Sunday R & R

We usually attend the vigil Mass on Saturday evening, but our routine varies when we travel. Yesterday, we returned to St. John Vianney for 10:00 a.m. Mass. Many Italians in that parish -- Italians who still speak the language, even after several generations in North America. Listening to people visit after Mass transported me to the Jean-Talon Market area, where Notre Dame de la Défense is the mother church of Montreal's Italian community. We recognized many parishioners, particular the white dinner jacket and bow tie clad ushers. I loved the music -- mostly contemporary -- and the choir, though more attention was paid to key and time than to phrasing and musicality.

We spent part of the afternoon at the pool and enjoyed cocktail hour on the deck. Then we grabbed a sandwich at Subway and headed to Pass-a-Grille for supper on a bench before sunset. We were joined by winter visitors from Maryland, giving Bob his favorite opportunity to "talk to strangers", a pleasant couple looking forward to celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Spring Ahead

I love coming to Florida on this second weekend in March, because we go ahead two hours, one for the Eastern time zone and the other for the transition to DST. This is the one weekend of the year when I can be fairly sure of sleeping in until at least  5:00 a.m. This morning, I did wake before five by eventually went back to sleep and didn't wake until the eastern sky was brightening. The herons and egrets were fishing before dawn, but first light seemed to wake the gulls -- and they roused everyone else.

Canadians

Lots of Canadians here (Ontario, New Brunswick), some of whom we remember from last year. I had to laugh when people from Sarnia claimed to have come from the cold "60 miles from Detroit". Cold compared to where? The Fredericton contingent includes a couple who live "not 10 minutes" from St. Thomas University. The Ryans have a strong maritime connection, so I'm fairly sure we would discover that we know some of the same people.

Orientation Day

I wore my Sports Illustrated freebie Vikings jacket yesterday by the pool, while we waited for our condo to be ready. It was no heat wave but we were happy to have a beer (fresh from Norman's Liquors) in the gazebo area. Make that two beers.

We got our keys shortly after two. Same layout as last year's, two floors higher, with more panoramic view. The kitchen is better equipped and Bob is happy with the TVs. He's already referring to the second bedroom and bathroom as "Marilyn's", in anticipation of my sister's visit on Wednesday.

Shopped at Publix for a picnic supper (fresh gulf shrimp, roast beef, horseradish cheese, salads-Greek, chicken, fruit). By 7:30 I was fading fast so I headed to the pool, where I was the lone occupant for the rest of the evening, except for a couple of brief dips by kids in the hot tub.

We're Off!

For the first time ever, I had the foresight to take Friday off but, of course, I didn't have enough common sense to decompress a little before leaving on vacation. I have slept very little in the last week and was up at 4:00 a.m. nearly every day, so by noon or so I felt a little weary and doubled up on physical work to stay awake. Yesterday's activities included many loads of laundry and washing the kitchen floor and by 10 p.m. I was exhausted. Slept quite soundly until Chris let himself in around 1:00 a.m. - back from Wyoming after he and Scott drove for over 18 hours, alternating drivers with every tank of gas. I managed to sleep fitfully until 4:00 a.m. Chris drove us to the airport at 5:00, through the pouring rain. The alley was a sheet of ice but the rest of the ride to MSP was uneventful.