I am writing this off line and will copy it into an e mail when I am in a wifi zone. It is Wednesday and Ken, Phil and Sheri have gone off to the marina for a view of whether Phil and Ken will go fishing tomorrow or perhaps Friday, then to Goodwill, Salvation Army etc for old clothes to wear in the event of such an endeavor. I did not bring clothes for Ken to go fishing as well as it is very cold here. Yesterday people who love their plants were covering them with plastic because freezing was anticipated. It is certainly cold and windy today so warm clothes are a necessity. Although I have clothes for cold weather, they are appropriate for a fishing endeavor. We arrived Saturday PM on time and no less the wear with Phil and Sheri trailing from an LAX departure one hour later. Once in "quarters" we went out to dinner and then visited until midnight EST which was only 9PM by PST translation. Sunday Ken and I drove to Orlando for a visit with Ken's nephews, Mark and Mike and Mike's family and celebrated an early recognition of Mark's approaching birthday on Monday. Mark's family has been delayed in their arrival and thus, we did not get to visit with them which was a disappointment.. . Kelly, Marfk's wife has an inner ear infection. She is awaiting the infection to clear up so that she can fly in hopefully, in time to enjoy the theme parks in Orlando prior to boarding a cruise to the Western Caribbean. Mark is in from Iraq and only has two weeks to spend with his family. Kelly's debilitation is a great disappointment for him. He has limited quality time with his family so we are hoping for a quick recovery but concerned also that she not jeopardize her long term health by acting too quickly.. In the meantime, we celebrated Mark's birthday on Sunday, a day early – but no less enthusiastic and Monday morning we enjoyed breakfast with the group before they departed on their day of frolic at the theme parks and we returned to Sarasota We had a wonderful time with the boys, Jeannie (Mike's wife) and Katey. It is always good to see family. We were especially honored with their welcome and special attention. Old age sometimes has its benefits. We arrived back in Sarasota on Monday just as Phil and Sheri were ready to depart for Marco Island to visit friends. We waved in the parking lot. Ken spent Monday repairing a leaking valve in the master bathroom and then went out and about, stopping to shop for our two week stay here in Sarasota. Tuesday, Ken and I drove to Estero Florida – near Ft Meyers for lunch with Helen Holzaepfel, a friend from our early days in Battle Creek Michigan. We returned via the Tamimami trail (old 41) for Ken's scenic drive up memory lane and took our time just reminiscing and enjoying old Florida sights. We were having such a good time we decided to call Phil and Sheri and tell them not to expect us for dinner – as we crept along up the trail like the old folks that we are en route back to Sarasota. We arrived back just as they were finishing dinner and visited with them until sleep called us. There you have it thus far. To reiterate, we left good warm weather in California for what we hope will be a short but "hefty" spurt of cold weather in Florida but we are accompanied by our fun friends and good traveling companions, Phil and Sheri.
 Ken and Pat Burns from the road and/or the sea
just as happy as can be 
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