Gotta Have Friends

The last half of this month started with a visit from one of my best friends, Linda, who lives in Tampa. She had Presidents’ Day off, and we made plans to spend the day together with no particular goals in mind. There were a couple of shops I wanted to visit, but other than that we were going to wing it.

I had heard of a place called A World of Orchids, and it was on the way to where we were heading though off the main road. There’s an Oriental design to the exterior, and stepping through the front door, you enter the retail portion of the facility where beautiful orchids abound. However, once you step through the back door into the greenhouse, much of the beauty fades away. At first glance it doesn’t seem so bad, but as you look closer amidst the greenery, you see the damage. After crossing over a little bridge under which several Koi are swimming, you continue along pathways where venting systems hang by wires, missing roof tiles leave the area open to the elements (and the damage that creates), and dried and dying plants are visible here and there. You can see the vision of what once was and hope will one day return. However, as we were leaving, we happened to meet the owner, and those days are gone. Having been hit by hurricanes several times, he finally decided not to sink any more money into major repairs after the last one. They have another wholesale facility not far away and that is their main focus though it doesn’t seem they have any plans to close this one any time soon. Even so it was an interesting little side trip off the beaten path with some beautiful flowers.

We spent the next few hours just tooling around town, shopping, chatting, and enjoying each other’s company. Having both grown up in St. Louis, Steak ‘N Shake is a favorite, and that’s where we ate lunch, spending way more than our allotted time in our booth (apologies to our server :-). It was time for Linda to head back to Tampa, but we hope to get together one more time before I leave FL.

The very first friends we made after we hit the road fulltime were Bob and Kathy. We met them at the campground in Tellico Plains, TN, where they were planning to build their dream home, and we made an instant connection. Their Golden Retrievers, Elkie and Summer, enjoyed meeting Mikey and Abby, and the four of them had a great time exploring Bob and Kathy’s property when they took us for a visit. That was in June 2007, and though we’d kept in touch, we hadn’t seen them since. So what a great surprise it was to learn they were only an hour away for a few days and wanted to get together! They were getting work done on the RV so could only come for a short visit, but we told them the doggies were more than welcome, too. Elkie had passed away not long after we met them, and they had gotten Buddy, another golden, as a companion for Summer. She is now a senior citizen like Mikey, and Buddy is about Abby’s age so this was going to be a fun visit.

Initially we sat outside catching up on life these past 3-1/2 years and letting the dogs get acquainted. The Missouri basketball game was about to start so we went inside to watch it while we chatted and enjoyed some Bloody Marys. Buddy soon found Abby’s stuffed tiger and a tug of war ensued. It was obvious Abby had a new boyfriend as he kept enticing her to play (which doesn’t take much) and licking her face. Of course he also licked Jo-Jo’s face, and I wish I would have gotten the camera in time to catch her expression! Mikey had decided to stay outside (as he does most everyday) while Summer watched the antics of the younger “kids” inside with us. However, Mikey did join us for awhile and suddenly we had an RV full of big dogs!

After the game, we continued to chat, and while munching on some peanuts, Russ obviously had Buddy’s and Summer’s undivided attention. Not sure where Abby was because she never misses out when there’s food around! At one point Bob asked if we wanted to see Buddy’s trick, and he picked Buddy up and sat him on his lap like a baby. Buddy then laid his head back on Bob’s chest and seemed very relaxed. Bob said he will lie like that for hours if he lets him!

We ordered pizza for dinner, and all too soon it was time for them to leave. Hopefully it won’t be another 3-1/2 years before we see each other. In fact they might make a trip out west later this year while we’re there!