A shady spot and a good book

Dunedin, FL -- It was a fresh-washed morning today, after on-and-off rain showers through the day yesterday, so visiting the beautiful Honeymoon Island State Park beach held top billing for our busy social calendar. It took very little time, now that we've done it once or twice, to get the RV ready for driving, and in a matter of minutes we were strolling along the white sand in a pleasant breeze. We spotted a couple of dolphins out in the water, plus a great flock of pelicans winging overhead in a line that looked like migrating geese!

I'd already made a large five-bean salad and stowed it in the fridge to chill and mellow for the day, in preparation for tonight's potluck supper. Earlier this year, park residents had collected favourite recipes into a spiral-bound cookbook that they sold in support of park activities and local charities, and tonight was a community supper where contributors would prepare their recipes for everyone to sample. I wasn't around to provide a recipe, but I could still bring a dish to share.

Before settling back on our site for a leisurely afternoon, we topped up our RV's fresh water tank. The park owners are installing water meters at all the sites this week and next, so every day between 10 am and 2 pm the water is shut off for the whole park. The RV owners are the least affected, since they can be self-sufficient for that length of time -- as long as the tanks are full. I have a feeling the laundry building might get a lot busier in the early mornings and late afternoons for the next little while, however.

A tall live oak tree stands at the northwest corner of our lot, and provides a nice shaded area in the afternoon so we can sit out and enjoy the fine weather and delve into a good book. Which is what we did to while away the time before the potluck supper. Very pleasant.

Well before the appointed supper hour, people had gathered in the community hall to set out their offerings, scope out the dishes, and find a good spot to sit. Our hosts very wisely appointed servers at the tables to restrain the hungry hordes at the front of the line from cleaning out the bowls and platters and leaving the back-of-the-line crowd empty handed. So, when our table was finally called, there was still plenty to sample -- and what a feast! A wide array of appetizers, salads, casseroles, and desserts covered tables on either side of the room, and everyone ate heartily! And, if there was a dish one really liked, it would be easy to find the recipe if one had purchased the cookbook, which we did! Yum.