay was the neighborhood atmosphere of the JOY RV Park and all the wonderful new friends we made.  (Special shout-out to Dick, Phyllis, Rich & Cindy who introduced us to a wonderful church - and also included us in ALL their family outings.  Also a special shout out to Ed & Rita [along with Fancy, Bandi and Jingles]; and numerous others in our small JOY community, from all over the US & Canada).

We also cherished renewing friendships over dinner with Mark & Mary Compton (who we haven't seen since high school - and by the way cater their own wonderful "Southern" barbecue); and John & Jolie Kremser,  Kathy & Gary Faulkner,  Ron & Marilyn King & Shirley Scarbrough (all family connections throughout Florida).

A welcome bonus was the Easter weekend visit of my sister Sherri Draper and her dear friend Angela Sellers.   Our relationships, new & old, mean so much to us and we enjoyed sharing all these wonderful times/memories with each of them.

We arrived back home around the first of May to witness the graduation of our beautiful granddaughter, Hayley, and to spend time catching up with dear family & friends.

It is truly a bittersweet time here at home,  as we feel the clock ticking down and drawing to a close - but at the same time we've started packing & planning for our next memory-making journey.

God willing, our plans are to spend the next five months traveling the Northwest, which is very exciting for us.  So stay-tuned, as we explore 16 new states (new in our RV travels) and at least 1 Canadian province.  We promise to provide lots of wonderful pictures along the way.


Additional Pics:  Wintering in Florida 2019