You might recall the post I did several months ago when Randy and I travelled, by car, to Wisconsin and Minnesota for family weddings and visits.
It was a good trip, but now that we live in the paradise of sunny southwest Florida, I’m much less excited about leaving home and visiting other places in the country. Still, after living in Missouri for 23 years, we have scores of family and friends that we want to spend time with there. And of course, in retirement, we have lots and lots of time to do that.
Several months ago, I saw an airfare sale on Allegiant Airlines for the non-stop Springfield/Branson to Punta Gorda route. Since we’re both veterans, Allegiant waives luggage fees so I booked flights for me and Randy for $114 each, round trip. Score!
We haven’t flown for years. We love traveling by auto together, but after 4 trips back and forth to Florida and 1 trip from Florida to the frozen tundra and back in the past year, flying looked pretty darn attractive. The trip was uneventful and Randy’s rant and irritation about the baloney of TSA lasted for only a few minutes.
We’re blessed because Randy’s sister and brother-in-law, Lynn and Dave, who also happen to be our best friends, still live in Linn Creek. We have a deal. We come and stay here whenever we need a friends and family fix and they come and stay with us whenever they want a Florida fix.
I laugh when folks from Missouri say they could never live in Florida because it’s too hot. Yet, they suffer through summer heat and humidity in central Missouri that’s worse, I think, than anything we ever experience where we live in Florida.
We still have strong ties to the Lake of the Ozarks area. I’m doing some work remotely for the company and family that owns Ozarkland (where I finished my working career). I do it not because I want to work, but because I love this family who have been so kind and generous over the years. I want to help them be successful in any way I am able.
Our favorite church of all time is here as well. Heartland Worship Center has been our extended family for close to 20 years. I am not exaggerating when I say they have the best worship band. Check out their YouTube Channel here. It’s the place were I finally understood that Christianity is not a religion, but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We’ve visited and considered several churches in Florida, but haven’t settled on one yet. We know it’s going to be hard to find another one that feels as much like home as Heartland.
We visited a few of our favorite restaurants, are going to the Amish and Mennonite places where we buy things we haven’t been able to find anywhere else, have made dates for lunches and dinners with friends important to us, sat on the deck and just breathed in the pine scent and forest feel we don’t have in Florida, talk about religion and politics with people who are like minded and probably know more about those subjects than we do, and Randy’s going trap shooting with a friend, something he’s never tried before. We didn’t bring our swimsuits to the Lake of the Ozarks. We’ve been spoiled by Florida.
Because it’s been years (probably not since January 2017 when we went to Hawaii) since we’ve flown, we were filled with a renewed sense of wonder at the fact that we could wake up in our own bed in Florida, hang around the house until about 1 pm, and have dinner in Missouri. It’s easy to forget how convenient that is compared to 20 hours (non-stop which is no longer practical at our age) each way cooped up in a rolling box. The only thing better, in my opinion, will be the invention and widespread use for common people of teleportation. It’d be great to be able to have lunch with mom once a week.
Someday I should tell you the story about how Lynn and Dave became our best friends, and how when we moved to California they moved to California, then when we moved to Missouri, they also eventually moved to Missouri. I know for sure they are not going to follow us to Florida. Lynn loves the forests and her Missouri home with its park-like setting and I love the beaches and my home there with the pool and bright, sunny blue and white sky. We can be at each other’s houses in hours if we want, and we can see and talk to each other every single day via video chat. The magical advance of technology is shrinking our world.
So we will continue to travel when we can to be with people we love. And continue to video chat to stay in close touch with people we care about. And continue to marvel at how blessed we are to live in a modern world so shrunken by technology that we can be in daily touch with folks who live far, far, far away.
P.S. Friends and family, be sure you know you can call to see if the guest room at Grathen’s Last Resort is booked if you’re thinking about visiting Florida. One of our greatest joys is being able to have a place for framily (I just made that word up) to stay. And in case you’re planning, only February 25-March 8, 2023 is already booked. Lynn and Dave aren’t coming until May next year so Dave can try his hand at tarpon fishing.
Leave a Reply