Shortly after we posted our last blog we got our first major storm. It rained all night and when we awoke there were several ponds in the park which had previously been low spots. We received 6 to 8 inches of rain in one night, and two of the RV's in our park lost their awnings. Florida is all sand, and within 12 hours we were back to normal.
Dade City has an annual Kumquat Festival which Jane and Bill attended with Ernie and Ray. We were expecting a small affair, but Dade City transforms a four square block area into a huge affair with a large craft show, antique car show, entertainment on four stages, an antique sale, food stands (including Italian sausage), farmers market and of course kumquat pie, kumquat cookies, kumquat ice cream and various other forms of the little fruit, which is kind of sweet and tart and half the size of an orange. Unfortunately it rained that day and cut our visit short.
Bill won $50 playing bingo in the big park. Worst thing that could have happened, the addiction is slowly taking over our campers lives.
Lakeland is a small city about 20 miles from the campground. Bill & Jane found an authentic Irish Pub there and were minding their own business when two Guiness girls showed up - and gave away free Guiness! They also handed out Guiness glasses, a spoon designed to aerate beer as its' being poured, and chances to win a trip to Dublin. Timimg in life is everything.
Last Sunday our wanderers ate at the Tropical Breeze Cuban Restaurant in Dade City. The food was excellent (and spicy) and it was a very enjoyable meal.
Tuesday was a big day, our trip to Tampa to attend the Buffalo Sabres/Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Game at the St. Pete's Times Forum.
We went with Dick and Judy,
our across the street neighbors from London, Ontario. Both are now official Buffalo Sabre fans.We ate the pre-game meal at Andreychuk's Restaurant
right across the street from the Forum, and to our surprise, the place was full of Sabres fans! 
We arrived at the Forum early and got to go to ice level to see the Sabres come out and warm up. We were close enough to shake their hands.
It was a great game as the Sabres dominated possession and won 4-2. Miller almost held off a 5 on 3 power play but gave up the second goal with 30 seconds left. The Forum had almost as many Sabre fans as Lightning fans present, a little different from Ottawa!Yesterday was a trip back to Lakeland with Dick & Judy to attend the Snowbirds Extravaganza at the Lakeland Center. It is a gathering of northern residents who spend winters in Florida. The entertainment, on three stages, was exceptional. One act was a guy called Bob Anderson who does singing impressions of the great singers of our times - he was awesome! If you closed your eyes, you could see Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdink, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Dean Martin and many more. We also got to see The Diamonds, a group that does 50's and 60's rock & roll, and their harmony was magnificent. There was also a scattering of bagpipers, Irish tenors, and other acts, and it was all FREE!
This is how they pick up our garbage. (A garbage train)
Bill's physical therapy is going OK, very sore afterwards but making progress. It looks like spring training at the Yankess Taining Camp for Bill will have to wait a year.
That's enough adventures for now, will blog again soon.
Bill and Jane
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