Hey, it’s been awhile. Soooo, since the last time we talked, here’s a little summary of the past 5 months: Bob and I were on a cruise around the world, made it half way, cruise line flew us to Miami, we drove back to NY, returned a leased car and got a new one, downsized our home, gave away truckloads of furniture and contents, put house on market, sold house in 2 hours, drove to Florida to pick a building lot and house model, met with design team for 2 days, picked out rental house, drove back to NY, sold our 3rd vehicle, hired moving truck, moving truck cancelled due to Covid, hired another moving company and movers, packed our entire house, worked with mortgage company to apply for loan, said good-bye to the “4 f’s” (friends, family, frogs and fish….yes, you read that right) made friends with new owners of our house, loaded moving truck, cleaned house, drove two separate cars to Florida, moved into rental house, unloaded moving truck, had closing on house in NY……………all during a pandemic. Who does that?!

Sometimes I wake up and think, we really did this! We are officially residents of Florida as of Sept 1st, 2020.

We wasted no time. We started to shop for furniture, lighting, fans and closet designs. Eventually, we will shop for a golf cart 😉

We’re having a good time exploring. We’ve gone on drives in every direction. West to the small town of Crystal River, which was surprisingly close. We’ll go back once the state park reopens and maybe see the manatees. North through horse country. The ranches are just beautiful and can’t believe how many there are. At some point, we will take a tour of some farms. About 20 minutes from us is the World Equestrian Center to be completed in 2021. Look this place up on the internet, I did. Seriously, Ocala is the horse capital of the world. The equestrian center will have several air conditioned arenas and stalls for 2,100 horses. What!?!

South to Orlando to find our new Mini dealer, go to lighting stores and then met friends for dinner (Sally, Carol and John – we all worked together at Lockheed Martin and they all live in FL now. Great to see them). East through the Ocala National Forest and ended up in Ormond Beach.

We plan to buy an annual State Park pass. There are so many parks to explore. We especially look forward to checking out the many natural springs. The closest park, Silver Springs, is just down the road. The water is amazingly clear and blue. It’s famous for the glass bottom boat rides and has some nice hiking trails. The trail signs said beware of alligators and wild monkey’s. What?

We went to the Marion County Visitors Center where we were able to pick up many books and maps. The woman was very helpful and reminded us that now that we are Florida residents, we can get discounted rates on many attractions. Yea, love discounts.

Each evening we take a drive up the hill to our building lot. Yes, I realize when I say ‘up the hill’ in Florida, it sounds funny (believe our building lot is 97′ above sea level). We’re having a good time day dreaming. We park the car and walk the streets of the neighborhood. There are no completed houses in our hood yet, so it’s our imaginary neighborhood. As we were checking out our concrete pad, a golf cart came racing down the street towards us. The gentleman asked if we are the owners of the lot and we said yes. He said that’s great, I’m your new next door neighbor! He introduced himself and a few days later we were invited to meet his wife and have lunch at their house. We’ve met so many nice people in the past 2 weeks.

Walking…..we’ve walked the local natural trail that winds through the long leaf pine trees, actually located behind our house. We saw many birds and the endangered gopher tortoise. We’ve walked through the neighborhood where we are renting. The street is lined with tall trees that form a canopy over the entire roadway. Walked to the Veteran’s Park on 9/11.

Walking brought back memories from our cruise. Each day Bob and I would go walking. Bob had a t-shirt that he wore that said “I’ve Got This…..God” (Proverbs 3:5). I remember someone reading his shirt and saying they didn’t understand. What does that mean? I said the verse says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding”. He has a plan and we need to trust Him. The conversation happened during the first few months of Covid. We were just told that our cruise was ending and we were all being flown back to the US. We said a prayer at our dinner table that night that we would all get home safely and asked God to protect our friends and families.

Proverbs 3:5 – it’s been an important verse to us these past 6 months. We realize our life is moving forward and we’re not going back. We know God has been watching over us (proof from that first paragraph showing everything that has happened). I hear people wishing to go back to ‘normal’. Don’t wish to go back, look to the future and trust God’s plan.

Matthew 6:33-34 – But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I look forward to many new adventures with my love and we look forward to having visitors at our new home in 2021. We are very thankful for our new life. It’s one we never dreamed of….

Love and miss everyone ~ Karen and Bob