As you may recall from a previous post when we were in NJ, we had taken on the task of washing the RV, top to bottom, and it only took us 4 hours. Well, there's a guy here at the resort who will do the same thing for no more than $100, and it seemed like a bargain to us! So last Thursday, BJ came by and did a fine job. Probably any job would have been fine as long as we didn't have to do it!
Friday was Movie Night. They have an outdoor "screen" here with some benches and show a movie every Friday night. It was supposed to be a little chilly out so we armed ourselves with monster mugs of hot chocolate (with a wee bit of Kahlua) and headed down to see Ratatouille, a Disney/Pixar film. It's a very cute movie about a rat who aspires to be a gourmet chef. I know...it may sound strange, but Disney and Pixar do such an excellent job of having their movies appeal to adults as well as kids with lots of attention to detail.
Saturday was a busy day. We finally got some neighbors on the other side of us and learned they were from Denmark, but more on Henrik and Anne later. Our day had been scheduled for about a week planning to start with watching the Missouri football game at 11:30. They were playing Texas A & M and a chance to move up in the national rankings, which they did! Because of the game, we were a few minutes late for the fish fry we had been invited to by Russ' golfing buddy, Bill, and his wife, Lanna. Bill and Jim (another guy here at the resort) had caught a boatload of fish near the Florida/Alabama border, and evidently this fish fry is an annual tradition. There was salmon, croppie, bass, and more. Lanna made homemade hush puppies, and everyone brought a side dish. There were about 15 of us, and all the food was really good especially the fish. Jim uses a combination of two different flours for the batter, making it very light and delicious, and cooked it up fresh right there at Bill's site.
A pot luck is held every Sunday with the resort owners supplying the meat. This week was fried chicken, and we invited our new friends, Henrik and Anne, to join us. We had been chatting with them again in the morning, and since they had never been to a pot luck, we thought they might enjoy it. There were about 50 people in attendance and quite the array of food and lots of desserts!
Over the next couple days we spent a good deal of time with them. Anne went to exercise class with me on Monday and line dancing on Tuesday. They invited us for dinner one night starting with tapas (appetizers) and served pork kabobs, homemade potato salad, and a delicious traditional Danish dessert similar to rice pudding, all served with a couple bottles of an Australian wine, Lindeman's Shiraz. What a meal! And of course, we reciprocated by inviting them to dinner one night where I served my homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and apple pie, 
also served with a couple bottles of Merlot, of course! Both nights we finished our evening with a glass of port from a bottle Russ had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to open and share. One of these nights I had mentioned that I like black licorice, and Henrik brought out a bag of what is known as Denmark's most popular candy. It is black licorice coins but with a very salty taste. They're not meant to be chewed but rather let them sort of melt in your mouth. Russ spit his out pretty quickly even though he loves salt. I kept hoping the salt taste would dissipate, but it didn't, and finally even I had to get rid of mine. It was an interesting experience, and Henrik said it's something one needs to acquire a taste for.Henrik and Anne have traveled all over the world, and recently (along with a Canadian friend) purchased a 40 foot motorhome. They take a 6 month leave from their respective jobs and travel all over the U.S. in the motorhome, and then they return to Denmark, while their friend uses it for the next 6 months. They have worked out quite an arrangement that seems to work for all concerned, and if you'd like to learn more about their travels, you can visit their website at http://www.winnebago.dk/ . It is chock full of excellent information about the RV lifestyle.
Henrik and Russ spent many hours discussing all manner of subjects from computers to world politics. Henrik told us that the tax rate in Denmark is 60%, and even though they have free medical and free college education, it is paid for through the high taxes. He was continually amazed at the "low cost" of items here in the U.S. They had seen their first American football game in Atlanta (playing San Francisco), so had questions about the game, and were surprised at how the fans didn't seem very excited and how many empty seats there were. Russ told them that first of all they had seen two teams that are not very good, and secondly that they needed to see a college football game to really experience the excitement and pageantry of the game. There's nothing like seeing a college football game live!
Last year Anne and Henrik had to put their cat to sleep, and you could tell how much Anne missed her when she saw our cat, Jo. I brought her outside one day so Anne could hold her, an
d Jo seemed quite content with the extra attention. The next day Anne was going to sit outside and read, and she asked if Jo could come out and visit for a bit. So I put her harness on and took her over to their rig. As you can see, Jo was quite comfortable in her own padded chair! Henrik asked if I'd mind if she went with them, and Anne asked if she'd ever been flying! LOL Of all the traveling Jo has done, she has never been on a plane so that would have been quite an experience for her, but I wouldn't let her go anyway. At 13-1/2 years old, I don't think such a major change would be good for her. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.We so thoroughly enjoyed their company and sincerely hope that our paths will cross again.
The weather had been really nice most of the week, with highs in the 80s, but then Wed. night it rained and a cold front moved in. For the next couple days, the temperature didn't get much above 60, and the nights were really chilly with temps around 35 when we awoke each morning! Again we ask....isn't it supposed to be warm in Florida!!?!?!
We finished up the week watching another Missouri victory over Kansas State, and the Tigers are now 10-1 heading into the Border War against Kansas next Saturday. As we have mentioned before, Missouri has a rich tradition in football, but it was 1969 when the Tigers last won 10 regular season games. This is one of those rivalry matchups that you throw the records out and is the first time that each school is ranked in the top 10 for this game. The BCS standings have been announced, and Kansas is #2 and Missouri #4! The winner will play in the Big 12 Championship game in San Antonio, TX, and with a victory there, should end up with at least the #2 ranking. Of course, not having an actual playoff in Division I is totally ridiculous and leaves a tremendous advantage for "name" teams to be given the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Notre Dame can still get in a BCS bowl game with their 2-9 season. :-) We ran across an interesting article on just how deep the passion runs between these two universities in the Kansas City Star, which you should be able to access through this link: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/365823.html
By the way, today's potluck featured lasagna (not homemade though), and I took baked beans. Oh, well, if they'd tell us in advance what the main course is going to be, we'd be better able to bring an "appropriate" side dish. But then again, the bowl was empty when it was all over!
So until next week, have a great Thanksgiving, and as a quote I ran across by Brother David Steindl-Rast said, "Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise… then you will discover the fullness of your life."
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