Hello everyone.  Wow, December 28^th and day 12 or our journey.  We made it to Holiday, FL and spent December 28^th, 29^th, 30^th, 31^st 2016 and JANUARY 1^st, 2017.  What a glorious reunion with John, Ericka and their cats Q-tip, Beau and Yoda.  Holiday, FL is a beautiful area situated in Pasco County with a population of 22,403.  The temperatures ranged in the mid 70’s by day and in the mid 50’s at night.  Each day, Audrey and I were up early and on the road touring the surrounding area returning in the evening to talk about our discoveries and feast upon the culinary delights that John and Ericka have learned to prepare from their travels throughout the world (complete with cooking awards to show for it).  Some of the culinary delights were fresh baked ham basted in a honey glaze garnished with pineapple rings and all the trimmings, home made cheese and carrot cakes, standing rib roast, and crepes and on and on.  We put on those pounds we lost walking the regions parks.

Areas we visited include the John Chesnut Sr. Park built in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and covering approximately 255 acres.  Anderson Park with its hilly terrain, wooded areas and beautiful vistas overlooking Salmon Bay and Lake Tarpon.  Fred Howard Park consisting of 155 acres located on the Gulf of Mexico with a 1-mile long causeway and the to die for geek pastry shop, Hellas Restaurant and Bakery with the most delicious rich and buttery Greek pastries you could imagine.  Coburn Park with all its serenity,  Honeymoon Island State Park (one of the few parks in the area that are dog friendly) and Key vista Nature Park.  We met so many interesting people in our walks along the trails including Christine Girtain and her two children, Jamie and John.  We still laugh at her remark about having a chocolate lab and how it was 4 years old before it got any sense.  Emma, our chocolate lab is 7 and we are still waiting for her to develop some, lol.  In our trail walks we were able to see some bald eagles and if you click on this link you can watch live the Eagles in their nest nurturing their newly hatched fledglings.  We logged a lot of miles walking these parks and enjoyed it so much while witnessing wildlife extraordinaire.

We had the opportunity to meet John and Ericka’s neighbors, Chris and Nadia along with Phillipe, Patricia and their daughter Mary Carmen.  The latter family are from Mexico and the food spread they put on was an array of Mexican foods prepared in true Mexican fashion (I couldn’t get enough of it).

It was also extra special to be able to celebrate Ericka’s birthday while we were there by gathering at Cody’s Original Road House for some great food and fellowship.

You can also click “Audrey on Instagram” to follow along and “Audrey on Vimeo“.