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Published: April 12th 2015
Dining Under the Stars
Sam, Mike, Tom, Sheila, Sandy, CoryA beautiful evening under the stars with friends. Life doesn't get any better than that. Sheila & Tom invited Cory & myself and Sam & Sandy to dine with them for a farewell party for Mike. Mike is the nice fellow who lives between Sam & Sandy and us. Kind of like a rose between two thorns. He’s from Canada. Many of our friends are from there. Sandy and I brought a dish-to-pass but Sheila’s presentations were the piece de resistance. She puts Julia Childs and Paula Deen to shame. No one went hungry. Everything was delicious. She and Tom were gracious hosts. Tom has a keen wit and kept us in laughter during the evening. While at Tropical Palms, they live in a humongous 5th wheel trailer. I do not exaggerate as you can see by my photos. Of course, something that enormous needs a monster truck to haul it. And that they have! It's a big, blue, custom built, Peterbuilt semi truck. In total, they said their giant, traveling mansion is 70 feet long. Yikes….we are talking about a BIG rig….no exaggeration, again. Kind of like driving the Hudson Tunnel around. Their son, Blaine, does the driving but Sheila
was quick to say she also drives this bigger than life rolling castle. Yoweee. Fearless lady. They have their Tropical Palms site landscaped like a home in Celebration…gorgeous. Sheila performed her artful cooking skills under her double dining tents. We toasted each other around a bountiful and delicious dinner……under the stars. Mike was happy but he always is. We'll be seeing him again in 2016: same time, same place. We all look forward to that next encounter. Sheila’s talents don't stop with her cooking. She is a superb seamstress. She has a sophisticated sewing machine set up in their palace. She showed me a communion dress she is making for a grandchild. What detailed and exquisite embroidery she has created on it. Fit for a queen. Made with love. Lulu was not talking to us when we got back home. She wasn't invited and I wouldn't let her crash the party. Sheila said she would have been welcomed but she didn't know about her. What a thrill she has in store. Thank you very much, Sheila & Tom. We enjoyed your hospitality and friendship.
No sense trying to cook anymore. Not that I have done much this winter….I haven't!
It's been great. Oh, the joy of it all. To celebrate our Anniversary, Sam & Sandy joined us and we went to an Italian Restaurant in St.Cloud. It had been recommended by another Sandy from Tropical Palms. Remember I told you there were about 52 Sandy's in this park. It was a small, quaint place with the feel of real Italy within. “O Sole Mio”. Andrea Bocelli was singing a happy, Italian tune on a nearby TV. Extra special were the wine bottles in baskets hanging on the wall. What a memory these brought back to Cory and me. Our first date involved "hanging wine bottles in a basket" from the Grotto in Buffalo. Many more bizarre occurrences happened that night but believe me, that's another whole blog. If you thought our wedding was wild....someday I'll fill you in on that first date. It was not even close to being a normal date by any means...that is all I can say right now. The robust eatery provided us with good food but the best enjoyment was the company. Yay! That's how we always end our friendship toast.
Hope you aren't too filled up now. We still have a few
more days here before we turn on the motor, bring in the slides, unhook our utilities and hook up our car. So, plan to join us for our grand exodus from Tropical Palms. We’ll make sure you are along for the ride. Buckle up.
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