We stayed at a great place in Tampa - waiting out the cold. The RV park was filled with Canadians who bought camp sites up when their dollar started gaining strength; most of them were bilingual and very friendly. The thing that I enjoyed most about this place was the line-dancing class. My mother line-danced at her senior center until she was 83. For awhile, I would join her for Thursday class. Taking the time out of my schedule seemed to be a bit annoying as I always had so many other things to do (I also resented the fact that they thought I was a senior too!) Now, that time spent together is a very happy memory. Line dancing is great exercise and it really felt good to be moving. I'm still bicycling too but a little more carefully now as I fell down making too sharp a turn. Note to self: that's why bicylists wear gloves - get some. I do always wear a helmet.
While in Tampa we caught up with the DaVinci exhibit (at MOSI, Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry) that we missed in California. It was a whole lot more about his inventions than about his art. Most interesting to me was the forerunner of the dive suit but there were lots of military and civilian machines using gears, levers, pulleys and screws in ways that were entirely new for his era. None of the works were originals - considered far too fragile and valuable to place on tour. This exposure to DaVinci me want to learn much more about him as a man. We also saw an IMAX film on fighter pilots and visited the Butterly Garden there. Compared to Milwaukee Museum's Butterfly exhibit, MOSI's exhibit was pit i ful....PITIFUL.
We also bombed out at Busch Gardens where we froze our bums off. I've been in ski villages that were warmer. The monorail wasn't working because of the wind. I didn't want to take the terrifying rides and it was way too cold to take the water ride. Being cool, it was another bad alligator day but I finally did see the encaged alligator up close and personal......well, on the other side of the barrier. Evil looking things even when smiling - but definitely not as exciting as the ones we saw on the Lamanai River trip in Belize.
We've been working on a couple of cases where retired military folk - baby boomers like ourselves - have decided to give MUFON their account of UFO encounters. One individual is very ill but he is still willing to take the time to discuss his work experience. His story provides additional detail and credence to concerns about U.S. defense systems.
We also had a fascinating visit with a forensic scientist who will act as an anonymous consultant to our program. He gave us several tips on gathering trace evidence. The one I appreciated most was the use of a material called dental stone which he uses to take castings (such as footprints.) For our purposes, this material is excellent for preserving the impressions made by landing gear. It comes in two formulas - one for warm weather and one that is used in cold weather and actually enables the investigator to take impressions of indentations in the snow!
We're headed for Pensacola where we will leave the RV and depart for home. We had no choice in the matter as we have to give our depositions in the case we filed against San Francisco's Lang Jewelry store. We've set up all of our medical and beauty appointments and are looking forward to spending a week with family and friends. If you're available on Sunday the 21st, we're meeting up with a few folks at Saxe's Restaurant on Hwy. 18 at 4:00 p.m. where we'll provide appetizers and you can order a drink or two.
Best regards - Vicki and Chuck
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