Food, fairs and fun

Sunday and Monday, Feb 17-18, 2013

Dunedin, FL – This morning at the weekly coffee meeting in the clubhouse, the band (made up of amateur musicians from the RV park) marked Presidents’ Day with patriotic anthems and military music. And they started, very tactfully, with O Canada for all the snowbirds of the group before playing the Star Spangled Banner and a medley of other rousing tunes!

There were still jackets, hoodies and even gloves in view at that early hour of the day, but the sun was shining and it warmed up nicely later on, though not enough for one to crave a dip in the pool. For me, however, this is perfect; I wilt when it gets into the 80s!

Fresh breezes were also blowing through the craft fair we visited in downtown Dunedin yesterday afternoon, resulting in a delightful tinkle of glass and metal in the booth where they were selling wind chimes. Jewelry, scarves, quirky lawn sculptures, handmade soaps, crushable hats, wall plaques with saucy slogans (“The only problem with the younger generation is that we’re not in it any more”) and other crafts were on display in tents all the way down Main Street, which was closed to traffic for the day. We glimpsed a Michael Jackson wannabe, in black garb and wearing a single sequined glove, going through his dance moves for an appreciative crowd as we drove past in search of a parking space. 

The scent of kettle corn – popcorn prepared in a huge steel kettle over a flame, and stirred to the point of explosion – wafted under our noses, and the coaxing rhythm of bongo drums quickened our steps as we strolled through the fair. We managed to resist funnel cakes and great slabs of homemade fudge, and even walked easily past the ice cream parlour because it was too chilly to think about frozen treats!

We rounded out our Sunday outing with a drive through some of the more upscale neighbourhoods, where we admired beautiful landscaping with palm fronds, bright pink tropical plants and lush banana palms. Some of the homes would sell for more than a million dollars, and many had water frontage where sleek boats were moored for warmer days.

What else has been going on?Well, on Friday night we heard sirens screamingon the main drag and moments later glimpsed a fire truck heading in to the park with all its lights flashing.At this morning’s meeting we learned that one of the park residents had been cleaning leaves off the roof of his RV (after 10 pm!?) and the ladder gave way. He crushed both his ankles and will be wheelchair bound for the next two months.That will make it pretty hard for him to get in and out of his RV. Just goes to show you, no one knows what’s around the next corner!So enjoy every single day!