6/7/2015

We have been home since October 9, 2014, but we have been far from doing nothing.  Oct. 9 was our daughter Lisa's birthday, so we went up there and surprised them all.  They seemed glad to see us.

We cleaned up & unpacked from our 185 days on the road and took a few days to unwind, catch up on mail, etc., and started planning our Fall & Winter.  The first thing was a total re-screening of all the porches and painting all of the posts & beams.  It turned out to be quite a job, but the finished product looks fresh and the screen is new and it looks as nice as the rest of the house.  We also unpacked all the souvenirs and decided where to put everything.  We also took everything out of all the compartments and cleaned everything, including all the 'stuff''.  There was dust everywhere.

Kaylee had a birthday, turned 15, where did those 15 years go?  She is growing into a very pretty young lady.  We took these pictures when Kaylee & Tyler both went to the Homecoming Dance.

Seems yesterday they were little kids

The Shortens

Then on Nov. 15, Patty Grant drove down from Georgia and the 3 of us drove to Miami for the 8th & final Simpleman Cruise.  We have had a great time on these cruises, but Lynyrd Skynyrd has decided to quit doing them, so we will have to find a replacement cruise with Sixthman...new things lead to new experiences and new friends...we are actually not too concerned.  But this one was another great time and the weather was great.  24 bands and 2400 other Southern Rock fans can create a heck of a party.  And doing it on a cruise ship in the Caribbean makes it even more fun.  This was our 19th Rock Cruise, 17 with Sixthman and 2 Rock Legends cruises...they are a hoot!!

Our Helsinki friends-Seppo & Mari

Two kids having a great time

 Johnny, Peter, Ricky & Sparky

 Ricky Medlocke & Charlie Starr

Ricky Medlocke

Some of the craziness in the Stardust Theater on NCL Pearl

A week later, we drove back down to Grassy Key and spent 2 nights at Rainbow Bend right on the beach...a mere 50 ft. from the water.  Our friends Bruce & Danica (met in Nova Scotia in 2013) from North Bay, Ontario were staying just down the street so we got to visit with them too...nice time.

December brought concerts & Christmas.  Classic Albums Live did 'A Lennon Christmas', Violectric entertained with rock string Christmas music at the Eola Band-shell in downtown Orlando, they opened up the Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street and we spent 8 hours listening to a host of different performers doing Beatles music for charity, Joe Bonomassa in the brand new Phillips Performing Arts Center where Orlando Fire Station 1 used to sit, The Outlaws played at the Plaza Live, Classic Albums Live again at Hard Rock Live, Trans Siberian Orchestra at Amway Center and to finish off our amazing year, Billy Joel played New Years Eve at Amway and put on one heck of a show.  It was a very incredible month and we saw a lot of very talented musicians & singers.  Christmas was in there too. 

A Lennon Christmas by Classic Albums Live

Downtown Orlando

Orlando City Hall artwork

The New Phillips PAC is a very nice venue

Lake Eola fountain

Joe Bonamassa

Some of the best Blues anywhere

The Outlaws at Plaza Live

Christmas fun

Violectric

Classic Albums Live at Hard Rock Live Orlando

Trans-Siberian Orchestra put on an amazing show

Some of the fun at Cheyenne Saloon

Billy Joel capped off our amazing year with a great show on Yew Years Eve at the Amway Center in Orlando.  We hope you enjoyed following along on our adventures,  2015 is going to be a little slower, but we still have a lot planned.  We hope you join us.

Steve & Barb Larson