It’s Raining Again . . .

I spent the weekend in Florida at this year’s StampFest Orlando.  After years of drought, I think I can say with certainty that the days of the Five O’Clock Thunderstorm (and lots of other hours of the day) have returned.  I left home on Wednesday, got home on Tuesday – and Tuesday was the only day that I was gone that the windshield wipers were never turned on.

Of course, that was only an issue during setup and teardown – and any extracurricular activities that I had planned.

This was my view practically all day on Saturday.  This was not the crowd inside our booth. This was the line to check out -- it stretched all the way to that door at times during the morning. Thankfully, the customers were patient and I moved fast -- and they got to watch two great demos from Anna and Andrea on the way to the register.

Even after a full weekend, Anna and Andrea still looked energetic.  Thanks to Andrea for the picture (she has mastered the art of sticking her cell phone out at arm's length and taking a good picture -- I have not).

Here’s something you’ll rarely see – buggy racing up the main aisle.  OK, not really -- but it sure looked like it and all three of them got a kick out of it when I started doing color commentary!  Also saw a motor vehicle accident later in the day when one buggy backed into another while turning around.

Brush with greatness – the lady at left is a LONG way from home but found some familiar images in our booth.  Her name is Jane Allen and she is here on holiday from Great Britain -- and her artwork is featured in the two most recent Copic Coloring Guides (Level 3: People and the brand new Level 4: Fine Details).  The nice lady at right is the customer who brought this to my attention.

When the show ended, we dodged raindrops for a couple of hours while we tore down the booth and loaded the truck.  Usually, as soon as the back door rolls down I’m on the road.  But this time, a little golf vacation was planned on the way home . . .

Christine Yoder arranged a morning at Disney’s Osprey Ridge Golf Course – and even though the radar indicated otherwise, we only saw a few drops of rain.  I had a great time with Christine, Rich, and Paul and got to play a course that a month from now will be way out of my price range . . .

A new Four Seasons Hotel is under construction in the middle of what used to be the 18th fairway at Osprey Ridge.  The course is closing in early August, and when the hotel opens Osprey Ridge will be its private course.

I have never seen pictures of me with a golf club in my hand – Christine shot several while we were playing and e-mailed the best ones to me.

Thankfully, she got a shot of the osprey that give the course its name – I saw the perch but didn’t see the occupants.

I took these with my cell phone.  I suspect that Floridians get tired of the Spanish Moss that hangs down from lots of trees, but when you don’t see it often it’s fascinating.  And this was my first clue that I was playing on a much better golf course than I was accustomed to – a large screen GPS in each golf cart that not only told me how far it was to the hole, but how far it was to different hazards and markers ahead of me.

When we finished, I headed north – drove through rain for several hours, of course – and stopped in Tennessee so I could play golf again yesterday with some of my friends from our semi-annual golf trips.  When the Reds’ game started last night I was just north of Lexington, so I drove past Great American Ball Park in the early innings and got home and settled in time to watch the last few innings of Homer Bailey’s no-hitter.

In short, it was a great trip home . . .