Back From Florida

Grandpa and Me.

I spent the past seven days in Florida, first at the Florida Christian Writer's Conference near Sarasota, and then with my grandparents in St. Petersburg. When I first arrived, Florida was experiencing "winter," with temperatures in the 50s. So much for getting away to warm weather. To add insult to injury, I got a cold.

The beach in St. Petersburg.

Warm weather finally came on Saturday, and on Monday I was able to walk out to the Gulf in St. Pete's. I especially enjoyed spending time with my grandparents and finding out that Hadleys can be traced back to the pilgrims (although not any that came over on the Mayflower). When I told Grandpa that my improv group performs at the Broadmoor, he told me a story about how my grandma (who died when I was little) once stayed at the Broadmoor when she was visiting a guy she was interested in. "Once she met me," Grandpa said, "she pretty much forgot about him." It was fun to think of my grandma making a trip to Colorado to see a potential suitor--one that she forgot when Grandpa swept her off her feet.

So I return from Florida with a cold (which will soon go away) and family stories (which will last a long time).

Grandma Cookie turned 90 this year.