Hampton Inn Coconut Grove

... and walked down A1A Beach front avenue :) We grabbed a few more drinks along the way, did the normal touristy shopping, and got a snack at Bubba Gumps. We then headed back to the Hotel put on our suits and went for a dip and then made some yummy dinner in our room.

And That's how we spent our last 2 days in Florida with Michelle :)


(Hope you had a good time!)

Cruised into Ft Lauderdale early Sat morning. From here we transfered to the airport for our flight back home to San Francisco. We got to the Airport around 10 am and our flight didn't leave till 4 pm. Arrived to San Fanncisco around 9 pm. Loong day but happy to be home.

Or was it??

Snitch flew down & met me at our hotel, which is where we have stayed for 3 days.... the decisions we had to make:

When to go down to the pool
Which bed to sleep on
When to turn over
When to go for a swim
When to have a cocktail...

It has taken some serious thought!! Just in case you can't picture it I've added some of my own!

Missing you all...

xx

... and go to sleep!

We jumped on the train to the hotel. The weather couldn't have been more different to Miami, but it felt weirdly comforting being wet and windy and reminded us of home. We arrived at the hotel (fortunately our nicest hotel yet!) and jumped straight into bed, only waking a few hours later to grab some dinner, before returning back to bed for some more sleep. We slept with smiles on our faces as we were so excited and relieved to finally be in Chicago.

... these parts! We seemed to spend about two whole weekends just buying leads and plugs that would fit the outlets over here. Some plugs had to be cut off and rewired to an Aussie plug. Some items had to be wired through a 240 to 110v transformer. We bought new leads for the items that were 240v/110v compatible. We needed converted plugs for some items and to make matters worse, just like our house in Foxboro there were only about 4 sets of plug outlets in the whole house. In one ...

... It turns out if there are good things to be had at the yard sales, such as garden furniture and whitegoods, you need to be queuing up on the doorstep by 6am! The other place we went that day was Bunnings, this is the DIY store and definitely one of the most economical stores. They also have a good selection of a lot of other things you need around the home. We call Bunnings, "Home Dumpo" after a famous US DIY chain. We had two main things on our list to get from ...

... My favorite entry this year: bushes against Bush. You gotta click on the picture to read their signs for yourself. So, I hope you all enjoyed the pictures of my travels. The trip may have cost more than anticipated, but hey, blood pressure is back down to normal range without medication, I lost a few pounds without even trying, and after 20 years of living here, I resolve to stop complaining about the weather in southern Florida. I think I'm going to Chile next year.

... who knows??? And lastly, if you don't already speak a second language... try learning one... and remember... I will be learning Guarani (and Spanish) and will need someone to practice with when I come home! Thanks again for all of your love, support, and generosity! Wish me luck as I make my way and please keep me in your prayers! Much love, Jenny And by the way...yes, I am terribly excited and freaked out all at the same time!