So it's time to post an update. We had Halloween in Austin with Gracie and had a super time. It is fast becoming one of my favorite holidays. We were at Lake Medina in the Texas Hill Country and were going to stay up til Christmas and then move to a campground in Austin to be closer for the holiday but our camper decided to spring several leaks in the dining/living room slide. We wound up soaking up water from the floor for a day and a half until our camper place opened and we could take it in for repairs. Spent the holiday at Chris's place and moved back to Lake Medina for New Year's Day. Took off for Harlingen around the 10th of January for two months. We had the best time there and met some amazing folks!

The park had so many activities that it was difficult finding time to do them all. Got back into square dancing again and met Paula and Dave. Have you ever met folks for the first time and just felt at home with them? That's Paula and Dave! They understand and like our style of camping - sitting outside at night around the fire, great conversations, playing dominos and cards, eating great food, drinking good wine, seeing the sights in the Valley. They also introduced us to Judy and Ed who make kick-ass margaritas and also appreciate good wine. What talks we had sitting around. Oh, I didn't mention Sophie (Paula and Dave little dog) and Sammy (Judy and Ed's little woozy boy dog). Two of the cutest dogs and they both let me love on the. And rub their bellies.

While we were excited to get home and see the kids and get ready for our trip to Europe, it was so hard saying goodbye to them. We are so hoping to see the. Later this year when we are I. The Ohio area. Unfortunately for us, we will spend next winter in Florida and they will all be in Harlingen again. I only say unfortunately because it would be great to be with them and all the other folks we met but will be fun in Florida too. Gracie, Angie and Kevin. Will come down to spend some time and do Disney World. Possibly can get Jasmin to come also.

Ernie cousin Bobby and his wife Ellie live in Orlando. We used to double date with the. Way back when and Bobby was best man at our wedding. We haven't seen them in a number of years and are so looking forward to spending time with them and catching up on all the years.

So that brings us to this last week. We've been in Barnegat New Jersey with Annie and Bill, our friends from the Dominican Republic. Oh my gosh, what a week! We last saw them almost a year ago and we had so much to catch up on - over several glasses of wine of course. Since we had never spent any time in Jersey before, they planned all sorts of stuff to do. But our first day brought snow - lots of it for Ernie and I. Of course I had to go and make a snow angel.

The next day We took a drive to the shore to see all the damage and resulting repairs from Hurricane Sandy. As a result of the storm, housing,laws were changed and most of the home at the coast now have to be lifted so they are not on the ground and will hopefully be,less susceptible to tide surges from storms. So much destruction! We also went to Cape May which is the southern most point of Jersey - I think! If I'm wrong on that fact, I apologize in advance. What a beautiful town! So many amazing 3 and 4 story gingerbread homes, big, old beautiful homes. It was so colorful and quaint - and expensive!

We went to a local winery for a Wine & Swine festival. There were around 12 to 15 local wineries offering tastings. Most of the wines were rather young but there were a couple that had old vines and lovely wines.  Sunday found us driving to New York City for a two day visit. Went to the Ground Zero memorial and then went to a Broadway play in the afternoon. Our first Broadway play. We were at the Neil Simon theater and saw Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in All The Way, a play about Lyndon Baines Johnson and his term as president in the 11 months following JFK's assassination. He was amazing.  Afterwards we took the Hop On/Hop Off bus for a night tour of NYC. Oh, did I mention that it was pissing down rain and around 41 degrees? The next morning, we got on the tour bus for the uptown tour and then took the downtown tour in the afternoon. Thankfully the us. Came out and we had a much better day - weather-wise. Finally got home around 9:30 that night and we all crashed.

This morning found us doing laundry and packing to catch our flight to London in the evening. As I write this posting, we are on our way to Rejkavik Iceland and a change of planes for London.

With that, I bid you all a very good night. More to come I. Future days - as we get WiFi connections. We will be in Europe for the next three months and there will be stories to tell.

Good Night!